To everybody - just was looking @ the points trip. What ! we can win something , maybe surfboard , Diving Fins , goggles, 3 pronge graphite spear, money. who is the guy in charge. i like talk story with him. Aloha T.P.
Tom,
I forgot about the Itamoto’s, didn’t they live on that little short street just before turning into EB road? My dad knew them good, he used to play base ball also, liked to play mountain ball too. What was the family that also lived on that street that had the fountain in their front yard and all kinds statues. Portuguese of course, you know how they loved their statues. Anyway about baseball, i was lousy. My dad must have been disappointed in me for that. Always outfeild and hope that the ball don’t come to me. I think that Gary Wong was on my team also, and maybe Errol Pavo. But that whole thing was how I met Charlie and he gave me my first board, so was all good. You didn’t say anything about that time at the Dole Plantation with all the boys, you remember that? We stayed in the parking lot all day waiting for the checks to come.
Butch
@ Butch The Carreira’s was the family that lived across us on Hapalua st. I just saw your dad Willie earlier this year when he came into Midtown Radio to buy a new TV. Tom, Speaking of little league I was on the same team as your brother Mike when Mr Nagamine was the coach. We used to practice at hau Bush. The next year we were on the Ewa all star team with Gordon Inouye, Gordon Narusawa, Chico Kualapai…Tom you were too big for you age that’s why you had to play with the older guys!
[img_assist|nid=1067789|title=Ewa Little League|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=72]
Howzit Gang, Jan Clements (Tom Clemets sister, married to Arthur Sojot) is working on trying to nail down a 2nd pavilion next to the one Mike Nii got for the reunion. Looks like we'll need it. I'll let you know.
Yeah Cleigh, the Honouliuli Hilton days was good fun. Me and Keven rented that Quonset hut for $35.00 a month. It was the hangout for a long time, but it was in pretty bad shape. I had to paint over the "CONDEMED" sign when I moved in. There was a hole in the floor where the shower had once been, but rotted out. Me and Nelson Oasay "found" a fiberglass shower stall that Uncle Sam left sitting around somewhere and stuck it in and hooked it up. When Kevin and I moved out a few years later, Jake Gaynor and Billy (Herman) and John (Weasel) Arhugger moved in. The story goes that they woke up one morning cause the house fell to one side cause the supports underneath were all rotted out. The water pipes broke shooting water everywhere. They were freaking out and tried to go out the front door, but it was jambed, so they dove out the window, which was now only about 1' off the ground. Later they somehow jacked it up a bit and moved back in, but the name changed to the "Tilt'in Hilton". I drove down last year to check it out. It's gone, which didn't surprise me. But Asing Park is gone too. That was a nice baseball field, so don't know why they let the developers build on that. We played a lot of baseball games there when Freddie, Jody and Doug Vogelgisang, Dean Uchino, Wendy Ige and a few others had houses there, and the Walshes were always around too, and plenty guys would come from Ewa Beach to get in on the games. Then we'd all go up to the Puli (pump 9) and cool off in the water. Hard to believe that was about 38 years ago. All just memories now, but good ones!
Mike B.
Around the time I was about 5 years old, (according to Hawaii Place Names: Shores, Beaches, and Surf Sites Page 129), A Waipahu Grad class of 1965, John Sadowski and his brothers Lui,Bumbum,and Stanley helped start the infamous EWA BEACH SURF CLUB.
A few years later…Jan Husic told me that Kevin Trottier Johns (Oct. 3, 1948 - Nov. 4, 2011) came to her house, with a few others(I wonder who was those few others?)and asked her to be an advisor to the club. She, doubting her credibilty as a woman in surfing agreed to do it anyway and did her best. The meetings started at the fire station and eventually moved to her house.
I was about 9 or 10 years old when I started surfing on that broken balsa board I mention in an earlier writing on this stories of the life and times of Ewa Beach in the good old days. So being goofyfoot I surfed almost everyday just like everybody else. I eventually worked my way down to Emptylots surfing there. One day that I’ve never forgotten was when I wiped out on a wave, and when I came up out of the water, George Kaholokula was rubbing his head 'cause my board hit him and he was sooo mad he told me to go down the beach and surf; so I went down by in front of Jimmy Ha’s Store side to surf.
It was during those early days, if you asked me, that “hands down” Ewa Beach Road had the best longboard surfers in Ewa Beach. As the surfboards got more progressive and shorter than the rest of Ewa Beach came into the picture and story as a whole. I really believe that back then,as I said earlier,that our surfers were as good as anybody else’s.
You can imagine how I felt when I eventually went to an Ewa Beach Surf Club meeting to get introduced to the guys and seeing George Kaholokula among other surfers there and then going outside to wait while they voted for you to become a member or not.
Everybody’s element was in the ocean surfing. It was our safe refuge. For some of us, on land was nothing but trouble. On land what started out as just fun, slowly but surely turned to hell on earth.
Squideye, you always were and still are “the life of the party”! I saw your brother Mike a few years back in Waikiki on Kalakaua Ave. He was attending some fireman’s gig or something. I just talked to Jerry Hunter, he said that your brother Mike was with him in that big tree house down by Cove’s. I told him that he needed to read this stuff too and come to the reunion
Sharkcountry, what did you look like back in the mid 70’s when you used to come surf at Laniakea with Mark your friend. I’m trying hard but can’t remember what you looked like. Do you still come down to the country during the wintertime to surf? Most of your stories and names are trueblue my friend.
Ewabeachroad, what are you doing in Indo? Do you surf over there? By the way, just a thought, maybe the T shirt thing can be also alittle more contemporary, maybe even high tech with the classic old logo style? I don’t know, what do you think. And can you get Shirley Rogers to go to our reunion and on this site? My condolences to you about your brother’s passing.
to be continued…
Hi Onamission, I was a small japanese or filipino looking, but I am not filipino. I surf regular foot and used smaller boards back then, probably a green 6-6, maybe a white 6-10 iggy hand me down from my brother.
From your earlier post about your hair, and you being a goofyfoot, I’m thinking you may be Frank Aragon. The older goofyfoots I remember were Jon Crouch, Cleigh Eaton would fit that description, there’s Tony Bacalso and Mike Chevalier. I think Dean Ornellas was a goofy, but things gets a little hazy during the mid 70’s. There’s Benny Qusang, but I only knew him from the beach. Daniel Silva might fit too. Too bad Roland is not with us anymore. Roland was at SC all the time. Always a lot of laughs. One more name… Hasegawa. I forgot his name, but he used to ride a kneeboard then switched to surfing.
Tony and maybe Mike had 3 brothers, I don’t think Cleigh or Jon had 3 brothers. Not sure if Mike had hair that would look like Jimmy Hendrix.
In the late 70’s I had a little red BMW 2002. If I was at Laniakea, it would be parked on the beachside of the road. Remember when we could park on the beach side of Kam hwy? I’d either surf Laniakea or Alii when I went up there by myself. Once in a while I’d go to Kammieland or walk down towards Gas Chambers.
Mark had that Grey VW bus back then. Mark would fit your description, but he didn’t have 3 brothers.
I stopped surfing the NS in the 80’s after a run in with Michael Ho. He was always a prick and with the Blackshorts backing him, he became even worse. Imagine someone dropping in on you then getting pissed because you kept following him on the wave. He started yelling at me and hell we’re about the same size so it wouldn’t have been a problem to take it to the beach. But I didn’t want the BS to come after me so I didn’t push it. I saw them take over the pipeline side of the NS, so I figured now they want it all. I had already gotten that from Eddie and Squiddy out at Kamis. They just paddle out and take off on any wave they want. A set can have more waves than surfers, but they still drop in.
Too bad, I loved surfing Laniakea, Alii, Marijuanas, Aligator rock and Puaena. I just switched to Makaha and the west side. I have lots of friends and family on that side, so I never had those problems. When I first started going there a lot Kimo and Scott Kauihou surfed Makaha a lot. My friends Bulla Iaea and Walter Falconer were life guards there with Brian K. I’d see Kimo there quite a bit.
Aloha.
Onamission, Harry! I remember the fire station meetings, the wait outside voting, Mrs. Husic amd the rest. Might have been Doug Kingsley who took me first time. Remember, Les Enomoto, Johnny S. and his brothers Louie, Bumbum,Stanley, the Moody brothers Mincee, and Mousee, Mike Pruse (Herbs cousin), Sakai brothers, Albert Gandall, Augie Robach, Vinny, Ronald Gionson (MG’s cousin) as some of the older 1st generation EBSC members. The wait was horrific to put it mildly. So… intimidationg to a kid of 13. Both Dougie and Nelson Kang along with Kevin Johns puished for me as well as Les E. They were a few years older than me and starting taking me to West side and NS with freguent visits to town. Guess I made an impression with them and the rest is history. I have a brother, Cal 73 grad KS one sister Jackie 62’ grad. St Francis, and one hanai brother Norman Nauka 67’ grad Cambell. Stanley and I were pretty close back in the day. We all surfed and played sports for our schools so we trained together during the summers for football starting in July-August. Lets see there was Dougie K. Norman N., Stanley, Buddy Kualapai, myself. Sometimes others would join in but mainly it was juist us.
Kahu Cleigh
Harry! George orginally was a goofy foot LB daze. I believe I was one of the first to switch foot until I tore my ACL in 65 playing football. George was a 4 way surfer. Could front side and back side either way. Incredible surfer when short boards showed up. We talked for hours when we lived together about surfing , approaches to waves, tube riding, positioning etc. Gene Keahi, Mike Bell (my age) Mike Muhalovich, Kevin Johns, Guy Kamaka, Albert Gandall, Paul Shepard, were all “Goofy” too.
Kahu
Oh yeah! Can’t forget my good friend Issac Tanaka. Also “Goofy” . Well nuff said.
Oh yeah! Can’t forget my good friend Issac Tanaka. Also “Goofy” . Well nuff said.
Yeah, Isaac too, but you guys already post so you can’t be onamission.
The closest I ever got to the EB surf club was knowing Robbie. Once in a while little Cory Aleviado and I would ride our bikes down that way and if Robbie was home we’d stop by and say howzit. Curtis Ando lived down that street and Mikey V did too. When I was in 4th grade I won the bicycle rodeo for my grade and Robbie won for his grade and overall. He was gifted, and a nice guy. This was when Bernie was boarding at KS, so probably around 68-70. I was 5th grade to 6th grade then. I hung out with Cory a lot because I liked going down to the beach house where my grandaunt was living.
They used to show movies at the library on North Road in the mid 60’s. One summer Mrs Husic showed movies of Robbie surfing by his house and down at Seawall. Not sure but she may have been promoting the club. She showed her movies just before the features. I think the features were the old beach movies Frankie Avalon, and I also remember seeing one with little Stevie Wonder playing harmonica. I think Mrs Husic was a librarian there or a volunteer. Does anyone remember that?
I can’t remember if Randy Santiago was a goofy or not, but he spent a long time on the kneeboard too. His younger brother Glenn was my classmate. Kelly Ikehara was pretty a good goofyfoot from our class, but he passed away a year or 2 ago.
Sharkcountry you got it right braddah! Onamission is me, Frank Aragon. I still can’t picture you just yet.Did you grad 74 with Tony Bacalso,Kimo Kauiho,Gooney Hanagami(By the way where is he now?),HF O’reilly,Mark Kahalekulu(how did he look,I forgot),Mike Chevalier(who along with Roadblock Dave Ontai could catch any wave they wanted at Rocky Point),and Robbie Husic them;did you go to Campbell?
Sorry to hear about the negative run in’s with Da Hui. It was what it was; and it is what it is. Please don’t be offended by this, but Imua took me to Fast Eddie’s house to join back then what was the “original” Da Hui. At that time commercial surfing and foreigners from Australia and yes California started acting “stupid” to say the least and Da Hui was originally formed to bring back respect in the water,if you know what I mean. It was really getting out of control; I witnessed it personally myself; but that’s another story for another time. What you negatively experienced was “wheat and tares growing up together”. Kahu Cleigh knows what I mean.
Butch and I moved to the Country about the same time but not together. Years earlier David Murakami(I think) took me and Butch to Sunset Beach and it was a serious 6ft or so. We were both scared to say the least; and David said if we didn’t go out we would have to walk home. I don’t even remember what happened. But to think that now, even to this day, that Butch still has one of da bes’ BK bottom turns from the point going into the west bowl! And at laniakea he still gets his share of point set waves. Butch was and always has been on my top 10 best, favorite surfers of all time for me.
Kahu Cleigh; remember that I had that inspiring phone call with you and wanted your brother Calvin’s phone #. I saw Calvin out at Laniakea during the end of last winter, wrote my cell on his suv window but he never saw it.
Kahu Cleigh, I told Jan Husic how ironic it was that years ago when Robbie Husic and others like him, Rusty Starr to mention just one, were starting to make their mark at Pipeline and then their lives ended too early; that today; the measure of success is again at how well you surf Pipe and Backdoor and surrounding surfspots. And again in life and surfing, their are casualties; that Pastor Butch(I never call him Pastor 'cause he’s always been my friend) along with some others have started a new church just accross the street from Pipe at Sunset Beach Elementary School, which I now go to, are helping “the casualities” if you know what I mean. Thank you again for that prayer we had!!!
to be continued…
Hi Frank, you don’t know me. I was a young kid (punk) and graduated from Kamehamea in 1976. I know you because we all admired the older guys who would rip anywhere they went. I would see you and Butch on the NS always together in the mid-late 70’s. That one day at Laniakea, on a weekend day with just a handfull of guys out will be etched in my brain forever. The waves were 6-8 Hawaiian scale and that was the top of my comfort zone. The lips would throw out, way out then down, almost square. The waves were breaking way out by the point and then all the way through to the other side almost to the houses. Just one middle section that you could make almost all the time if you wanted to, but if you stayed close to the curl on the outside probably would have to kick out there.
Your smooth relaxed style was/is hard to forget. I guess it was kinda like Lopez’s smooth style. A lot of guys from EB have a smoother more upright style. I think it makes people think we’re not as radical, but they don’t realize that the turns are just as hard and right where you want them, just less flash. Get low for the bottom turn, but always open up and come off the top with more stretched out body. Backsiders can always throw those big arcs of spray on the top turn. I think you were wearing speedos a lot too.
I remember making a few bottom turns and just burning down the wall 20 yards by the time I was making a glancing drop knee turn off the top. Edge it back down into the curl enough to drop back down and do it again. Pictures of Gary Chapman surfing Honolua come to mind when I think of that. No big hacks off the top if you want the long rides, just enough turns and burn down the line, and then the long paddle out watching all the other guys getting absolutely great rides. The feeling you get when you surf those kinds of waves is something else you won’t forget.
There’s another goofy foot I used to see alot named Frank and he has a smooth style too. I always thought it might have been you, but it was Frank Asuncion. I haven’t seen him for a while.
Frank, one the original black shorts founders is named Amona. His dad Bill and my dad were classmates at Kamehameha 1941. I know him from the times my dad’s class would get together. He is a retired judge/lawyer. I respect what the BS stood for, but Eddie and Squiddy were something else. You know what I mean if you were a part of that. Eddie is not from Hawaii, so there was some misdirection there. Bernie Baker, Fat Paul and some of the others who would act the same were also not local born. Now you get guys coming over from Kauai acting like they were born and raised on the NS of Oahu. You go over there and they would give you all kinds of crap if they don’t know you. Very hypocritical.
I saw the changes on the NS from the mid 70’s when we started going up there to the early 80’s. I know the Rathburn family, and one of them lived on the beach at Velzyland. The lived there before it got the name. The dad was a big shot with the dept. of water supply. The grandfather was supreme court judge here in Honolulu. My friends cousin Roy Rathburn lived at Velzyland. He surfed and was a wild one, but he died very young too. Just like Robbie and Rusty Starr. I think there were only 2 houses when we’d go there. The Moepono boyz and Perry Dane didn’t surf there back in the day, but they took it over. Gave the Rathburn family trouble too. I can’t respect that.
One more thing… when we were young, we’d never paddle out to a spot without someone who’d surfed there before and knew the place went with us. Lots of times we’d watch Sunset, but never go out. Just go Kammieland, the rides were OK. Heck, I’ve seen some of the best Sunset waves ever from Kammieland. Then as we get older someone takes us out to those places and gives us advice on how to survive. Sunset, Pipeline, all the heavy spots were places you’d get introduced to by someone who already had been there. These days people come from all over and just go out and hell sometimes I don’t think they even know they don’t have the skills to handle. We’d get our asses handed to us back then and have to work hard to get another chance.
The mid 70’s and the busting down the door thing was the beginning of the worst change. When the pecking order and who respected who and why was changed. Kinda like when the Kapu system was overthrown. But then again, respect is earned and not forced upon. You will never respect someone that expects you to respect them. The Alii were probably feared as much as they were respected. The Black Shorts are feared more than respected by anyone who doesn’t know them.
Being a KS grad, I have friends from all over, and from all the islands. It's good to know that I'll know someone in the water or on land wherever I go. It's very comforting.
These days, I'm comfortably growing into a south shore old guy. Soon to be destined to riding only longboards. But I see Cal Eaton out riding a 5-10 fish, so I know I still get time. Just gotta stay in shape.
I will make sure I introduce myself if I see you again. Oh yeah, no worries about the BS thing, I would never hold a grudge against one of my kid time surfing heros.
Aloha, Harry
Beautiful Kahu - U couldn’t have said it better Blah! Aloha T.P.
eh Boz, fyi remenber the board you made back in the day… was a small like six footer or sub six that you had made… i used it once and it did’nt impress me for what it looked like but it really made me aware of how fast a little board could go…stated me making sub six foot boards… another guys board that put me in that direction was Jimmmy Nino… he had like a 5-4…i don’t have the shoulders to catch wave with that kind of boards any more… i’m back to 8’s and 9’s…started with longboards, back to longboards… you need to tell some of the Ewa guys to check sways out…one of the guys that i surfed the most with was Fred Palmeria and Tom McChessney in the longboard era… there was also Charlie Bell, who rippen on his "ten toes’ popout…then he got a ‘tressell special’ which was actually to long, maybe 10 footer…my first so called mini board that i rode was a 8 foot BK mini gun when Barry was shaping for Rick Surfboards…Tom had bought it and when i tried riding it, it just took off like a rocket, i was blown away how fast it was… that was the begining of the end of longboards for 20 years before there was a longboard revival…
aloha, ike
Howzit. Mike N, Jan Sojot trying to get one more pavilion at O-Beach. She was checking to see which one you rented, but the person she talked to didn't have any info. Can you pass that on? We'll try again. Thanks!
Frank! Good to hear from you old friend! Looking forward to seeing you in September. I hope Roy shows too. Gooney's in San Francisco area. I recently got a hold of him and he said he'd be there in September. Will be good to see so many old friends in one place!
Cleigh, Mel B and I have been working a T-shirt. Design about done and agreed on. Kinda late to make changes at this point, but I think you'll agree, it's good!
I was surfing in Indo when I 1st started coming here and working here 18 years ago. Now days I ride dirt bikes (KTM) here and outter island. It's an amazing place for that. But my youngest daughter really hounding to start surfing again. She loves it. So probably gonig to do just that! We surfed everyday when we brought brother Dan back to Ewa Beach for his final paddle out. Waves at Flagpoles was perfect for my girls to learn to surf. They asked "Dad, how could you ever leave this place?" when I looked around I had to answer "I don't know". I guess moving away and returning makes you realize how good it was, and still is.
Until Later,
Mike B
E Mike B. Kuu Home o Puuloa! My home is Puuloa! (EB) Speaking of you. Once again, "E Na Mamo O Puuloa, Mai Poina Na La 'Ae Oia! Na leo o Hawaii e kahea oe! The voices of Hawaii calls you home! Feel your naau! What is it saying?
Kahu Cleigh
Cleigh; No matter where I go, or long I've been away, Ewa Beach will always be the place I call my home, and I'm always proud of that. The Gods willing, I'll be back one day!
Issac; I heard a young surfer ripping into the long boarders trend recently, saying long boards just aren't cool. I told him that long boarders made all that they are doing today possible. It was cool then, it's cool now. Damn! 8'2" is the new short board for a lot of us guys! Life cycling, as it does.. Where's my bell-bottom jeans? :-)
Butch first told me about this site and said to check it out. Even Bill Barnfield told me of it too. He said some stuff on this site on page 1. Presently, I’m working at his surf shop “Raging Isle” in Haleiwa doing sales trying to make ends meet like everybody else. If any of you braddahs come to the Country, come over and see me ok. Speaking of “seeing”; what, are we going to have to wear name tags or what?!
Squideye, as I mentioned earlier, I talked to Jerry Hunter da other day and told him to check this site out 'cause his name was mentioned on this site, and he says that there was this big tree house down by “coves” and that your brother Mike hung out there with him. By the way; couldn’t you also switch stance surfing? I remember surfing Shark Country with you guys when Damon Tsudumaki was one of the best, ripping on a yellow Ryan Dotson with a small squaretail on it. You were always big and stood out on any wave.
Sharkcountry, if you ever come to the country to surf and I’m out, if I’m going for a wave, just take it ok; any wave you want anywhere, anytime I’m out. Today, during the wintertime, Laniakea on a good day, can have 40 to 60 guys out; a zoo no doubt. But like I said Butch still gets his share of set waves and I manage to sneak a few myself, so no shame, my wave is your wave. When Cleigh"s brother Calvin was out with his son, I just stopped surfing and talked to him for awhile. Sooo good to see Ewa Beach surfers in the country surfing. And please, don’t longboard yet if you don’t have to.
Ewabeachroad, I didn’t know if you’d still remember me. WOW! COOL! This site is a reunion of sorts, but still it’s not the real deal. Thanks for the info on Gooney. Did you tell him about this site? I told Jerry Hunter about it and I’m sure he’s getting a few laughs and good rememberances of the past. If Butch and I, or Butch or I ever get to Indo, are you close to some good surf spots or what? I’ll mention this site and the reunion to my brother Roy.
I remember when I had to go and stay in Kona for a month to help start the Costco over there, that I think I hooked up with Mel Behasa and he tooked me surfing at “banyans” and even on this big double hulled catboat to surf some other secret spots. That was sooo cool! Thanks again Mel!
I want to surf with Nate Moody and you Kahu Cleigh; and everybody else for that matter. And I mean in good waves, not “Officers”(now known as “White Plains”). Can you imagine all of us out in really good waves! When I was in 10th grade and I think Nathan was a senior he used to let me go out party with them. Of course Nate got the “pretty young things” while I got the" leftovers"! His tuberiding on shortboards at emptylot was unreal!
to be continued…
I try to look at this thread everyday because I like reading about the “good old days” in EB. Seems like a world away from what life is now. I did a check on the cencus a while ago and I remember that in 1960, about the time my dad bought our house in Leeward Estates, there were 2000 people living in EB. That was one of the good things about EB, the size, and the isolation made it a pretty tight community. Couldn’t do much without everyone knowing.