This oral history interview is a project of the Historical Committee of the Outrigger Canoe Club. The legal rights of this material remain with the Outrigger Canoe Club. Anyone wishing to reproduce it or quote at length from it should contact the Historical Committee of the Outrigger Canoe Club. The reader should be aware that an oral history document portrays information as recalled by the interviewee. Because of the spontaneous nature of this kind of document, it may contain statements and impressions that are not factual.
Part 2
An Interview by Ernest H. Thomas
July 14, 1982
Biography
“RQ”, as he is known, was born June 22, 1896, in Sinnemahoning, Pa., the son of Alfred Elisha and Mattie Quay Smith. He married Clara D. Ingalls August 30, 1918. Their sons are Quentin Ingalls and Earl Stratton.
“RQ” attended St. Mary’s High School in Pennsylvania and was a student at Oberlin College 1914-16. He also took courses at the University of Hawaii 1926-36. He had early work experience as a newspaper boy, motion picture operator, clerk, and stillman-foreman of a wood alcohol and formaldehyde plant in 1916-17. After joining the Pacific Commercial and Fertilizer Company in 1919, he was successively assistant chemist, chemist, superintendent, treasurer, manager and president. He retired in 1961. He saw military service as a private September – December 1918, served as a captain in the reserves 1925-42, and had active duty as a lieutenant colonel in the Chemical Corps January 1942 – December 1945. He has been a retired lieutenant colonel in AUS since 1956. He received the Legion of Merit (legionnaire), Bronze Star, and has WWI, WWII and Asiatic-Pacific campaign ribbons.
EHT: This is an interview with R. Q. Smith who was twice past president of the Outrigger Canoe Club. We are at Arcadia where RQ resides on July 14, 1982. RQ, would you give us a general idea of your personal history? When did you and Clara first come to Hawaii?
RQS: Well, I came here on March 22, 1919, right after World War I. I was looking for a job all over the States, having gotten out of the Army on December 18, 1918. My wife’s step-father was the agent for the fertilizer company in Hilo and she cabled him and – I had a job – so we came on.
EHT: Was that Pacific Guano?
RQS: That was Pacific Guano and Fertilizer Company. I stayed with that company until I retired in 1961. But of course, its name was changed to Pacific Chemical and Fertilizer Company. I worked for a man named Carlton James at first. He was the one who employed me, and it wasn’t long before Carlton James and his good wife were inviting us to go to the Outrigger Club for basket dinners and that was very interesting. So my
first association with the Outrigger Club was by courtesy of Carlton C. James.
EHT: Well, I’ll be darned. I didn’t realize there was open space there for picnics at the old club?
RQS: Well, the “space” at the old Club was a hau terrace — and there were portions of concrete flooring which Ford had put in by means of his “soup” dinners that he had put on to provide a few pennies.
EHT: That was Alexander Hume Ford – “Pop” Ford?
RQS: Yes – “Pop” Ford. And there was a covered place with hot plates which one could use to heat beverages and small things like that and so the picnicking really was under the hau terrace where there were fences.
EHT: How did they heat them?
RQS: Well, they were gas – gas hot plates. But there must have been electricity there. That was the thing to do for many people. Roy Banks and his family came down there, and lots of other people.
EHT: Where did the Club keep the canoes? In the early days?
RQS: Well, there has always been a shed – since I’ve been here – right behind the beach. Sometime or other Wichman put up a clock out there in front of the old Outrigger Club, and I think it was there when I first saw the Club. When I first saw the Club, the canoes were stored underneath the pavilion that they had.
EHT: Wasn’t the pavilion located where the dining room was in the later Club?
RQS: Yes, that was where it was. And in (Harold) Yost’s book – I was looking at a picture of that this morning to re-orient myself – that’s the way it was.
EHT: When did you first become a member of the Club?
RQS: Well, I first joined the YMCA- I played volleyball down at the YMCA.
EHT: That was when Ernest Tucker Chase was the secretary there?
RQS: Well, he may have been, but not while I was there. We went down there to a businessman’s club at five o’clock and we got to playing volleyball besides setting up exercises. Then there got to be competition between the Outrigger and the YMCA. Vic Kahn was with the Y, but I remember “Dad” (George David) Center and his crew, Harold Harvey and “Yabo” (Herbert) Taylor, I think, and some of the rest of them would go down there and played volleyball.
Well, that was all. right, but one day my wife came home and said “I’ve joined the Outrigger Club for you and the children and me.” So I said, “All right, that’s fine. I’ll quit the Y and we’ll go down there.” I believe that was in 1928.
EHT: Were the volleyball courts then in the same location they were in the later Club?
RQS: Yes, the volleyball courts were very similar. You see, by 1928 the change that was caused by the Royal Hawaiian Hotel having been built – during Joe Farrington’s regime, I think, as president (1925-27) – caused them to build a front pavilion and locker room, and then they had the back pavilion for canoes. By front and back, I mean front from the street.
EHT: I see, so the locker rooms were about where they were when the Club was re-done in 1939.
RQS: Just in about the same place. (Laugh) I remember when Bill Barnhart was president (1931-32), we got in there to throw a little concrete around to make it a little better, and to wire up the locker rooms so that they would be a little bit more serviceable – and that’s the way it was about then.
EHT: The lockers were on the ground floor? There wasn’t any second floor over the locker rooms?
RQS: Yes, the lockers were on that ground floor. The second floor was a dancing pavilion.
EHT: Oh, now this was toward the beach though?
RQS: No, the dancing pavilion was right behind the parking lot which adjoined Kalakaua Avenue.
EHT: Oh, well, I’ve learned something! I had thought the dancing pavilion was next to the Beach!
RQS: No, the dancing pavilion was right behind the parking lot, which adjoined Kalakaua Avenue. When I first saw the Outrigger, the dancing pavilion was down on the beach, but the Royal Hawaiian didn’t want a lot of music being played next to the people who were trying to sleep, so in this arrangement with, Joe (Farrington), I think that was part of the deal, although I never had that confirmed.
EHT: Now, as I understand it – please correct me if I’m wrong – the original lease for the whole area, to the Outrigger Canoe Club (in 1908), included the area from the beach clear out to Kalakaua Avenue. In 1938 when the rentals went up, I think that was when it happened –
RQS: Yes.
EHT: And the Outrigger couldn’t afford to pay the whole thing, they got Matson to take over the entire lease, and the Outrigger sub-leased the part of the area next to the beach.
RQS: Well, that was something negotiated by Walter Macfarlane who certainly did a terrific job. I didn’t help, but I know what it was. We came along in those years and coming up to the time the lease had to be changed. The original lease was with Queen Emma Estate. You see, there were two lessors down in that area. One, the Bishop Estate which had the Royal, and the other the Queen Emma Estate, which belongs to Queen’s Hospital
now. Bruce Cartwright was trustee for Queen Emma Estate.
EHT: What years were these?
RQS: That was in the 30’s, when our lease came up. And then it came up to the time for negotiating a new lease and we tried — Now, of course, Matson had the lease for the Royal from the Bishop Estate and so by that time people realized that land was getting more valuable and parking lots were something, so the upshot was that the Matson Navigation Company leased that property on Kalakaua Avenue and sub-leased the beach front to the Outrigger Club at a very nominal price, just what they paid for it. Matson’s lease terminated one day after the Outrigger’s lease with Matson in the ‘50’s, when we negotiated for the other —
EHT: I know you were president of the Club in the ‘30’s — what year was that?
RQS: 1932.
EHT: Can you give us some general remembrances of being president in 1932?
RQS: Well, I think the first complaint I got was from Ernest Tucker Chase, past president. (Laugh) One of the men started toward the beach and he didn’t have an upper on – He said, “The rule of the. Club is that all persons shall wear uppers – see that fellow! Why don’t you stop him?” (Laugh) Well, I stayed out of that war!
EHT: Well, you had a board of directors just like the current Club?
RQS: Oh, very similar! Well, coming up to my term as president, I served with Roy Banks and those fellows. And I remember “Dad” (Center) was always on the board, it seemed to me. And Bill Barnhart was president the year before me (1931-32) and Roy Banks the year before him and Lorrin Thurston was in there (1928-30) and they all served on the board at one time. Now we had a little snack shop down there and somebody selling candy bars and sandwiches, or what not, and I worked up a sort of a lease with the guy running it.
EHT: Where was this located?
RQS: It was right on the volleyball end of the –
EHT: Canoe shed?
RQS: No, the other building.
EHT: Oh, the locker building?
RQS: No, but where they heated their food.
EHT: Oh, the Hau Terrace?
RQS: Well, it was behind there. It extended over toward the Royal.
EHT: OK.
RQS: That’s where the heating facilities were – and then the Hau Terrace was alongside of it. Well, it didn’t pay to talk much money but it did have a working arrangement. I asked Judge (Albert) Christy who was on the board of directors at the time and he said it was all right – so we had it. But Walter Macfarlane had bigger things in mind, thank goodness, and so the Club went along.
EHT: Now, in your term you re-drew the charter of the Club, didn’t you?
RQS: Oh, yes, we were beginning to have a net worth and the charter prescribed that we could have a certain amount of net worth to be within the limits of the eleemosynary — or whatever it is. And at that time the net worth allowed by the charter had to be changed in amount so we had the charter changed to include a larger amount.
EHT: Now, that also happened, strangely enough, when I was president in 1958. (Laugh)
And I think probably Wilford Godbold handled it that time.
RQS: That was something I didn’t have cognizance of the necessity for, but someone on the Board – the treasurer – did. I think it was Tom Singleburst, probably, who first realized it had to be changed.
EHT: One thing that everybody’s always been interested in is the athletic program of the Club, say, in the 1930’s. Did you have canoe racing?
RQS: Did we have canoe racing? (Laugh) Well, that’s another job as president. Now comes the canoe racing time. I said to “Dad”, “What do we do with this canoe racing? How do we approach it? We’ve got to have a meeting and get it going.” He said, “Yes, invite John D. Kaupiko to come over here and join the thing. And one of the Kahanamokus. I’m not sure whether it was David or Sargent, or Duke — Anyway, they were there and we had a committee meeting to see how we would set up these canoe races, Of course, Hui Nalu was a competitor.
EHT: This was in 1932?
RQS: Yes. So we had that meeting and there was much talking going on about what we were going to do, by everyone, and when there seemed to be a lull, John D. Kaupiko said, “Well, this is what we’ll do,” and he named everything off just like, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And everybody said “Yes,” and that was the end of the committee meeting! (Laugh)
EHT: (Laugh) Knowing John D., that would be the way it would be! And it would probably be a very good plan!
RQS: That’s the way it is with John D.
EHT: He was a great man! Were there any volleyball meets between clubs?
RQS: Yes, and we had competition between clubs and Palama Settlement always had a team and I found out about it when they came down to the Y, and the YMCA had a team, that’s about all I remember — I was never on a competitive team, just next to it, I guess. Volleyball wasn’t as extensive as it is now by any means and, of course, the rules were easier to abide by.
EHT: Three-minute rule on throwing –
RQS: On throwing, yes — (Laugh)
EHT: When I first joined the Club (in 1943), there was always an afternoon “big game” for people coming down to the Club from work. I guess you had that in the 30’s too, didn’t you?
RQS: Yes. When I first joined the Outrigger Club, Vic Kahn was there. He had been at the Y also, and I went down and put on a suit the first night and went out to play volleyball and nobody said “come aboard” or anything. And the next night I did something similar, and Vic Kahn said, “RQ, take the winners, then you tell them who’s going to play.” That’s when I learned something about the organized law of the court – take the winners. Or second winners, or third winners, wherever you came in.
EHT: Well, that’s the way it was when I first joined.
RQS: So I learned about the Law of the Outrigger – something like the Law of the Wild, I guess.
EHT: One more thing about the lease, do you recall how much the original lease rent amounted to? How much a year?
RQS: No, I don’t remember, but it was a small amount of money–. For instance, our dues in the ‘30’s were $18 per year –in the old days in the ‘28’s to ‘30’s.
EHT: It was less than that when it started – about $5 a year –
RQS: We were billed on the first of July and got the money in, and by November we had paid off all of our bills and we were putting everything on the cuff until the next July — and that went on that way. Besides dues, we had Club Days and we tried to make a little money. We had a little Fair. One thing I did as president, I talked to a lot of members who had never been in a canoe and I’d get some of the boys who would volunteer to take them for a canoe ride. On Club Day we’d advertise, through word of mouth, or otherwise, that there would be a canoe ride – anyone could come down and get a canoe ride. Mariechen Wehselau read palms in a tent, and we’d go around to the businesses down town and get donations of things we could sell at the Fair.
EHT: Did you make any money?
RQS: Yes, we made some money. It all helped. We were running along on a very small amount and every little bit helped. I don’t know why we ran along the way we did! I never tried to raise the dues or correct it as it should have been. And the people before me were pretty “high-powered” people, like Lorrin Thurston and Joe Farrington.
EHT: Now, I think something that is very interesting that you’d know about better than any I know of, is just how was the new Club, the so-called “new Club,” the one built in 1939, financed? Didn’t you sell bonds to the “downtown” business people?
RQS: Well, oddly enough, I’m not too clear on it, but it is about this way. Of course, I must say that I was very busy in my business at that time and I realized I couldn’t do anything to help and I resigned from the board and I think I resigned from the Outrigger for a short time. Walter Macfarlane was doing that — sold bonds. Now Walter had a very good way of doing this, and I don’t know if it was to the downtown business people, or who. Some of them were Ernest Cameron’s clients. He was a CPA and a tax man. Later on he told me one time that he advised his clients to take a tax loss on the bonds which they had bought from the Outrigger Club. So they sold some bonds and got the new Club going. Some changes were made – the structure of the dues was more in line with supporting the Club and Walter got the first dining room and built that and it was a very fine set-up. And then there were many people who joined the Club. So to Walter Macfarlane – my hat’s off to him!
EHT: The reason I said downtown is because I know even after the war there was a sort of downtown financial membership on the board to watch the money – or maybe it was just during the war –
RQS: Much of that business — of course those downtown fellows — Torn Singlehurst — he was one of the great Outrigger boys, you know. He played volleyball. And Les Hicks–
EHT: I think there were some trust company members —
RQS: The board set up, during the war – when they got to making money – a finance committee and Tom Singlehurst, I think, was a man who was instrumental in that, and Les Hicks. I remember before we built the new Club out at Diamond Head, Les Hicks was going away. Tom Singlehurst was treasurer, 1 was president (1957-58) and Les said, “Well, don’t know what this stock market is going to do. We have this –and we want to build that –
EHT: Common stock?
RQS: Yes. “We’d better sell this because I’m going to be away and I won’t be able to follow it, so let’s get it all sold.” So he had it all sold. So I went down to Tom Singlehurst’s office to get it signed.
EHT: Did you put it in bonds? Or —
RQS: By that time we were going to build — I don’t remember what it all went into –
EHT: Well, it was a great day, after the war was over when we could come down to the Outrigger in the evenings after work and enjoy a game of volleyball, and everything! I remember you played volleyball a lot.
RQS: Yes, I guess that was a time when I played volleyball a lot – 1946-47. And the Club was a convenient place to have dinner!
EHT: I remember those wonderful Sunday breakfast parties you used to host at the Club!
RQS: It was a delight to go down there to the old Club and sit in the dining room along that broad front of sandy beach for any meal. People that came in here from Australia, or any place else for that matter, if you took them down there, they would be quite happy with the experience.
RQS: (Laugh) The volleyball – Bill Capp discovered a way of taking his arm and giving the ball a spin and rolling it over the net and making it very difficult to return. That was a new way of slamming as far as I could see. (Laugh) So one day they said you can’t do all that holding anymore, and that sort of took the pleasure out of volleyball! Oh, every Sunday morning, Doc (Irving) Blom and I would go down there for a game of doubles. We did that for a number of years, it seems, and Doc and I took on any two that came along and many of the young fellows, who aren’t so young any more, played volleyball with us at that time.
EHT: I know I did! I played volleyball with you at that time. You two were hard to beat! I remember playing with Duke sometimes.
RQS: The big games were always a lot of fun — I went down every Saturday afternoon and played volleyball. I thought I was doing myself a great service getting all that sun, and now the dermatologists say I was a damn fool! (Laugh) It is coming out in skin eruption–
EHT: The Club was quite active in canoe racing during the 40’s and 50’s. There were more clubs getting into it. Were you involved in that?
RQS: I was interested peripherally in seeing the increase in the interest in canoe racing. If I may go back to an older time – Tom Blake and surfboards. Now they used to have surfboard races in the late 20’s and 30’s. (Laugh) And Tom Blake came over and beat the Hawaiian boys with his hollow board (Laugh). That caused a great hue and cry to pass a rule, “this is for solid surfboards.” Lorrin Thurston told me one time that he was
the first one to get a light board — he got a balsa board. So that was a little side line there.
EHT: In the early 50s – on the financial side – that was when we saw the handwriting that we were going to have to move or accept something that would mean a change in the Club if we stayed at the old site. I understand that Wilford Godbold was involved in drawing up the lease that we got with the Elks Club.
RQS: Well, yes, but that is going a little too fast. Wilford was very much involved in that, but before this, during the war the Club made some money and they established that investment committee for a new Club building and Tom Singlehurst, I think was the ringmaster in that, and Les Hicks was always in charge of it. And they kept that, and then later on it was observed that we would need more money to build a new Club and
so we put on an assessment for the new Club purpose.
EHT: I had forgotten about that —
RQS: And, that complicated things somewhat because there bad been lifetime members who had paid in a certain fee for lifetime membership. And one of them asked what would happen if you didn’t pay this $5.00 assessment? And I said you would have lifetime privileges of this Club, but when we start the new one, then you wouldn’t have it. (Laugh) But Wilford wrote a letter correcting it – his legal talents excelled mine so I
didn’t say anymore.
EHT: As a matter of curiosity, what did they decide? Did the life members have to pay the $5.00?
RQS: No. They were life members for life. I forget who that was.
EHT: Can you outline what you recall about obtaining our present lease and the decision to move to the new site in 1964, when the lease ran out at the old site?
RQS: Well, the matter of the lease by the Queen Emma Estate was of concern to the Queen Emma directors, like E. E. Black, which was the same concern as it was to the Bishop Estate who had the Royal. Both of these people, as well as others, desired to have the Outrigger Club to remain where it was, for obvious reasons. There were beach services for the hotels, and a little bit of Hawaii for the tourists to see, so they were anxious for it
to stay, but the trustees of the Queen Emma Estate who are now the trustees of the Queen’s Hospital, as of course. Queen’s Hospital is the only beneficiary of the Estate, and so at that time they leased all of their Waikiki land to a rather large California concern, Murchison-Trousdale, and “Hod” (H.W.B.) White was, I think, handling that for the (Hawaiian) Trust Company. At any rate, the amount of the lease seemed higher
than we could support. I don’t know that we did any feasibility studies, although several were done on one thing and another.
EHT: Anyway, the beach property wasn’t split out on that lease – whoever leased the beach would have to lease the whole area, including the area across the street from the old Club, isn’t that correct?
RQS: Yes, the lease to Murchison-Trousdale that the Queen’s Hospital gave covered all the Waikiki property and a lease of the beach would have to be arranged through that company. E. E. Black told me that he had a covenant in that lease that special consideration would be given to the Outrigger Canoe Club – or something to that effect. And he wanted to know why we were. going to move. He thought he had it fixed up so that we wouldn’t. Well, it seemed that would be an impossibility. We were taking up good hotel space down there so then came the meetings. (Laugh) I remember one meeting when it finally boiled down to some kind of figures we could get on the Elks Club. At one time we could have bought the thing!
EHT: We definitely could have?
RQS: Some one of our negotiators told us they offered it at a price, and of course he didn’t say, “I’ll take it” and put down $10,000 or so and bind it. So when that came into the meeting of the Club, everybody in the Club said, “Why don’t you buy it?” Well, there were Club members who are Elks Club members at that meeting also. (Laugh) And they told the Elks Club they had a good bite over there, they’d better not sell that way. Well, at any rate, when we got it all down to where we knew somewhat about where we were going – I’m not sure that all covenants on the lease were adjusted – I know they weren’t all adjusted -but we had some idea about prices, I believe.
And, I presided at that meeting, at Wilford’s invitation. Wilford was president, I don’t know that he was president but he was on the board, and the parliamentarian was Carl Farden. And so we went along and there was quite some discussion and so on and it seemed to be that we would move. I don’t remember the details, except this detail — We must have had the motion that made the determination before, but somebody said, “I move we adjourn.” and, of course, that is a motion that couldn’t be argued, and it passed. Lorrin Thurston came to me and said, “You just killed the Outrigger Club. I wanted to make some remarks.” I said, “Why didn’t you?” Well, it turned out, I believe, that the Outrigger Club has done very well where it is. Now, the negotiators – I sat with some of the Elks Club people – didn’t get down to the finality of anything, and Wilford must have carried that on.
EHT: Yes, he did an excellent job on that lease.
RQS: When we had an offer to get out of the old Club, early, and move down there and build — We had the Diamond Head property some years before we finally did move down there. I always thought that someone would give us a good price for that unexpired lease. But it didn’t prove that way as far as I know.
EHT: We stayed to the last minute. Yes, and Roy Kelley took over the beach property from us. And I was told shortly after we left the lease rental where the Club had been was $175.000 a year. Of course he built a high-rise hotel on it – the Outrigger Hotel. But we did stay until the last minute.
RQS: At any rate, what was done is there, and people are enjoying the Outrigger Club, that’s wonderful!
EHT: Yeah, they are!
RQS: I enjoy it, and I was never more surprised than one day one of the residents of Arcadia, (Clarence) Carlander, who is from Seattle, really, but is a member of the Outrigger Canoe Club, had attended the annual meeting two or three years ago, and I came down to dinner and I heard him say to his wife, “There is the new Life member of the Outrigger Canoe Club.” I said, “Is that so? I didn’t know anything about it!” (Laugh)
EHT: (Laugh) They didn’t tell you?
RQS: They didn’t tell me then, but “Bud” (Charles) Ackerman wrote me a letter and told me that was the way it was. (Laugh)
EHT: Now, let’s see, we’re in the 50’s, and the Club didn’t move until the 60’s, 1964, and you were president in the 30’s and president again in 1958! One of the few people who have been president twice.
RQS: Oh, several have been twice presidents, but there haven’t been 25 years apart.
EHT: Of course you were on the Board before you were elected president in 1958.
RQS: Yes, one of the things the Board did was to select an architect. Jimmy Mann bad been through that down at the Pacific Club, and he had some ideas of how — and of course his ideas terminated in the same architect as the Pacific Club, Val Ossipoff.
EHT: A great selection! But you did select three architects, didn’t you? Val was the lead architect, and I can’t remember the other two —
RQS: Yes. I wasn’t in on all that work, but I do remember the original discussions, and I got off in 1959. The building was ready in ‘64. So I was off the board when the Club was actually built. Martin Anderson, I think, followed me, and “Yabo” (Herbert) Taylor was around. Sam Fuller – I don’t know whatever happened to him. Also Fred Steere came in. And they got things done. Cline Mann was our inspector, I think, on the new
Club.
EHT: He was actually chairman of the Building Committee, and he did a marvelous job! And Ward Russell was president during that time.
RQS: In case somebody ever listens to this, I want to point out that I have here an Outrigger Canoe Club “on the beach at Waikiki” dinner menu on the 60th anniversary, but there isn’t any date on the menu. It must have been in 1968 — but When in 1968?
EHT: Well, do you have anything else you want to throw in? I think we’ve covered the era from your arrival to the time you were president.
RQS: Well, I remember one time down in the old set-up, the drying room –we washed our towels and suits and hung them up on the deck to dry —
EHT: The members did that?
RQS: Well, no, we had a helper down there. I forget his name, but some of these boys had their surfboards banged up some and somebody there who would repair the boards, and this somebody took this kid’s board and put it up in the drying room so the kid conldn’t get it. And this kid came to me, I vas president that year, 1932, and I said, “Is it your board?” and he said “Yeah,” and I said, “Go up and get it,” (Laugh) and this fellow said, “He can’t have that board until he pays for it” and I said, “it’s his board” and it made me mad and I started at that guy’s throat. (Laugh) And this little Japanese fellow who was washing, just put his arm in between me and this other fellow — he knew that in a second I’d get out of that mood, (Laugh) I should credit
him for saving my life. (Laugh)
EHT: The guy was carrying on a business at the Outrigger.
RQS: Yes, they were all doing that. Tom Blake was a fellow who was living down there. He’d use a hot plate to cook with, and he saw one of the sons of one of the secretaries and Tom Blake saw him one day and he said, “What are you doing?” and he said, “Driving a truck,” and Tom Blake said, “Sucker — working!” (Laugh)
EHT: Do you have many memories of Duke at the old Club?
RQS: I used to play volleyball with him, and to me his presence at the Club is perpetual: A fine fellow, always helpful and always knew what was going on.
EHT: Did you know that Duke really liked the Club’s new site at Diamond Head? He said so many times to me.
RQS: No, I didn’t know that, but I’m glad to hear it.
EHT: Well, RQ, I think we’ve got it wrapped up. The committee will give you the proof and you get a chance to approve it, and then they’ll get a written approval from you and we’ll put it in the archives. Thanks a lot.
Accomplishments
Chairman of state HQ advisory committee for selective service for scientific, engineering and special personnel, 1955-69.
Executive committee for Arcadia
Member Workmen’s Compensation Board of Territorial Commission for Labor and Industrial Relations, 1936-42.
Executive staff of industrial procurement division of the state Emergency Resources Management Agency
Director of Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii
Past president of Rotary Club
Past Master Hawaiian Lodge No. 21, F & AM, York Rite
Intendant General Red Cross of Constantine
Scottish Rite 32° Aloha Temple Shrine, Royal Order of Jesters
Past president Honolulu Chapter No. 11 National Sojourners
Past commander Heroes of ’76
Former national committee, State of Hawaii, for Freedoms Foundation Valley Forge
Past president and life member of Engineering Association of Hawaii
Past chairman and past secretary, Hawaii section of American Chemical Society
Member Hawaiian Academy of Science
Member Military Order of World War
Peat treasurer Retired Officers Association
Former member Reserve Officers Association
Life member Veterans of Foreign Wars
Past president Republican precinct Club
Former member Territorial Army Advisory Committee
Honorary member 4–H Club and Future Farmers of America (with degree of Hawaii Planter
Member of Pacific Club
Member of Central Union Church, past trustee and chairman of buildings and grounds