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. A full transcript of the video may be found below.
An Interview by Barbara Del Piano
July 7, 2017
Barbara Del Piano: This is Friday the 7th of July 2017. I’m Barbara Del Piano, a member of the Outrigger Canoe Club’s Historical Committee. One of our projects is to take oral histories of long time members who have made valuable contributions to our Club. We’re here in the Board Room, and today it is my pleasure to interview James H. Pflueger. Good morning, Jimmy.
James H. Pflueger: Good morning, Barbara.
Barbara Del Piano: Thank you for being with us today. Before we get into your stories about the Club, I’d like to get some background. Where were you born?
James H. Pflueger: Here. Honolulu.
Barbara Del Piano: When did your family come to Hawaii?
James H. Pflueger: They were born and raised here.
Barbara Del Piano: When did your ancestors first come?
James H. Pflueger: Both grandfathers came from … One came from Germany and Lucas came from Australia. They married local girls.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. Your other grandfather was Lucas.
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: The Lucas’s of Niu Valley?
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: Oh. That’s interesting.
James H. Pflueger: Charles Lucas.
Barbara Del Piano: Charles?
James H. Pflueger: Charles Lucas.
Barbara Del Piano: How are you related to Laurel Lucas?
James H. Pflueger: Her father was Charles Jr., and Laurel was his daughter. Charles was my mother’s brother, and she had a sister named Harriet.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. You are related to Nainoa Thompson?
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: That’s exciting. What neighborhood did you grow up in? Was it Niu?
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. Where did you go to school?
James H. Pflueger: I went to Punahou.
Barbara Del Piano: Why and when did you join the Outrigger?
James H. Pflueger: I think it was in the 40s, the early 40s.
Barbara Del Piano: Why did you join? Any particular reason?
James H. Pflueger: I love the water.
Barbara Del Piano: Ah. Did you have any siblings?
James H. Pflueger: I had a sister.
Barbara Del Piano: Just one sister?
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: Did she belong to the Club?
James H. Pflueger: No.
Barbara Del Piano: No. I know, of course, that you participated in water sports. Can you tell me about that?
James H. Pflueger: What can I say about water sports other than we had surfing and canoeing? One of the lucky things was Duke Kahanamoku had a great influence on me. I was very fortunate to paddle on one of his teams.
Barbara Del Piano: You were one of Duke’s boys?
James H. Pflueger: Not originally. His original crew was Tommy O’Brien, Bob Bush-
Barbara Del Piano: Carlos Rivas?
James H. Pflueger: Carlos Rivas was not an original.
Barbara Del Piano: Oh. Jim Fernie?
James H. Pflueger: Jim Fernie was number five. Tommy Arnott was number four. Duke was six. I don’t know who the third paddler was.
Barbara Del Piano: Thad Ekstrand?
James H. Pflueger: Thad was five. No, Thad could have been two or three, but they were much older than I was. I was the little kid on the block.
Barbara Del Piano: You were kind of lucky to get chosen, huh?
James H. Pflueger: Duke chose his team by putting one fellow in the front seat and the other fellow in the back seat in the opposite direction. He stood in the middle and whoever out pulled the other got their seat.
Barbara Del Piano: Amazing. How did you like him as a coach?
James H. Pflueger: I think Duke had the greatest influence on my life.
Barbara Del Piano: Really?
James H. Pflueger: He would speak to you in a very soft tone. In the boat, he never yelled at you. He never swore. He just talked to you. When he wanted the kids to paddle a little harder, he would say, “Come on, kids. Give me ten.” It would send goosebumps, goosebumps through everybody. He was a great, great leader. Great leader.
Barbara Del Piano: That’s wonderful. How long did you paddle with him?
James H. Pflueger: I’d say I think we paddled for 12 years, and then I went to work. I had a full time job. I’m not sure, I’m really not sure, but it was a great part of my life.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. Did you get to know him well personally?
James H. Pflueger: Yes. At the time, the Outrigger used to let the crew eat dinner on Friday night. After the dinner, we used to go to the Waikiki Theater to the movie. I went with Duke every Friday night.
Barbara Del Piano: Really?
James H. Pflueger: Yeah.
Barbara Del Piano: First view?
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: Then did you go to Kau Kau Corner afterward?
James H. Pflueger: I never did Kau Kau Corner.
Barbara Del Piano: Oh really?
James H. Pflueger: I went home.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. You didn’t play volleyball?
James H. Pflueger: No I did not.
Barbara Del Piano: How about surfing?
James H. Pflueger: I liked surfing.
Barbara Del Piano: Do you still surf?
James H. Pflueger: I’m too old to.
Barbara Del Piano: How did you feel about the Club moving from Waikiki to Diamond Head?
James H. Pflueger: I’ll tell you how I felt. I do not have a locker here. I’m still a member, but I spend very little time here.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. Because you’re not happy with this location?
James H. Pflueger: No. I’m happy with it. It’s just I think the Outrigger now is a more of a social club and I enjoyed the aquatics with Duke. His men were a good influence on me because they were all older. Tommy Arnott and Tommy O’Brien, they were very, very good for me and I respected them.
Barbara Del Piano: Great. That’s wonderful. Do you have any children?
James H. Pflueger: I do. I have a daughter in England, Sandy, and a daughter Tracy here and Alan, my youngest son.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. Do they belong to the Club?
James H. Pflueger: I think Tracy and Alan do, but Sandy’s in England.
Barbara Del Piano: Yeah. I see. What was your profession?
James H. Pflueger: I was a car salesman.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. You don’t spend very much time here at the Club anymore?
James H. Pflueger: No I do not.
Barbara Del Piano: What has the Club meant to you throughout your-
James H. Pflueger: I think when I first joined, it was … When you’re young, you’re wild as a March hare, and I think it was a good place to get grounded. When we were first learning how to surf, you had to get permission from the beach boys to go out to Canoe Surf. You had to prove to them that you could catch a wave and control your board. Our training ground was in front of The Royal. Now they’re talking about the ground that was there when we were there. You had to catch a wave there and be able to steer the board and control the board before they would allow you to go out to a bigger surf. Now anybody can go anywhere.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. What do you think the future has in store for the Club when the lease expires?
James H. Pflueger: I have no idea. I have given it no thought.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. Do you have any more stories about Duke?
James H. Pflueger: All I can say is that he was a great leader for all of us. The boys that paddled under him all feel the same way.
Barbara Del Piano: Yes. I understand that a lot of them went out on his birthday and threw flowers in the water until they were way up in their 80s I think.
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: Did you ever do that?
James H. Pflueger: I did.
Barbara Del Piano: You did?
James H. Pflueger: The person that took over was Tommy Arnott. He had a great influence on the younger people.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. You are one of the very few that’s left of Duke’s boys, right? You and Warren Ackerman?
James H. Pflueger: Warren Ackerman.
Barbara Del Piano: And all the rest are gone?
James H. Pflueger: That’s the way it is.
Barbara Del Piano: That’s the way it is. That’s life. When you were in high school, you came down, what, every day?
James H. Pflueger: No. In high school, we had our own sports. We never got a chance to surf except in summertime because if you played football, you had a game on Saturday. If you swam, you had a swimming meet Friday night or Saturday night. Track was running on Saturday. There was very little time for Outrigger.
Barbara Del Piano: Did you play football?
James H. Pflueger: I did.
Barbara Del Piano: Oh. Were you on the swimming team?
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: Ah. What else?
James H. Pflueger: I ran track.
Barbara Del Piano: And you ran track?
James H. Pflueger: Yeah.
Barbara Del Piano: Wow. Yeah. That’s fascinating. When Duke retired, Turkey Love took over?
James H. Pflueger: Yes. Turkey was our steersman.
Barbara Del Piano: How was he?
James H. Pflueger: He was a good steersman, but Duke was our leader.
Barbara Del Piano: Big difference.
James H. Pflueger: Big difference.
Barbara Del Piano: I see. What about employees at the Club? Did you have any favorites or can you remember any of the old-
James H. Pflueger: Maxie.
Barbara Del Piano: Maxie. Oh yes.
James H. Pflueger: Yep. Maxie, and then Eva (Pomroy) in the front.
Barbara Del Piano: Oh yes.
James H. Pflueger: Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: How about Richard?
James H. Pflueger: Richard in the-
Barbara Del Piano: Snack bar.
James H. Pflueger: The snack bar. Yes.
Barbara Del Piano: Yep. Who was the manager then?
James H. Pflueger: I think … I can see his face.
Barbara Del Piano: Was it Henry D’Gorog?
James H. Pflueger: No. It was … Give me some names.
Barbara Del Piano: Henry’s the only one I can think of because I remember him.
James H. Pflueger: I don’t remember him.
Barbara Del Piano: That’s okay. Are there any other stories or memories you have about the old Club?
James H. Pflueger: The old Club was a good memory every day. It was a great Club.
Barbara Del Piano: You kind of knew everybody, right?
James H. Pflueger: We were a small group of people and paddling was a big influence on all of us. It was all fun.
Barbara Del Piano: Absolutely.
James H. Pflueger: Yeah. It was a good experience. I’m lucky to have been here.
Barbara Del Piano: Great. I guess that’s all, so we’ll bring this interview to a close. Thank you so much for being here with us today. I’m sure your memories will make a very interesting addition to our club’s archives. Thank you, Jimmy.
James H. Pflueger: Okay, Barbara. Happy day.