Prominent People | Page 82 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

December 11, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Ni‘ihau – 1863

Ni‘ihau was formed from a single shield volcano approximately 4.89-million years ago, making it slightly younger in age than Kaua‘i. It is approximately 70-square miles or 44,800-acres. It’s about 17-miles west of Kauaʻi.

The island’s highest point is 1,281-feet; approximately 78% of the island is below 500-feet in elevation. Located inside Kauai’s rain shadow, Ni‘ihau receives only about 20 to 40-inches of rain per year. Ni‘ihau has no perennial streams. (DLNR)

“There was no appearance of any running stream; and though they found some small wells, in which the fresh water was tolerably good, it seemed scarce. The habitations of the natives were thinly scattered about; and, it was supposed, that there could not be more than five hundred people upon the island, as the greatest part were seen at the marketing-place of our party, and few found about the houses by those who walked up the country.” (Cook’s Journal)

With limited rainfall and no perennial streams, for people to survive on the island, they likely farmed ʻuala (sweet potato) and/or uhi (yams.) The evidence indicates Niʻihau produced excellent ʻuala and/or uhi.

“The eastern coast is high, and rises abruptly from the sea, but the rest of the island consists of low ground; excepting a round bluff head on the southeast point. It produces abundance of yams, and of the sweet root called Tee … they brought us several large roots of a brown colour, shaped like a yam, and from six to ten pounds in weight.”

“The juice, which it yields in great abundance, is very sweet, and of a pleasant taste, and was found to be an excellent substitute for sugar. The natives are very fond of it, and use it as an article of their common diet … We could not learn to what species of plant it belonged, having never been able to procure the leaves ….” (Cook’s Journal)

For many years Niʻihau was called Yam Island by Western sailors because of the high quality of yams grown there. A map of Yam Bay and the island of Niʻihau appeared in Captain George Dixon’s journal in 1788. (Joesting)

So, while the island has limited rainfall, it was sufficient to grow food and sustain a population of around 500 (according to Cook.) Niʻihau had a population of 790 people in 1853. The census of 1860 reported a Niʻihau population of 647.

In the Māhele (1848,) Victoria Kamāmalu (sister of Kamehameha IV and V) claimed Niʻihau, however returned it and the land was retained by the government. A couple Land Commission Awards were made to Koakanu, as well as a sale to Papapa.

Following the Māhele, the Kuleana Act of 1850 encouraged makaʻāinana to file claims with the Land Commission for land they were cultivating, plus an additional quarter acre for a house lot. Islands-wide a total of 14,195 claims were filed and about 8,421 awards were approved; there were no Kuleana awards granted on Niʻihau. (Van Dyke)

A couple things happened in 1863 that changed things on the island.

Through a letter dated September 22, 1863, Niʻihau residents petitioned Prince Lot (later Kamehameha V) “for a new lease of the land.” The petition was signed by 105 of the residents of Niʻihau.

They selected one resident to represent them to negotiate the terms. (Jonah Roll found this letter in his late father’s (Warren Roll) files. It is not clear how Warren got it, or if it ever presented to the Prince.)

The letter also notes, “… the people from here on Niihau are leaving their long established residence on the land to be with the foreigners, or to be on Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. At tax time, they do not pay their taxes. Some just make a small payment.”

At about this same time, the Sinclair clan sailed from New Zealand, with the idea of possibly relocating to Hawaiʻi. The family was anxious to find land on which to settle and they were offered several large tracts on Oʻahu (at Kahuku, Ford Island and ʻEwa.)

When King Kamehameha IV heard the family might leave the Islands, the King offered to sell them the island of Niʻihau. (Joesting) (Later, the family includes the Sinclairs, Gays, Robinsons and Knudsens.)

A final purchase price of $10,000 was agreed upon, but Kamehameha IV died on November 30, so Royal Patent No. 2944 shows his brother, Kamehameha V, completed the transaction on January 23, 1864, giving fee simple title to James McHutchinson Sinclair and Francis Sinclair for all the government lands on Ni‘ihau.

These “government lands” did not include two large parcels of land set off for Koakanu during the Great Māhele in 1848 and a tract of land containing 50 acres previously sold to Papapa. (Niʻihau Cultural Heritage Foundation)

Papapa apparently agreed to sell his acreage to the Sinclairs without incident, but it seems Koakanu refused to allow anyone to cross any portion of his land and even forbade boats to come in closer than one-half mile off the shoreline of his property.

The story goes that it was his wife who finally convinced him to accept an offer of $1,000 (or $800 according to other records) for his lands. (Niʻihau Cultural Heritage Foundation)

“The whole island is now owned by a Presbyterian family of Scotch origin, who received me very kindly, & who will assist our work there very materially & very heartily. The native population now remaining there is about 250 in number.” (Gulick to Anderson ABCFM (1865,) Joesting)

As he signed the contract, the king said: ‘”Niihau is yours. But the day may come when Hawaiians are not as strong in Hawaii as they are now. When that day comes, please do what you can to help them.’” (New York Times)

“It is said that the transfer of the island involved some hardships, owing to a number of the natives having neglected to legalize their claims to their kuleanas, but the present possessors have made themselves thoroughly acquainted with the language, and take the warmest interest in the island population.” (Isabella Bird, 1894)

The Sinclairs “bought sheep and cattle from the big ranches on Hawaii, and took them, with some fine sheep (they) brought with (them) from New Zealand, (began a) new ranch on Niihau.” (Von Holt) They hired the Hawaiians to help with the ranch and the island.

“The natives on Niihau and in this part of Kauai, call Mrs. (Sinclair) “Mama.” Their rent seems to consist in giving one or more days’ service in a month, so it is a revival of the old feudality. … It is a busy life, owing to the large number of natives daily employed, and the necessity of looking after the native lunas, or overseers.” (Isabella Bird, 1894)

Today, Niʻihau has about 130-people who live at Pu‘uwai village, on the western (leeward) side of the island. Niʻihau is nicknamed the “Forbidden Island,” because the Robinsons (present owners and descendents of the original Sinclairs) strictly limit access to the island.

The island lacks basic municipal infrastructure. There are no paved roads (walking, horseback or bicycle are the only transportation options on Ni‘ihau.) No water and wastewater systems. No stores. No restaurants. No doctors. No police. No fire department.

But it has a school – the only school in Hawai‘i that relies entirely on solar power for its electricity (a 10.4-kW photovoltaic power system with battery storage was installed in December 2007.) This enabled reliable refrigeration and use of technological hardware (yes, they have computers – however, no internet or email system is available to Niʻihau School, as of yet.) School enrollment fluctuates between 25-50 students.

December 9, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Honolulu’s First Mayor

The Organic Act (enacted April 30, 1900) established the territorial status of the Islands; with it, the legislature was authorized to create towns, cities and counties within the Territory.

In 1905, the Territorial Legislature passed “The County Act” (Act 39) which formed the basis of modern local government in Hawaiʻi. It established five counties: Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, Hawai‘i and Kalawao.

Hawai‘i’s 5th County (encompassing the Kalaupapa Peninsula and surrounding land) remains under the jurisdiction of the state’s Health Department; the other four counties were governed by elected Boards of Supervisors.

Contrary to the suggestion in the name of the enabling “County Act,” State government retained many traditional county government functions and over the next many decades took on even more, making Hawai‘i the most centralized state government.

The state continued to administer the court system, public health, welfare, correctional and school systems in addition to all harbors, airports and major highways.

The County of Oʻahu began operating on July 1, 1905, and two years later was renamed the City and County of Honolulu; it was governed by a Board of Supervisors. Later, a mayor was added to the Board of Supervisors.

Honolulu’s first campaign for Mayor had two principal candidates: John Carey Lane, Republican; and James Joseph Fern, Democrat.

On January 4, 1909, in the McIntyre building at Fort and King Streets, the City and County of Honolulu inaugurated its new municipal government and its first Mayor, Joseph “Joe” James Fern (who had won the election by just seven votes (Lane did not want a recount.))

Joseph Fern was born in Kohala on the Big Island in 1872, to James and Kaipo Fern, a Hawaiian family of modest means.

His schooling was rudimentary, and he was commonly referred to as being self-taught. At the age of twelve he went to work for the Union Mill Plantation of Kohala, driving a bullock cart loaded with fire wood from the forests on the upper slopes down to the mill.

He left the Big Island in 1892 and headed to Honolulu. In the city, his first job was as a mule-car driver for the Hawaiian Tramways. He eventually worked as shipping master for the Inter Island Steamship Company.

Fern was thrice-married, his first bride, Julia Natua, presenting him with two children, Julia and James, before her death, and his second wife, Sheba Alapai, giving birth to twelve, Joseph Jr., Mary K., Nancy, George, Kaipo, Elizabeth, Marion, Mary, Keo, Santa Clara, Henry and Esta. Sheba died in April 1910. His third wife, Emma Silva, married Fern in August 1910 in Honolulu, when he was already mayor of the city, they had one child, Victoria. (Johnson)

In 1907, Joe Fern was elected to the Board of Supervisors of the County of Oʻahu as a Democrat, one of a minority of three on the seven-man board.

Warm-hearted, welcoming, with a sense of humor, Fern brought his personal style to City Hall. He built a city government and proposed acquiring land for parks and playgrounds. A devout Catholic twice widowed, he lived modestly on Alapa‘i Lane and reared fourteen children. (Chapin)

In 1915, he lost a reelection bid against John Lane. That year, for the first time, Honolulu’s budget passed the million-dollar mark, the increase reflecting a general growth in property valuations in the city.

After leaving office, Fern was appointed City Jailer. When Lane tried to run for reelection, Fern challenged his successor again and won by 300 votes; he retook the Mayor’s office on July 2, 1917.

Fern died February 20, 1920 from complications with diabetes, while still in office.

Evidence of his popularity among the people he served, Fern was granted a state funeral and was laid in the throne room of ʻIolani Palace. During the burial rites at the Catholic Cemetery, the United States Army Air Corps presented a fly-over ceremony in a V-formation. Fern Elementary School and Playground are named in his honor.

The newspaper, often vehemently opposed to Fern, wrote the following: “Mr. Fern stood in the relation of a father to his people. He was one of the old school of Hawaiians, open handed, sympathetic and always ready to help his people. Daily there was a stream of Hawaiian poor crowding his waiting room and corning to him for assistance in family rows, for legal advice or a loan or to straighten out trouble with their children.”

“While the supervisors at times fought him tooth and nail and criticized him in no uncertain terms in open meeting, he nevertheless had the respect of all of them. He is sincerely mourned by the board, by all the city employees and the people of the city generally.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 21, 1920)

December 7, 2021 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

1st Big Ships into Pearl Harbor

Over the years, the face of Pearl Harbor has changed dramatically. When the first Westerner, British seafarer Captain James Cook, came to the islands in 1778, a coral reef barred the entrance of the place known as Wai Momi, making it unsuitable as a port for deep-draft shipping. At that time, nearby Honolulu Harbor was an infinitely more hospitable destination.

It wasn’t until 1826 that the US Navy had its first contact with the Hawaiian Islands, when the schooner USS Dolphin sailed into port. After that, it took more than 13 years for the Navy to begin to recognize the potential of Pearl Harbor.

During a routine survey of the area in 1840, an enterprising naval officer determined that the deep inner harbor could be accessed by completely removing the obstructing reef.

Despite gaining exclusive rights to Pearl Harbor in 1887, the US did not make any attempt to take advantage of their claim on this strategic estuary until well after the turn of the century.

It wasn’t until the capture of Manila during the Spanish-American War, when the US needed to establish a permanent way station in the Pacific to maintain control of the Philippines.

Then, for the first time, the American government began to understand the strategic importance of O‘ahu. Annexation soon followed, but even then, little was done to fortify the area or capitalize on the vast potential of Pearl Harbor.

Finally, beginning in 1902, the entry channel was dredged, deepened, and widened to clear an opening at the entrance of the Harbor. Congress did not officially create a naval base at Pearl Harbor until 1908. (NPS)

“Cutting the channel through the reef that has for so many years closed Pearl Harbor to navigation, is a task so quietly and withal so speedily done, that half the people of Honolulu have come to think of the great work in that section of the island as a part of the day’s routine.”

“What effect this new harbor will have on the future events of the world no one can exactly forecast. But we do know that this harbor will be a pivotal point about which great incidents of the world’s history will revolve.”

“Pearl Harbor will be the assembling place for great fleets of warships. Let us hope that never during the present century will these fleets be called upon to go forth to battle, but whether they do or not, may they at all times be the barrier of protection for an ever-increasing American influence and an ever-expanding American commerce carried in American merchant ships.” (Evening Bulletin, December 14, 1911)

“Upon the completion of the dredging operations of Pearl Harbor bar, December 14, 1911, an official entry into the lochs was made by Rear Admiral Thomas in the flagship California, Captain Harlow, and the occasion of joyful recognition of the important event, the end of a great work.” (Thrum, 1912)

On board the California on December 14, 1911 was the first and last President of the Republic of Hawaii Sanford Dole, and Queen Lili‘uokalani the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. (Neuman)

“The Queen is delighted over the prospect of a trip on the flagship and is looking forward with deep interest to seeing the waterway really open to the navigation of big ships of war, for it was during the reign of her brother, King Kalākaua, that the cession of Pearl Harbor to the United States was made by treaty.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 13, 1911; Van Dyke)

“Queen Lili‘uokalani, accompanied by, Colonel ʻIaukea, Mrs ʻIaukea and Mr and Mrs ED Tenney, arrived shortly after 9 o’clock. Her Majesty looked well and seemed to take an eager interest in the proceedings. She was met at the head of the gangway by Admiral Thomas, who graciously took the aged hand and assisted her on to the deck of the warship.”

“The queen was led to a seat, and then the officers of the man-of-war and the guests were presented to her. The queen chatted of the trip about to be taken and contrasted it with some she had made to Pearl Harbor many years ago.” (Hawaiian Star, December 14, 1911)

Also along for the ride was Sun Fo, eldest son of Sun Yat-Sen – who eventually lead the revolution in China which ended two-thousand years of imperial rule. Sun Yat-Sen would be elected the first President of the Republic of China two weeks later on December 29. (Neuman)

The USS California transited the channel entrance to Pearl Harbor and effectively opened the historic port to the world. The ship that took center stage on that morning should not be confused with the battleship California, or BB-44, which found herself on Battleship Row in 1941.

This California was an armored-cruiser weighing in at about 14,000 tons and laden with eight, six and three-inch guns. Her entrance into Pearl Harbor was historic because she was the first large warship to enter the harbor following extensive dredging of the channel. (Neuman)

From the early days of the 20th century, it was clear that Japan was taking her place as a world power. This shift led the US to move a significant portion of her naval forces to the Pacific. Pearl Harbor was a focal point of the transition, becoming the home port for much of the Pacific Fleet.

And so the pieces of this historic puzzle came together. In a matter of time, the very action taken to protect America from this potential threat would be the thing that made her vulnerable to it.

Throughout its history, Pearl Harbor has been revered as a place of great value. In the beginning, it physically yielded sustenance for the Hawaiian people. Later, it empowered America to conquer her enemies. (NPS)

Japan’s method of declaring war on the US was a four-wave air attack on installations in Hawaiʻi on the morning of December 7, 1941. It was executed in what amounted to five phases.

Phase I: Combined torpedo and dive bomber attack lasting from 7:55 am to 8:25 am; Phase II: Lull in attacks lasting from 8:25 am to 8:40 am; Phase III: Horizontal bomber attacks between 8:45 am to 9:15 am; Phase IV: Dive bomber attacks between 9:15 am and 9:45 am and Phase V: General attack. Raid completed at 9:45. (Maj Gen Green)

USS-California-Pearl Harbor-Dec 14, 1911

Queen Liliuokalani seated in the front row-ceremony of 1st major ship to enter Pearl Harbor-1911

Pearl Harbor-PP-66-4-003-00001

Pearl Harbor Dredging-PP-66-4-015-00001

Pearl Harbor-Luke Field-Ford Island-PP-66-5-016-00001-1924

California at anchor Pearl Harbor-Dec 14, 1911

Pearl Harbor-PP-66-5-005-00001-1920s

Pearl Harbor-PP-66-4-004-00001-1911

USS California – Pearl Harbor-Dec 14, 1911

USS California being escorted into Pearl Harbor-Dec 15, 1911

December 2, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Dunn’s Baby

Jack Dunn bought and managed the Baltimore Orioles of the International League.

He had a reputation for finding and developing young talent, selling a number of players to Major League clubs, which helped continue to fund the Orioles’ growth.

In 1914, Dunn came across a teenage pitcher at a local Baltimore high school. The kid’s name was George Herman Ruth. (Joe Swide)

George Herman Ruth was born to George Ruth and Catherine Schamberger on February 6, 1895, in his mother’s parents’ house at 216 Emory Street, in Baltimore, Maryland.

With his father working long hours in his saloon and his mother often in poor health, Little George (as he was known) spent his days unsupervised on the waterfront streets and docks, committing petty theft and vandalism.

Hanging out in his father’s bar, he stole money from the till, drained the last drops from old beer glasses, and developed a taste for chewing tobacco. He was only six years old.

Shortly after his seventh birthday, the Ruths petitioned the Baltimore courts to declare Little George “incorrigible” and sent him to live at St. Mary’s Industrial School, on the outskirts of the city.

The boy’s initial stay at St. Mary’s lasted only four weeks before his parents brought him home for the first of several attempted reconciliations; his long-term residence at St. Mary’s actually began in 1904. But it was during that first stay that George met Brother Matthias.

“He taught me to read and write and he taught me the difference between right and wrong,” Ruth said of the Canadian-born priest. “He was the father I needed and the greatest man I’ve ever known.”

Brother Matthias also spent many afternoons tossing a worn-out baseball in the air and swatting it out to the boys. Little George watched, bug-eyed.

“I had never seen anything like that in my life,” he recalled. “I think I was born as a hitter the first day I ever saw him hit a baseball.” The impressionable youngster imitated Matthias’s hitting style – gripping the bat tightly down at the knobbed end, taking a big swing at the ball – as well as his way of running with quick, tiny steps.

“Sometimes I pitched. Sometimes I caught, and frequently I played the outfield and infield. It was all the same to me. All I wanted was to play. I didn’t care much where.”

In one St. Mary’s game in 1913, Ruth, then 18 years old, caught, played third base (even though he threw left-handed), and pitched, striking out six men, and collecting a double, a triple, and a home run.

That summer, he was allowed to pitch with local amateur and semipro teams on weekends. Impressed with his performances, Jack Dunn signed Ruth to his minor-league Baltimore Orioles club the following February. (Society of American Baseball Research)

Because of Ruth’s rough background, in order for him to leave the high school and sign with the Orioles, Dunn had to become his legal guardian.

When the team took their new teenaged pitcher to spring training in North Carolina, Ruth became known as “Dunn’s baby,” which was eventually shortened to just “Babe,” and so was christened the legendary Babe Ruth. (His other nicknames included, Bambino, the Home Run King and The Sultan of Swat.)

The Babe’s Orioles tenure was brief, however, as mounting crosstown competition from the Baltimore Terrapins of the upstart Federal League put the Orioles in dire financial straits, forcing Dunn to sell his prized star to the Boston Red Sox midway through the season and ultimately move the team to Richmond, Virginia. (Joe Swide)

Ruth played for the Boston Red Sox (1914-1919), the New York Yankees (1920-1934) (Yankee Stadium opened on April 18, 1923. Ruth hit the first home run there, earning it the name “The House that Ruth Built.”) and briefly the Boston Braves (1935).

Babe Ruth retired in 1935 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. He was one of the first five players to be inducted. The Yankees retired his famous number 3.

Babe Ruth visiting the islands in October 1933 for a vacation and exhibition games in Honolulu and Hilo. “Babe Ruth, the foremost champion at baseball, and the greatest batter, constantly making homeruns in a majority of the games he is in, will play in an exhibition on this coming Sunday, October 22 at the ball field of Kamoiliili”.

“The people who are into baseball are talking about this game to be played by this baseball champ in Honolulu nei. The price [kaki] for entrance to see the game has not been announced, but it is certain that the fee will be a blow [kanono], because the expense to bring this man here to Honolulu is great, and we hear that his family will be coming to Honolulu as well.” (Alakai o Hawaii, 10/19/1933, p. 4)

“The Bambino played outfield and first base, took a turn In the pitcher’s box, knocked a home run and even struck out. Ruth’s team, an aggregation of local stars, won the exhibition by a score of 5 to 2.” (The Evening Star (DC) October 23, 1933)

He apparently, enjoyed his stay … “Babe Ruth, who came to Hawaii a fort night ago for a vacation, departed today for New York, seeking a rest.”

“His legs and arms were sunburned from a fishing trip on which his catch was about of a size to fill his coat pocket. As he boarded the Lurline for San Francisco with his wife and daughter Julia, the Bambino said:”

“‘I am going straight to New York to rest. I’ll get there two weeks from to day. I am going to sleep a week.” (The Sunday Star (DC), November 5, 1933)

December 1, 2021 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kalama Beach Club

Kailua Ahupua‘a is the largest valley on the windward side of O‘ahu, and the largest ahupua‘a of the Koʻolaupoko District. From the Koʻolau ridge line it extends down two descending ridge lines which provide the natural boundaries for the sides of the ahupua‘a.

When the first Polynesians landed and settled in Hawaiʻi (about 900 to 1000 AD (Kirch) they brought with them shoots, roots, cuttings and seeds of various plants for food, cordage, medicine, fabric, containers, all of life’s vital needs.

“Canoe crops” (Canoe Plants) is a term to describe the group of plants brought to Hawaiʻi by these early Polynesians. One of these was ‘niu,’ the coconut; they used it for food, cordage, etc.

Later, others saw commercial opportunities from coconuts.

In 1906, Albert and Fred Waterhouse were walking over sand dunes along the approximately one-mile wide by two-and-a-half-mile long area between Kawainui Marsh and the ocean, when they envisioned the idea of planting coconut trees there.

“During the week papers will be filed with the Treasurer for the incorporation of the Hawaiian Copra Co, having lands under (a 29-year) lease from Mr Castle. …”

“(The land) is … two-hundred and fifty acres adapted to the cultivation of cocoanut trees, of which it has twenty thousand, half of which are nearly three feet high and the balance recently planted.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 12, 1907)

“The copra is compressed and the extracted oil used in the manufacture of soaps, and as oils in the manufacture of high-grade paints. Another use to which it is put is the manufacture of shredded cocoanut, which is utilized by confectioners and bakers. The fiber is made into hawsers (ropes) for towing purposes.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 12, 1907)

They “leveled the sand dunes and smoothed out the sand hillocks,” and planted approximately 320-acres with over 130,000-coconut trees.

Many rows of ironwood trees were also planted as a windbreak and a fence had to be built to keep cattle out. (Drigot)

Things looked up.

“George A Moore & Co, commission merchants, of San Francisco, see no reason why Hawaiian copra should not compete more than favorably with other South Sea copra in the mainland market.… (He noted,) We beg to call to your attention the large consumption in this market of dried cocoanut, commercially known as copra, which reaches as high as fifteen thousand tons per annum.”

“Cocoanut plantations in the Pacific Islands for the production of copra have now become quite an extensive and profitable venture, and we have no doubt it would prove so to your planters. ” (Peters; Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 17, 1908)

It didn’t last. … In 1916, the copra/coconut oil enterprise failed.

The Waterhouses sold their “Coconut Grove” to AH Rice, who planned a residential subdivision in the area. In 1924, Earl H Williams, of Liberty Investment Co, acquired 200-acres from Rice and began the subdivision process (the Coconut Grove Tract.) (Drigot)

In 1925, Harold Kainalu Long Castle opened the first housing tract in Kailua. He named it Kalama in honor of Queen Kalama, wife of Kamehameha III, who had previously owned the land division of Kailua.

The Kalama tract encompasses the area from the Kaneohe side of Ainoni Street to Kaneohe side of Makawao Street, and from the mauka (mountain) side of North Kalaheo to the mauka side of North Kainalu.

The tract was made up of 184 lots, which originally sold for between $1500 and $2500. The beach fronting the clubhouse has been known since as Kalama Beach.

Castle set aside a large oceanfront parcel for the use of the tract residents as a private beach park. In 1928, a clubhouse and pavilion were built on the property, and it was named the Kalama Beach Club.

The developer, Harold K.L. Castle (1886—1967) and Armstrong, Ltd., donated the Beach Club property and provided the funding for the design and construction of the Club House. The Club was meant to provide access to the beach for lot owners and as a place to gather.

The property owners were eligible to become members of the Kalama Beach Club once the Club House was completed in 1928. The original lots were 20,000 square feet and each property owner received a certificate for a one-share interest in the Kalama Community Trust.

Most lots have been subdivided so that there are now approximately 346 parcels with owners that are potential members of the Club. (Kalama Beach Club)