The Waikiki Surf Club was founded in 1948, and for the next 10 or so years it was the best-run, most talent-laden group of surfers in the world. Downing, Froiseth, Hoffman, Kekai, Whaley . . . the roster went on and on, and WSC often waltzed off with the lion's share of trophies, whether it an inter-island canoe race, an inter-club paddleboard competition, or the Makaha International Surfing Championships. Which, themselves, were a WSC creation.

The WSC clubhouse was right on the beach, and directly below the loud and boozy Waikiki Tavern. The whole WSC vibe, unlike the older and stodgier (and much better-funded) Outrigger Canoe Club up the beach, was loose and laid-back. But WSC founder John Lind ran a tight ship nonetheless, and part of that meant getting out a semi-regular newsletter to all club members. It was called "The Surfer," and it was usually two or three typed pages, and while there is a lot to sink your teeth into here, it all pretty much boils down to YOUR DUES ARE LATE! PAY UP!


Summer is over, it has been a very busy one for the club, with Canoe Races and our Annual Luau.

Our annual Luau was a great success. Thanks to all of the people who worked so hard. Sue, the entertainment was terrific. I know everyone who attended really enjoyed it.

As of October 1, individuals will pay direct to the Waikiki Tavern for surfboard and clothes lockers.

We no longer pay rent or utilities due to a new arrangement your Directors have made with the Tavern. Our club members will be given first preference in the renting of surfboard and clothes lockers. There will be a special section set aside on the "old Hale AuAu" side for men and women's clothes lockers. Price will remain $1.50 per month and believe it or not . . . HOT WATER!

Surfboard lockers will remain on the same location and at the same price, $1.50 per month. Club canoes and beach will be available as usual.

We have finally realized a chance to save some money for a building fund or to rent a location in the future. [NOTE: apparently the WSC was getting evicted from the basement of the Waikiki Tavern, which in turn was sold to the City of Honolulu in 1958, and demolished in 1960.]

Our dues will be cut as of November 1, 1954, to fifty cents per month instead of the prevailing $1.00. Dues will be paid to the Club by sending in a monthly or yearly check. All back payments on surfboard lockers, clothes lockers and dues must be paid by November 1, 1954. Anyone not complying with our rules will be suspended.

Anyone having anything in our basement or office must remove it by November 1, 1954.

I am urging all members to help out in all our coming activities. Your help is needed, don’t let the Board of Directors and your Officers Down

First on the events coming up is the Aloha Week Luau. The event is next Wednesday, 10-20-54, with kau kau at 6:30 p.m. All members who would like to get in on the fun of helping at a bang-up luau come down Wednesday and give us a hand. For more information, call H. Warren at 69220.

The Molokai to Oahu Paddle will be held on Saturday, 10-23-54 starting from Molokai at about dawn and ending at Waikiki in front of the Moana at around 2:00 p.m. Around eight crews are entered. Our boys are training hard under Coach Froiseth and we are all pulling hard for' them to win this event a second time. Blue, Blackie, Moke, Dutchie, Allen, McCarthey are getting in shape to push the 

Plans are being started for the Club’s annual Xmas Diamond Head Buoy Race to be held on December 25, 1954.

The Makaha International Surfing Championships will be held the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of January 1955, with the Waianae Lions and the Waikiki Surf Club sponsoring. Entries from Peru and the Mainland are assured. A luau will probably be held after closing the second day. More of this later.

Congratulations to our Sue Mahoney who was appointed Aloha Week Entertainment Chairman and who is doing her usual terrific job of making things go!

Heard Jerry and Moe and Keiki are leaving for the "big island" this week where Moe will be detached from the "gravy train" he's been on for the last few years. They will be back in about three months as Moe has a swell job "peddlin' pills" for a big mainland Outfit.

Seen Pat Peace's new hairdo yet???? Nizzzze!

Saw Sister and Roy Folk the other day at their new Aliimanu home. Both looked mighty healthy—they say it's the country air!!!

Heard on the "opu grapevine" that lately weds John Apo and Joe Alves are going to be "daddies" several months from now. They are betting on boys, any takers??? Georgie and Gildia seem to be on the same subject.

Blake's gone again—Tom Blake folded his tent, packed his board, and silently slipped away to the Mainland a week or so ago—he's been back and forth more times than a ping pong ball.


Have you been to the beach lately? If not, you will find quite a change in the scenery. As our neighbors, we have the guests of the new Waikiki Biltmore Hotel and as a result the whole picture has changed. The Biltmore management has turned all beach services to Earl Akana who is doing a terrific job in that capacity. It's our job to keep our area in good condition from all angles.

We have the assurance of the management of the Waikiki Tavern that the area from the edge of the dining room (beachside) to the center of the green tavern building at the yellow wall is for the Waikiki Surf Club's use. It is our plan to have backrests and a few umbrellas available for your use just as soon as possible. The various outriggers (that belong to you) will soon all be on the beach so come down and take advantage of your membership. Clothing lockers are now on the old Kale Au Au side close to Kuhio Beach. The fee for locker room privileges as a Surf Club member is $1.50 per month with hot water. Sign up and take advantage of this very popular rate as there are very few lockers still available. Space is available for both men and women.

Our outrigger canoe crews this year are under the guidance of Blue Makua and Buddy Young who are doing a dandy job in getting the paddlers lined up. At the moment, close to 80 paddlers are working out with the hope of gaining a seat on one of the 12 crews that are scheduled this summer. It is very important that paddlers now working out complete their membership blanks as soon as possible as all must be officially registered members in order to participate under Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association Rules. Don't forget that this year calls for the CHAMPIONSHIP events to be held in Kailua, Kona, again. That trip is one nobody will want to miss so join the fun—start now to get into the act by getting on one of the many committees that make any good project go. If your paddling days are over, don't step aside—keep right on going by helping on the promotional end. If you don't know how to go about that, see me and I'll sure do all I can to help you.

The 1956 trip to Australia looks like a reality now. Tom Moore and Tom Zahn are heading up the clubs team who are training now in the Australian ways, getting ready for the Surf Life Saving competition in early summer. If you are interested in this activity, contact Tom Moore at the Surfrider Hotel and he will be happy to advise you further. [NOTE: the Australia trip referred to here is for the International Surf Carnival, held in conjunction with the 1956 Olympics; this was where Greg Noll and his lifeguard pals introduced the Malibu board to Australia]

Do you know your Waikiki Surf Club directors? Here they are:

John Lind, President
Paul Strauch, Vice President
Dave Warner, Vice President
Larry Downing, Vice President
Harris Warren, Secretary
Richard DeWitt, Treasurer
Clarence Maki, Photography
TC Good, Legal
Sue Mahon, Entertainment
Rachel Brown, Public Relations
Sarah Park, Publicity
Wallace Froiseth, Property
Buddy Young, Canoes
HBJ Perry, Membership
George Downing, Immediate Past President

General Membership Meeting on Friday, May 6th, 7:30 PM, Elks Club. Movie taken by Bud Brown and George Tahara, "Surfing in Hawaii."

Waikiki Surf Club Steak Fry. Saturday 6:30 PM, May 7, Surf Club Beach.

Moonlight Surfing (Full Moon), Saturday night, May 7, 9:00 PM. This event will go on after the Steak Fry. Searchlights will be set up in three locations in the Waikiki district and will play out over the water illuminating the surfing lanes. All participants will gather on the beach in front of the Tavern before taking to the water. Get your friends to get in on this project and make it one of the biggest yet.

May 22nd is the first race of the 1955 Outrigger Canoe Racing season. Events will be held in Honolulu Harbor and will be under the auspices of the Propeller Club of Hawaii. Get your Surf Club shirt and be there. Your crews need your support. Lots of help will be needed too in running the events. Speak up if you would like to assist.

Watch for the announcement of our annual LUAU. Always recognized as one of the better luaus held in the Islands. Start talking this up as it is not too far off.

Save the first Friday night of every month for Waikiki Surf Club night. All future meetings will be held at the Waikiki Branch of the Library of Hawaii, at Kapahulu Ave and Ala Wai Blvd.

The Surfer, Publication of Waikiki Surf Club, PO Box 2299, Honolulu, Hawaii [undated, but text below says 1955]

 Friday, June 3, at the Waikiki Branch, Library of Hawaii. Meeting will start promptly (Webster's Dictionary defines “promptly” as the adverb of a word meaning without delay or hesitation) at 7:30 P.M.

Turn out, with the termites, to hear a report on the Maritime Day Races, which the Waikiki Surf Club won—naturally!!!— and held on to its terrific record of victory, AND

Hear what's in store for the next races, Kamehameha Day, June 11, AND

The lineup for the Waikiki Surf Club luau that will be held June 25 at the Hawaiian Village, AND

Sue Mahone promises a program of entertainment.

 As we approach the height of the summer season, let's review our status as club members. Our conduct, our attire, our appearance in public and our language. Let's strive to make Honolulu proud of the Waikiki Surf Club. Too little effort has been put forth in this connection. Your attention is called to the club rules which prohibit smoking on the premises by Junior Members, and drinking of alcoholic beverage at any time in the locker rooms or on the beach. We ask all members to assist on these points and also to refrain from loitering on the sidewalks on the Kalakaua Ave side.

 to members, and may this suffice: The locker rooms are to be used only by club members who are signed up with the Waikiki Tavern. Any club member using the showers or locker room without officially signing-up is liable to suspension from the club. At the very low rate that we enjoy as club members, this privilege should be appreciated by all.

 bring new blood, and it's new blood we're wanting, in addition to keeping the old blood flowing.

 The club's eighth annual luau will be held Saturday, June 25—which is also the day the 

 arrives. Tickets for the event—and if it lives up to past luaus and there's every indication it will, it will be one of the best to be given in Hawaii in 1955—are $3.00.

Past WSC presidents Stanley Kim, Harris Warren and George Downing are general chairmen of the luau, with present president John Lind overseeing. The wheels include: Moki Perkins, tables; Vi Makua, decorations; Sue Mahone, entertainment; Sarah Park, publicity; Rachel Brown, serving and waitresses; Ah Leong, poi.; Wallace Froiseth and Moku, chicken long rice; George Downing and Frank Henriques, squid, dried fish, and raw fish; Stanley Kim, cake and pineapple; Harris and Harriet Warren, haupia; Gilbert Min, potato and banana; Richard DeWitt, sound and light; Paul Strauch, ticket sales; Hannah Stewart opihi; Blue Makua, Hawaiian salt.

 or guilt for not having paid club dues, or just a heavy pocketbook—don't know the explanation, but members who turned out at the last meeting forked over $20.50 at the call for contributions to help pay for the projector.

Well, Makaha has come and wented again. We can't say the weatherman didn't cooperate this year. Some of the nicest waves we've seen all season, and some really fine performances by the best in the world. Conrad Canha, using a good eye and some terrific control, came out the winner, with Rabbit Kekai running a real close second. Our own "Mana" Manakua took a fourth in the bodysurfing event. Next time, Mana, next time! Watch out for this boy. The women's event was very ably handled by Ethel Kekua in a nasty surf. Betty Heldreich did a second. Boy! We got 'em! And not to be outdone, WSC's hard-working secretary and booster Ann Lamont, riding tandem with Mud Werner, pulled a fifth in the tandem. All in all, it sounded like a roll-call of the WSC. Go get 'em!

Hey! You delinquents. The list of unpaid dues and locker fees has been posted for all to see. Don't applaud, just throw money.

The WSC has received a very nice letter from Herman Pang in Los Angeles, Calif. He wants to be remembered to everyone and would like to keep the Surfer coming his way. Herman, your wish is our command. For any of you members that would like to drop Herman a few words, here is his address: PO Box 20838, Los Angeles 6, California.

In Closing, your President and the Board of directors would like to wish each and every one of your A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE HAPPIEST OF NEW YEARS

[Special thanks to Ian Lind, son of WSC founder John Lind, for preserving and archiving all the WSC memorabilia.]

"CLUB RULES PROHIBIT SMOKING ON THE PREMISES BY JUNIONR MEMBERS AND DRINKING ALCOHOL IN THE LOCKER ROOMS!" MIDCENTURY EXCERPTS FROM THE WAIKIKI SURF CLUB NEWSLETTER

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