Sailing to Hawaii

After driving from Llano, Texas to San Francisco (2 adults, 3 kids, and a dog in a 1950 Ford Sedan - sleeping and eating in the car) we spent a few weeks in San Francisco (February and March 1957) before boarding the USNS General Daniel I. Sultan bound for the Territory of Hawaii. We stayed in a hotel near the Embarcadero. Each day, we'd walk down to the big piers, watch the ships unloading, feed the seagulls, and once in a while Mom would let me get a comic book from one of the news stands. The thing that most impressed me: the giant wheels of cheese they took off some boat - to my kid's eye, they looked as big as a car. We also watched the Chinese New Year's parade from our hotel window. I remember riding in the car with Dad, up Fillmore street from the wharf, and being afraid the car was going to tip over backwards.

I don't remember much about the ship we took to Hawaii. But Mom wrote a letter to her parents while onboard (scan of letter below, typed version here):

Dear Mom and Dad,

Hi. Well. Here we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This morning we had breakfast, visited with friends for awhile and then I took the kids to the movies - 8 cartoons. It was bedlam but they enjoyed it. After the movie there was a birthday party in the Dining Saloon in honor of all the children whoose birthdays fall during the voyage. They had paper hats, whistles, balloons, cake, ice cream - the works.

This is really a nice ship. It's run by civilians. The food is good and served at table instead of regular Navy style. There are movies, playrooms, card tournaments, dances every night.

The first day and a half I felt pretty woozy but not really sick. Since then I've felt fine and really enjoyed it. Thel says I've got my sea legs.

There was a band playing and relatives waving, etc. when we pulled out of Frisco - a Royal sendoff. Some people have been awfully seasick. Vern got sick at breakfast Sunday morning but other than that we've all felt good.

We are getting into warmer waters now. The nights are so pretty. The kids love to go out on deck and see the water. They never seem to tire of it. We are due to arrive in Hawaii thursday - not sure exactly what time.

Everyone is so friendly. The kids have had a grand time playing with all the other kids. You should see the main lounge - Pinochle games, cribbage, checkers, kids playing London Bridges or Ring around the Rosy, some people just visiting and others sleeping or trying to get over sea sickness. There are Navy, Army, Marine, Air Force and coast Guard personnel aboard with their families. Some women alone with their kids. Well, guess that's all for now - love to all,
Thel, Joan and kids.

Living in Hawaii, before it was a state.

My brothers and me at a beach on Oahu. We lived there from March 1957 to July 1958 (Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959.) Some of our belongings were lost in transit when we returned to the states, so there are only three photos from our time on the island, and this is the only one (below) of our home.


This was the view from the back door of our quonset hut. Roy and Vern are playing on the picnic table. Roy writes, "I just remember the quonset hut(s) and the fence; Vern used to hit the fence post to make the giant bees come out." My father, James T. Lusk, was in the Navy then (he later switched to the Air Force) and he was stationed at the Naval Weapons Depot in Lualualei. I don't remember going to the beach very often . . . I think we lived higher up in the valley - a very rural area, with dirt roads. I remember this mountain well - I think it was Puu Kaua. When it rained, we could see waterfalls coming off the mountain. When the sun shined, you could see a tiny glint coming off something up there. When my Uncle Lee visited, he hiked up there and found an old crashed plane from a Jan. 21, 1954 navy plane accident.

There were occasional plane crashes during my father's 30-plus years in the military. It was just something you learned to live with. My parents were fatalists and always said, "When your time's up, it's up." On two occasions, the planes were from my father's squadron, but he happened to not be aboard those particular flights. But we were friends with the men who were aboard. First there were the funerals, then the widow & children (usually our age, and in our classes) moved away. There was no telephone service between Hawaii and the states at that time, so Mom sent a telegram to her parents, to let her know that Dad wasn't on the plane that crashed:

Mom learned to drive while we were there, and I remember her talking about the dreaded Kolekole Road, which she had to travel whenever she went anywhere. I had a very long bus ride to Barber's Point to go to school. There was an old abandoned air strip out behind the house (by the quonset hut you see in the background.) It was out in the country - a banana tree grew to the right of the back door. A big pasture was one side, with a few horses. The road out front was dirt, and bumpy. In spite of that, I learned to ride a 2-wheel bike there. We only had one neighbor within walking distance - a big family of Hawaiians, with all boys, much older than us.

The quonset hut was very basic. No real windows, just canvas rollups over the few openings, to keep out the rain. The wood plank flooring didn't extend into the closet in my room, and weeds used to grow up in there. I got nervous when they grew tall enough to touch the bottom of my dresses and then Mom would pull them out, but they always grew back. My room was a tiny thing, in back of the house, off the kitchen - I think was originally a pantry. A center room, divided in two with a low wall (didn't go all the way to the ceiling) was used by Mom and Dad on one side, Vern and Roy on the other. In front of the building was a screened-in porch, which served as the living room.

I remember being very happy there, and spent most of my time outdoors, barefoot, exploring the flora & fauna withing shouting distance of our little quonset hut.

Also happening that year:

- Ansel Adams traveled to Hawaii, commissioned by the Bishop National Bank of Hawaii to photograph the islands and its people for publication in The Islands of Hawaii (1958), a special commemorative centennial photo-documentary book featuring his work with commentary by Edward Joesting.

- Nov. 11th, Elvis Presley gave a concert for military personnel, at Conroy Bowl in Barber's Point. Admission was $1 (which would be about $7.50 today.)

- They started laying the telephone cable from Point Arena (San Francisco) and after laying 1900 miles met in mid-ocean with a second ship, which put down the remaining 665 miles of cable into Hanauma Bay on Oahu. The ships then laid the eastbound cable.