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Super Cool!!!! Talk Story with Bungy Hedley....

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RevBambooBen posted on 12/17/2005

My Aunt, Bungy Hedley, is just about to join TC.

She worked with Eli the most and has many story to tell!

Hope you all treat her with the most kindest respect.

The story she'll talk will fill in many holes for the first tiki wave that washed up on our shore many moons ago.

Aloha,

Bamboo Ben.

[ Edited by: RevBambooBen 2005-12-19 08:50 ]

TM
Tiki Matt posted on 12/17/2005

Super cool! Can't wait...

I
ikitnrev posted on 12/17/2005

Fantastic!

I look forward to hearing her tales and perspectives. At times it can be easy to think that the tiki community is made mainly of the people who register and post to Tiki Central, that we can forget that there is a whole elder, and probably wiser, generation who loved tiki as much in their time. Perhaps Ben's aunt will be the first of many who will come to share their tales with us who are eager to hear stories of tikis long ago.

Perhaps there are others who might be willing, if invited, to share their stories with us?

Vern

R
RevBambooBen posted on 12/17/2005

Total users: 3977 Total posts: 195630
The newest Registered User is -bungy-.

Yee Haw!!

Welcome aboard Auntie Bungy!!!

( yes. that is her real name. like bungy chord. we have a slew of classic names in the family. i'm sure ya'll will find out soon.)

Just remember TC that she is my Aunt and she might praise me a bit but I'm sure it will fade in time.

Now I have to work on my Mom, (the Elf) and my other Aunt, Marilyn, who wrote the Beachcombing Hedleys book.

Major positive tiki vibrations!!!.

Tiki Tiki!

B-booBen

UB
Unga Bunga posted on 12/17/2005

Welcome to Tiki Central Aunt Bungy!

F
freddiefreelance posted on 12/17/2005

Ooooh! I'm gettin' chills here, one by one we're getting the "Beachcombing Headleys" involved in TC! Yay! :D

F
freddiefreelance posted on 12/17/2005

On 2005-12-17 12:24, Unga Bunga wrote:
Welcome to Tiki Central Aunt Bungy!

Bunga welcomed Bungy! :)

B
Benzart posted on 12/17/2005

Big Welcome Aunt Bungy! Come on in and sit a spell and tell us a story or 2. we want to know all about Ben too. We want all his childhood, embarassing stories and how he became such a great artist.
Welcome

P
Polynesiac posted on 12/18/2005

Welcome aboard Bungy! I was just down in your old stompin grounds the other day (royal palms/japs) and marveled at the fact that people used to LIVE down there. What a totally awesome spot. Thanks for joining and I'm looking forward to your posts!

MP
mrs. pineapple posted on 12/18/2005

Just remember TC that she is my Aunt and she might praise me a bit but I'm sure it will fade in time.

yeah, nobody else ever does that.... :wink:

We want to hear about Ben's dorky childhood, hahahahaha!

R
RevBambooBen posted on 12/19/2005

I got an email from her this eve and she kinda doesn't know where to start. If any of you Tiki Central, Suave' People out there can e mail her and give her the low down ( the easy way) I'm sure she'd be posting story left and right.

MR
Matt Reese posted on 12/19/2005

Really looking forward to the tales she can tell. Thanx for the heads up.

R
RevBambooBen posted on 12/19/2005

Bungy was looking around TC and really didn't know where to start so I'll throw out a question to get things rolling.

Aloha Aunty Bungy. Do you remeber any cool stories about the Island Trade Store at Disneyland?

(The story from my Mom I get all the time is that is was real hot there and you all used to put your feet in buckets of ice water to cool you down behind the counter. Classic!)

Oh, and one more. Did you ever meet Don Beach??

R
RevBambooBen posted on 12/19/2005

p.s.

Here is a list that Bungy gave me that contains some of the press that they received a while back. Maybe some of you TC library lurkers can dig these up on the ol' microfilm....

Eli Hedley, Hedley Family. American Magazine, 8/41

Life Mag. 1/21/46

This Week, 11/45

Wall Street Journal, 4/46

Christian Science Monitor, 10/47, 5/49, 4/53

Coronet Mag. 3/48

Saint Louis Globe Democrat, 1/49

Seventeen Mag. 4/49

Mechanics Ill. 7/50

Orange County Register ( like grandson :) like grandad :) ) 1960

Herald Express " Books and Art" 1/13/58

Pasadena Star News " Virginia Kay Column" many times during 1960's-1970's

Daily Breeze, 2/10/02

Tiki News, 04

Tiki Mag. 05


on film....

Movie tone news, 1944

Return to treasure Island( Tab Hunter), 1950

Trader Hall ( Johnny Weismuller Movies) 1949-1950


This should be a fun treasure hunt. I see Freddie Freelance
in the library on this.

Aloha and Mahalo!

Bamboo Ben

B
bungy posted on 12/21/2005

Aloooooha!!! I laughed and laughed with all your NICE welcomes!! Yes! Bamboo Ben alias Benjie was quite a character.. and ALWAYS went his own way!! Which he is still doing!! he may say he is getting "mana" from Eli (his grand dad).. but he is clearly going his own way, too! I have seen pix of his jobs and WOW!! I am thrilled with his work! Am going to be able to actually see his Kona job in San Fran soon.

Re Donn Beachcomber:
My dad, Eli Hedley, Beachcomber ,Yes! that was his title for all the life I knew him! and Donn Beach (Beachcomber) were partners for about a year, in a tropical Shop at 595 La Cienaga Blvd during WW11 in Hollywood. They both wanted the name of "Beachcomber" so Hollywood was too small for them.. and Donn went to Hawaii! They remained old friends and finally saw each other in the 1970s, at the International Market Place on Waikiki, where Donn had an office in the Banyan Tree!!! We were invited to lunch, and had stir fry and tropical (non-alcoholic) drinks high above the crowds with the soft,balmy breezes cooling us!

Re: Disneyland: I learned to sail when I was 12 around the Los Angeles Harbor area (that was in 1946!)and started crewing on larger boats between CA , Hawaii, South Pacific, Mexico when I was 18. In 1955, I signed on the 134' sailing schooner, Te Vega, out of New port Beach on my way to nearly 3 months through-out the French Oceana. We had landed in Tahiti, and I received a letter, General Delivery, from my family.. telling me that they had started a brand new biz in a place called "Disneyland".. The descripttion was so weird that I just put the whole thing out of mind!! How could my family, especially my dad, who was so uncommercial.. get into a regular biz??? Well, we sailed on to Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora, and on up to Honolulu, where I got to sail my outrigger canoe that I had picked up in Bora Bora for $100. at Ala Wai Yacht Basin! I headed home and was whisked from LAX to Disneyland, thrown behind a counter, showed how to run the register, and started selling! You never had to actually sell during those first few years, you only had to put a Disneland decal on anyhting.. and they pushed it with $ into your face!! From sailing in the Pacific and riding on the main mast cross tree of Te Vega, at sunrise and sunset.... to 28,000 customers pushing and shoving was a great culture shock!!!

Re Tikis at Island Trade Store in Bazaar in Adventurland:
We had a huge date Palm at our home that had died.. so dear ol' dad cut it down, and we all hacked and cut all the palms leaves off, and he proceeded to make a 14' high tiki. He didn't have a chain saw at this time.. so I guess it was with axes, hatchets, and hand saws! He had this friend who had a big truck.. and hauled stuff, so he got him to come downm and we all pushed, shoved, lifted, and slid that Tiki onto the old truc k. The guy was a real character, and had a real live lion who went with him everywhere! So, off we started to Dusneyland, where we had to unload it after 10 PM, when DL was closed! So we pushed, shoved and rolled that Tiki into place and there it stood for the 5 years of our shops ..Disney began not renewing leases as they came up.. more profit to them!) I don't know if the tiki was sold to Disney or who.. but I was sure glad I didn't have to help move it again!

Hope I haven't bored you all with these memories!! It was fun for me to be able to think of them again! Thanks!! Bungy
(by the way, on my birth certificate it says, "Lady Weldon"!!! Bungy is nick name... thank goodness!) And I love Bunga's greeting!!

B
bongofury posted on 12/21/2005

Great story! Welcome to Tiki Central. Hope we get to hear more.

P
pablus posted on 12/21/2005

Thank you for taking the time to type these out.
These stories are the kind of thing we can't get enough of.
Please tell us all you can in whatever time you can spare.
I'm flipping out over the story of having lunch with Eli and Donn in the treehouse.
Now THAT'S tiki.

Mahalo Nui Loa.

TSW
The Sperm Whale posted on 12/21/2005

WOW You are definatly not boring me!! When you have time please share more with us!! Thanks again!!!

C
Chongolio posted on 12/21/2005

Aloha E Komo Mia Aunt Bungy!
What a great first post! Thanks for takin' the time to type story with us. I look forward to readin' more of your posts and gettin' to know ya.

Hey Bamboo Benji thanks for sharin' your auntie with us.

Chongolio



" I believe that our Heavenly Father invented the monkey because he was disappointed in man."
... Mark Twain
http://www.Lost-Isle.com
http://www.piggod.com

B
bungy posted on 12/21/2005

You asked for it!!! We had a 99 year lease on an old 1920s Country Club, which was a part of the Land Grant from the King of Spain to the early Sepulvedas. Louis S. owned it at that time.. he ahs since sold it to the State of California and it is called "Royal Palms State Park" where the family gets together nearly each year and we have FUN! It is 2000 foot Cove right on the Pacific Ocean a couple of miles above the Lo s Angeles harbor. Anyway.. there was only a little shack on the property and we slept outside under the palm trees until we built our home..
We didn't have much money, and so we built it mainly by ourselves. When Daddy wanted to build another room.. he'd send we 4 girls up the beach a couple of miles. We'd take hammers, nails and rope.. to a Cove where lots of lumber washed in each winter from the lumber schooners coming down from Wash. and Or. So, we'd get to the Cove and start collecting 2x4s, 1x6s etc. we'd heave, and slide, and push and pull until we had this big stack beside the water. The beach was not nice and sandy..it was rocky and the waves crashed on it at high tide!
Two of us got in to the water and the other two would slide lumber out to us.. you see, we had to make the raft in the water..or we couldn't launch out into the deep! We got banged around with the waves, knocked over, completely soaked... until we finally had put together this huge pile of lumber. Flo, my oldest sister, then said, "Grab a Paddle!" so we all got pieces of wood for paddles, jumped on the raft and paddled like mad through the waves. The current headed down towards our house, so paddleing wasn't too hard. When we got right off our building site, Flo would say, "Wait"! and we all waited, tense! Ready for the word! it came!"Paddle" we paddled like mad, until the perfect wave caught the raft, and then, "Jump!" and we all jumped off and with hammers and nails.. swam the rest of the way into shore to gather up the raft.. and carry it up to the house so daddy could create another room!! I could swear that my dad never used a square or a ruler.. it was always eyeball and measuring from nose to end of hand.. and measuring off by stepng off yards! I still do that today, and am fairly accurate!
When Eli was called by someone to make an estimate for a decorating job.. whether it was large or small, he'd look aorund and find a piece of cut off board.. or something similar, get his carpenter's pencil out of his pocket, and start writing it all down.. then, he'd hand it to the owner of some big job (like Steven Crane of the Luau in Beverly Hills!)and say, "What do you think of something like this???" I saw this happen several times.. and they loved it!

So long for now! I am setting up a campfire Christmas Eve Party, complete with Texas chili, hot dogs, and somemores... anyone want to come!!! Rememember! Cowwa Bunga!!!

H
Humuhumu posted on 12/21/2005

I LOVE storytime with Aunt Bungy! Thank you so much for sharing these amazing tales with us, I'm very glad you've joined us here.

T
Tikiwmn posted on 12/21/2005

Aloha Bungy! Thank you so much for posting your stories. I am honored to read them.

Mele Kalikimaka!

Tikiwmn

K
kingtiki posted on 12/21/2005

Can Aunt Bungy have her own forum. This stuff is absolutely amazing! Please write as much and as often as you like...I'm all ears (or eyes).

P
puamana posted on 12/22/2005

Welcome, Bungy ! This is such a treat, thanks so much for joining TC and for sharing these wonderful stories. And many thanks to Bamboo Ben, too !

P
Polynesiac posted on 12/22/2005

thank you for sharing such great stories!!! I love to read them.
Please post more when you have time! (especially about pedro!!!!)

R
RevBambooBen posted on 12/22/2005

[i]On 2005-12-21 06:55, bungy wrote:

Re Donn Beachcomber:
My dad, Eli Hedley, Beachcomber ,Yes! that was his title for all the life I knew him! and Donn Beach (Beachcomber) were partners for about a year, in a tropical Shop at 595 La Cienaga Blvd during WW11 in Hollywood. They both wanted the name of "Beachcomber" so Hollywood was too small for them.. and Donn went to Hawaii!

Aloha Aunty Bungy, ( Lady Weldon) ( Doh!)

Would this happen to be the place??

And,......what the heck are those Horses??? :)

Also, is this the place where Sam Goldwynn shopped for all those cool custom gobblets??

Have fun at your Ho-Down! Is Ballan singing?? Does she play the uke too?

(Ballan is my cousin/Bungy daughter. Google- Ballan Grant. She sings! :)

sorry, so many questions.......

D
DawnTiki posted on 12/22/2005

This is more than great! I have a feeling this has opened up a great big ol' can of worms...cuz I want more Aunt Bungy stories! Mahalo Aunt Bungy for taking the time to share with this motley crew and welcome to Tiki Central :tiki:

B
Benzart posted on 12/22/2005

First, Benjy, we Owe you Big time for sharing your Aunt Bungy with us and setting up this Story time.
Second and all, AUNT BUNGY ROCKS!! Thanks SO much forgiving us an alternative to Boring TV and other junk. Your stories will Never get old or boreing. If we cna do anything, Get you Anything??Please let us know. I want to know All about the old beach house.

TLT

I have recently joined Tiki Central. I Have been a watcher, and a learner. I do, however, love stories. I was entranced by Aunt Bungy's stories. The Ocean has always been precious to me, to battle it and all of the elements for the sake of....Living, and enjoying life... Wow. Life is precious, and art is beautiful (to me). I have loved reading Bungy's posts. I am embarking on my love of Tiki, and the history behind it. I am IN LOVE with stories. I am especially in love with stories like this. Pure......Real....A true Birds eye view of life, in the Past/ Present time. I have enjoyed every minute of my reading of posts here on Tiki Central.Thank you all...

F
freddiefreelance posted on 12/22/2005

On 2005-12-21 10:54, bungy wrote:
So long for now! I am setting up a campfire Christmas Eve Party, complete with Texas chili, hot dogs, and somemores... anyone want to come!!! Rememember! Cowwa Bunga!!!

Yes, I really wish I could.

On 2005-12-21 18:07, RevBambooBen wrote:
Have fun at your Ho-Down! Is Ballan singing?? Does she play the uke too?

(Ballan is my cousin/Bungy daughter. Google- Ballan Grant. She sings! :)

sorry, so many questions.......

Ballan, like the town in Moorabool outside of Melbourne, Oz?


Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance 2005-12-22 06:47 ]

UT
Urban Tiki posted on 12/22/2005

Thank you so much, Aunt Bungy, for sharing stories from your fascinating life- we have truly found a treasure for TC. Thanks also to Rev. Ben for bringing you here.

B
bungy posted on 12/22/2005

Oh! My Gosh!!!! Those are pix of famous shop!!! Yes! The goblets were dear ol' dad's creation! In fact he was the first one that started decorating with nets and driftwood (I had to explain what driftwood was to great-grandkids the other day!) His first big sale was to I magnin's for their summer windows!!
The horses were all made of driftwood..legs, body, head! The rest was rope.. but not just any rope.. it had to be used fishing rope to have that certain color! We used to scour the fishing docks in San Pedro for old rope, old fishing nets, old corks! To this day, I can still smell the wonderful smell of them!! (not fishy!) Tar?

Let me tell you about our dining room! Since daddy built the house hiself (with us!) his plans kept changing around.. and they would always change towards more beauty..like.. "If we put this over here we would be able to see the sunset over the ocean better! So the house was kind of odd! The dining room was built upstairs on a balcony which over looked the entry hall, which was supposed to be the kitchen.. but the kitchen was moved to the side where the laundry room was supposed to be. The laundry room was put out side.. a big tin tub over a fire!! That is until San Pedro got its first laundromat!! Heavenly Days! But daddy made everthing FUN.. so I really thought that gathering wood, building a fire, getting water into the big tin tub, getting the clothes into it and swishing them around with a big stick was FUN!! And then, I got to rinse them, and hang them up!!
I digressed! Our dining room table was made of 3.. 1 X 12 planks (found in our favorite Cove!) about 12 ' long. The legs were great big ships anchors, one on each end, that Eli got from a navy salvage store.The chairs he made from barrels with the backs being small wooden ships wheels.. all polished and stained and shining. They weighed about 50# each.. and anytime we had a gentleman over for supper, he would always try to seat one of us.. and we would wait, with anticipated joy.. to watch the expression on his face!! They were always good sports!
We had a ships wheel candlelabra over the table and eventually daddy built us a ship's wheel on a pully, where we could put all the dishes and food on it down below in the kitchen, and then run up the stairs and haul it up to the table! I thought that was pretty modern.

The living room was also upsatirs and had actual 1940's rattan Hawaiian print furniture.Like the ones that are so popular now!. also a couple of those palm/leather chairs from mexico, and a barrel desk.. we had 2, one with the full barrel, that opened and closed on hinges. The top had little shelves and cubbyholes, and the bottom opened up to store my school books.. these were working pieces of furniture! The half barrel had a desk on top of the half, and it opened for storage..
There was a 5 gallon "ship in the bottle" light. it had 2 ships, a light house, an island, a ship's bouy with a light that blinked. This was made by an old German sea salt, Captain Staves, who made them all by hand. He had his shop in his garage.. and we had many of his "ships" at one time or another.
Between the living and dining room was a 3 sided fireplace made from rocks we had hauled up from the beach. We tried to get rocks with holes in them so they wouldn't pop, but we failed in that endeavor and when we had company (which was a lot!) all of a sudden one would pop right out into the living room, and we'd jump up and grab the hot little piece and throw it back into the fire, sit down again and continue our conversation. You see, that was normal for us!!
Sometimes the living room would be full of guests and the wind would shift and start coming directly down into the big ship's funnel that was our chimney.. the living room would start filling with smoke, and Mother would say, "Let's all get our coats on and go out and watch the moon come up over the cliff!" She never admited to the smoke! Then daddy would get one of us aside and say, "Quick! Change the dang funnel!" So, whoever dashed out the door, ran around the house, climbed up the cliff that the house sat directly on, climbed onto the roof, and up to the funnel, grab it with both arms and twist it around so the wind was behind it, while someone else was busy opening windows and clearing the room of smoke! it took me a few years to realize that not everyone had to do this.. they had real chimneys!

Whew! I'm long winded!!! See ya around again soon!
Auntie Bungy (just like they call us in Hawaii!)

T
tikiskip posted on 12/22/2005

That was great! Your stories are wonderful! My parents were in the restaurant business,You can imagine the crazy stuff that went on. But my mom would not tell everyone her stories because people thought she made it up. My mother and father are gone now and so are some of thier stories. I miss hearing them, So your stories help fill that gap. Thank you very much!

V
virani posted on 12/22/2005

thanks a lot for your stories, aunty, I love it. I read the family book (yes, it came all across the ocean to France), and I loved it, really loved it. Welcome to tiki Central.

B
Benzart posted on 12/22/2005

Hi Again Aunt Bungy, Your atory time is a true journey to SWiss Family Robinson Adventureland. I am enjoying every page and every word. Your home must have been such a Fantastic place, full of adventure and excitement. How Fortunate you are to have such great memories to cherish and share.
HappyHappyHappy

P
Polynesiac posted on 12/22/2005

WOW how totally cool - the house you grew up in sounds like my dream house! Ben or Bungy - you wouldn't happen to have any pictures to share would you? That place sounds like HEAVEN
Thanks for sharing!

BK
Basement Kahuna posted on 12/23/2005

Utterly wonderful; just remarkable to hear about life with Eli in detail, Bungee. Thank you.. More, More! Many of us have dreamed of a life such as the Hedleys really lived, breathed, and led...I wonder if there is a place, somewhere on Earth, where this is possible now? And I really can't think of a better steward of this legacy than Ben. Ben rewrites the book on hard work, love of the sea and mastery of the tiki aesthetic. Example. That's Ben in a nutshell..

T
TikiJosh posted on 12/23/2005

Thanks so much for the stories Aunty Bungy! Keep them coming! Awesome!

T
tikitony posted on 12/23/2005

whoooaaa! This is the start to a great illustrated book!

MP
mrs. pineapple posted on 12/23/2005

yeah!! I love these stories, Thanks Aunty Bungy! Please keep posting!
mrs. pineapple

B
bungy posted on 12/24/2005

Aloha! wonderful ohana! alias Tiki Aficionadas!
re: Shop in Hollywood!
If you look at pix you'll see used fising nets draped over from the roof; a string of used corks anchors, ships wheels (over the largest is a board that says (in rope letters) Trade Winds Trading Company. The 959 on rt is also done in rope (has to be used and pretty!); authentic, hand blown used fising floats that we could actually pick up on the beaches of N. California, and Oregon, on beachcombing trips.. where we camped out.. that was when the beaches belonged to everyone.. and one could build campfires anywhere!
Horses: I got so excited about the pix, that I described later made horses to my darling nephew! These were Eli's first creations.. they were "packing" barrels.. pretty thin wood with wire stays, nails came in smaller ones, and bigger ones were used to transport all kinds of things; frayed rope for manes, shells for eyes, driftwood "pack saddles" for portable bars, poolside bars; and deer horns, esp., around Christmas!! When he could get them.

Right next door, Igor Stravinski's wife, Madame Stravenski, had a shop.. I think it was antiques.. and she would give us kids bon bons occasionally! Every once in a while, the maestro would appear, with his flying white hair,and waving, gesticulating arms. I would hide around a corner and peek out, he was so awsome!

Right across the street, Elsa Lancaster, who was married to Charles Laughton, had a children's theater called "The Turn-a-bout Theater". She did Saturday afternoon puppet shows for children, and I got to go several times. You all sat looking at a large puppet stage at one end of room.. then, intermission, we all turned our chairs aorund and saw the 2nd half at the other end,, different set!

Our shop, itself was 3 large rooms. The first entry room was all nautical, with ships wheels, ropes, oars, fish floats of all sizes, great ships paintings, etc.
The second was my favorite. It was the Tropical room, with auhtentic hand carved preWW2 tikis of all sizes; great, large wooden war masks ; tapas from all over the South Seas; woven mats of all shapes and sizes, and a great pile of fishing net, that I used to lean against to do my homework whenever I got to go there after school. Huge packing crates would arrive, and I'd get so excited, because they were coming in from Ne wGuinea, or Fiji, or? , and we'd get crow bars, and the delicious smell of adventure filled the room when the top finally came off.. in them were all the treasures foudn and bought from the islanders.. by an importer named Drumgold. Daddy bought some, and was the agent on other "stuff". Movie stars were always wandering through, and stopping to chat! Like; Ronald Reagan and jane Wyman, Mickey Rooney, and loads more. There is a guest sign in book somewhere in the family!

the third room was a huge work shop, where all the beauty was turned out. One time, we had an open house, and refreshments were served in the work shop.. naturally it had been decorated tropicl! Daddy had built this huge mound of crushed ice with melon balls, pineapple spears, etc. How did he become the "Tropical" Decorator he was , when he had never been to Hawaii!!!
Bamboo Ben has certainly taken off where dear ol' dad left off!! His shop is so much fun to go into! It's 959 La Cienega.. only smaller!!

B
Benzart posted on 12/24/2005

WOW, I have a huge shopping list after wandering through your shop! Do you take credit cards or Bank Cards?
I can see why Ben is such a Special person, he comes by it hosestly.
Thanks again Aunt Bungy.

R
RevBambooBen posted on 12/24/2005

Cool! :)

I'll try to dig up some pics and post em in the next few daze. I have a one page copy of some sigs. that my Mom said was from the "Luau" guest book but maybe it was from the store instead?. The "Luau" gift shop came later right? My Mom doesn't remember a whole lot as she was down at the Cove playing with her pet pelican, Abraham and "sunning" in the giant mounds of fish netting.( she still does that today but without the net)

My scanner has a mind of it's own so some of the pics might be taken from my camera so bear with me.

p.s. Auntie Bungy, no more praises towards me. This is about you and your experiences. Sorry but I have to put my foot down. We want to hear about You! :wink: and Malcom, Eli, Flo, Mare and Ba (my mom, of course).

I can't wait to hear story about all the cool Luaus that happened at the Cove and the people who came to them and the people who just came to get away from Hollywood. I have a great photo of Eli, Mare and my Mom at one luau that I'll try to post.

You know what would be radically cool, if one day, you 3 sisters could meet at the Cove and kinda do a tour for these people here on TC. Just a thought. I'm sure a lot of them would dig it the most.

R
RevBambooBen posted on 12/26/2005

Here are a couple of pics (from the camera). I'll # them amd Auntie Bungy can describe them to us all.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

( must get new scanner!)

P
Polynesiac posted on 12/26/2005

Ben - those pictures are priceless on their own...but to think that that's your family! How cool!!!!

I can't wait to hear the memories about those pictures...

this thread rocks!

P
pablus posted on 12/26/2005

Scan the photos.
Save the stories.
Make a book.
Give me one of the first 10 that come off the press.

ARRRRR!
Thanks Benji and Bungy.

B
bungy posted on 12/26/2005

I can't believe the pixs I am seeing. We lost everything in 1978, when a wall of water 57 feet high came down our river, here in Texas! So this is really fun to know that some of these still exist!!
here goes:
#1. Our house sat against the 250 ft cliff.. at the very end of "Trade Winds Cove" AKA Royal Palms Country Club AKA Royal Palms State Park and for our purposes "The Cove"! there was 2000' of ocean front! There were probably 800' of palm trees meandering down through pink cement, with a grand terraza dance floor at one end. We kept this clean by yanking down a palm frond, stripping off the thorns, and using it as a broom, swishing it back and forth with long strokes.. It was really fast!! The ships oars in the middle separated the house froma storage bldg. Dining room and LR upstairs, all else down. Note the driftwood on the beach directly in front of house. All Pacific Beaches were strewn with all kinds of flotsum and jetsum, and gorgeous driftwood at that time! Ba (pronounced Bay.. Ben's mom) and I were the wood gathers in the winter. Afetr school, we'd head up the beach and as we walked we tossed the perfect size pieces of wood we could find up on a little path right beside the beach, then came the hard part. We'd climb up on the path and start arguing about whose piece of wood was who's!!! And we'd argue all the way home.. because we had to get home with a full load!! Poor Ba lost a lot. She may have been more glamorous but I was bigger and stronger!!
#2. That is Daddy coming out of front door.. Our door bell was a zyther.. and some would just strum it across, and others would actually try to play it! And we, inside would yell, "Someone get the door, the zyther has played!" Note the bottom panels on front door: They are copies of Renoirs! Marylyn (Mare, 2nd sister, painted them periodically, so when you came home, you never knew what new Renoir would be on the door! She also did a bunch of Gaugain on the doors and walls of an outside restroom facility, down at the other end of Cove.
The outside fireplace was made from rocks from the beach, and the chimney was used inside for the wood stove in parents bedroom. There was a small barrel placed outside their window, and the pet Pelican, Abraham (because he looked like Abe Lincoln) would sit on it at night , and tap at the window trying to get in to be with the family!

I have to go now! But will see you soon at pix #3!!! By the by.. I am working on my Book right now, too.. each one of us has different ideas on our lives! I started sailing when I was 12, and crewed on sailboats all up and down coast, Mexico, South Seas and abck and forth to hawaii for about 6 years. So this is all just jogging my memory, and I thank you all for being so nice to me!!! Maururu a vau! Auntie Bungy

K
Karbora posted on 12/27/2005

Thanks Auntie Bungy for the gift of these memories. I feel so privileged to be able to share in these accounts of your amazing and adventurous life. Thanks for joining TC and sharing the spirit of those times.......

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