KAHIKI Columbus, ohio tiki bar restaurant. Lee Henry, The catalog

Who did this painting of the Kahiki?

I found it on this website.

http://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/tag/polynesian-restaurants/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3

On 2013-06-25 22:46, Dustycajun wrote:
While we are spelunking Kahiki photos, how about this one.

Web said this was a shot from the Kakiki, but I was never sure.

Then I went back and saw this addition on the thread which seems to confirm the genre.

Thoughts?

DC

Coburn Morgan designed the Thunderbird Restaurant in Lima. It had an Aztec theme. I could be wrong. It does look like they are drinking Lowenbrau bier.

"Following completion of the Kahiki, Morgan designed the Aztec-themed Thunderbird Restaurant (Lima), a red-fronted prototype for the Bob Evans chain (Chillicothe)".

http://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/tag/polynesian-restaurants/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3

[ Edited by: tikilongbeach 2013-07-12 14:49 ]

Nice photo The Below Decks.
Thanks for adding!

And Longbeach I don't know who did that painting I do know that
there is a box of Kahiki matches that it is on.

Also that could be Coburn Morgans work.

I think we are at nine or ten things now but here are some.
Look at the photo of the front of the Kahiki, there are no pine trees.
At the end the Kahiki had huge pine trees in the front.
Plus you can see a real palm tree in the front, Bill Sapp has said that in
the beginning they had live tropical plants at the Kahiki.
In fact he said that on opening night that a spider dropped down out of one
of the palm trees right in front of his mom!

¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸TIKISKIP "Go to the light"¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨*•.¸¸

Lights for home and
commercial TIKI bars.

Tray of ashes...found today in Columbus, came from an estate sale.

Nice find Buddha man.

Here is a pic of Soung he used to work at the Kahiki and later
with his friend Ting opened the Tropical Bistro.
(You can also see him in my video of the Last days of the Kahiki)
Soung now works at the Tai's Asian Bistro, Don't what the love
of the bistro name is.
http://www.taisasianbistro.com/?page=sushi
Also seen here is a replica of the Kahiki fireplace that he had a friend of his make.
I still go and see Soung often he runs the sushi bar area the food is
good, so stop in and say hey to our old friend Soung.

¤(¯*•.(¯•..TIKISKIP..•´¯).•*´¯)¤

Lights for home and
commercial TIKI bars.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2013-09-20 17:15 ]

This is an odd bit from the net.
Don't know if this was after Hoffman Pottery made bowls for the Kahiki.
Or if the Breinings made bowls for Hoffman?
So this would make four mug makers for the Kahiki Mrs Sapp, Hoffman, Breninings and one
more I forget their name.

Kahiki Polynesian Restaurant - Vague Recollections
The Kahiki will be sorely missed by me, having gone numerous times as a child, but even more so because back in the '60s my parents -- Bob & Dorothy Breining -- made the "mystery bowl" ceramic drink bowls, from their humble little ceramic shop in the basement of our home on Broadhurst Dr. in Whitehall Oh., not two miles from the famed Kahiki. Fond fond memories of the building's long "fish tank" on one side or a one-of-a-kind, building-long "rain forest." It would actually "rain" several times an hour. Or the grass skirted woman who would "offer up" to the gods the "mystery bowl" drink, as she would deliver the drink to patrons who ordered it. The atmosphere was absolutely unforgettable.

[philip breining, 01/30/2009]

Phillip Roberts originally posted this on Facebook.
http://www.columbushistory.org/node/32

Join us for a new event series!

The Historical Dinner Club will feature a favorite Columbus restaurant, reimagined for one night only by Chef Alana Shock of Alana's Food & Wine. Enjoy an evening filled with history and memories as we pay tribute to one of the most famed restaurants of Columbus. The series will begin with The Kahiki.

We will open with a talk about the restaurant, there will be artifacts on display, Chef Alana will talk about her inspiration for the menu, and each guest will take home a special surprise!

The Kahiki dinner event will be Tuesday, October 22nd, starting at 6pm. The menu will be posted soon!

All dinners will be held at Alana's Food & Wine, located at 2333 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43202. The restaurant is closed to the public on Tuesdays - this will be a private and intimate dining experience! Alana's has been a gourmet food destination for over a decade, focusing on local and seasonal ingredients. For more information about the restaurant, visit Alanas.com.

Reservations are $125 per person, with proceeds benefiting the Columbus Historical Society. Reservations are limited to 40.

[ Edited by: tikilongbeach 2013-10-11 14:28 ]

Thanks for posting that info tikilongbeach, We did kinda want to go
to this event.
Still can't see the menu for the event.
I am guessing that Jeff from the FOM may be there, but not sure.
The last night party for the Kahiki was AWESOME, that was $100.00 per
person.
Alana's Food & Wine is a place we like so would be good I would guess.
And the charge looks to be about the same as two drinks at Three Dots and a dash.:)

The Historical Dinner Club facebook page said they would post the menu soon.

No way I'll be going to that. Not at $125 per person!! That's INSANE!!!!!

I'd rather go to the Grass Skirt for a full blown Tiki experience with great food and top-notch cocktails for under $50.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Hey, for $75 you can come to my house and I'll make you a Tahitian Mermaid and a Mai Tai!!!

"No way I'll be going to that"

Ha!
I thought you would be a guest speaker Jeff.

Mitch Boich
Doral Chenoweth | The Columbus Star
In this 1961 photo, manager-to-be Hal Naguchi chats with Lee Henry, one of the Kahiki's two owners at the time, under the construction of arches depicting a New Guinea meeting house. The building's original design is the work of architect Bernie Altenbach.

NAME: Bernard C Altenbach
BIRTH: abt 1904 - Ohio
RESIDENCE: 1935 - Columbus, Franklin, Ohio
RESIDENCE: Columbus, Franklin, Ohio

BERNARD C ALTENBACH was born 27 March 1904, got Social Security number 300-01-9607 (indicating Ohio,) and died 24 July 1995. BERNARDINE ...

Years of the Horse

02/11/1918-01/31/1919
01/30/1930-02/16/1931
02/15/1942-02/04/1943
02/03/1954-01/23/1955
01/21/1966-02/08/1967
02/07/1978-01/27/1979
01/27/1990-02/14/1991
02/12/2002-01/31/2003
01/31/2014-02/18/2015
02/17/2026-02/05/2027 02/04/2038-01/23/2039 01/23/2050-02/10/2051
Date of Birth:
Submit
What is my zodiac animal sign?
Boy's Name: Michael Tsao

The spirit of the horse is recognized to be the Chinese people's ethos – making unremitting efforts to improve themselves. It is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able. Ancient people liked to designate an able person as 'Qianli Ma', a horse that covers a thousand li a day (one li equals 500 meters).

Strengths
People born in the year of the horse have ingenious communicating techniques and in their community they always want to be in the limelight. They are clever, kind to others, and like to join in a venture career. Although they sometimes talk too much, they are cheerful, perceptive, talented, earthy but stubborn. They like entertainment and large crowds. They are popular among friends, active at work and refuse to be reconciled to failure, although their endeavor cannot last indefinitely.

Weaknesses
They cannot bear too much constraint. However their interest may be only superficial and lacking real substance. They are usually impatient and hot blooded about everything other than their daily work. They are independent and rarely listen to advice. Failure may result in pessimism. They usually have strong endurance but with bad temper. Flamboyant by nature, they are wasteful since they are not good with matters of finance due to a lack of budgetary efficiency. Some of those who are born in the horse like to move in glamorous circles while pursuing high profile careers. They tend to interfere in many things and frequently fail to finish projects of their own.

China Zodiac Animal - HorseHoroscope and Numerology Elements

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2013-11-19 18:45 ]

Nice mike and marie.
I do have LOTS to add to this thread as I did get more info at the Kahiki
auction.
That is part of the reason I go to those things, even if you don't win stuff you
may get new info.
And heck that's free.
I just don't have time to post it all right now.

after looking through this thread, i realize just how little makes it to ebay. i had no idea all of these pieces existed.

For the most part the best stuff is not sold, people keep it.

Here is an auction for a mug that was made at the very end of the Kahiki.
See how crappy the mold is, and you can't read the bottom.
BUT... the guy in the auction says this is an early version of this mug.
I would guess he does not know what he is talking about.
Hope this is not a TC person.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Retro-Columbus-Ohio-KAHIKI-Supper-Club-Restaurant-Skull-Tiki-Mug-/141128528698?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dbea733a

.......

On Tuesday, November 19th 2013 8pm Columbus on line auctions held an auction of Kahiki items.
There were about 108 different things in this auction stuff like chairs, tiki,and one light ect...
The grand total from this sale was $41,359.41 AND Add a 10% buyers premium on top of that!
Fee to seller was 25%.
I got many calls about this auction and knew that...
A. stuff would sell for high dollar,and
B. I would not be bidding.
Some of these items I did not know where they came from.
But some of the mystery came to light when I went to see Soung from the Kahiki as he filled me in
on a few questions I had.
The first mystery was what's up with the brass horse?(There was a 4 foot brass horse in the sale)
It sold for $1650,00 Soung said it was in Michael Tsao's office you see mr Tsao was born in the year of the
Horse,(Chinese Zodiac Animal) I have heard Mr. Tsao say he was a "maverick" before.
This is the only item the person who won this horse got from this auction. (I would hope this went to one of his two sons)
So this may answer that mystery.

More to come....

Here is the description of said item from sale trying to find photo....
"Vintage bronze-over brass, Large Rearing Horse Sculpture. Removed from the original Kahiki many years ago. Rubbing the ear or the legs of the horse was thought to bring good luck to the guest. Part of the magical mystery that the founders of the Kahiki instilled at its inception. A beautiful patina has settled on this vintage piece. You can feel the energy as you as you wonder at the many hands, both famous delegates and stars as well as countless local residences alike. Our research shows this to be similar to other such castings that are reportedly "from the Japanese Meiji Period." "
Best photo I have for now.

¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸TOUCHDOWN SNOWMEN!!¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸

¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸¨•.¸¸

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2013-12-04 15:31 ]

So next up is this "Chinese Elder Sculpture with Child" What the heck is this?
This thing was 52 1/2 inches tall and had a "Gold tone finish"

So I ask Soung and he gave me that you dumb a$$ you don't know where that was look, a look I
get to see from him all too often.
And he tells me it was on TOP OF THE BAR! Man if that old Chinese Elder guy could talk.
How did I miss that? heck it was right in front of me all those years. (it was up high though)
This sculpture sold for $600.00 not bad for where it sat really.
The buyer also got a Entry table that was more of a Chinese looking item.
Would guess that these items went to a Chinese restaurant maybe? who knows.
By themselves they were not tiki.

Here is the description of said item from sale trying to find photo....
Antique carved-wood 'Chinese Elder sculpture with Child' holding a Chinese bat. In Ancient Chinese society, a bat was a symbol of Happiness and Longevity - this hand carved sculpture is big, over 4ft tall! All wood with painted and applied gesso (like the picture frames from the 1920's) and then gilded with a gold tone finish.
Best photo I have for now.

º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºº¤ø,¸¸,:MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM TIKISKIP!!:º¤ø,¸¸ø¤ºº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2013-12-04 15:32 ]

We heard that a cowboy from Wyoming bought the horse. I guess it reminds him of his rodeo days. And the Chinese carving,probably didn't notice it because it wasn't Tiki.

"We heard that a cowboy from Wyoming bought the horse."
How would he get it home?

I think that it's good when items from the Kahiki go out of state really, this way
when people in Wyoming or wherever the stuff goes the buyer will say
"This is from the Kahiki" there is a far greater chance that the people that see
said item will not know about the Kahiki or even tiki for that matter and hear the tale
of the Kahiki thus spreading the word.

This is not a popular view here and I can see that point somewhat.
But if you have a view point of what would promote Kahiki/tiki far and wide wins.
This is what I would want to happen to stuff from my restaurant.
Heck we are really just caretakers of this stuff anyway.

I sent one of the Kahiki velvets to PARIS! Now that's cool.

Thanks Umeone for your input.

Pareee! The next happening place in Tiki! :D

Sven, are still roaming around Europe? Pretty cool matchbook, Tiki or not.

Ha! Tiki shampoo?

Here is a look at part of the auction.
Saw a few people there but was surprised at the low turn out for the viewing, we
stayed for about two hours out of the three hour viewing.
It was nice to talk tiki to all who were there.

Met up with these old time Kahiki folks on the 24th at one wild party!(Soung, Tikiskip, Theang)
The last photo is of the guy who made this Kahiki fireplace repo.
(I only know him as the Violin guy he makes Violins too)
He has since told me he is going to build a bigger one that has four sides each with a different face.
This should be done in a year or so, time will tell.

¤(¯*•.(¯•..TIKISKIP..•´¯).•*´¯)¤

Lights for home and
commercial TIKI bars.

I just picked up a second postcard of the Luau dining scene at the Kahiki that I have not come across before. This one shows a close up view of the table with many of the guests sipping their cocktails. The waiter is cut out of the photo. The photographer on the shot must have said "OK everybody, drink up", which was probably a bonus!

Here is the standard postcard that I have.

The back of the cards are the same except for the card number at the bottom.

Anybody out there have this one?

DC

Great eye DC!!! I've not seen that second one before. Thanks for sharing.

I used to know who was sitting at the table, I think it was Bill Sapp, Lee Henry and a bar manger
Bob Karst? maybe with a secretary.
But the pig has "KAHIKI" wrote in it using cherries too bad you can't really see it.
A side note is I never really looked at those chairs before but those are a style I have
not seen before.
And I have been to every sale they ever had, and even a sale they never had, to others that is.

Good catch!
The Kahiki had so much stuff they made for the place.

TIKISKIP lights worldwide, "over 200 made" next one to you.

Good a time as any to post this.....
Wentiki and I went to Mr Karsts home and bought some things one of those things was his home bar.
It was sad to take his bar out of his home kinda like a sign of the parties over thing.
A few short years later it looks like it was.
The Lemon Hart did have some rum in it that was not that good, so drink up that S#!T don't last.
His wife Mary was great!

Karst Sr. Robert William Karst, Sr., age 81, passed on February 12, 2013 at his home in the company of friends and family. Bob was preceded in death by his brothers Johnny, George, and daughter Kathy (Pabst) and is survived by his wife of 45 years, Mary; sister, Virginia (Hunter); sons, Robert Jr. and Patti, Tommy and Joyce, Danny (Mcquirt) and Patty; daughter, Sandy (Darrah); grandsons, Billy, Brandon, Shilo, Max, Sam, Alex, Patrick, Matthew; granddaughters, Britni, Stephanie; great-grandchildren, Logan, Lillie and Julian. Bob was raised in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in the restaurant business. The Karst Family owned and operated the Broad-Nel Restaurant and Bob learned from his father the joy of hospitality. A graduate of Gahanna High School and a veteran of the Korean War. Bob was fortunate to enjoy a very colorful life, a long time employee of the Kahiki and Wine Cellar restaurants in Columbus, Ohio. Bob enjoyed Elvis Presley, loved to play cards and was always there when you needed him. Bob retired in 1999 and spent the rest of his life in the company of his wife, Mary, his children and grandchildren. Friends are invited to attend a memorial on March 1, 2013 at EVANS FUNERAL HOME, 4171 E. Livingston Ave. Visitation from 3-4 p.m. Memorial service will be at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that you make a donation to Hospice or a charity of your choice . http://www.evansfuneralhome.net

• See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?pid=163239243#sthash.7GqGwAeN.dpuf
  
  
  

-==--==--==--==-Google "Tiki bar lights" To find TIKISKIP-==--==--==--==-

¦:-·:''"":·.-:¦:-**-:¦:-·:''"":·.-:¦

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2014-05-07 13:01 ]

Tikiskip,

I was poking around and found your site, and just wanted to clear up some information you posted back in October:

“NAME: Bernard C Altenbach
BIRTH: abt 1904 - Ohio
RESIDENCE: 1935 - Columbus, Franklin, Ohio
RESIDENCE: Columbus, Franklin, Ohio

BERNARD C ALTENBACH was born 27 March 1904, got Social Security number 300-01-9607 (indicating Ohio,) and died 24 July 1995. BERNARDINE ...”

This Bernard Altenbach is not the architect who designed the Kahiki. This is actually his father, also named Bernard Altenbach. Bernie Altenbach, the Kahiki architect, was born in 1927 and died about 1998. The Altenbach listed above is my grandfather. Bernie the architect was my uncle. By the way, that photo you were describing—is it available for posting? I’d love to see it.

Hey Welcome NorthEnder!
Are you in Ohio?
Also have you talked to one of the many Kahiki book writers?

"that photo you were describing—is it available for posting? I’d love to see it."
I don't know what photo you are talking about?
But I will if I can.
For the most part I post what I have here on TC so all can see it and then a guy like
you sees it and then we get even more of the story.
Would like to meet and talk if you are local.
I'm not writing a book just have an interest in Kahiki.

Ok I now see the photo.
You can see that here.
http://imgur.com/a/5uphF

Fourth photo from the top.

From the ashes, Sapp and Henry begin construction one year later on a new attraction, valued with a cost of over a million dollars (eight million dollars after today's inflation). Here the Manager-to-be Hal Naguchi chats with Lee Henry under the construction of arches depicting a New Guinea meeting house.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2014-05-09 07:53 ]

Ah! I must have misunderstood about the photograph. No matter.

No, I haven’t talked to any of the book writers. I may not be a very good candidate for that. I visited the Kahiki only once in my life—just a few days before it closed for good. My mother (Bernie the architect’s sister) wanted to visit the old place one more time. I was the youngest child and the Kahiki was a pretty upscale destination for little kids. I’ve seen it from the outside many times, but I didn’t get a chance to go inside much. My father didn’t have the money to splurge on dinners out for the family, so consequently, I was never able to visit. My older sister—who shared a birthday with Bernie—went with him for a birthday dinner back in the early to mid-70s and was fortunate to try the (nonalcoholic) Mystery Drink.

Bernie was kind of a mysterious uncle. He divorced, moved out to California and fell out of regular contact with the family. Some of his architectural work can still be seen around Columbus. For instance, he designed an apartment building across the street from Schmidt’s in German Village. He also did some work for Larry Flynt’s estate in Bexley. Later, he did more work for Larry out in California. I last saw him around 1996 or 97. He had been diagnosed with cancer and returned to Columbus for a mini-reunion. Shortly after that, he died in California.

Herman Leitwein, the builder of the Kahiki, is still in Central Ohio. I saw him just last summer. He’s about 90 years old, with poor hearing, and he’s in a wheelchair, but he still drives a big old pickup truck. His mind is still sharp as a tack and he has a wicked sense of humor.

(The server here won't let me access the photo. I'll have to check it out later, but thanks!)

[ Edited by: NorthEnder 2014-05-09 08:31 ]

[ Edited by: NorthEnder 2014-05-09 08:56 ]

My family had four restaurants in Columbus and one was down the street from the first Hustler club.
Well Larry and some girl came in it was 24 hours and the waitress came to my mom and said "Ida I can't
serve them" my mom said "it's just Larry" and the waitress said "But Ida" so my mom said I'll do it,
when my mom went over the girl had a coat on that was open and she was naked but for that coat.
My mom had some wild stories.

"He also did some work for Larry Flynt’s estate in Bexley."
This house is across the street from the school for girls, Larrys joke for sure.

That's what I heard, and that he did work on the Hustler club here and may have met someone?
Plus was told that he used to wreck his car a lot.
Some things I can't post here as they many not be all the way true or it may
be something that people don't want to be told.
Would love to meet here at the Windward Passage, it is as close to the Kahiki as you will get in
Columbus been around since the 70s.
Would be great if you could talk to any in your family and get as much info on Bernie so it
can be saved here.
We did talk to Herman Leitwein and you don't hear much about Herman or Bernie.

The "book" people may read this and get in touch with you just to let you know.
Heck if I could spell or form a sentence I would write the book and cut out the middle men/women.

Thanks for getting back to us!!!

WOW! Just when you think you've seen or heard everything BOOM!!

Thanks NorthEnder for writing and clarifying about your uncle Bernie.

I am one of the four authors working on the Kahiki book. It should be available in October 2014.

Tikiskip is an invaluable resource for ALL things Kahiki. In fact if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have half the interviews that I conducted. We really fell into a lot of things together just talking to people.

If you happen upon any photos of your uncle that would be great. I know we have more pictures than we can use, but Bernie was pretty important and we have NO pictures of him at all.

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

"I am one of the four authors working on the Kahiki book."

FOUR! I thought there were like 50 people or more working on many Kahiki books.:) Smile

So Jeff did Bill talk of Bernie when we talked with him? I know Bill did say some stuff about Bernie at
one time just don't know if you were there or not.
The article that Jeff did for the first Tiki mag was cut to like nothing, Too bad there was some good
stuff in there.

I forget most of what I hear shortly after so that is also why I put it here.

But... PLEASE add photos or any info you can here as lots of this gets picked up and feeds the world wide web.

Yeah, Larry Flynt was/is a piece of work.

The problem with my memories is that I was a young kid when Uncle Bernie was doing work for Flynt. I was around 10 years old, so I don’t know much about what was happening in his life, and my mother shielded me from a lot of information, I’m sure. Bernie would often show up at our house to use the phone when he was working, which sounds crazy these days, but at that time there were no cell phones. We lived in North Linden, and he would come in, make a few calls, visit with Mom for a few minutes, and take off again. He usually wore one of those flat British caps, which was totally out of style for your typical Midwesterner. He was an eccentric guy. Always a little odd. He wrecked his car only once that I remember. He hit some black ice, lost control, and ended up having a fairly severe crash. After that, he would always wear a crash helmet with a chin strap whenever he was behind the wheel. Imagine how that looked. Anyway, Bernie may have met someone at the Hustler club…I just don’t know. He started making trips out to California regularly to do work for Flynt (I was told). At one point I heard he’d been introduced to Ruth Carter Stapleton and he became interested in Christianity. My mother, a good Christian woman, was all tingly. She bought him a Bible and did her best to encourage him, but I don’t think it lasted for very long. Anyway, one day I heard that Uncle B wasn’t coming back to Ohio anymore. He left his wife and four kids—all under 12 at the time (if I recall). After that, he just sort of vanished from our radar. Years went by without seeing him or hearing from him. After my cousins grew older they moved down South. Later on they made it out to California to visit him, but I never heard any specifics about what he was doing. When his mother died around 1990, he didn’t attend the funeral. He also missed his father’s funeral in ’95. In the late 90s my mother told us Uncle B was battling prostate cancer and he was trying some alternative treatments. And then one day, he came back to Ohio and we had a brief visit and a dinner, and that was the last time I saw him.

Actually, that’s pretty much all I know about Bernie Altenbach. I’m not sure I could give you any substantial information. I might be able to track down a photo or two. I’ll check with my mother. You should probably talk to my cousins—Bernie’s kids. I can reach out to them if you like. I’m not sure if my mother would want to talk, but she might. I could see. They know a lot more than I. Really…I’d love to hear what YOU know about Bernie—especially the stuff you can’t post online. As I’ve said, we kids were shielded from most of his life. I’d love to know more. To me he was just Uncle Bernie or “Uncle B.” He built a house out on Hoover Reservoir and we’d go out there every Christmas Eve and for birthdays and whatever. It was a modern-looking design. It’s still there off of Red Bank Road in Galena. The family room looked down on a wooded ravine and had a floor to ceiling glass window. There was a clothes chute, which we used to play with (until the adults made us stop), and he had the first microwave oven I’d ever seen. It could heat water in 2 to 3 minutes. It was amazing. But the house was always under construction. It was never finished. There was always a pile of gravel outside, stacks of things wrapped in plastic sheeting, and exposed dirt (sometimes mud) instead of lawn. Something always needed to be done. They lived in that house for more than a decade, but it was never completed. I think it was a microcosm of Bernie’s life.

Yeah, we talked a little about Bernie with Bill Sapp and Lee Henry but they didn't really have a lot to say.

We got what we could.

I'm just glad we're interviewing these people now. These people are getting old and their memories are not what they used to be. A lot of times we have to play detective.

One thing though is this book will be packed with info!!! Lot's of great interviews too!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

@NorthEnder: Feel free to pm me with contact info for Bernie's kids. I'd love to make contact. Thanks again for all your info and welcome to Tiki Central!!

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2014-05-09 13:32 ]

"After that, he would always wear a crash helmet with a chin strap whenever he was behind the wheel. Imagine how that looked."

YES! That's what I was getting at!
Bill told us that.
And that he had an air conditioner on his car, Like the one you would put in a HOUSE!
Ring a bell?
Would love to get the address of that house so I could put a photo up of it.

Kahiki was built by all these talented odd artsie types.
So cool, need to get the stories that make up this place called Kahiki.

Will PM ya to see if we can meet, sounds like we are about the same age.
Windward is full of old timers form around town and love to tell old stories.
And it's not expensive.

I will say Jeff is the one "book" writers that I would endorse, not to say the others are bad just
don't know them.

Not you Greg, but then where are you at?(other book writer)

PS Northender, click on Personal Messages by the blinking red letter on the forum page of Tiki Central
to get message.

Man, I don't remember the air conditioner on the car. I'd have to ask my older brother about that one, but it's so Bernie. He was always a bit out there--a bit on the edge. I don't remember the address of the house off Red Bank, but as I recall, you cross Hoover Reservoir on Sunbury Road; at the intersection of Sunbury and Red Bank, turn right, and then take an immediate right. The house should be just down the lane--first driveway on the left. My wife and I drove over there maybe 10 years ago. Maybe more. Just wanted to take a look at the place. It's changed since the 70s and 80s, as you can imagine. More high-end homes in that area. When Bernie built out there, there was maybe one or two other neighbors.

We need more Bernie!!!
Thanks for getting back to us.
I'm thinking next week for Windward?

Hey all Columbus tiki nutz we may meet at Windward Passage on Sat the 16th?
Let me know what you think.

I'm in skip!

All right happy Buddha!
I will see what other folks around town would like to come.
We are like 7 mins from the Windward so we go often.
I'm thinkin around 7:00 on Sat 16th meet at the bar me in green hat.

I'll see if I can make it--7:00.

Hope to see you there!
As I said we live close by so very easy for us.
Other people at Windward often hear us talking and chime in and
that is fun and informative.
Once you get to know the regulars at Windward t's a whole new fun place.
AND no smoke in the place now.

All others are welcome too.
I always have some lights in the car to show at Windward, will bring a Kahiki light
for show and tell.

I'll be in Palm Springs! :(

Wow, blue sad face and your going to Palm Springs!

I will take notes for you.

AND... anybody who wants to join us it will be 7:00 Sat May the 17th we will
meet in the Windward Passage bar.