Tiki Archaeology: Moon Islander, South Titusville, Florida

WOW !! A fine job of archeology Tom. Some great stuff in there. I still have to try some of those recipes. Keep up the good work.

On 2009-10-16 15:45, bigbrotiki wrote:
Lovely waterfall, and thank you for all the scans of the recipes and menu! I think that Chinese belief of keeping your home/business clean of spirits as told in the story is now known and popular as Feng Shui.

But Titusville is the home of the Neon Tiki Tribe!? That is a hard one to live down, they were (are?) pretty much the epitome of "Un-Tiki"! :)

.... are those the McDonalds fry guys on their heads ??

Very interesting to read the real skinny on how NASA and Disneyworld affected the Space Coast. It's not always so clean-cut as remembered, Thanks Tom!

Sad that steak story, I can just imagine a verstockte Mr. Moon stubbornly repeating "We don't guarantee our meat" -and later kicking himself...or gettin' kicked by his wife!

Thank you, Sven and Trav, for the encouragement. It’s quite a thrill to find and bring the light of day to a story buried in the sands of time, so to speak. With each discovery, you want to dig ever deeper.

The “Space Coast” saw some pretty dark years after cancellation of the Apollo program, with Titusville and environs devastated by the resulting unemployment, home foreclosures/abandonments and business closings. It’s quite telling that the Moon Islander survived this and made it to the start of the Space Shuttle era. We’re experiencing the same sort of period again with the fly out of the Space Shuttle this year, superimposed on top of a really crappy national economy. Thousands have already been laid off, with many more to come. Déjà vu…

Sven, I think you’re exactly right about the sad affair of the steak. Mr. Moon was clearly a shrewd businessman and, from the first-hand accounts of Carol, far too decent a person to have stuck to such an untenable position. I’ll bet this got settled in a gentlemanly manner after everyone cooled off.

Naneki and Trav, I’ve tried some of the Moon Islander drink recipes and been pleasantly surprised. The Moon Islander mai tai, for example, is clearly more akin to the best of what I encountered in my trips to Hawaii than to the classic Trader Vic’s recipe, and it contains enough rum to seriously relax.

Tipsy, the Neon Tiki Tribe is extinct, best I can tell, but if you wish to try your hand at bringing back the untiki in order to address your question, send an email to the address on this web site:

http://www.neontikitribe.com/

You alone bear the consequences for this action. :)

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2011-04-01 05:18 ]

Scandal over lunch at the Moon Islander…

Florida Today March 5, 1982

On the question of when and how long was the Moon Islander in business, individual recollections are from the early to mid 1960s to early 1980s. What does the media record indicate? There are some really good clues here...

The Florida Today “Best is yet to come” article from April 30, 1968 (posted previously) has Jack Mintzer, local businessman, citing several new restaurants that opened in Titusville in the last year, one of which was the Moon Islander...

That would seem to make the opening date in 1967. Recall from an earlier posting that my junior high school prom dinner was at the Moon Islander in 1967 (late spring/early summer). That’s a check for consistency.

So, when did the end come? Carol, the former Moon Islander bartender, stated that the business was sold to a local realtor in the early 1980s, and then failed under the new owner within a year or so. Well, the article on the judge’s lunch tip scandal was dated March 5, 1982 and used the name of the Moon Islander. The last time I found any mention of the Moon Islander in the local news archive was this snippet in the Space Coast dining section, dated March 12, 1982...

On April 21, 1982, I found this ad for Sam’s Riverview (formerly Moon Islander)...

Additional Sam’s Riverview ads appeared on May 8 & 9, 1982, then nothing. This seems to indicate the restaurant ownership change occurred between March and April of 1982, and that the new owners did not continue to operate as the Moon Islander.

My conclusion... the Moon Islander had at least a 15-year run under Moon Lueg, from circa 1967 to 1982. That’s quite a remarkable accomplishment, considering that Titusville’s tiki palace weathered the really grim economic climate that followed the last of the Apollo launches in 1975, when many other businesses failed. It persisted through tough times to witness the first launch of the Space Shuttle in 1981. When Mr. Moon retired from his restaurant and moved to Ft. Pierce, he was 74 years old (SSDI records indicate his birth in 1908). He passed away only 2 years later, in 1984 (again based on SSDI records).

I haven’t yet been able to find any Moon Islander prom dinner photos from 1967. The closest I came was this photo, taken inside my date’s home by her Dad before departing for the prom (probably held as evidence, should I fail to return said daughter in similar condition)...

That prom date became my wife… dig the hair! She still has hers, but much of mine has departed. In those days I surfed at Playalinda Beach, immediately north of the Apollo (and later, Space Shuttle) launch pads. The beach was closed anytime a manned space mission was about to be launched, as it was within the security zone and launch danger area. For the same reasons, it continues to be closed for Space Shuttle launches, though not much longer…

The October 27, 1974 Florida Today article, “Mr. Moon and His Restaurant Shine On” (posted earlier) noted that Moon Lueg had a restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida for many years called the Moon Garden. Wondering about this precursor to the Moon Islander, I came across this comment on wallyg’s Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/2318774996/)...

Posting by tomtiger99 on September 29, 2009:

I love that they have restored the Sunrise Theatre. I've been a resident of this county since 1961, and have seen several historic or potentially historic buildings in St. Lucie County wiped away forever. Maybe it's like that all over, but there isn't any real sense of history in this county. History isn't just a pre 1930 building. Anyone remember Moon Garden Chinese Restaurant? The casino at the Jetty? The Ritz Theatre (down the street from the Sunrise), an old hotel at the foot of Tickletummy Bridge, Moss Department Store, to name a few. St. Lucie County Historical Society, please keep up your good work, and look beyond to what currently is coming into the historic light.

On tomtiger99’s Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/35356512@N05/) was posted what appears to be a menu cover...

Moon Garden, built in 1957, opened in 1959, closed in 1964, flattened after 2005
The Lueg family owned this place north of Fort Pierce, it closed in '64 when the owner's daughter was killed in a car crash. It remained empty until about 2005 when an ambitious woman bought the property to preserve and repurpose the building. It apparently was torn down after being totally gutted and roofless, for a project that was cancelled!! I remain angry to this day. Local artist A.E. "Beanie" Backus had painted an Asian mural on one of the interior walls, according to one local news report after the woman bought the building. I saw the mural years before the building was fenced in, and ultimately flattened. Good going St. Lucie County! Anyone with pictures of this place, please contact me on Flickr, and maybe post some. Lueg family lost everything pertaining to the business in a house fire.

A commenter on tomtiger99’s site with the handle, innisfree55, added this on September 2, 2010...

The Moon Garden Restaurant was owned and operated by Moon Lueg. The family also had a restaurant in the Melbourne-Eau Galle area. Mr. Lueg had a large farm off Old Dixie Highway where he raised vegetables especially those used in his oriental recipes. His daughter Ida Lueg was killed in an auto accident in '63. I believe Mr. Lueg closed the Moon Garden Restaurant shortly after. Mr. Lueg was a close friend of Father Beerhalter, the pastor of St Anastasia's Church in Ft Pierce. At that time the church was building a new High School (John Carroll High) and Mr. Lueg donated money and Oriental furnishings for a room at the school in his daughter's memory which was called the "Chinese Room" by us students that attended JCHS. I'm not sure if I have any photos of the Restaurant although there may be some in the yearbooks from the High School in the advertisements section. My Dad worked for the School and met Mr. Lueg and his wife Ella May several times. They had a large family and the children all attended the local Catholic School. I do have a picture of the family from 1951 which was taken at Father Beerhalter's 25th Jubilee.

tomtiger99’s reply that same day...

Thank you for your note and the correction of the family name! My faulty memory at work again. I can dig up the newspaper articles sometime with the pictures of the building. I did find out through someone else into local history, that the family refused to let this person take photos inside the building, before the brainiacs who destroyed it bought it and flattened it. I'd like to check out the high school yearbooks and find out if indeed pictures exist as you suggest they could. Also, perhaps patrons or their children have family party pictures inside and outside the structure? I'd love to see the other restaurant north of here, if the building still exists.

Then, on innisfree55’s Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49077767@N06/) came this 1951 photo of the Lueg family, when Moon was just 43 years old...

Lueg Family
This was taken in the St. Anastasia Church Social Hall on 10th St during the 25th Jubilee. This is the Lueg family. Many old timers will remember the Moon Garden restaurant north of town near the Indian River County line. Mr. Moon Lueg and his wife Ella May here with their 8 children owned and operated the Moon Garden Restaurant along with another restaurant in the Melbourne area. After the death of one of his daughters (I think it was Ida) he closed the restaurant and left it vacant. Moon Lueg was a close friend of Monsignors and also owned a vegetable farm on the river off the Old Dixie Highway where he grew many vegetables needed for his restaurants oriental cuisine that were not available locally. Mr. Lueg donated money and Oriental furnishings for a memorial room for his daughter when John Carroll was built. For those of us JCHS alumni, we remember it as the Chinese Room on the 1st floor.

And here’s a photo on that 25th Jubilee, in 1951...

25th Jubilee for Father Michael Beerhalter
25th Jubilee for Monsignor Beerhalter in 1951. This was taken on the auditorium stage that was on the top floor of St. Anastasia's School on 10th St. I can remember my father buffing and waxing that wooden floor while I rode on top of the buffing machine. Some fellow JCHS basketball team players may remember having to use this auditorium for our basketball practice one year. We learned how to shoot 9 ft baskets which didn't help much when it was time to play on a regulation size court. Oh the memories...

Some of the children in this last photo appear to be those of Moon and Ella May Lueg.

Maybe there are some TC members in the Fort Pierce area that can add to this.

Wow, great armchair archeology, Tom! The Internet sure is an amazing tool. Congrats on your life-long marriage, too.

Moon Garden!! I used to drive past a dilapidated chinese restaurant on the north side of Ft. Pierce about 10 years ago!! Been torn down for a few years now.

There's a Moon Islander dress store in Jensen Beach, Florida....just south of Ft. Pierce. Wonder if the owner is any relation??

howlinowl

P.S. That rendering of the restaurant on the front looks familiar to the building. I remember that large round window out front.

[ Edited by: howlinowl 2011-04-01 13:33 ]

Thank you, Sven.

Howlinowl, there's no readily apparent relationship, although the business name and locale would surely suggest one. The business address is Moon Islander, 3768 SE Ocean Blvd, Stuart, FL 34996. This is in a community shopping center, and it's listed as a retail shop for women's apparel and boy's clothing, in business since 1986.

A search of the Martin County business tax records shows the registered owner since 1997 is Scott Fredrickson of Jensen Beach. That doesn't preclude such possibilities as members of the Lueg family started the business and/or have some business or marital relationship with the current registered owner. It's just not obvious. The shopping center itself is owned by a corporation.

-Tom

On 2011-04-01 14:48, TikiTomD wrote:
Thank you, Sven.

Howlinowl, there's no readily apparent relationship, although the business name and locale would surely suggest one. The business address is Moon Islander, 3768 SE Ocean Blvd, Stuart, FL 34996. This is in a community shopping center, and it's listed as a retail shop for women's apparel and boy's clothing, in business since 1986.

A search of the Martin County business tax records shows the registered owner since 1997 is Scott Fredrickson of Jensen Beach. That doesn't preclude such possibilities as members of the Lueg family started the business and/or have some business or marital relationship with the current registered owner. It's just not obvious. The shopping center itself is owned by a corporation.

-Tom

I thinking of driving over there sometime to check it out. Years ago I used to work for a commercial A/C and refrigeration company. I had actually done a maintance on the system at the Moon Islander (Stuart).... While there, I had talked to the owner, his wife was asian.. chinese, I believe. My wife is filipino and we had a discussion about asian wives. Might be a long shot, but maybe his wife is one of Moon's daughters.

Moon did retire and move back to Ft. Pierce, so I'm thinking there's family in the area.

Wish they didn't tear down the Moon Garden. What struck me was that it was obviously old, but in the middle of nowhere between Ft. Pierce and Vero. Of course, US 1 was the main highway back then....no turnpike or interstate. And probably figured they'd pull customers from both towns.

howlinowl

Figured on going a different route. Did a little web searching and found a Lueg in Fort Pierce. Sent an email with a link to this thread and a couple of questions to his facebook account, hopefully he'll visit or reply.

howlinowl

I'm really enjoying all the information on this thread! Makes me wish I had some information to add. But I don't, except that my son just accepted a job in Melbourne, will be moving there this July, so we expect to be spending a good deal of time along the Space Coast. Mrs. Bungalow and I are looking forward to it.

Howlinowl, good luck with your line of pursuit. It would be great if a surviving family member would be willing to add their story. My online searches indicate quite a few of Moon and Ella May's children still reside in the Fort Pierce area. I'm still hoping someone, somewhere can contribute clear photographs of the Moon Islander and even the Moon Garden. A menu scan of the Moon Garden would also be interesting... what food and drink offerings were a precursor for the Moon Islander? The internet is an amazing source of information, as Bigbrotiki observed, but sometimes the only way to get answers is by feet on the ground.

Bongo, its great to know your son found a job is this dismal economy. You'll find that there's a lot of beautiful coastline, rivers and lakes in central Florida, especially on the Space Coast. South Brevard is a fine location, with plenty to do.

-Tom

Hoping to find some clear photographs of the Moon Islander, I started with the color post card, which credited Bob Ebaugh Photography, Melbourne, Florida. No luck finding Bob Ebaugh, but I did find Tim Ebaugh Photography and Graphic Design of Melbourne. So I telephoned him on a hunch. He explained that Bob Ebaugh is his Dad and put me in email contact with him. His Dad sent me the following email...

Hi Tom,

I took the photo for the postcard for Moon Islander sometime in the mid 1970's. Back in those days the postcard publishers required original 4X5 inch color transparencies. Therefore, I used either Ektachrome or Kodachrome film which produced a direct color transparency. No negatives or other prints were involved, and the original transparencies were submitted to the publisher which was then given back to the restaurant owner along with the postcards.

So sorry, but there is no way I would have anything in my files other than a sample postcard. Having retired from the business over 20 years ago, many of those old files have been discarded.
I will keep your email address on file so I can notify you if by some freak chance, we should find one of the postcards.

By the way, I used to work with a guy named Art back in the early 60's at Patrick AFB, I think. We rode together in a car pool and he had several sons. Would Art by any chance be your father?

Best Regards,

Bob Ebaugh

After my reply, he wrote me back...

Thanks for your reply Tom,

Actually, unlike mine, your last name is a quite common name so it was just a long shot thinking you might be one of Art's sons.

Your question: Maybe your work at Patrick AFB involved Eastern Test Range support?

Yes it did, I was working in the Tech Lab for RCA at the time in the motion picture laboratory where we produced movies of every missile launch back in those early days.

Would you believe "Bomark" and "Atlas" among others whose names I have forgotten? Most of them blew up on the pad or shortly after liftoff.

Those were the days, and we were the pioneers of the space industry. Sure happy it is doing much better now.

Best regards from Bob

Really nice gentleman and I’m so glad I had the chance to make contact with him, but alas, no photos.

On 2011-04-02 03:25, Bongo Bungalow wrote:
I'm really enjoying all the information on this thread! Makes me wish I had some information to add. But I don't, except that my son just accepted a job in Melbourne, will be moving there this July, so we expect to be spending a good deal of time along the Space Coast. Mrs. Bungalow and I are looking forward to it.

Congrats, and don't think it's all de-tikied country up there. Our venerable but scarce member fatuhiva lives in Melbourne Beach. He was one the earliest mug collectors and Tiki revival artists, and member of the Tiki News circle since living in Arizona in the 90s. He has withdrawn from the field a little in recent years, and concentrates on the cultivation of tropicals, which thrive up there. One of his neighbors used to be an original Mai Kai dancer.

I'm sure to enjoy the area when i visit my son and should make my first trip down to the Mai Kai this summer.

Here’s another Moon Islander photo montage from a different postcard than the earlier post on page 2...

Like the earlier postcard, there appear to be tiki masks on the walls of the dining rooms. The earlier one clearly showed a tiki mask at the bar.

Note to Bigbrotiki: Without photo-enhancing software, I can’t determine if the tiki masks have a "welcome” sign on their faces, such as a smile or grin. It would be child’s play to do so if I had the amazing photo enhancing software of NASA. Recall that NASA found a tiki face in the Cydonia region of Mars from this raw 1970s Viking photograph...

After photo enlargement and enhancement, this is what NASA came up with...

Fearing a news leak and the resulting panic should the public learn that NASA discovered tikis on Mars, this press release was issued to downplay it…

Caption of JPL Viking Press Release P-17384
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
VIKING NEWS CENTER
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
(213) 354-6000
Viking 1-61
P-17384 (35A72)
PHOTO CAPTION July 31, 1976

This picture is one of many taken in the northern latitudes of Mars by
the Viking 1 Orbiter in search of a landing site for Viking 2.

The picture shows eroded mesa-like landforms. The huge rock formation
in the center, which resembles a human head, is formed by shadows
giving the illusion of eyes, nose and mouth. The feature is 1.5
kilometers (one mile) across, with the sun angle at approximately
20 degrees. The speckled appearance of the image is due to bit errors,
emphasized by enlargement of the photo. The picture was taken on July
25 from a range of 1873 kilometers (1162 miles). Viking 2 will arrive
in Mars orbit next Saturday (August 7) with a landing scheduled for
early September.

-Tom :wink:

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2011-04-03 11:24 ]

Thanks for posting the various drink recipes! Been systematically making my way through them. On Friday night, I made up pitchers of the Port Light (frickin' awesome!), Polynesian Dream, Pina Colada and that Koko K(iss?) All were very tasty and went down well (though the banana liqueur was a little too sweet for me - I'll still try the other drinks that include it - that's just the kinda guy I am).

And not to get too far off topic (admittedly a rare occurrence here at TC), but Brevard does have a small, but active tiki scene. Tell your son to check out http://www.tornadotiki.com when he gets down here and we'll hook him up!

On 2011-04-03 08:03, TikiTomD wrote:
Here’s another Moon Islander photo montage from a different postcard than the earlier post on page 2...

-Tom :wink:

---

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2011-04-03 11:24 ]

Great to see the chunky fiberglass lamps actually used in t aTiki establishment!

A little searching through Google archives brings us this from 1974:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i3kyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fbcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4459,1999770&dq=moon+garden+fort+pierce&hl=en

Article about the farm near the Moon Garden in Ft. Pierce. Son Oakley (whom is the person I messaged on facebook) was farming it then. Mentions that his father left to run the Titusville restaurant due to slow business at the Moon Garden. Also mentions the shuttered Moon Garden.

Wonder if the whole story about him closing it due to the death of his daughter is true? Or maybe his son just told the paper that it was slow business to avoid talking about his dad's superstitions??

Haven't heard from Oakley, but then again it is facebook and he's approching 70 years old... I'm sure facebook isn't his main priority in life.

Haven't made it to Moon Islander (dress shop in Jensen) yet....

howlinowl

Nice find, howlinowl! Thanks!

In case anyone has trouble finding the article on the link, it's on page 43 of 79.

To make it easy, I've excerpted it in pieces below, from the Palm Beach Post of January 11, 1974...

-Tom

Aha!

I thought I heard the siren tiki call this morning..

then I saw the word "Titusville" scroll by on my mobile phone's Tiki Central RSS feed.

I don't know how I missed this thread until today..

What awesome information has been unearthed here! And what a small world, as Tim Ebaugh and I are friends- we hit the skateparks often- he does alot of photography at skate events. Great call noticing his Dad's name on the postcard!

I live in South Melbourne Beach, and arrived in the area in early 2001- so I missed the Titusville hey-day. But cruising around in that area, my tiki-senses were going crazy, however, I never managed to find much. You really scoreed with the Moon Islander! As Flounder mentioned earlier in this thread, it looked like the area had taken a hit (the end of Apollo no doubt) at some point, and by the time we arrived on the scene, it was a shadow of its former self. In fact, this whole area has that feel.. on rare occasion I'll stumble upon something that hints back to a tiki-er past, but this area seems to have undergone a sweeping facelift between then and now, and little of the 60's stuff remains intact.

May I suggest you try starting a thread over at 2ndlight.com, the local surfer's forum- tons of old timers there- that have lived here for years- probably plenty of other informational tidbits could be found there.
(like this thread regarding the "Samoa" from Cocoa Beach: http://www.2ndlight.com/fusetalk/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=36&threadid=93134 )

Very cool that you got to surf the "forbidden beaches" of Playlinda- I assume it will all stay off limits even after the Shuttle program is over.

As Sven mentioned, I do have a pretty good sized tiki collection here in Melbourne Beach- any locals are welcome to come by and check it out- I've got tons of mugs, a menu / matchbook/ postcard collection as well as few big carvings- witco, etc (most of it was collected when I lived in Arizona) Send me a Personal Message through Tiki Central if your interested

I'm very impressed with your urban archaeology- it will be a great read, so if you are interested, I'd be glad to return the favor someday- and yes, I could even introduce you to Louise, my Tahitian neighbor, who as a young girl, travelled to Florida from a small island to work as a dancer at the Mai Kai- her son runs it now.. when I met her for the first time as a neighbor, I already had a postcard of her from the 60's in my collection- small world!

Here's a few old pics of my place:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=25166&forum=1
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=6613&forum=5

I'd like to point out in that first postcard image on Page 2 of the thread- to those that haven't been in the area.. in the shot with the water-view out the window, you can see a building off in the distance. That is NASA where the rockets were launched- it must have been a great view of the launches from the Moon Islander

Bongo- I think you & your son will enjoy the area- its very different living here, but it has many unique charms and of course, some of my favorite beaches in the world..

[ Edited by: fatuhiva 2011-04-05 20:33 ]

Always good to hear from you, Brian. Thought you might like this thread.

Had forgotten about your "early collectors" thread: Newbies, behold in wonderment! Which, in this case, is 95% of the folks here :)

One day I hope to wash up on your shores again...

Fatuhiva,

I am, as Sven expected, transfixed in wonder at the depth and breadth of your tiki collectables, as well as the tropical splendor of your home environs. Especially love the ginger, among my favorite of exotic flowering plants. I’d very much like to visit some time.

The unveiling web of interconnections in the Moon Islander story is awesome. Just when you think there is nothing more, something else turns up, like howlinowl’s post yesterday and your post from last night.

I’m going to wander off-thread a bit here. The mention of your Tahitian neighbor, who as a young lady was a Mai Kai dancer, brings bittersweet memories of another beautiful young Tahitian woman who was the childhood best friend of my wife. Her name was An Powell, born in Tahiti of Tahitian mother and American father. An and Pat, my wife, attended school together in Titusville from elementary through high school. They were inseparable. An’s father, Kim, built catamarans and rented them to folks for sailing excursions in the Indian River. See, for example, this Florida Today ad from April 4, 1971...

An and Pat, even as pre-teens, would often grab one of her Dad’s catamarans and sail to any of a number of spoil islands created from dredging the Intracoastal Waterway channel along the Indian River.

An’s Dad, overcome with the wanderlust of his youth, built the mother of all catamarans, the Tapiti Nui, to convey his family on a five-year voyage around the world. Almost 40 years ago on June 1, 1971, the entire family, except for An’s older brother, Kim, departed Titusville. Pat never saw her friend again...

Things began well enough, though delayed by a hurricane...

Florida Today July 2, 1971

Then tragedy...

Florida Today August 8, 1971

Florida Today August 12, 1971

Years later, I was to work on the Space Shuttle at Kennedy Space Center with Kim, the older brother of An. I don’t know what became of him, but like his Dad, he also dreamed of faraway tropical places. I recall a desire to start a pineapple plantation...

-Tom

Oh Jeeeez, what a tragedy! At first I thought that this was gonna be about another of the many funky Kon-Tiki re-enactments (there were quite a few), but this is just really sad, the South Seas dream gone all wrong. :cry: I bet a lot of people were mad at the father for recklessly going thru with his dream.

"How can we drown? All my family walks on water!" Oh my. Too bad that microfiche film gives such bad photo reproductions, I lightened up this one:

How the f%&# come that that fishing boat did not stop? Never heard of such a thing.

There actually are many examples of families or couples being successful in "dropping out", and living as "boat people" all over the harbors and waters of the world. My first wife sailed the world on a catamaran until she moored with me...for a while...

Continuing off topic a bit, here is an image of Brian's neighbor:

The gal on the right. Better known to us as Kern's Mom. A great lady!

Sven, thank you for the image enhancements of the Tapiti Nui crew. Pat, my wife, remains heartbroken at the loss of her friend. Several days before the start of the ill-fated voyage, An came to see her, intending to leave her pet guinea pig, but Pat had no place for a domestic rodent. I recall Pat’s Dad trying to persuade Kim Powell to carry a marine radio in case they needed to call for help en route, but Kim was a minimalist and supremely confident in his ability to deal with any situation. After all, he had as a young man constructed his own catamaran and, accompanied by his young children, sailed it from Tahiti back to the States.

Nice photo, Tim, of Kern’s mom. Sure looking forward to the June rendezvous at the Mai Kai.

Back on topic...

Wanting to know more about that approximate 50-acre farm in the vicinity of Titusville used to supply the Moon Islander with fresh vegetables, I called Carol, the former Moon Islander bartender, to see if she knew about it. Indeed she did, indicating that it was on Barna Avenue south of Knox-McRae Drive. It took only minutes using the online Brevard County Property Appraiser’s web site to locate the likely site of Moon’s old farm on two adjacent 24.75-acre parcels at 4400 South Barna Avenue. Digging through quick claim deeds in the official record book confirmed it. The records show that the property remained in the family until sold in 1994 by Ella May Lueg, Moon’s wife. Recall that Moon himself passed away in 1984 at 76 years of age. Ella May lived into 2000, passing away at 90 years of age.

After a short drive yesterday afternoon, I found the old farm site, overgrown and still undeveloped nearly 30 years from the time of the Moon Islander. An old farm outbuilding was intact but showing neglect. I didn’t venture into the property, as “No Trespassing” signs were prominently posted and it’s on a busy road with homes on the opposite side – I must have driven by it thousands of times in the past without a clue…

Carol also stated that cows grazed the land there. Hmmm, could that have been the source of some of the Moon Islander steaks (see “we don’t guarantee the meat” in Chewed-out Diner... post)?

-Tom

Hmmmm...I doubt they slaughtered their own livestock for the restaurant. Seems the USDA would frown mightly on that.

Looks like they owned the farm in Titusville, but my article stated Oakley "rented" the land they farmed in Ft. Pierce. Wonder if Moon owned it and rented it to their son? Since the Moon Garden stood abandoned for over 40 years (1964-2005 when demolished), I would think that he owned the land it stood on, maybe not demolishing it due to memories, superstitions of his deceased daughter or that they had a chunk of change in it and planned to reopen later but never did.

Did a google search of the address on the document you provided. Address is on Old Dixie Hwy which runs along side of US 1 just south of Hillcrest Gardens Cemetary (findagrave.com shows Moon and Ella's gravesite there). Wonder if this was the location of the farm and maybe family home?? My article quotes Oakley as saying he was going to stay in the country, the smog in the city bothered him..... From memory, I think Moon Garden was farther north than the farm.

Maybe this weekend I'll try to find the Moon Garden lot and take some pics....and take a look 'round the farm area too.

howlinowl

Being curious about this Fort Pierce, Florida precursor to the Moon Islander, I searched and found a Moon Garden menu at a Dallas, Texas dealer. Not sure if it is pure coincidence, but I found evidence that one of Moon’s children was married in Dallas County and resided for a while with her husband in Texas.

The extensive menu indicates this was a Chinese-American restaurant and cocktail lounge, exotic in the sense of the Orient. There are no graphic elements or descriptions that present a Polynesian or tiki theme, though some of the rum drinks on the cocktail menu would normally be considered tiki cocktails... not all that uncommon for classier Chinese restaurants...

Nice score on the menu!! Is that the one that was on Ebay and Addoway? I'd seen it on both sites, but procrastinated and missed getting it. I was hoping someone here snagged it.

Hoping to go out tomorrow AM to the Moon Garden site. Maybe cruise by the Moom Islander dress shop in Stuart if they're open. Kinda hard for me to get around to do this, We have two kids and she works days and I work overnights so we don't have to shell out any childcare. Plus, we're shorthanded.... so I'm getting overtime that eats into my free time.....

Anyway, took a look at Google maps to find the old site of Moon Garden. Think I've found it. Just north of the farm and cematary and just south of where US 1 curves over the RR tracks:

I've place a red box around it. All that's left of is the pad.

Zoomed in closer.

Really wish I'd stopped and took pics of the place when the building was still standing. But I was in a service van, with my employer's name and number on the side....Hate to have someone call them or worse, get arrested for trespassing...

howlinowl

Howlinowl,

Your Google aerials look right for the site. I've poured over numerous property transactions in St Lucie County among Moon's spouse (Ella May Lueg) and her children Oakley, Michael and Lana without being sure what was involved at the various sites from the legal descriptions, many of which were metes and bounds descriptions.

My curiosity exceeded the $ amount for the menu, so I snagged it from Addoway; noticed it was also mirrored on eBay.

Understand the child and job demand thing... it's been quite a while since I had the child part of that, but the rocket ranch is driving me into overdrive lately. Not complaining, though, as there are many who wish it were so for them.

-Tom

Well....I STILL haven't made it over to either the Moon Garden site or the Moon Islander dress shop. I'm starting to remember why I never got any pictures of the Moon Garden.....I just can't seem to squeeze out a couple hours of free time.

However, thanks to TikiTomD's post on another thread, I started checking out the property appraisers website. They have an aerial shot of the Moon Garden site:

The walls were still up, but the roof was gone, you can tell by the shadows they cast. I don't know if this was during destruction (my guess would be yes, as if the roof collapsed, it would still be there) or not. You can make out the fountain or pool out front.

Interesting side note: While looking for this, this parcel shares the same address as the parcel behind it, which has a house and 2 storage buildings. Google search brings us this:

http://www.remax.com/property/82348949-60490585/6290-N-Us-Highway-1-Fort_Pierce-FL-34946/

Description states it was built in 1982, the same year Moon moved back to Ft. Pierce and it has the circle window out front.....I'm guessing it's the home he built when he retired.

howlinowl

Good stuff, howlinowl! I saw that the parcel records for this Fort Pierce location at 6290 N US Hwy 1 included a demolition permit closed in 2006.

+++++

About nine months ago, I received a PM on Tiki Central from Lana, one of the daughters of Moon Lueg, owner of the Moon Islander. She saw the TC posting and asked me to help her get in touch with Carol, the former bartender at the Moon Islander. They had worked together there and were friends. Her reply...

Thank you very much Tom in passing along the information and getting me back in touch with Carol.

I'll go back and read the Tiki Central notes and see what I can add or provide to you for adding. It may be awhile but I'll be sure to get back with you.

Lana, we’d love to hear your story...

+++++

Carol related that Lana, rather than serving customers, attended to the business administration of the Moon Islander.

I found this college graduation photo of Lana and her sister, Lena...

The Voice May 29, 1964

-Tom

Found an old ebay add for a 1964 Moon Garden Calander that ended in March. I snagged the pics below:

howlinowl

@SVEN: "One day I hope to wash up on your shores again..."

Would love to have you out again Sven- just let me know if you're going to be in the area

@SWANKY: Nice picture of Louise- I've never seent hat one- I'll have to show it to her!

Hey Brian, I just heard there is a new Tiki bar coming to Ormond Beach, no other info though. I wonder how Julian's and the Aku Tiki Inn are doing...

Not much of a contribution, but I've got a swizzle from this joint.

On 2011-04-23 20:24, Big Kahuna wrote:
Not much of a contribution, but I've got a swizzle from this joint.

I'm gonna a disagree with you on this Big Kahuna and say that the swizzle is a huge contribution to this thread. It means they went the extra inch back then with the custom lettering instead of some stock swizzle and that there should be more of them out there.

Very Nice! :o

You're too kind, Boris.

Cool swizzle. I agree with Boris, every little item, however small helps to document the establishment.

howlinowl

On 2011-04-20 10:35, bigbrotiki wrote:
Hey Brian, I just heard there is a new Tiki bar coming to Ormond Beach, no other info though. I wonder how Julian's and the Aku Tiki Inn are doing...

Sven, my beach house is only about 15 miles north of Ormond Beach, Florida, so I frequently take the scenic route back towards work on Hwy A1A south from Flagler Beach to Port Orange. Julian's, the Aku Tiki Inn and the Hawaiian Inn are all still open and are recognizable from their heritage photos. I remember attending a pretty good Polynesian show at the Hawaiian Inn decades ago. Even the Makai, shown on page 263 of Tiki Modern, still lives on as a dated beach lodge. My new bride and I spent our honeymoon night at the Makai forty-one years ago when it was quite a bit newer (and so were we). In 2006, we snapped these photos passing by...

Been a bit busy with rocket launches lately, but when I get a break, perhaps I can check out some of these a bit more. BTW, Pete & Debi, a really nice TC couple I met at Hukilau 2010, also live in the area and recommended the Caffeine Bistro and Wine Bar on Granada Avenue. Don't believe it serves tiki drinks, but it features a number of Shag prints on its walls.

On 2011-04-23 20:24, Big Kahuna wrote:
Not much of a contribution, but I've got a swizzle from this joint.

As Boris and howlinowl observed, quite a unique find, Big Kahuna... never knew the Moon Islander had its own custom swizzle sticks... thank you.

-Tom

[ Edited by: TikiTomD 2011-04-24 10:11 ]

Just for the record, I found that swizzle in an antique mall in Vermont!

Thanks for the Makai pics, Tom, it is great to see the Tiki sign all fixed up again, after it had been destroyed by that bad hurricane. When I travelled the area in 2005 to photograph the various hotels for Tiki Modern, it was down, or I would have shown a close up of it. All I had was that carved piece of wood in the lobby. :)

Judging by this 80s brochure photo of the lobby, the Makai also sported some Witco decor (note "Female Dancer" ...and spear!) once, which by the time of my visit was non-existent:

But the picture suggest that there might have been more Tiki stuff around the place at one point - do you remember any of that?
I am sure you had nothing better to do on your honeymoon than marvel at the burned wood Tikis in the place! :D

Sven, you’re certainly right about my honeymoon focus being on other than tiki adornments; however, the Makai’s exotic appearance is what singled it out to us among the many beachfront lodges in the area. I recall nothing specific regarding the interior, other than it reinforced the exotic atmosphere suggested by the exterior...

I noticed that Uncle Trav established a separate thread for the Makai in the Locating Tiki forum back in 2009, and I’d like to direct your attention to it for an observation regarding the Witco décor in your photo:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=32776&forum=2&6

-Tom

Found time to go to the Moon Garden site. Unfortunatly, I couldn't get onto the property...had a fence up. Didn't bother taking any pics, either the pad's been pulled up or the overgrowth is blocking the view of it from the fence.

howlinowl

Concerning the incident of the unchewable steak (see page 4 of this thread), I had assumed that charges had been dropped against the customer by the Moon Islander's owner after some reflection, based on the lack of a follow-up story in the local newspaper, but I had assumed wrongly, as this article from a newspaper on the opposite coast of Florida makes clear...

Sarasota Journal July 14, 1970

Mr. Moon apparently stuck to some inscrutable business principle in this case, as I doubt the menu carried an explicit warning on the steaks...

Every business has its bad days, and prevailing memories (including my own) of the Moon Islander are positive on its decor, food and drink. There's a Facebook group "You know you're from Titusville when..." that has several threads of recollection on the Moon Islander, lamenting that there's no longer its equal http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=2211667953. Representative comments...

Andre Breemen: Yes, had many of those huge drinks that came with 4 straws and you shared them!!
April 3, 2010 at 6:14am

Rick Mixson: I liked The Suffering Bastard drink
April 3, 2010 at 11:13am

Lila Carter: OMG they had the best & strong alcohol drinks. They were served in coconuts and pineapples, etc.
April 15, 2010 at 3:11am

Lin Herz: I loved the Moon Islander. Wonderful food and great atmosphere. And it was so pretty. Loved the coy pond that meandered through the place. There is certainly no place as nice there now.
April 22, 2010 at 8:37pm

-Tom