 ThinkTek Hawaii. Civil engagement lives here. Aloha. I'm Tim Hapuchella, your host for What's on Your Mind Hawaii. Today's show, we look at the recent controversy of the Beach Boys at Coheel Beach that currently work for STAR, which possibly may be replaced by Oahu Divers employees. Last week, STAR lost an injunction in court to prevent from being forced off the beach in order for Oahu Divers to put up their stands and their surfboards. On Sunday, a way of life was on the receiving end of that failed court challenge. Sheds, chairs and boards were loaded up in a truck to make way for some change. The issue focuses on whether a culture of the Beach Boy lifestyle, which has been in place since the 1950s, will be replaced by a mainland company concerned that a corporate approach will replace a way of Aloha. Let's take a look at a couple of those photos which I just mentioned in the next photo. That's STAR Reynolds, and they've been in business for many, many years. And the concern is that the employees who work for STAR are the ones who are ambassadors of Aloha as they interact with tourists and as they interact and teach about surfing and take them out on outrigger rides. There are decades of history at Coheel Beach and it appears change on all areas on all fronts is going to occur. In the center, the old-time Beach Boys might be replaced. To the north, the sun-shaped pavilions may be removed if Honolulu Build number 37 is passed. And to the south, the ongoing beach erosion persists. Today we get a glimpse of those halcyon days of Waikiki as we hear from our guest Don Stroud, a neighbor, a friend, and a former Waikiki Beach Boy and a longtime Hollywood actor and a gentleman who plays a mean set on the bongos. And now that interview. Aloha. This is Tim Apachele for What's On Your Mind, Hawaii. I'm here in Hawaii Kai at the Esplanade. And our guest today is Don Stroud, who is a former Beach Boy down at Waikiki Beach. And Don is a longtime Hollywood actor. Don, welcome to the show. I appreciate you taking the time to join us. And I saw your photo down by the deuce statue yesterday and the star advertiser. And there you were and you were protesting. You were protesting with about 48 other people about basically the removal of the star Beach Boys for a Wahoo dive. Tell me about it. Well, it goes back years and years and years for me. When I first came down the beach, I was 11 years old. And that's quite a ways down 74 years old. And we lived down by down by seaside down by the other side. And I'd come down by the Halakalani. And there was a 42 foot core boat there. And his name was Steamboat, was the Kamui boat. And he ran the Royal Hawaiian. And the El Riga canoe boys, it was the old day where the El Riga canoe was next to the Royal Hawaiian. It was a small club. But they had Steamboat ran the Royal Hawaiian. And it was prestige. They came down and raked that beach every morning at five o'clock in the morning. And I used to beg the guys, I'd come down at 430, can I rake for you? Can I rake for you? I was 12 years old. And we raked that whole beach every morning. And there wasn't a leaf or just perfect. And all the boats were fine and perfect. And there was a rabbit kekai and blue makua and blackout whaley and mudwarner and Richard Taylor and Richard Wannanubbie. These guys were worldwide famous beach boys. And they wore their uniforms with pride. And they're sitting around there with their shorts. And they were clean. And they were great captains. Steamboat could take this boat out was a 42 foot boat. He take it out what you call first break in Waikiki, which is about eight feet. It breaks out about another 200 yards. And very few canoes go out there. It's great for surfing. Then you go down a little further. And there was the Mono Hotel and this great beach boy Jesse and them. Now, most of these guys are gone. Most of are gone. This is my old days when I was a kid. Mostly when I was a kid. And Jesse ran the Mono Hotel spotless. It was like a zen Chinese garden. They came and raked that place. The people had their brothers, their towels and stuff. It was first class. Then you go down a little further. And it's a beach called Kohio Beach. Just past the Mono Hotel. The beach changes. Changes tremendously. It always has been. I think my biggest beef right now with the beach boys and stuff is why the state doesn't come down and work on that beach. We have millions and millions of people that come to Kohio Beach. You notice down by the Royal and on that side, the difference in the beach. They should work on the Kohio Beach. There's thousands and thousands of people down there. Like in my day. Well, when you say work on the beach, are you talking about keeping it cleaner or some of the coral that washes up? Or what do you think? Completely re-wrapped with the beach. The beach is gone out there. See, in the old days, that beach was two big buildings. That's a cement block on that beach. That is not really a beach. The water came right up to that sand. So that beach has always been like that. Kohio Beach has been a whole different world. And now what they want to do is they came down with this protest the other day. The boys felt that they were just getting kicked off the beach and get out of here and we'll take it over. Well, it's a change of business. It's like Hale'awa with those guys. It was so different them. The beach boys were so different. You know, I like the idea of wearing uniforms and knowing who's who on the beach because now there's a lot of people that just hang around the beach and they hustle. They hustle. It's so annoying. Sometimes you walk down the beach and 10 people before you hit the sand will say, how about a surfing lesson today? How about a canoe ride today? You know? So you don't even know they have the proper equipment. You don't know if they have proper insurances. You don't know any of it because you assume they're part of the beach, the beach boys that are have the concession on that beach. Absolutely. That's what I'm comparing the outrigger to the old days of the Hale'awa. Guys, you know that these were beach boys. They had their credentials on them and they were professional people. The new guys, they're great kids and they're great surfers. And then there's the captains down there. That's the most important thing. The steersmen. These guys were powerful, great steersmen. There's only a few of those guys left. So how that's going to work out? I don't know. I know the new people that want to take over, they're diving people, you know, and diving and canoeing and surfing, especially if the surf gets a little bigger. It's a big difference in small waves and a little bigger waves, even like the key waves. The difference in two to three feet and six feet is a major difference if you don't know how to surf and you need someone to look out for you out there. But all my years, all my years, and I'm talking about when I was a kid, I started hanging around the beach when I was 12 years old. Then I started working on the beach when I was 16, just 17 out of high school. And I worked up there until I was 21 years old. So I know the old days, the great, great, great beach boys that taught me how to surf and how to paddle and how to swim. Was Duke down there at that time? Duke was down there big time. He was with Freddie Hemmings and those guys were outrigger guys. I paddled for the Waikiki Surf Club, which was the challenge when we were Kohio Beach guys by then. When I got up, sort of went with the other guys. There was two complete different groups of people. But the Kohio Beach kids were a little tougher and kind of just, we were more surfers and stuff. But we could paddle. We were great paddlers. There was nothing like paddling those days. There wasn't that many clubs and stuff. But we were race against outrigger and Duke and Freddie Hemmings and them ran that club down there, the outrigger canoe club. We challenge Waikiki Surf Club, especially on the 4th of July. They'd have great races on the Waikiki Beach on the 4th of July. It was great. Now, when you say those days, the old days, are we talking about mid 60s, the early 60s? Definitely all of the 60s, all of the 60s, those good 10 years in there, even into the 70s before I actually went to the mainland and they were doing Hawaii 501 day and the guy said to me, can you surf? And Troy Dada, you couldn't surf. That Hawaii 501, Hawaii and I, I'm very sorry, Hawaii and I said, could you surf? So I started surfing for Troy Dada you and that got me off the beach. I said, why don't you come to Hollywood and see what you can do? And things worked out pretty good for me actually. You know, I did over 100 films, over 200 television shows. And it was a great, great life. I've been retired now. I'm going on 13 years back home and it's been wonderful. You know what I mean? I can't surf like I used to stuff like that. I was fourth of the world at Makaha during the Duke Hanamoko World Championships, which they moved to Sunset Beach. But the guys now, they make 10 bucks an hour, right? In the old days, it costs, I think 250 for a canoe, right? Now it's $20. A surfing lesson used to cost $6, $7. Now it's I think $50 or $75. But the guys are making the 10 bucks an hour. In a way, maybe it might be better that these guys that are the qualified guys that might go with the new guy because the deal's a deal. If he's going to win the contract, the contract is going to be what it is. As new people came in, new people take over. But you got to keep these guys, you know, this is their home. They cherish, we got up in the beach when we were kids at five o'clock in the morning and we didn't leave till nighttime. It wasn't just the beach. It wasn't just work. It was more of home. I mean, that's where we, that's where we lived. I was brought up on that beach. Everything I learned, everything these kids learned is from the beach. But those days have changed quite a bit, quite a bit. I mean, well, the one of the people from Star Beach, they said, you know, look, it's not just about putting in a business model. He said, you know, our beach boys are the ones that try to perpetuate aloha with the tourists. And you know, it sounds good on paper, but does that really occur? I don't know. In the old days, that's exactly what it was. Things have changed him. Things have changed on the beach now. It's you got to make that money, man. You got to make that money because if you're making 10 bucks an hour, you're trying to get your tips and stuff like that. What are you going to make a couple bucks a day? In the old days, you could get a plate lunch for 50 cents. You could have a beer for quarter. So you worked on the beach, you made yourself 50 bucks. It was an amazing day. Now 50 bucks, you made yourself sour, you know what I mean? But that's the difference. And I think these beach boys feel they're being just tossed aside, just tossed aside, where a lot of these guys have been down there for 30, 40 years. Not all of them now. There's a whole new group of people down there now that haven't been around this long. They come and go now. They come and go now. Well, one of the, in the Star Advertiser, one of the representatives from Dive Oahu or Oahu Dive said, it's not like we're going to get rid of anybody. Now, I don't know if that holds true for a year or two or, you know, it's not we're going to get rid of anybody. And they're also saying that as an employer, they're going to be paid a higher wage. They're going to have a benefit package. They're going to have health insurance. You want more of a corporate kind of mentality to it. But is that a bad thing? If they are able to retain their jobs and now actually get health benefits and things like that? Well, if it's a true thing, you know what I mean? This is a major corporation like IBM. This is a little beach boy stand, you know, with the insurance and things like that. So talk is cheap right now. Talk is really cheap right now. But the most important thing is we'll see the old time guys that you know, they're getting old. You know, a lot of the boys, some of my dear friends, I'm one of the oldest guys down there. Not that I work on the beach anymore, but every oldest guys are mostly gone. You know what I mean? All the great, great beach boys. Well, you've gone to a couple of funerals in last year or two. Oh, many, many, many. And that's the one thing about Hawaii. The funerals you go because you grew up with these people. You grew up with these people. They taught you how to surf and stuff. And they were this, you know, when I was a kid, they were all 10 years older than me, 10, 15 years older than me and Bobby a Choi and Leroy and these guys and Maurice and these people that were really good surfers. We were the kids down there, but we looked out, we looked out that I worked for Bobby Crew, somebody we were first started on the beach carrying surfboards and then I started going second captain that I got my license. Now, license is another thing about license. Who is going to qualify the new guys for license if they're new guys and who are the surfers is someone going to go out and watch them surf, see if they can surf. But you've got to be a waterman. A diver is quite different from a surfer and a canoe man is quite different from a surfboard rider. It's different worlds and you got to you got to control that canoe. You got six people in there that you're really responsible for and you've got to know what you're doing like Blue McCourt Jr. and these people. I'd go out with those guys anytime and Blackout Whaley and them they were they were great captains. They were they were great captains. But the thing is we got to take care of our guys. We got to take care of our guys. Most of them just get by, you know, and I think the whole protest and the thing is about losing your gig, losing your job and losing a way of life. That's your way of life down there. You know what I mean? Like I said, we were young. I couldn't wait to get up at 430 in the morning. Go rake the beach. Wow, what a thrill. But it was a thrill. And go surf for three or four hours. Go get your paint lunch for 50 cents. Go back out and surf. Maybe take a few canoes out. Take a few lessons out. And I made one 30, 40 bucks and I lived in an apartment. I had a car and everything was it's the times were just so different. Now it's a hustle. It's a hustle. It's a hustle. And the worst thing is, see down by the Royal, any Teddy Bush and those guys, they don't have to hustle. They come from the Royal and they do it. And then by the outrigger now is is the is the Sheridan outrigger and Dukes down there. They don't have to hustle. It's all very quiet, but they wear their uniforms and they're really the place is different. Cohew Beach must change. It has to change. It's getting, I hate to say it, but the homeless down there has a lot to do with what's going on down there. And that's that's a major, major problem down there down by where they used to play cards down by the wall. Well, that's there just to let you know that there is a bill 37 that was introduced from Councilman Trevor Ozawa. And he wants to he's basically saying this is a site of illegal activity. And he wants to do is rip out all the sunshades that are along Cohew Beach. Yeah, they've been there. That's what everyone tells me when I interviewed them last couple of weeks ago, and they said this has been a part of Waikiki. It's a landmark of Waikiki. So how do you feel about if they were to tear out those sunshades? I hate to say it, but it's become a real seedy kind of bad part of Waikiki. There's not great people down there. There's a lot of people that I hate to say, but they're from the mainland. A lot of drunks and bums are not homeless people. There's a bunch of drunken bums. If you ask me, I'm not talking about the Beach Boys. I'm talking about these guys that hang out. I've been going down there for years now and the same guys sleep on the same bench on the same sidewalks. Every time I walk down there, you have to spend $500 for a room at night and you're going to step over a homeless person down by Cohew Beach. It doesn't happen down by the Royal and the Wana side. They wouldn't allow it. But up here, they're just letting it fall apart. And now they're letting the Beach Boys fall apart. They want to maybe clean up the beach. I think it's a wonderful, wonderful idea. But you've got to take care of the boys. It's an old Hawaiian style. You've got to take care of the boys. And that's what it is. So you got up early in the morning and you went down to by the Duke statue and you have about 49 other people. What gave you that motivation to just get up and go and get out there and basically be a protester? Well, you know, that was that was where I grew up down there, man. I was down there for good 10 years. And it was probably the most wonderful time of my life. I mean, I've were I made over 100 films. But my memories are from the beach. It was it was a wonderful time. It really was under the coke in that play in ukuleles and the and the moon and the stuff and all that seems like we kind of really lost a lot of that. And the new guys, they're great kids and stuff like that. But it's just, you know, I'd like to see them in nice uniforms and stuff. But see, they want them to carry computers and stuff. And you could call in now for a surfing lesson and all that. I don't think a lot of the old timers are capable of for computer work and stuff like that because they're they're old time guys, man. It's like, you know, you're going to walk around and they say you want to go to wear shoes. How can you wear shoes working on the beach in the sand when you take your shoes off when you go serve for them back on? I don't understand some of that. I think the uniform is great because you know who's who like what really made me mad. I said about I saw people hustling blocks away for people didn't even get to the sand yet surfing lesson canoe. He'll give you a deal. Come to me. I'll take it out for five bucks instead of four. That's that's not where it's at. And it was not like that before. So I would like to see a lot of the old days come back. I would love to see a lot of the old days come back. You know, there was one idea that I heard yesterday. I was down by Coheal Beach just trying to gather some information so I could do this interview. And one idea was why not? Why not let the city have them have one concession on one part of the beach and let star have their concession and see how it goes? See how the two well, they'll compete, they'll compete but also see how you know the tourists respond to it. What do you think that I think is going to happen in the city? Well, there's two down there now. There's there's the Star Beach Boy. Then there's another one that's been down there for years. They've been down there together and they all seem to get along. They all seem to get along. But don't forget that beach is only like 50 yards long. It's just a little it's a little dirt lot. It used to be a dirt lot. Just be a strip house over there. The Wikey stands used to be there. The Mary and Mary Grand Bar used to be there and the blue room was in front. They tore all that down, put some grass with the statue of Duke and put some sand over it. That's their beach. How far did those buildings get down onto the beach? You said those concrete footings are right there. High tide you couldn't walk by, but by the surf rider too when it was high tide you could already walk on the wall. So all that sand has come down by the Royal Hawaiian there used to be a wall there and someone fell and hurt their leg on the wall. So they tore the while out. And at the same time took all the sand out to the wall belong there. This is going back. I was a kid when that wall was there. So it was like a long time ago, but it kept the sand in. So someone tripped and broke the wrinkle, changed the whole formation of the beach like that. But it's just goes back to taking care of the guys. Don't just come down and say, okay, get out of here. We're moving in because you better watch out because there's an expression called coming down. You know what that means? No. Tell me. Okay. If you take off in front of me on a big wave and I say coming down, you better get out of the way. Coming down. Now, these new kids, if they bring in a bunch of people that really unqualified those old time guys are going to be coming down. So they're rough kids, man. These kids are rough. These Hawaiian kids are tough kids. There's no question about it. They're tough. You know what I mean? They're they they're strong and they're they party, but they're tough and it seems like they just came down. I said, okay, you're all dismissed and we're going to bring in our guys and maybe I wish it has to get more clear about really where we're going here because if they're going to hire those guys back and what is the minimum wage? Ten bucks an hour? Ten dollars and ten cents an hour. That's what they're making the middle minimum wage and I think you keep your tips which you know, I don't know how much they make a day now or stuff like that, but it's it's a new breed of people. They're wonderful kids. They're good surfers. They're all good surfers and the captains that I know, Aki and a few of the guys down there. They're great great Canoom and I hope they hire those guys back because I know there will be some problems if they bring in some new kind of guys from who knows where. Well, and the point is, you know, okay, even if you retain them, will they have so many new rules and corporate standards that just make being a beach boy really tough to even continue to do. You know, that happens sometimes when you get a corporate culture into a an existing culture and they're completely different cultures. So hopefully they retain them and hopefully they, you know, they pay them better and hopefully they give them wages and like you said, I mean, it's it's part of the culture down there and you hate to see it go away because it's it's why people come to Hawaii. They come down to that beach and they they want to take their surf lesson and they want to take a canoe ride an outrigger ride and you don't want to see anything get in the way of that. See like in the old days, the catamaran there was one catamaran down the Kamo'i I mean the Kapokai and best of them used to run it. Then there was another one. Okay, next door they got along then there was another one and another one and another one. So you start hustling take my boat. Take my boat. Same thing now. Take a lesson for me. Take a lesson from us. Where you going? Don't go over there. Come to us. That's what's happened with the cheese. The two concessions not fighting each other throwing stones at each other but hustling against each other. Well in the tourists don't like to be hustled. No one no one. That's why they come to Hawaii because it's relaxed and it's easy going and if you have to be on the beach and get you know being torn this way and torn that way because you know you have competition on the beach. That makes a really really stressful for a tourist and they don't like it. To be asked for a surf lesson but to be asked five times before you get to the sand is could be very annoying because then you go no I don't I don't do another time. So that's kind of what happened compared to the old days and I think the new people I don't know if they know about the old days like like we know about it you know about the old days because we lived it is to go back to that would be nice nice uniforms and stuff but as far as now you can call up and make a reservation for a surfing lesson for seventy five dollars and the guy gets ten bucks an hour so the house is getting money and the house wants to give the government or the the state or whatever fifty one percent of their money I don't know how much they're going to be able to pay the boys to pay insurance all that I see I don't believe that about the insurance all that I'll be surprised to see it you know what I mean I'll be very surprised to see it. What do you think the win-win solution would be given given its it's how it's laid out right now what do you think it'd be a win-win for star and win-win for star will be out that's Rutledge I think they've lost the bid and the bid's a bid they lost the bid I hope they take the best of the best guys down there it could turn out to be a better benefit than if they get some insurance and stuff those guys don't have any insurance and stuff like that the old guys when they got sick they were on their own man it broke your leg or couldn't work and they were on their own so I'm hoping that might turn out to be a good thing to take the best boys and qualify them because like DD Elriger they're so qualified and so it's just you can see the difference right away as soon as you cross that line you know it's just they got to clean up the whole situation that whole situation down there they got to clean up and then there was a while for there was some drugers down there and there was this and that down there and those things seeing the old days you bet you've got to go you don't come you come down the beast the old days you got you know you you you screw up you're getting you're out of here and the big boys would tell you hey son you're out of here so they self monitored themselves and if if some beach boys causing trouble and then they would just say you have to go absolutely steamboat and mud and Taylor and those guys you don't want to mess with them they they ran that beach they ran that beach and it was it was run very very well there was no there was no stealing these guys now down but they say want to take out the thing Michael here beach you turn your back to steal your purse now my day wasn't that but in the my day there was no graffiti down the river and there was no home receiver so it just shows how the world itself has changed everything has changed so tremendously and I walk down and I just it makes me so sad to walk down I park at the zoo and I walk down to Kohiu beach and I walk down to the Outrigger stuff it's just there's a line as soon as you cross the line it's like a different place so I'm hoping that whole area changes and they want to knock out those pillars and all that maybe it's for the best I hate the homeless it's such a tragedy I feel for the local Hawaiian people with homeless with stuff but they shit these people from Chicago in the mainland the stuff I got they're just a bunch of drugs and stuff and they they're sleeping right on the sidewalk on the benches that people sit there and watch the waves well they got a one-way ticket from wherever and now they land here and then they're stuck so there's a actually there's organizations trying to send them back you know so but anyway well it's my hope Don that you know the days of of maybe it gets back to that again and with a little fingers crossed and a little hope maybe we go back to those pristine days of Coheal Beach and the great beach boys of of Coheal Beach well I'm hoping for the best for the guys especially some of the old timers that are really you know 75 years old how much kanoos can you do and how much surfing can you do so it's kind of a hangout place also too you know it's your coffee shop it's your it's your living room in a lot of ways you leave your house go to the beach all day all night and I'm hoping that the the the new guys that come in if this is what's going to happen I think the other team is going to be out it's just a new organization coming in they take the best of the best guys and they make them wear some nice uniforms and it might cut out the hustling and stuff and go fix up that beach down there talking to the state or the city or whoever is really the boss down there of doing that they've brought in sand a few times two days later it was right out there it's so weird you know it's just so weird so they got to figure out something what to do and then guys like George downing and then they're so afraid to build a wall like like out in a Cooey layman those places that make those beautiful ponds and stuff because it'll spoil the surf so there'll be no surfing out there because there'll be a backwash with the wall so there's a lot of problems that they have to deal with but I'm my most important thing is take care of the old timers and the boys and the beach boys they're good people they've been on the beach their whole life well Don thank you so much for sharing your thank you for sharing your history and your and you know your your recollection of what the beach was like back then and like I said hopefully we get back to the days where we can get back to those days and this I heard you mentioned I had a hole in my shirt yeah Don you had a don you had a hole in your under your armpit here on in the star advertiser and I go to Day away that's why why can you serve is 40 years old it's like wearing your colors if you're a biker man everybody had their colors on down there and those of my colors when I go down the beach well you had your yellow colors and a little rip so there we go I'm Tim Apachele here with Don Stroud Don Stroud an old beach boy down a Waikiki in a Hollywood actor for many years and Don thank you for sharing your time on what's on your mind Hawaii for think tech away Aloha Aloha Well that's our show for this week I want to thank you very much for watching in and if you have any comment to this show or any of the other previous shows for what's on your mind Hawaii feel free to pull up think tech Hawaii dot com and make a comment or just go to YouTube and pull up my name Tim Apachele and pull up the show and make a comment so again thank you for watching and I'll see you next in Aloha