Class of ’53: Forever Young

Oh, ‘Iolani at thy call we gather…
Here friendships weave their mystic strands forever… Twenty-five members of the Class of ’53 gathered on the lovely terrace of the Hokua Condominium to talk about old times and renew friendships. They were the last class to go through the twelfth grade at the old, yet nostalgic Nuuanu campus, and one of the first to hold their graduation ceremony at the current Ala Wai campus. The luncheon was hosted by Tamotsu “Bumpy” Tanaka and assisted by Stanley Doi, Bill Lee, Walther Luke and Donald Satogata.

Over the years, faces and body shapes have changed somewhat, but as Allan Kondo commented, voices remained the same. He recognized John Kimura’s voice immediately. Richard Nagashima noted that the white hair, the loss of hair, the wrinkles, the fatty flesh didn’t hide what we were really like. Harold Hamada and Franklin Minami (both Ph.D.s) as well as Dr. George Shimomura are still gainfully employed as is Richard Arakaki. John Ching felt compelled to fly down from Los Angeles as did Calvin Uyeda from the Big Island. Also in attendance were Gilbert Ching, Frank Hamada, Stanley Hayashi, Robert Ho, Stanley Kodama, Clarence Lee, Herbert Loo, Winfred Lum, Hunky Pang, Ben Pataray, Eugene Shizuru and James Takahashi. Everyone had a great time; the day ended too soon! Both Ronald Y. Lau and Ben Niimi who live in New York and Denver respectively were contacted but could not travel at this time.

The class greatly appreciated of Headmaster Dr. Val Iwashita’s update of the school. For many, it was the first time meeting him.

All members of the class extend heartfelt condolences go to the families of Starr Itomura, Ronald Ebesu, Kenneth Kawamoto and Kenneth Kusumoto who all recently passed away.

The class is still looking for David Arakaki, Seikichi Taba and Fred Takara.

Food for thought: 60^th re-union in 2013!

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