Beginning on November 1, which is the date of my mother’s first letter from her Hawaii trip 84 years ago, I am serializing day by day, the book, Cecilia King’s Extraordinary Senior Trip, which you can obtain from Amazon in either Kindle or paperback.

I hope you enjoy the upcoming nine-months in Hawaii 1940-41.

January 1941
Honolulu, Wednesday, January1, 1941

Jan 1, 1941

Tuesday night

Dear Daddy and Mother,

Happy New Year! And I certainly have had the most super, super wonderful one possible. It was just completely perfect to he half nth degree. So much happened & such loads of fun that I’d better calm my enthusiasm so I can tell you every bit of it. (Lt.) Walt Barker, Mary McDonald & Max Pitney[1] came in for me about four yesterday afternoon to take me out to Schofield and all three of them are so grand – that it was fun from the first minute. We stopped outside Schofield to get leis – tube rose ones – for the party – then Mary & I went to her house to dress. Our table at the club was one of about the forty (each for 24 people) around the dance floor of the outside lanai and we had to eat at 7:30 because they had 400 people to serve at the club dinner. We were the first table ordered “to eat” so got our party all to-gather (with a little difficulty because Mama Barnwell had schemed her dau. Lee & ensign date into our private party, using Max’s name for an entrée! Oh, the other men were mad about that crashing in – so I began right then to sing Miss Lee’s Swan Song). Of course we all had hats & noise makers & Max & Walt had their “professional” flutes – bobbing up now & then with “Home Sweet Home” or “The Old Gary mare” in an awful off-key pitch. Max is a darling – he’s about 6 ft 6” – and very much like C.E., only more so – wonderful sense of humor – we got along beautifully. (Speaking of such, I’ve had many compliments today on how nice I looked in my green chiffon & blue wrap last night!)

Floor show: The dignified officers & their ladies sat cross-legged on the confetti covered floor around the orchestra stand – to watch – lovely slanty eyed girl do an Oriental dance, very good. Next two little Japs about 4 feet tall, decked to their funny eyes in bright silks & brilliants – one played a ukulele & the other gave a burlesque of Hello Hatti (the burlesque hula dancer). It was absolutely a scream! Then another Oriental number (which amounted almost to a strip tease) and a terrible American number – then a Hawaiian jitterbug team.

After that everyone was rather calmed & quieted – things began to drag a little for us when – in came Westy! I had been sort of looking out of the corner of my eye for him all night – so certainly welcomed his arrival. We had several nice dances & chatted a while & he joined our party – which had boiled down to our original foursome. Then came the climax – Aloha 1941! All lights out except the table candles, Auld Lang Syne from the orchestra, and Pop! The cork from our champagne bottles! We all drank to a Happy New Year – after which I resigned, but two hours later some of them were still drinking to New Years and were up to 1960 –

But back to 1941 – it was a bachelors holiday as they could all greet the New Year with a kiss to all the officers’ wives legally – it was very embarrassing to me as I made the rounds with Walt, Mary & Max because I was only being introduced & they were all old friends --