PARADISE LOST: We don’t do this often but it’s a slow news time as far as county government is concerned so we were thumbing through some off island blogs today and came across a series of posts from prolific Big Island blogger Damon Tucker containing family pictures and narratives of Yap in Micronesia from 1965-7.
As Tucker’s intro says,
In 1961, my mother, Su Rowe Tucker, moved to Pahala, on the Big Island where her father and mother (My Grandparents) Dr. P.E. (Ted) Rowe and Elizabeth (Betty) Rowe were the Physician/Surgeon for the private Pahala Hospital run by C. Brewer Corp.
In 1965, Dr. Rowe (my grandfather) was hired for two years by the US Federal Government to run the Yap Hospital from 1965 to 1967. In 1966, my mom and my two uncles, Bob and Mike Rowe, went to visit them in Yap.
The posts evoke mixed feelings showing an indigenous culture and a Michener-like juxtaposition with the fish-out-of-water westerners.
It’s a simple lifestyle that a short 40-plus years ago was apparently reminiscent of Hawai`i in the late 18th and early 19th century and it’s hard not to feel both wistful and angry that neither exists anymore today.
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Who
Part III: Moms Tale of Arrival
Part IV: A Yapese Party
Part V: The Homes and Structures of Yap
Part VI: Quotes from the Diary (Part A) – “I managed to get away from Antonio…“
Part VII: Quotest from the Diary (Part B) - “… Now our soda is out of the refrigerator and the baby is in it.”
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