Walking through history

Danette Goulet

It was surfing history live and in person.

Old-timers, grommets and surfers from all walks in between gathered on

the corner of Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway last week just to be

near surfing icons.

Six surfers, who were in their own ways driving forces in surf

culture, were inducted into the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame

last Thursday.

Named as the Surf Pioneer this year, Rabbit Kekai is a legend in the

surfing world. He began surfing in the 1930s with Duke Kahanomoku, “the

father of surfing,” and was one of the original Wakiki “beach boys.”

“Surfing is my lifestyle,” Kekai explained simply.

Even now at 80 he surfs nearly every day.

In fact, his concern with the induction ceremony was its timing -- and

whether his return flight would get him back in time to catch a few waves

before the sunset, said Peter Townend, a surfing icon, himself who’s

already on the Walk of Fame. Townend is also the publisher of Surfing and

Surfing Girl magazines as well as a member Walk of Fame board of

directors.

Now in its eighth year, the Surfing Walk of Fame has immortalized 50

surfers for their contributions to the sport with stones placed into the

sidewalk surrounding Jack’s Surfboards.

Each year, a worldwide panel of voters from surf associations,

museums, media as well as previous inductees select five choices from a

list of nominees.

The nominees are chosen based on achievements in the surfing community

from at least 10 years earlier. The exceptions are the Surf Pioneer award

Kekai received, which demands recipients be at least 50 years old or

deceased, and the Honor Roll award, chosen by the Walk of Fame board of

directors.

“We have people here from all over the world and all walks of

surfing,” Townend said. “It’s a special day for these people.”

Simon Anderson, from Narrabeen in Sydney, Australia, was inducted for

his monumental contribution to surfing -- the creation of the three-fin

thruster, which dominates the waves today.

The thruster earned the Aussie a square on the sidewalk in the Surf

Culture category, but it was his phenomenal surfing and many surfing

victories that proved the very value of his thruster design.

Although he wasn’t at the ceremony, the crowd still felt a connection

to the icon through an e-mail Townend read from Anderson.

“I always expected to end up in the gutter in Huntington,” Anderson

wrote. “But not like this.”

One induction especially near and dear to the hearts of the crowd in

Huntington Beach was David Nuuhiwa, named the Local Hero.

Hawaiian-born, Nuuhiwa earned his glory after coming to Southern

California where he lead the noseriding era of the 1960s. He was rock ‘n’

roll personified. He was the cool surfer dude who always had the

beautiful women on his arm and in his fancy car.

“He was the epitome of a surf star,” Townend said.

Another well-known Huntington Beach figure celebrated was Honor Roll

inductee Max Bowman.

“The Honor Roll person is chosen by our committee here, not the

international committee,” Townend said. “Max Bowman started lifeguarding

out here in the 50s. He’s responsible for that tower right out there --

tower zero.”

Bowman has lived, surfed and saved lives in Huntington Beach since the

1950s. He retired after 40 years of public service in 1990.

“It’s nice to be up here and receiving this before I take that last

wave,” Bowman said.

Another native who took the makeshift stage in front of Jack’s was

Janice Aragon.

She was named Surfing Walk of Fame Woman of the Year. A world champion

surfer, Aragon is known today as the nurturing and driving force behind

the National Scholastic Surfing Assn.

The “godmother of the NSSA” Townend called her.

Finally, named the Surf Champion this year, Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew

from the Gold Coast of Australia was inducted.

Bartholomew was a leading force in professional surfing in the 1970s

and well into the 1980s. Now the head of the Assn. of Surfing

Professionals, he unwittingly served as a role model to many surfers.

“It’s a real honor to be inducted as a Surf Champion in the company of

these guys -- a great honor,” he said. “It’s something else. I was more

thrilled about that than the induction.”