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Happy Jack


That’s Jack, Arlene’s husband, happy as a clam with his 2nd schooner at the Harbor House down at Honokohau Harbor. For their last meal in Kona Jack decided that he and Arlene should go to the place he will miss the most, a place where he says the burgers are the best, the beer the coldest and the atmosphere to his liking. He got all of that.


Then Jack talked about what he thought of what was going on in Iraq. I’ll just say that Rush Limbaugh would have felt comfortable having a few beers and a Harbor House burger with Jack. It’s a good thing Jack was our side during WWII. Arlene says Jack’s duty as a U.S. Marine in Europe during WWII was guarding whore-houses in France after all the fighting was done. She said Jack explained he drank a lot of good French wine during that time. Like all Marines Jack will always be a Marine.

I once gave Arlene a National Press Photographer’s Association poster of the famous Pulitzer Prize winning photo of the flag raising over Iwo JIma on Mt. Surabachi. It was a nice poster, had the image plus one of the NPPA photographer who shot the image. Arlene said Jack almost cried, that he had been looking for that Iwo Jima photo nice enough to frame for years. That day they got a nice frame to go around the poster and had it mounted onto poster board. And there it hung in their house until they packed it away for the move to Alaska. Being a Marine Jack treasures the image and Arlene said he still tears-up when the U.S. Marine Corps band goes past in a parade.


Arlene didn’t have a burger, she had a more sensible fresh ahi fish plate. Might be some of the last fresh ahi she will have in awhile. Arlene assured me that there will always be a welcoming door should I ever travel to Alaska. We’ve been friends for awhile along with being co-workers. Jack suggested I visit about July 5th when the air is thick with bugs. He said I should freeze some Harbor House burgers and bring them over when I visit. Hopefully some day I may take them up on the offer to stay at their place, except for the hanging out with the bugs.


And one final photo of Jack and Arlene. Probably the last photo of them in Kona as the next time they come this way will be for the airport tomorrow. I’m sure this is not the last we see of Arlene Stephl, maybe Jack as he’d rather be Moose hunting.


Karen and Chula once asked me what Jack looked like I told them Popeye. Do you see the resemblance? Ha. Jack may be a curmudgeon but he’s a good guy.

2 replies on “Happy Jack

Aha! I found it, Jack & Arlene. I just had to be a little more persistent.

I just came home from a meeting at the Anchorage Historical Society and had run into Arlene's mother (Maude Morris) who I had never met before. It was a lot of fun and we had a good chat. I wasn't aware the Stephls' had moved back to Alaska. I will be checking in on them soon. I guess they live in Wasilla now, about 80 road miles North of me. Jack also built some cabins down here at Alyeska Resort which I plumbed. I'm retired now too and enjoy going to Nome in the summers for some beach mining and exploring. George

Hi Baron,

This is too funny. We really got a laugh out of it. Oh, they are freezing their a___ off up here right now. We are having the coldest March on record since 1971, which was about the time when they decided it would be better to live in Hawaii than Alaska in the winter. We miss visiting their house in Waikoloa. Maybe this cold snap will remind them that living in the "islands" was a good idea.

Matt

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