Surf and Service: Inside Aloha Shriners 125-Year Legacy

aloha shriners stand in fron of 'shriners 125' sign — Aloha Shriners celebrate 125 years with a festive sign.

Aloha Shriners are known for owning a private beach club, likely the only one in our fraternity, but that’s just one facet of a much larger story. Founded in 1901, long before Hawaiʻi' became a state, the temple’s 125-year history includes some of the most remarkable figures in our fraternity's history.

This rich history takes on added meaning as Aloha Shriners celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Perhaps the most notable characteristic of Aloha Shriners is that royalty appears in its history. In 1891, Hawaiʻi's last king became a Shriner at Asiya Shriners, then known as Islam Shriners, in San Francisco.

Known as The Merrie Monarch, King David Laʻamea Kalākaua is remembered for his efforts to preserve Hawaiian heritage, including cultural traditions such as the hula.

Though Freemasonry has long been embraced by royalty, including other Hawaiian kings, Kalākaua remains the only reigning king ever to become a Shriner and the only American king ever to do so.

Unfortunately, he died in San Francisco only six days after becoming a Shriner. Sadder still, his wife, Queen Kapiʻolani, had written a song during his absence to sing upon his return to the islands. He never heard what became her final gift to him.

In 1901, Aloha Shriners was chartered with roughly 30 members, becoming one of the first temples established outside the continental United States. Hawaiʻi had become a U.S. territory only three years earlier.

Among the early members of the temple was its first Potentate, Clifford B. Wood, M.D., a physician who helped lead the response to a bubonic plague outbreak in Honolulu in 1899.

James S. "Sunny Jim" McCandless joined Aloha Shriners in 1904 and was elected Imperial Potentate in 1922. He remains the only member of Aloha Shriners to have been elected to the fraternity's highest office. McCandless was also instrumental in the creation of Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi.

Finally, perhaps Hawaiʻi's most famous Shriner was Duke Kahanamoku, who became an Aloha Shriner in 1917. Five years earlier, he had won his first Olympic medals in swimming at the Stockholm Olympics, earning one gold and one silver. That was only the beginning. Kahanamoku would go on to compete in five Olympic Games and win four Olympic medals: two gold, one silver and one bronze.

Kahanamoku appeared in more than 50 films, including both silent and sound productions. While working in Southern California, he helped popularize surfing on the mainland. In 1934,he was elected to the first of 13 consecutive terms as sheriff of Honolulu County.

Among his many accomplishments, one was particularly heroic. In 1925, a fishing boat called Thelma capsized in heavy surf while attempting to leave Newport Beach Harbor in California. Kahanamoku threw his surfboard into the water and repeatedly swam out through the waves to rescue stranded fishermen. He ultimately saved eight lives.

shriners international and aloha shriners leadership at a golf tournament — Past Imperial Potentate Kenny Craven, Past Potentate of Aloha Shriners Gene Yee, Junior Past Imperial Potentate Brad Koehn and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Leslie Stewart, M.D. are ready for tee-off at the Shriners Children's Polynesian Bowl Golf Classic.

Perhaps the most significant event in Aloha Shriners’ history was the opening of the second Shriners Children's hospital in the system in 1923. Today, Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi in Honolulu cares for patients from throughout the Pacific region and supports outreach clinics in Guam, Samoa and Fiji.

As Potentate Joe Ernst, who also serves as chairman of the Board of Governors for Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi, notes: "The Honolulu hospital has a catchment area of 42 million square miles."

Aloha Shriners kicked off its 125th anniversary year with several activities that are meaningful to Shriners: visits from fraternity leaders, golf, football and fundraising for Shriners Children's.

Then-Imperial Potentate Brad Koehn, accompanied by Lady Cheryl, Past Imperial Potentate Kenneth "Kenny" Craven and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Leslie "Doc" Stewart, M.D., participated in the inaugural Shriners Children's Polynesian Bowl Golf Classic, which raised $90,000 for Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi. In addition, Craven and 2026-2027 Imperial Potentate Larry Leib will be playing in next year's event on January 13.

Craven, who also serves as the Board of Trustees representative to Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi and honorary chairman of the tournament, noted that approximately 120 high school senior football players participating in the Polynesian Bowl visited Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi to meet patients before the game.

Malakai Lee, an offensive tackle from Honolulu who played in the Polynesian Bowl, signed with the University of Michigan and was once a patient at Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi. He shared his experience with attendees.

"When I suffered my injury and needed surgery, Dr. Jonathan Pellett was there to help me," Lee said. "He and the staff at Shriners Children's showed a level of compassion that made me feel like family. They didn't just fix my foot. They rebuilt my hope."

Past Potentate Gene Yee, a member of the Board of Governors for Shriners Children's Hawaiʻi, told the high school all-stars: "Your presence here will hopefully be a forerunner to your presence in four years as a player in the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl at the end of your college football career."

To celebrate their 125th anniversary, Aloha Shriners held a three-day gala on Oahu featuring a picnic and barbecue at the Aloha Shriners Beach Club.

three aloha shriners on inflatable horses in parade — Aloha Shriners in Waikiki Holiday Parade remembering Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.

The beach club is located in Waimānalo on Oahu's east coast, about 25 minutes from Honolulu. The 1.5-acre property includes an open-air longhouse that can accommodate 400 guests and a protected swimming area sheltered by a breakwater.

Aloha Shriners has members in countries and territories across the Pacific, including Guam, Japan, Samoa, Taiwan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand.

Yee noted that Aloha Shriners once had more than 2,000 members. The temple also played a significant role in expanding the fraternity throughout the Pacific. It established the Philippine Shrine Club, which ultimately evolved into Mabuhay Shriners and Agila Shriners. Today, those two temples have more than 6,000 Shriners between them.