Oscar Nordmcn

"Man of Information."

Link with Tahiti's Bygone Times.

From Our Own Correspondent.

Papeete, Dec. 24.

AS the elder Islands pioneers fade into the past, a new generation of old timers, associated in their younger days with an unspoiled world, survive to bring to mind many happy memories.

The period when the old steamship “Mariposa” voyaged between Tahiti and San Francisco was a time of spacious contentment. The “Mariposa” came once a month and brought newspapers of the fortnight before. Some of us glanced at the headlines—and that was all. The real news of interest came from the captain, the mate, the purser, the ship’s doctor, and from Oscar.

Oscar’s news was more widely broad cast, because he was born on Tahiti and knows French and Tahitian.

That was Oscar Nordman’s beginning as “Man of Information” —a title by which he has become known to yachts men and mariners from all quarters of the world.

The “Mariposa” was a sort of family affair. The officers and staff were known to everyone; and when the ship was in port they were constantly in de mand as guests at luncheon, dinner, or any evening party that happened to be going on at the time. If one wanted

books or magazines from San Francisco, the ship’s doctor was always glad to buy them, as he would have something to read during the 12 days’ voyage to Papeete. Or if your watch needed re pairing or you wanted miscellaneous bits of merchandise not available in Papeete, an officer of the ship would execute the commissions.

The passengers who came, in those days, fitted into the picture. The “Mari

posa” was a bit of Tahiti and the strangers became atuned and mellowed to Islands life on the voyage down and blended naturally with their surround ings when they landed. Ever afterward, when they returned home, these newly initiated Tahitians would gather at the wharf at San Francisco on the sailing day of the “Mariposa”, and go over the ship, looking wistfully and often tear fully at her as she drew away from the

Mr. Oscar Nordman, “Man of Information”, in hisoffice at Papeete, surrounded by relics of days gone by.

shore and disappeared through the Golden Gate.

Often, when we are heartily weary of dodging modern day sleek and silent motor-cars, of being deafened by aero plane engines overhead and radio broad casts and saxophones at every corner of every highway, we go to Oscar Nord man’s office in Papeete for a quiet chat.

He is the last link with the old “Mari posa”, for he served on her until she was withdrawn from the Tahiti run. He was also on other ships of the Oceanic Company, sailing to Samoa and Aus tralia, until the line merged with the Matson Steamship Company.

On the wall of his office is a painting of the “Mariposa” entering Papeete Harbour, and other souvenirs are about.

From Oscar’s lips come names of old sea captains and mates, and old friends and scenes from those spacious days when Tahiti was its own little world and the bickerings and confusions of distant countries came over the horizon only as a faint murmur, inaudible ex cept to those who wished to listen.