Come Back!

Us “Invasion”

This One Did Come Back!

OF the million or so Americans who passed through or fought in the SW Pacific area during the war, the number who have come back to settle could be counted on the fingers of one hand. However, one of those is 45-years-old Mr.

Alvin J. Blum, who liked this part of the Pacific so much he came back to set up business—in Honiara, BSIP. of all unlikely places.

But Mr. Blum won’t have it that n f ji ne

“We think the only future for economic advancement to-day rests in these islands,” he said. “Every thing else has been taken up.”

The “We” consists of Mr. Blum, his wife, his 23-years-old adopted daughter and his lOi-years-old daughter, at school in Brisbane.

From 1942 to 1945, Mr. Blum was stationed in New Zealand, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea and the Philippines. He stayed in America only 18 months after his discharge, and then set out for the Pacific and other parts.

In 1954, after much wandering around, he decided to go into business in Honiara as a taxi pro prietor. From this beginning his enterprise mushroomed into a dry cleaning and laundry establishment,

Mr. Alvin J. Blum.

ikery, an ice cream factory, a ery and a frozen foods shop, i-day the foundation on which wilt his business (the taxi ser [ is gone. verybody in Honiara has a car,” ays. it his business now has a more foundation, and is a thriving »rn. Everything is under one - over 2,500 square feet. He jys a staff of 18 —11 natives and i Europeans. s. Blum and Mrs. Mills (his ted daughter) do all the bake ‘ work, and turn out anything 300 to 500 2-lb loaves a day. sell their product, which is 1 In electric ovens, at 2/- a Mrs. Blum and Mrs. Mills work at 4 a.m. to have the jatch of bread ready at 11 a.m. often they work until mid .to fill all orders, ice cream factory turns out oduct which finds a ready ‘t, particularly among the !S. the raw and processed ials come from Sydney, which nports through the Islands g firm of Nelson and Robert- Blum himself is overseer of tivities, and in addition he is sonal charge of the laundry, speaks very highly of the s. en the right opportunity ;an contribute to a balanced he said, d if he planned to leave the ms at any stage, Mr. Blum ‘Never. We have our home Blum came to Sydney last to recouperate after an on, and also attend to some >s. lans to return to the Solomons Tulagi about May 24.