Lorrin Carrell "Whitey" Harrison (24 April 1913 – 8 September 1993) was an American surfer, lifeguard, surf equipment innovator, and commercial diver. Harrison introduced outrigger canoeing to Southern California upon his numerous trips from Waikiki, Hawaii.[1]
Early Life
editLorrin "Whitey" Harrison was born to Frederick Earl Harrison and Lillie Cornelia (Sanford) Harrison in Garden Cove, California. Harrison has a sister who also played a major role in the history of surfing, Ethel Harrison. He soon moved to Santa Ana Canyon, where he went by horse and wagon through Aliso Canyon to reach the ocean at Laguna Beach. He credited his interest in surfing to a trip to Redondo Beach in 1920 when he saw people surfing standing up for the first time. Harrison attended Orange High School in Orange, CA.
In 1931, Harrison went to work for a manufacturer of prefabricated homes in Los Angeles. As a side business, the company, named Pacific Ready-Cut Homes, made surfboards - because they had the equipment to laminate wooden planks together. Harrison would complete four boards daily for a monthly salary of $100. These surfboards were called "Swastika Boards," the first commercial surfboards[2], and they sold for about $25 each.
After graduating high school in 1932[1], Harrison attempted to study at Fullerton Junior College, a community college in Fullerton, CA. He did not find college interesting but found a passion at the beach. He later attempted to stow away to Hawaii in September of 1934. Harrison first boarded the Monterey, hiding away in a deck chair before being caught minutes away from Waikiki Beach and sent to the freighter Manukai that would take them back to San Francisco. Harrison attempted a third time aboard President Jackson and succeeded in arriving in Honolulu, HI.[1] While in Waikiki, Harrison worked as a beach boy and was in the company of other surfers, including the Father of Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku.
Contributions to Surfing
editHarrison credited his interest in surfing to a trip to Redondo Beach in 1920 when he saw people surfing standing up for the first time.[1]
Harrison built his first surfboard in fifth grade, a 5-foot, 18-inch-wide plank covered with canvas. This would be his basic design for later boards.
At the age of 12, Harrison began his surfing experience in 1925 in the San Onofre waters.
Harrison was referred to as a famous traveler as he would make journeys from California to the Waikiki Beach of Hawaii and back. He was influenced by the Hawaiian beach culture and brought many ideas and concepts back to the mainland of California. Harrison propagated surf racks he built on the beach at Dana Point after returning from Waikiki, HI to California in 1936.[1] Within the same year, Harrison also introduced outrigger canoe racing to the California beach culture after being a spectator to it during his time in Hawaii.[3]
The last weekend of May of 1937 local southern Californians had gone down to San Onofre for the christening of Harrison's outrigger canoe[1]. The canoe was made of wooden planks inspired by Native Hawaiian traditions. Harrison would also use the tree trunk from which he resourced the planks to build his canoe, to build his "first 'dugout,'"[1] while also following Hawaiian traditions.
On July 9, 1939, San Onofre held the seventh annual Pacific Coast Surf Riding Championships (PCSRC). Harrison had won the championship, marking his very first achievement in his record.
During his free time, Harrison would spend time in his barn building and renovating surfboards and outrigger canoes. He experimented with fins to produce steering ability for the surfers while riding the waves. He then later experimented with polyurethane foam to alleviate the weight while surfers carried their boards onto the ocean.[2]
The Dana Outrigger Canoe Club, created by Harrison, held its first competition in 1959. The competition consists of outrigger canoe racing between various teams[4]. The first club competition featured a team from Oahu racing Harrison’s team from Avalon to Newport Dunes, just south of Los Angeles.[3]
Relationships
editOn 25 December 1935, Harrison married Muriel Lambert (1915-1945).
On 3 August 1946, Harrison married his second wife, Cecilia Yorba, from one of California's pioneering Spanish families. He moved into her family's historic late 18th century cattle ranch in San Juan Capistrano and began testing and collecting all forms of surfs. The family barn, built around 1890, grew into a sort of laboratory as well as a museum of the development and evolution of surfing equipment throughout the mid-20th century.
Death
editIn 1984, Harrison suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. Within months, he was back in the water. Known to local younger surfers as the old guy in the straw hat—another Hawaiian symbol with which Harrison is affiliated—he appeared in the early '90s in a national Armor All commercial, a Life magazine profile, and as a guest on the "Late Night with David Letterman" television show.
On September 8, 1993 Harrison experienced a second heart attack that was more sufferable than the first. He was at his second home on the island of Hawaii. His wife of 46 years, Cecelia, and a daughter, Marian, were with him at the time[3]. The family had made the drive home from a morning swim when the incident had occurred.[5] Funeral services had not been announced but it was reported that his ashes were spread in the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii.
Various obituaries had been published on behalf of Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Orange County Register.
On September 9, 1993, Surfer's Journal publisher Steve Pezman provided a statement in the Los Angeles Times. Pezman writes, “He was part of the lore and legend of surfing,” Pezman said. “And Lorrin was a major player in the culture in those naive days when California wasn’t carpeted with subdivisions." [3]
Harrison had made numerous contributions to surfing throughout his lifetime and continues making an impact on surfing culture throughout southern California.
Legacy
editOn April 24, 1993, Harrison held an 80th birthday celebration at San Onofre State Beach. Harrison donned his signature palm-frond hat and surfed for more than an hour before beaching his board among a crowd of well-wishers.[3]
"Harrison has epitomized what is authentic and true to the sport of surfing. Often outfitted with a brightly-colored aloha shirt, a palm-frond hat, and a ukulele[6]."
The Dana Outrigger Canoe Club holds an annual competition in honor of Harrison. The Whitey Harrison Classic is an outrigger race of 20 miles with competitors of ages 12 to 70. It attracts over 900 competitors who are divided into 19 divisions.[7]
Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison's contributions to sharing Native Hawaiian cultures and attempts to innovate newer surfing technologies encourage the establishment and growth of the culture of surfing in today's world.
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editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f Moser, Patrick (2024). Waikīkī dreams: how California appropriated Hawaiian beach culture. Sport and society. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-04591-2.
- ^ a b Almond, Elliott (2009). Surfing: mastering waves from basic to intermediate. Mountaineers outdoor expert series (1st ed ed.). Seattle, WA: Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-1-59485-099-8. OCLC 262891731.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ a b c d e Reyes, David (1993-09-10). "Surfing Legend Lorrin Harrison Dies : Obituary: San Juan Capistrano man died at his second home in Hawaii, where he visited as a youth after stowing away on ocean liners. He had surfed O.C.-area waters since his high school days". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ "Dana Outrigger Canoe Club". Dana Outrigger Canoe Club. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ Warshaw, Matt (2005). The encyclopedia of surfing. A Harvest book (1st Harvest ed., 2005 ed.). Orlando, FL.: Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-15-603251-3.
- ^ "Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison "2016 Surf Pioneer" Surfing Walk of Fame". 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2024-11-26.
- ^ "Whitey Harrison Classic". Dana Outrigger Canoe Club. 2024-08-10. Retrieved 2024-11-26.