1963

Hala and Peni were so happy to see me when ‘Inoke and I arrived at their school, Liahona High School. They were glad I’d made the decision to come. They introduced me to Reed Garfield who was the counselor for admissions. I took a test to determine what grade I should be in. The test results indicated that I should attend only one year at the school in the twelfth grade. That would make two senior years and two graduations for me.

I struggled with the new classes, mainly algebra and American history. I hadn’t studied either subject before. I ended up spending a lot of time in the library studying different subjects to get me ready for the final test for further overseas study in Hawaii.

I enjoyed the food at the cafeteria. There was more variety and more meat in our diet than at ‘Atele. I also enjoyed the mornings there because the students did not have to work from six to seven compared to ‘Atele. Instead of working we were supposed to study and get ready for breakfast and the start of a new school day. It was so much more fun to stay indoors, take warm showers, and go to breakfast in a warm cafeteria. We got to choose what we got to eat, hot or cold cereal, eggs, toast, milk or hot chocolate. What a dramatic change it was from my breakfasts at ‘Atele where you take what you get.

Twelfth graders at Liahona were allowed to wear any kind of clothes they want. The lower grades wore uniforms of either a green lavalava with two white stripes at the bottom or a white lavalava with two green stripes at the bottom with a white short sleeved shirt. Girls wore dresses in white or green with the opposite stripe at the bottom. When I didn’t have any long pants to wear to school I used one of my white sheets for a lavalava.

Many of our teachers were palangi (white) men and women. This was also a big contrast to the two that we had at ‘Atele. I enjoyed studying science and the lab work. My old school had only a single lab.

I learned more about literature and how to write a story with a beginning, middle and the end. In English I learned how to use a dictionary the right way. I also learned how to type. I didn’t know how to type fast although I learned how to use the proper fingers on the key board. I really enjoyed the library with its many books, projectors, newspapers and magazines from overseas. We could listen to music on headphones while reading.

‘Inoke’s oldest daughter and my niece, ‘Elisiva Vimahi, was a tenth grader there. She was a wonderful little girl and I was so happy to have her in the school too. She was a member of the drill team.

I learned how to dance while I was at Liahona. So many time I had watched people dance in my little village or villages nearby but did not know how to dance. It was a thrill to have this new experience and to be close to the opposite sex. My old school was an all-boy’s school and dancing was not in my DNA then. We always looked forward to Friday nights because of the dancing. I did not get involved in dating because I was to busy studying.

The reason for being so studious was because I had so many new things to learn which I hadn’t learned before. Some of these new subjects were hard but I really enjoyed the new knowledge.

Here I was, a Methodist, in a Mormon school. I had always been impressed with this church. Our family had always fed their missionaries and even let them hold church at our house. My two brothers had been converted. ‘Inoke always seemed to have times of hot and cold but Sione was always devoted. I’d been away from home for so long that that was the extent of my exposure.

At Liahona High School I had a teacher named Brother Jeff Sessions that taught typing, bookkeeping and shorthand. He was from Idaho and he was in his 80’s. His wife was much younger. They had a thirteen year old son. He was a great influence in my life. I was drawn by the way he talked, the way he smiled. It made me feel good inside. He invited me to his house for dinner with his family. He talked about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and a few other things. He was such a great representative of the church that when he asked me I was ready to be baptized. In February I was interviewed by the branch president and then Brother Sessions baptized me. I took seminary class and studied the doctrine of the church that year. Sadly, my testimony wasn’t growing as it should.

Tourism was not very big in Tonga at this time but our school had the privilege of being the tour guides whenever a cruise ship arrived at Nuku’alofa. We were the only school who got involved in tourism because the students really knew how to communicate in English. Upon the ship’s arrival twelfth graders were sent to the harbor and two students were allowed to ride with the tourists in flatbed truck taxis. Chairs were placed along the sides and canvas covered the top. Students would explain about each village and resort they visited. It was a great experience for us to talk with these tourists because our conversations improved. This was yet another new experience for me and I loved every minute of it.

I befriended a tourist couple from Sydney, Australia one time. They were so kind to me and at the end of the day they asked me if they could send me a gift when they got back home. I was so thrilled and tried to think of a good and useful gift to ask of them. I did not have much clothing in school although I acquired a great taste for fine clothing because of my being friends with some of the elite students at the school. Two of them were Similati Vanisi and Sio Pauni. Similati had a lot of fine clothing from his aunt and uncle who lived in San Francisco, USA at the time. There were not so many Tongans who lived overseas then. It was a rarity to have such fine clothing such as blue jeans, aloha shirts, dress pants, dress shirts and silk ties. It amazes me now of the thought process I used then. It came to me instantly and I asked them for a suit. I had never worn a suit before to say nothing about owning one. I think I was impressed by my friends and the palangi teachers who owned and wore suits to church and school. Fine clothing has a way of impressing people and I was impressed.

Some months passed and I forgot all about the request from these Australians. One day I received a package in the mail with my name on it. I had no idea who would send me a package from Sydney, Australia. My friends watched as I opened my package and what a great surprise to all of us when we saw the contents of the package. It was a two piece pinstriped suit with no cuff on the pants, black in color and looked brand new to all of us. If it was a second hand suit we could not tell. I was ecstatic and so were my friends. It was a perfect fit for me because I knew my measurements when the tourists had asked. I can tell you that I was one of the best looking dressers on campus at church on Sunday. Similati lent me a silk tie and I had a good white shirt to go with it. I also had a black pair of second handed dress shoes and a pair of matching socks. Socks and tie were borrowed, the rest were mine.

I had never worn a suit in my life before this Sunday with the exception of trying it on everyday prior. Needless to say, I didn’t get to see much of my suit afterward because my friends and Hala had to have a turn with the suit. It was not long before my friends and I started to wear it to school. Students stopped and looked at whoever wore the suit and ohhed and ahhed over it because they had never seen a student wearing a suit to class. That suit was the most popular piece of clothing on campus.

A good friend of mine in the class of 1963 was Lui ‘Unga Sikahema. He was our campus’ lead stage actor. He was acting the main character in the play Death of a Salesman. Our school invited students and teachers from other schools to view this new play. Lui borrowed my suit and believe me it was the main attraction. He looked great in it and everyone commented on how great he looked. When I graduated I left my suit with a friend in a lower grade. I’d heard there was lots of clothing in Hawaii.

From two to four everyday after school we worked to prepare crops for our meals. The tutor over the dairy farm selected me to be the lead man to dig up big trees on the cow paddock. These big trees killed the good grazing grass that the cows fed on. I had a crew of four boys. We had a great time digging up these gigantic trees. Then we’d cut them up for a big tractor with a trailer to haul them to the dump. Sometimes we’d fall a big tree towards a short coconut tree so we could have the coconuts that fell as a result.

I spent some of my weekends away from school in Nuku’alofa with my mother’s cousin Vai Mounga and his wife, Fiotu’u, and their kids. They had moved there from Foa for better schooling. I had fun with them. My friends and I would watch rugby matches, movies or the same skating and dancing attractions I’ve mentioned before.

The school year at Liahona was shorter than the one at ‘Atele. They had three months off in the summer compared to only half that of ‘Atele. Because of this the school year ended in October. I felt I had been short changed for all those years. I graduated together with my cousin Hala Afu. We both passed our test to attend the church College of Hawaii.

Every male member of our graduating class of 1963 was asked by the church to go on a two year proselyting mission within Tonga before going to further education. I did not answer the call. I did not have the testimony to sustain me. I felt ‘Inoke would not want me to go either. He wanted me to further my education. I look back now and I wish I would have gone. But then again I might have missed my future sweetheart and eternal companion. I fulfilled an eternal mission of getting married to a wonderful girl and raising five beautiful children.

I went back to Foa to raise money for my ticket on the boat from Tonga to Pago Pago in American Samoa and for the airplane ticket from there to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. While I was there I was called by the branch president, Seale ‘Upon Lange to serve as his executive secretary. I was a priest and baptized many new converts.