Yes — There Actually Were “Hawaiian Days” At The"Rainier Valley Knife, Gun, and Dope Club."

In the mid 70's and early 80's I worked at a very active fire station many called the "Rainier Valley Knife, Gun, and Dope Club."  Because we were so active, after doing our regular work, we occasionally (in the summer) "recreated or relaxed" in ways other fire stations were not authorized or allowed to do -- usually when the "regular officers" were off for the day.

One such summer, unauthorized "rest or relaxation" meant "Hawaiian Days"  Yes, I said "Hawaiian Days!"

Though we had no swimming pool we all kept swimsuits in our lockers.  And, in the station basement some of the guys brought in barbecues, badminton games, fake palm/coconut trees, galvanized "ice" tubs, and various barbecue meats, drinks, fruits, and vegies.

To set up our Hawaiian "vacation," we backed two or more pickups back to back behind the fire station with tailgates down and wood braces between the "bed openings."  Then we lined the pickup beds with plastic and filled them with warm water.  Next, we set up the Hawaiian trees, barbecues, and ice tubs.  We finished our "housework" while the sun further heated up the water in the truck beds. 

By noon everything was ready for some fun, invigorating Hawaiian Days, which included eating barbecue, swimming, playing, and relaxing the rest of the day. 

Fortunately, perhaps amazingly, we never had any citizens report us, nor did chiefs come to the station to drill, or visit, on any of the Hawaiian Days (of course if they had we would have offered them a swimsuit and some food -- but working would have been a no-no).

I suppose if we got caught, we all could have been fired.  Maybe, if caught by one of the "good" chiefs we'd probably just owe doughnuts or ice cream for the next month.  But, we were never caught so I guess you'd say the "Hawaiian Gods" bestowed good luck on us.

As you can imagine, Hawaiian Days created lots of camaraderie and gave us lifetime memories we all would never forget.  And now Hawaiian Days are no longer a secret.  😊