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Message:: [QUOTE="Drew, post: 4514493, member: 3235"]In the 1960's Tiki Junction of Sausalito Cal. was created by carver West. My father had his rail car office at the junction - this is where he wrote his second book. As a young child I saw totems being carved here and was mesmerized by this place... and remember West being a tough character.West learned wood sculpture from the natives of the Marquesan Islands in the South Pacific. While serving with the merchant marines during WW II, West’s ship was torpedoed and he swam to a nearby island. He was welcomed by the friendly natives, and lived with them for six months until he was retrieved by a copra boat which came to the islands every six months.  'they took me in and treated me like I was one of them.’  Because the Japanese were approaching, the missionaries had fled the area leaving the natives free.'It's a long shot, but does anyone know of his totems being out there still . . most were carved from redwood - these would be 50-65 years old now and could have held up, still surviving . [ATTACH=full]396912[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]396913[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]