"We rented our house a good deal of the time, because obviously we couldn't use it fully. I was busy being a doctor, or being trained to be a doctor."

He also happened to mention that "[Lanihau & Haumalu have] been illustrated quite often in various architectural magazines."

Lanihau and Haumalu were recognized both for the beauty of their setting and the charming character of the houses themselves. During World War II Martha leased both properties to the armed forces for use as rest and recreation facilities. The way Martha opened her homes made her something of a celebrity in the war's Pacific theater. At the end of hostilities, the woman responsible for operating Haumalu wrote a personal note to Martha:

"I know that you will receive thanks from the Navy and Marines for the use of your lovely home, but I feel impelled to write also because I, as an outsider, know so much of the great happiness you made possible for the boys. .. .there was something about the Rest Home not found in other places."

She mentioned the "construction that makes for homeyness and a feeling of intimacy," as well as the presence of Martha's own furnishings and the "lovely setting." She added:

"News of your visit there spread to all parts of the Pacific and each new group asked about you. One thing that impressed them was the fact that you (and I) were pro-Roosevelt. That the owner of such a home should be, struck them as proving that you were "pretty fine."

"The problem with having people from Hollywood in a property like that was all the neighbors were a little upset at the parking, the parties [laughter], and the loud noises at night."

"One of the renters left a cigarette burning in the bedroom while he was looking over his income tax papers. He had failed to submit income tax returns for a couple of years, although he was a wealthy man. I think he was trying to sort out the papers so that he'd have answers for the IRS, and he either left a cigarette near them or something like that happened. So the house virtually burned down. But we had it fully insured, so we rebuilt it pretty much the way it was before."

"There was a rumor that someone wanted to burn his tax returns because a little fire started in a wastepaper basket. My parents were able to recover the plans, however, and rebuilt it just exactly as it was before."

"Hawaii is as much home to me as San Francisco and Piedmont, where I was born," smiles Mrs. Gerbode. "My great-grandfather, William Patterson Alexander, was a missionary who sailed to the Islands from New England with his bride in 1832. My father and grand father were born in Hawaii."

Little Martha made her first journey to the Islands at the age of two and has lived over there part of every year since. "When I was a child, I used to ride my horse down Kalakaua Avenue. We played robbers and police on horseback and we used to make trails through the jungle. I wish my five grandchildren could ride horses 'round the Island and see it the way we knew it. I wish they could go ti-leaf sliding the way we did..."

Mrs. Gerbode helped save Diamond Head, the picturesque backdrop behind Waikiki Beach in a 10-year battle with developers.

"We have a house on Diamond Head. It has a magnificent view on one side and a smothering highrise on the other, so I was naturally concerned." she explains. "The city made a mistake in the early Sixties when it allowed the first highrise to be built on the Diamond Head side of the Waikiki Natatorium [2]. Once the line was broken, it became increasingly difficult to hold it farther on. Save Diamond Head Association was fighting to keep the slopes below Diamond Head Road in single-family residences. Then over a period of time, as the state could afford to buy up those private homes. Kapiolani Park [map] would eventually extend out to the Lighthouse [map] at the other end of the road."

"... the reason why it was so strategic was that [the developer] had bought properties on either side of the Fagan house up the hill on Diamond Head Road. Therefore she didn't want him to own the Fagan house because it would make a clear sweep of the area beneath Diamond Head."

"There is absolutely no doubt that the character and natural beauty of Diamond Head would be destroyed by the construction of more apartments and hotel buildings around its base.

"Therefore, to ensure the proper setting for Diamond Head, I have purchased the former Fagan property at 3241 Diamond Head Road. I intend to keep it, as well as my other property at 3101 Diamond Head Road, in single-family residential use.

"This is a gesture that I hope will be followed by my neighbors. I certainly hope that our Mayor and the members of City Council will take note of the spirit in which this gesture has been made.

"And I hope that they will have the foresight to retain the present single-family residential zoning in blocks makai [towards the sea] of Diamond Head Road so that Kapiolani Park can eventually be continued to the Lighthouse.

"I realize that this park extension will not happen overnight. It will take many years. But in the meantime, residential use around the base of Diamond Head would retain the character of the area until arrangements can be made for the eventual park development."

"There's the famous meeting that was held June 30, 1967. It was a meeting of the city council public works committee. The chairman was Ben Kaito, a lawyer. The meeting was held to discuss Diamond Head and the plans for Diamond Head. I was sitting there with Martha Gerbode. I had a prepared statement on behalf of ODC. Martha was there as well, prepared to speak.

Chinn Ho was not present, but his planner was there, a former planning director of the City and County of Honolulu who formed his own planning firm. He brought in a model about twenty inches high of two or three apartment buildings. It showed Diamond Head and had a high-rise building - one of the three highrises - right on Martha Gerbode's property. [laughter] The woman almost blew apart. I can still remember the blast of exasperation as she realized that what they were proposing was on her property.

I wanted to present a statement on behalf of the Save Diamond Head Association and on behalf of the Oahu Development Conference, but the chairman would not let me speak. Why? Because I was not a property owner. He claimed I had no interest in the site. This is after the site had been declared a state monument and everyone knew its importance. Then he turned to Martha, "But you're a property owner. If Mrs. Gerbode wants to speak, now is the time for her to speak." She was too upset to speak and asked me to speak for her. So I presented the usual narrative we had been giving. It made little if any impression on the committee members, because they were not listening to what was being said; they were tuned out completely. Their minds had been set.

This was before the public hearing at the complete city council, and they did not know the extent of community concern about this problem. But I'll always remember that committee meeting and Martha Gerbode exasperated as she heard and saw what the future of her property would be."

"We had people from eight years old to eighty-eight years old testifying. We had people from all over this island, not just the Outdoor Circle, not just the elite like Martha Gerbode. Some people had said, "Oh, she's a rich lady; she doesn't want anybody else to have anything." But we had people from all over the island, of all income groups."

The strip of land between road and shoreline at Diamond Head is an attractive, buildable area. It is covered by a number of large estates, Mrs. Gerbode's among them. One day, a neighbor expressed a desire for a serious visit with Dr. and Mrs. Gerbode. Pressed by Mrs. Gerbode, he divulged that he and some "friends" had bought a number of estates along that strip and were hoping to buy hers as well. She asked him why, and he described a highrise plan for the area. Hers was a key parcel, along with another which at that time was in probate. The latter parcel would be bought by sealed bid at auction.

Mrs. Gerbode wasn't sure; what did he think her land was worth? What, for example, was it worth compared to the property in probate? Her neighbor had indeed bid on that piece, and felt sure of getting it. Mrs. Gerbode pursued: she would have a better idea what her place was worth if she knew what they bid for the other. She finally ended up with at least a close estimate.

She hung up, and wrote a check for a bit more than the half million dollars the syndicate was offering. Her bid for the key property was accepted, ruining the syndicate's hopes of highrise at Diamond Head.

At subsequent hearings, it became clear that Mrs. Gerbode had started something. A tremendous public turnout, ranging from union chiefs to school children to corporate executives, focused their wrath on the Honolulu City Council. To ignore their voices was political suicide. Highrise zoning was turned down. The same kind of outcry has continued and a new concept, historic-cultural-scenic zoning is now being proposed for Diamond Head.

One woman's determination had reversed an impossible situation, and pointed the way toward pubic control of the public destiny.

"She [Martha Alexander Gerbode] of course experienced great sadness when my brother Alec died. That event produced complete and total denial. His death was never discussed in the family."

"There was no time to absorb the fact that a family member was gone."

Martha determined to honor Alec's memory by organizing the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, and providing funds and designated properties for its support. This was the natural development of an informal system Martha had set up in 1951 to deal with philanthropic matters. Maryanna noted that before and during the development of the Gerbode Foundation, Martha had made donations from her own father's family trust, and also made personal gifts to nonprofit groups, a practice she continued after the foundation was in place. By 1953 the Gerbode Foundation had been established with the organization and philosophy to function effectively in selected counties in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the State of Hawaii.

The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation is interested in programs and projects offering potential for significant impact. The primary focus is on the San Francisco Bay Area (counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo) and Hawaii. The Foundation's interests generally fall under the following categories: arts and culture, environment, reproductive rights and health, citizen participation/building communities/inclusiveness, strength of the philanthropic process and the nonprofit sector, Foundation-initiated special projects.

Dr. Frank Gerbode: "I'd say the average grant is from one to thirty thousand dollars. There aren't very many one thousand dollar grants, though."

Interviewer: "Obviously the foundation's policy is to fund a number of organizations in a modest way rather than to give large sums to a very few organizations."

Dr. Frank Gerbode: "I think that's true. Our general policy is to get things started, as I mentioned to you before, which we think would have enough value to be carried by the community, by other organizations. Pickle Family Circus, for example, carries itself now. There are several dance groups, too, that we started--they are mostly connected with various countries--and they are on their own now, too. There's a Holocaust memorial being developed now [by the Palace of the Legion of Honor] to remind people of the number of Jews that were killed during the war. We've supported that because we think it's a good thing to have people see what it was all about. Many people don't think any Jews were killed at all, or there weren't any concentrations camps. A lot of Germans think that, too."

Interviewer: "What would you say is the image of the Gerbode Foundation?"

Dr. Frank Gerbode: "I think probably the image is one of an organization that is interested in community affairs in the [San Francisco] Bay Area."

Interviewer: "There wouldn't be a political coloration? I'm thinking on the scale of conservative to liberal."

Dr. Frank Gerbode: "I think we're right in the middle somewhere. For example, we supported the building of the [Louise M. Davies] symphony hall. You might consider that conservative, yet it takes care of a lot of liberal people, too."

Interviewer: "Well, things have changed. In the old days it was unusual to fund nature-related activities."

Dr. Frank Gerbode: "That's true. I think that people are generally more conscious of preserving green areas. We'd been very interested in this in San Francisco long before the foundation was founded, in being sure that where there was a possibility of making a park, that we could help get the park made. This is a form of nature conservancy, preserving green areas in the community."

"pretty much forbids personal use by the board of any foundation property. We can go down there for the purposes of looking over the property but we can't go there and entertain."