Myers Butte and Pacific System Homes

 Meyers is pictured 2nd from the left.  Photo: Tim Connelly family archive

Meyers Butte.  Photo: Tim Connelly family archive

Los Angeles based, Pacific System Ready Cut Homes began in 1908, and by 1939 it was the largest builder of homes in the world. During the depression, the company founder’s son, Meyers Butte came on board. He convinced the family that manufacturing surfboards would be a good way to diversify the company's business. The Swastika name and symbol were chosen for their “connotations of health and good fortune.” PSH was the first company to mass-produce surfboards. Earliest archaeological evidence of the swastika symbol dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient India as well as Classical Antiquity. The symbol remains widely used in Eastern religions, specifically in Hinduism and Buddhism, and was also used by various Native American tribes. After the Nazi party usurped the Swastika symbol, PSH changed the name of their line of surfboards to the "Waikiki Model."

These two photos came from Tim Connelly, Meyers Butte's grandson. We met Tim and his wife, LaVonna at Sacred Craft. They had come down for the day for the Food Expo taking place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and had wandered over to see the surfboard exhibit. They were hoping to find a Pacific System Homes board, and luckily we happened to have brought along a small, "Steam Nose" model and some reproductions of PSH promo material. They were stoked and sent us these two photos from their family archive.