urchased in Hawaii in 1927, the 4-string ukulele was to serve L. Ron Hubbard through the next four decades. Most memorably, this was the instrument with which he entertained Washington, DC radio listeners in a slot that would later launch Authur Godfrey. It also cheered fellow seamen aboard ships en route to China, and served him in jam sessions on the island of Guam.
How the normally fragile instrument survived those decades, not to mention the quarter of a million miles of travel, is something of a mystery. In either case, his distinctive "Pineapple Uku" was further remembered by students of the Saint Hill Hubbard College where Ron used it for impromptu concerts through the mid-1960’s.
