Gordon Morse

Gordon Morse was a born storyteller, first as a journalist, then as a writer of historical fiction and, finally as the host of one of Volcano’s oldest and most popular bed and breakfast inns.
 

Morse was born in Hawaii in 1927, and other than his years in college, he spent his life here. For almost 20 years he was a reporter for the Honolulu Advertiser before retiring to start a first of its kind RV camper rental business on Hawaiʻi island. When he retired from that in 1985, he and his wife Joann opened My Island B&B, in what had originally been the Lyman family summer home which was designed in the New England farmhouse style.

That job, in turn, allowed Morse to do what he loved best: tell stories and write books about Hawaiʻi and its cultural heritage.  

Before his death in 2016, he ended up writing 14 books with titles like Romancing Pele, The Monster Marlin, The Volcano Automobile and My Owhyee. Most were fictional accounts rooted in and true to Hawaii’s history. And he entertained thousands of visitors who stayed at his B&B with stories from his own life and beyond.

“I was born in Hawaii and was a teenager when World War II started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I would read the daily news to see what was actually happening around the islands versus what I was imagining by watching some activities around in my area. This ‘imagined story and research’ is what I grew to be known for,” he told an interviewer when he was 88. “I began writing books for tourists in a story form that enticed the reader to experience the aura of the islands ... not a book that told them where to eat or buy trinkets.”
 
He continued writing into his 90s. “The ability to write keeps me young. It is important to have a reason and to be productive and active every day,” he said.