In remembrance · The ʻUkulele Archive
Ka-Lai String Instrument Manufacturers
Joint venture had more than 30 models; preserve separately from both Kamaka and later Ka-Lae.
What endures
The retained record keeps John Ying Git Lai|Samuel Kamaka Sr. connected to Honolulu, the instruments, and the community memory surrounding this work.
This tribute is built from the surviving public record. Missing dates and workshop details remain open questions rather than reconstructed biography.
Chronology
A life in the record
Historical 1939 1943
Joint venture had more than 30 models; preserve separately from both Kamaka and later Ka-Lae.
Evidence, not decoration
Follow the record.
Every source is shown so family knowledge, instrument evidence, and later research can strengthen—or correct—this page.
Continue the story