Kester, Frank, 1888-

Reporter, with Oakland Tribune, 1921-1942, and a number of other California newspapers.

Kester was a reporter, primarily for the Oakland Tribune, 1921-1942. He also wrote an autobiography, short stories, and poems.

Biography

Frank Kester covered the waterfront beat for the Oakland Tribune from 1921 to 1942. An archetypical reporter, Kester was characterized by an insatiable curiosity, a penchant for keeping journals, a passion for photography and a devotion to the reporting trade which has left us a wealth of biographical materials and historical images of almost half a century.

Born in Cholame Valley, California in March 1888, Kester spent his youth in such small towns as Alvarado, Mendocino and Watsonville. He often made friends with Spanish and Indian children from whom he learned to speak Spanish and some smattering of Indian hunting and fishing techniques. These childhood experiences imbued him with a lifelong interest in mining towns, Indian lore, sea adventures and an abiding love for nature and wilderness.

Before Kester reached his teens, his mother divorced his father, remarried and moved the family to Oakland. He had finished six years of schooling when his stepfather decided that he should withdraw from school in order to contribute to the family income. He entered into a series of jobs which included working as a glass blower and stockboy in department stores.

After much frustration, he convinced his stepfather of his ability to work and attend school. He enrolled in Wilmerding High School and obtained a janitorial position. The young Kester engaged in school activities with enthusiasm and soon earned the position of assistant editor on the school paper.

By the time he was eighteen, Kester was on the million dollar sports staff of the Morning Call and the San Francisco Examiner. After a short stint on the sports page, he was moved over to the waterfront beat. When news of the first World War surfaced, he was reassigned to the news department. In November 1917 Kester reported for naval duty. Overseas for one year, he took the opportunity to document through photographs and autobiographical sketches the personal and tragic side of war.

At the war's end, he came back to San Francisco and the newspaper business. He joined the staff of the Oakland Tribune in 1921. Weaving mythology and fact, Kester spun tales of California history, from the gold country and the Yosemite mountains to the small towns and growing cities. The majority of his eighteen years at the Tribune were spent reporting on the San Francisco and Oakland waterfront and editing a full page daily on maritime activities. He witnessed the emergence of a militant union and strikes; the expansion of the land fill and harbor construction; and, the economic boom in the shipping trades following World War II.

Kester was an inveterate joiner in his private life. Among his organizations were the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Masons and the Audobon Society. Appropriately, he met his wife on a Yosemite trail.

Chronology of Newspaper Positions Held and Other Jobs