Satala
Satala lies on a strip of land on the Pago Pago harbor where BFK., Inc. was located and where they built the Kneubuhl warehouse alongside the docks, to offload cargo as the sole agent for the Matson Shipping Lines. As such, it was the center of the BFK commercial activities, and the greatest symbol of what the enterprising Ben had become. A solid businessman, but sailor at heart with the heft of a stevedore, his eyes were always on the horizon. After Ben died in 1964, Satala was even more coveted, and became the site of the Pacific Products plant, during the brief life of that family business. When it became unavailable to him in 1968, Mike left; he next wanted to buy it in the settlement. It went dormant as the family businesses wound down, and was finally sold to the Steffany family in the mid-2000’s. It may be the site of the new power plant today. Naturally, there was a squabble within the Kneubuhls over Satala, too. First the price, then the distribution of the proceeds, and Mike made a new claim for funds he stated he was owed. The only file presently here about Satala refers to the disbursement conversation, now named “Satala math.”  He claims he was not paid $45,000 during the 1982 settlement, which should have been reimbursed by BFK, Inc. long ago.  There is trial testimony on this subject to the effect that individual family members do not owe a debt on behalf of BFK, Inc., especially one he claimed he  “forgot” for 35 years.

Documents