By Dave Donnelly
Wednesday, January 29, 1997
Peggy Hickok Hodge, Rick Ralson
Peggy Hickok Hodge, Rick Ralson
THE Pro Bowl will be celebrating the best of today's football players Sunday, but a couple of other celebrations are taking place this weekend as well, both involving sportsmen. Slim Lambert turns 87 on Saturday, and James W. Lovell will be marking his 90th on Sunday. Lambert gained a measure of fame 10 years ago when he was in San Francisco for the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, simply because he fell into the water while working on the construction, and lived to talk about it. As for Lovell, he was coaching football in Hawaii before the fathers of today's Pro Bowl'ers were born ... 177 candles for
Lambert, LovellWHILE Lambert is retired from his cruise boat and travel agency interests, he still divides his time between his 36-foot sportfisher, "Altair," and his horses at Gunstock Ranch in Kahuku. Says son Skip Lambert, "Dad isn't running any marathons, but he can still get on his horse without assistance." As the late Fred Dailey ("Mr. Polo" in Hawaii) once said, "As long as I've got four young legs under me, it doesn't matter how old mine are"; and he rode into his 80s ...
THE family and friends of Lovell are holding a birthday luncheon for him Sunday at John Dominis, though his actual birthday is Feb. 6. Lovell was a school teacher at Washington Intermediate and a pal of fellow teacher Neal Blaisdell. Like late Mayor Blaisdell, Lovell went on to coach high school football, at McKinley and Roosevelt. Lovell was known as "The Major" in the celebrated 100th Infantry Division and went on to be commanding officer. He was shot at Montecasino in Italy and was discharged, returning to Hawaii and becoming president of Lewers & Cooke. Lovell and wife Wilma still live in the family home in Salt Lake. With so many obituaries in the paper these days, it's a pleasure to report on two old codgers who don't seem to know the meaning of age and continue to enjoy the good life ...
LANIKAI resident Peggy Hickok Hodge is an old-timer in her own right. She's having her fourth and fifth books published this year by Mutual Publishing. "Gardening in Hawaii" is a handbook for isle home gardeners and should be in bookstores next month, illustrated with over 80 color photos taken by Hodge and her son, Lee Hickok. Then there's "Growing Up Barefoot in Hawaii," a book she freely admits she spent 60 years researching and took two years to write. This personal account includes Hodge's remembrance of Queen Liliuokalani on the throne and of attending the funeral of the late queen. She also remembers when the original Outrigger Canoe Club cost $10 a year. Now that was a loooong time ago. "Growing up Barefoot" will be out in May, again with lots of photos ... We’re talkin’ old-timers here
WHEN Parada of Milano approached Rick Ralston about taking over the lease to his closed Bugatti store on Kalakaua, he quickly agreed. It'll be opening there soon ... Cynthia Yip seems to have found herself specializing in "hot" TV stories that mainland outlets want to warm up their chilled audiences. She did the two pieces on Hooters' swimsuit competition that ran the other day on "Extra." Then, on Sunday she did a story featuring six Hawaii bikini models for a behind-the-scenes Today magazine shoot ...
REAL estate honcho Michael "Skip" Schuman made use of his silver tongue to be auctioneer at the Parents and Children Together annual gala over the weekend. KITV's Paula Akana emceed and Myron "Pinky" Thompson delivered the invocation at the "Paniolo Party Fund-raiser." It was fitting that Skip fetched $600 for a Molokai Ranch package at the Ranch's new Paniolo Camp in Maunaloa, Molokai ... UH astronomy Professor Jim Heasley was driving his 1st-grader, Jimmy, home in his car when the old song "Mr. Blue" came on the radio. Heasley told Jimmy what the title was and he responded, "Oh, was that about Picasso." As Heasley wrote Jimmy's Aikahi Elementary teacher, Barbara Romig, "What you teach kids does stick in their little minds." ... PACT house
