Dave Cheever, Red Morris
Dave Donnelly is on vacation. His columns resume on June 26th.
IF you were one of those people who used to blanch every time a Thomasville Furniture Gallery "going out of business sale" commercial came on television, you must have rejoiced that the state finally said, fine, you're out! That ongoing sale took longer than Sarah Bernhardt's legendary farewell tour and, like her, showed no signs of ever letting up. One person who found out how successful a "going out of business sale" could be was Dave Cheever and Jill Wheatman, owners of The Bike Way. The difference is that they meant it and did close down when they said they would. But Cheever admits that the first day after a Star-Bulletin story about the business closing, they sold 41 bikes (which would normally take two weeks) and 900 tubes -- the norm for three months. Cheever and Wheatman said the "store closing sale" was so successful that one customer suggested they hang a banner out front saying, "Jus' kidding," and do it again like furniture stores. But the two closed their doors gracefully and tearfully thanked all their customers over the past 15 years ... Last sales in sunset
before final rideYOU find news in the strangest places: The Carvin music equipment catalog had a story spotlighting Dave Roe, described as the bassman for Johnny Cash since 1992. His career got underway in Hawaii back in 1970. As he told the interviewer, he played with the Beamer Brothers, whom he described as "a red-hot act in Hawaii," and several lounge acts before branching out into studio recording sessions. It wasn't until he moved to Nashville in 1980 that he got a chance to play the Grand Ole Opry and with Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, Mel Tillis, Dotty West and finally, Cash ...
FOR the benefit of those folks who complain that Waikiki has become a concrete jungle with nary a tree or flower in sight, may I alert you that the winner of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties' top producer category in Waikiki was Daisy Conquest? No, her office isn't in Hula's Bar & Lei Stand! ... Why was Indru Watumull smiling the other day? She headed the campaign to raise funds for the new American Cancer Society headquarters on Nuuanu Avenue, and this week received a contribution from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg foundation: A whopping $1,080,000 ...
WHILE the average tenure of a job is 3.8 years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, we've uncovered a loyal employee who makes most of us look like newcomers to the job. I'm referring to Tsuyako Tsutsumi of Kamaaina Motors, who's a true kamaaina on the job. She's celebrating her golden anniversary with the Hilo dealership, a true labor of love that began back in May of 1947. If you want to put that in perspective, that was a year before the development of automobile air-conditioning. That's when she joined the company as its accounts receivable clerk and now, a half-century later and company office manager, she's as happy as she was on her first day at work. Her biggest challenge? "Keeping up with the times." Such as? "Shifting from manual typewriters, carbon paper and the mailman to computers, photo copiers and e-mail." There you have it -- a lesson in longevity ... Tsutsumi fine
AMONG "family activities" at the 50th State Fair this weekend at Aloha Stadium is an educational exhibit featuring endangered species: black bear, panther and jaguar, with hourly feedings. Sounds like a mini-camp for the NFL! There's also Blaze, the Balloon Blowing Goat ...
WHEN lobbiest Red Morris' son-in-law, Ross Yamasaki, got his master's degree in architecture from UH, Red threw a party where the invites began, "Come see cows fly..." You get the idea he was surprised at the degree? Anyway, at a party at the Morris home after the ceremony, someone brought along a live cow and cooped it on the lawn. A note was added hastily that the cow was not for dinner, but Morris did serve up steak and ribs. Speaking of which, I'm heading for San Francisco and slightly more gourmet fare. I plan to return in a month, well fed and rested ... Watch for flying cows
Contact Dave by e-mail: donnelly@kestrok.com.