Wednesday, September 2, 1998
What ever happened to former Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau poster girls Rose Marie Alvaro and Mae Beimes? Poster girl Alvaro
recalls the tripsAlvaro, who worked for the bureau from 1961 to 1976, is an owner of Robert Rose Interiors who specializes in the design and manufacture of furniture.
Alvaro said what she remembers most about her poster girl days is the travel to promote Hawaii.
"It was really wonderful and really first-class traveling," said Alvaro, who continues to volunteer time to welcome and assist newcomers to the islands.
The bureau made four travel posters featuring Alvaro. One of them, "Orchid Girl," won top prize at the American Society of Travel Agents convention in 1961 in Cannes, France. The Honolulu-native also appeared on 10 million Arden Farms milk cartons and on Wicked Wahine products for 20 years, which may be why people still remember her today.
Last week, the 1960 Sacred Hearts graduate said a friend bought one of her posters for $45 at an auction. The posters were originally given free by the bureau.
Beimes, the first poster girl, died Aug. 17, 1978, at age 46.
In 1953, at age 21, the Farrington High graduate won the "Miss Face" contest sponsored by bureau to find the right face to put on its first big travel poster in more than a decade.
A hula dancer for the Marion Diamond hula troupe, Beimes was chosen from among 75 women who entered. One of her posters was a 1954 color photo of Beimes holding a plumeria lei in a gesture of aloha.
Pat Omandam, Star-Bulletin
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