Wood Craft
TRAVEL WOMEN, HAWAII is a kamaaina group bursting with aloha. Formed in 1953, its members promote all the good things about the islands and bring back memories of old Hawaii. Thursday night they installed Luana Maitland president at the Moana Hotel. "Some of us have been in travel for 40 years and we all have fun together," said Marvie Kelly, who won the best-dressed title with her "bustle dress," created by Patty Goo. "We're also known as trouble women," joked Blossom Tyau. Women from each table did the hula. Mapuana Schneider's hula to the song "Mapuana," sung by the fabulous Nina Kealiiwahamana, was outstanding. Patty and former Miss Hawaii Debbie Nakanelua danced a delightful hula together. Other dancers included another former Miss Hawaii, B.J. Feldman, and Luana Costello, Leilani Ahmad and Kuulei Goeas. Bernard Kalua, Haalilio Heyer and John Ely provided the music. Honorary club president Ethel Kaaihue, Papee Mossman, Val O'Brien, Ulu Zuttermeister, Harriet Frank, Sally Edwards, Pua Colburn and Iwalani Castroverde attended ... Isle travel women
install new leader
Jan takes a hit
MURPHY'S waitress Jan Diehl found out the hard way that it's wrong to walk in the driveway of a parking-lot exit. She did that at a downtown lot May 4 after a car had exited and the lot's metal barrier came down smack on her head. She said a witness said it sounded like the crack of a baseball bat when she got whacked. It's fortunate Jan has a hard head ... Palomino bar manager Lesley Cohron is training for the Tin Man event -- swimming, biking and running. She and Jan from Murphy's worked together years ago for Mai Tai Sing at Trappers, a swinging jazz and pops club in the Hyatt ...A LARGE crowd flocked to the Leeward Community College last Saturday for a Taste of the Stars. People sampled food from 16 top chefs and listened to a million dollars worth of entertainment by Jimmy Borges and the Betty Loo Taylor Trio with Gabe Baltazar, Na Leo with Zanuck Lindsey and Shari Lynn and her group. It rained later in the evening but that did not dampen the crowd's enthusiasm. Especially those who danced on the grass to Na Leo's vocals. (Na Leo has a Mother's Day brunch gig tomorrow at the Sheraton Waikiki.) Emme Tomimbang and wine expert Chuck Furuya were cool co-emcees. Fern Tomisato and Janice Ito co-chaired the event. The student help was polite, warmly greeting people and later thanking them for coming ...
Cathy Foy stars
GOOD MOVE by Diamond Head Theatre in landing Cathy Foy, who has New York credits, for the title role of "Victor Victoria," playing Friday though June 3. Cathy knows her stuff ... Many of chef Oliver Altherr's former hands at Hoku's turned out for the dinner he prepared at Hilton's Bali last weekend. Ivy Nagayama, former Hoku's manager now at D.K. Kodama's, was with a large table of wait help from Hoku's. D.K. attended with Nalo Farms' Dean Okimoto and L'Uraku chef Hiroshi Fukui ... Gary Manago is new food and beverage chief at the Hilton ... Glenn Chu's Indigo catered a dinner at El Portal's opening Sunday at Ala Moana Center, a benefit for Contemporary Museum. El Portal has taken over Pocket Book Man ...
Ben Wood, who sold the Star-Bulletin in the streets
of downtown Honolulu during World War II, writes of
people, places and things every Saturday.
E-mail him at bwood@starbulletin.com