Wood Craft
Each year, a group of women who worked for the Joseph Magnin isle stores and who went on to bigger and better things gather for lunch. Attending this year's lunch at Ala Moana Center's Assaggio were: Gucci Regional Director Sharleen Perreira, Gucci Waikiki GM Leigh Sogi, Gucci Visual Director Susan Engebretson, Chanel Regional VP Joyce Okano Reed, Christian Dior Regional Director Cameron Coble Maheris, Retail Strategies consultant Penny Spies and Patsy Reinhart Langtry of Neiman Marcus. Most of the women were sales personnel. Sharleen was a seamstress ... Magnin women climb the
ladder to success
Browning aims for Feb. 2
John Browning of the arms company family and Tammy Williamson have set Feb. 2 for their wedding at Ihilani. John is sure to bring in a big star to perform at the reception. He said Elton John would have cost about $170,000. So if Elton is to be heard, it will be on a CD, he joked. Browning flew in Stephen Bishop for Tammy's recent birthday party ...Former isle resident Judy Jensen will be a volunteer in the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Steve Young, the former great quarterback for the 49ers, heads the volunteers for the Winter Games and asked Judy to be part of the team. Steve is married to Judy's niece Barb. Judy also watched Steve get inducted into the Collegiate Hall of Fame in New York this month. Before that, Judy was in Washington, D.C., to see a friend receive a national charity award. In D.C. she met Isaac Hoopii, who, with his dog, rescued a dozen people after the Sept. 11 Pentagon attack ...
UH music prof Byron Yasui met Hoopii in New Jersey a few days before the attack. Byron was representing Eddie Kamae, who was inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame. Eddie could not make the trip. So Byron, Brian Tolentino, Asa Young and Chris and Casey Kamaka, of the ukulele-making family, filled in and performed at the Ukulele Hall of Fame Expo Sept. 8-9. Isaac was in a group called the Aloha Boys who drove up from Washington. The other Boys were Jay Caragay and Ramon Camarillo II. The Hawaii musicians jammed together and had a fine time at the expo. Little did they know what would happen on Sept. 11. Tom and Nuni Walsh put up the travelers from Hawaii in their home for a week as they could not get flights after the attacks. Nuni's great-grandfather was Manuel Nunes, the ukulele maker from Portugal from whom the elder Kamakas learned their craft ...
Smooth-sounding 'Rust'
Mihana Aluli Souza is well known for singing Hawaiian and hapa-haole songs with Puamana, but her first CD, "Rust on the Moon," shows her versatility and composing skill. After hearing her exceptional work on country and rock numbers as well as island tunes, it makes me wonder what took her so long to do a solo album. Mihana wrote all but one of the 12 songs on the CD. Her lyrics are meaningful. The arrangements are right on target, no matter whether she sings a laid-back "Easy," an uptempo "Hula" or a driving "Love." Mihana's mom, the late, legendary Irmgard Farden Aluli, wrote the CD's title song, "Rust," another favorite. Other solid offerings are "Friend" and "Hat," for Mihana's husband, Chuck. The CD will be in the shops in early January, in time for Valentine's Day ... Happy New Year! ...
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