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Hawaii

By Dave Donnelly


1969: President Nixon let in
to the Outrigger Canoe Club

PRESIDENTIAL leftovers: President and Mrs. Nixon were made honorary members of the Outrigger Canoe Club Saturday. OCC President Tommy Thomas presented the cards to Julie and David Eisenhower when they visited the club and were taken surfing by Fred Hemmings Jr. (Jan 9, 1969) ... As far as Zulu is concerned, Mayor Frank Fasi has a lot of pull with him. It began when Zulu dislocated a finger at the recent wheelchair basketball game and fellow celebrity team member Fasi immediately diagnosed the problem and said, "There's just one thing to do." He gave a forceful yank on the finger, Zulu gave out a forceful yell and the kapakahi finger snapped back into place. At a hospital later, a doctor told the singer that whoever snapped it back did a good job. "You won't believe who it was," mused Zulu, who proceeded to send a bouquet of flowers to the mayor, addressing them to "Dr. Frank Fasi." (June 13, 1973) ...

LAST Friday, we itemed the following: "It's the end of an era. No longer will you be able to watch Lippy Espinda talk about '29 years in the same location, bruddah.'" We were referring to Lippy's projected move to a location near the airport from his gasoline station landmark at Kalakaua and Kapiolani. But in one of those strange twists of fate, Lippy dropped dead the day after the item appeared. It IS the end of an era in a way. Lippy Espinda was always selflessly giving of himself to emcee events, cheer you up with the latest joke and generally bring joy along with him wherever he went. It just won't be the same without turning on the TV and seeing Lippy say, "Shaka." (June 10, 1975) ...

ONE of the earliest arrivals at the wedding reception held by attorney Evan Shirley and wife Elaine on board the Falls of Clyde Sunday evening was Rep. Neil Abercrombie. He was quickly pressed into service placing two portable toilets into position dockside of the old sailing vessel, a task Abercrombie readily admitted he was eminently suited for. (June 13, 1978) ... During his summation to the governor at the HPERB hearings on the firemen's situation, Deputy Attorney General Kenneth Nam quoted Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade," which prompted firemen's attorney Rogers Ikenaga to quip, "What we are really concerned with here is the charge of the fire brigade." Touché! (June 13, 1979)

THE cast of the Tihati revue at he Beachcomber Hotel was thrilled when visiting Olympic skater Tai Babilonia dropped in to watch them the other night. (June 9, 1980) ... So there was manager David Hill sitting in his office at Canlis' Saturday night when he heard a tapping on his window. He opened the door and found two young ladies who'd been roller-skating in the parking lot and who, indeed, still had on their skates. "Excuse me," said one, "but I'm on the Bob Hope special that's going to be on TV in a minute and wondered if I could watch it on your set." Hill was at first skeptical, but then he recognized the girl was Olympic skater Tai Babilonia, and invited the two in, and the three watched her performance on TV, enjoying Canlis' strawberries and cokes. Then the two young ladies skated off into the night, doing cartwheels in the parking lot. (June 10, 1980) ...

AFTER rehearsing his role in a dance number for HCT's "Annie Get Your Gun," Jim Hackleman, co-host of Channel 11's "Sports Page" show, quipped, "I am to dancing what Toulouse-Lautrec is to the slam dunk." (June 9, 1982) ... The folks at Hawaii Loa College weren't surprised that one of their marine science grads, Laura Mae Duffy, was selected to be the first teacher in inner space, descending 1,200 feet in the ocean. Science prof John Calliney put it succinctly: "Laura pursued her studies in such depth that I'm not surprised where it's taken her." (June 12, 1986)

When Shane Stambler of Alouette's Catering mentioned to her boss that Imelda Marcos had come out with a recording, Alvin Tachibana replied, "One of the songs must be 'Da Heels I Own.'" Just a footnote to history, you might say. (June 14, 1989) ...



Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
The Week That Was recalls items from Dave's 30 years of columns.

Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com



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