Hawaii
1969: Fame blossoms on vine
along Nuuanu Pali DriveEVER travel up Nuuanu Pali Drive and spot a hanging orange jade vine? It's the carefully tended possession of Clarence H. Wong and is a tourists' delight. Buses stop there and camera bugs go crazy. The vine blooms only four times a year and will be blossoming for the next two weeks or so. (Oct. 8, 1969) ...
THEY finally wound up filming "The Hawaiians" on Kauai. Director Tom Gries was trying to give away a bunch of rats he'd acquired for filming the Chinatown fire scene. No takers. (Oct. 8, 1969) ...
ACCORDING to Automotive News, the auto dealer's trade journal, General Motors is looking for a new Pontiac dealer in Hawaii, having notified James Zukerkorn on July 9 that his Kapiolani Motors franchise is not being renewed and expires at the end of the month. Zukerkorn is currently involved in a lawsuit and counterlawsuit with GM. (Oct. 7, 1970) ...
PAPER CAPER: An incoming Continental jet was stripped of toilet paper before it landed in Honolulu the other day ... so apparently the inelegant plight some islanders found themselves in has reached mainland shores. ... On the other hand, Cynthia Eyre stopped by the Hygienic Store to see if they had any papayas (they didn't), and there she discovered roll after roll of green, blue, pink, yellow and white toilet paper. Cynthia selected six rolls of white tissue (such secrets we give out!), and the saleswoman remarked: "White, huh? You must be one of those ecology types." (Oct. 6, 1971) ... A wife named Dandy and a secretary named Bunny? No, we're not referring to Hugh Hefner, but the local Hilton honcho, Don Madsen. (Oct. 8, 1971) ...
THERE'LL be a record number of names logged aboard the Hawaiian Enterprise and Hawaii Progress next month: Matson will be transporting 770,000 new Oahu telephone directories weighing 2.5 million pounds in 64 containers. The books are being printed by the Times Mirror Press in L.A. Some 190,000 neighbor isle phone books will be shipped next spring. (Oct. 6, 1976) ...
WAKE UP: Kris Kristofferson showed up to duet with Al Harrington at the Polynesian Palace last week. The "Blood and Orchids" star and the "South Pacific Man" go back to pre-college days, when they worked together for a construction company on Wake Island. Kristofferson went on to become a Rhodes scholar and Harrington a teacher/entertainer. (Oct. 7, 1985) ...
OK, so graphic designer Elsa Carl isn't a rabid football fan, but she resigned herself to spending her third wedding anniversary tailgating at a UH football game. Husband Clarence Lee pulled off a nice surprise, however: He had violinist Lavar Krantz and his daughter appear in formal attire and serenade the champagne-sipping couple with classical string pieces as the sun set over the parking lot. A highlight of the evening was when attorney Dan Lee showed up with bow and arrow in hand, wearing only a smile and a rather large diaper, and impersonating a Chinese cupid for the lovebirds. It must have worked -- they're still married. (Oct. 8, 1986) ...
RESTAURATEUR Fred Livingston is celebrating the 10th anniversary as the owner of the Trattoria Italian Restaurant. He and wife Nicki bought the eatery in 1982, and to celebrate their milestone anniversary, they've purchased the Crouching Lion Inn. (Oct. 7, 1992) ...
THE Honolulu Club had a "Health Dinner" for about 100 members and guests the other night. Aaron Placourakis put together a menu of delicacies that left out any ingredients nutritionists feel are unhealthy. It must have had an effect on Oahu Country Club Executive Manager Tom Anderson, because after dinner he proposed marriage to Kim Hewitt, and she accepted. But somehow I'm reminded of the guy who always began his day in the same way, with an Irish coffee and a jelly doughnut because they contained the four basic food groups: Caffeine, alcohol, sugar and grease. (Oct. 8, 1992) ...
"The Week That Was" recalls events culled from Dave Donnelly's three-dot columns over the past 30 years. Donnelly continues to write his Hawaii column Tuesdays through Fridays in the Star-Bulletin.
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