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Wood Craft
Ben Wood
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PHOTOS COURTESY TED FUKUDA
Hale Kaohu Rowland performed and emceed at the annual Koa'e Kea Hawaiian Airlines pioneer DC-3 hostesses party. Rowland danced the hula while Kuuipo Kumukahi, right, and Isaac Akuna provided the music.
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Kaaua highlights Koa‘e Kea dinner party
There were many highlights at the Koa'e Kea Hawaiian Airlines pioneer DC-3 hostesses party at the Halekulani Saturday but 91-year-old
Nora Ouna Kaaua stole the show with her hula. When Nora, a bit frail and unsteady, saw some of the younger gals dancing hula, she could not contain herself and joined them on a couple of numbers. She almost stumbled but emcee
Hale Kaohu Rowland caught her and she finished the songs, earning heavy applause. Nora is the only survivor among the first four HAL hostesses hired in 1943 when the male flight attendants went off to war. The other three originals were
Leolani Vradenburg Blaisdell, Ellalie Frendo and
Momi Grace Jacobs ...
PHOTOS COURTESY TED FUKUDA
Nora Ouna Kaaua, 91, was awarded the Koa'e Kea DC-3 medal Saturday night.
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PHOTOS COURTESY TED FUKUDA
Gloria Kanemura Bentley and husband Lon Bentley enjoyed the show.
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Hale did a bang-up job as emcee and as both solo and line hula dancer.
Greta Doak Hegerfeldt cracked everyone up pretending to be a fight attendant, describing where the toilets are and pointing to them. She also said there were Chicklets for those who like to chew gum when flying. There were little packets of Chicklets at each table setting ...
Kuuipo Kumukahi and Isaac Akuna sang and played music. More hula was performed by Greta's Hui O Na Waihini Hula Nani, and by Reynette Miller, T.J. Joseph, Kaena Avilla, Kalani Ramos and Bennet Namahoe. Two friendly rivals with Aloha Airlines credits, Sharon Bettencourt and Kalena Awa, also danced. Roy Benham sang the Doxology and the crowd joined in ...
Former hostess Gloria Kanemura Bentley attended with husband Lon Bentley, who does Tom Selleck's make up. Hale called gorgeous Gloria "the face of Hawaiian Airlines" as she was pictured in many HAL ads. Retired Brig. Gen. Irwin "Yoka" Cockett, a guest, was singled out. Yoka had an outstanding Army career. Bill Smith, double gold medalist in swimming in the 1948 Olympics, attended with his wife, the former Peaches Riley, who was a hostess. Hale called me up, gave me a plaque and said I was the guest of honor for covering the hostesses in this column over the years. I told the hostesses that writing about them is always a joy as they were the best-looking women in town in my younger years and that they are still beautiful. They loved that ...
Neiman settings at C.S. Wo
Neiman Marcus and C.S. Wo combined forces again to display elegant table settings for the holidays. The settings, created by Neiman's visual marketing team, were unveiled Saturday for about 1,000 people at a stylish party in Wo's showroom. The displays will run through Sunday in the store. Neiman also added holiday fashion modeling during the evening. The entertainment included caroling by Diamond Head Theatre's Shooting Stars, directed by John Rampage, and a string quintet. Food and drink stations were set up on both floors of the building by Windward Community College's Employment Training Center for Culinary Arts with chef Diane Nazarro; Kelvin Ro's Diamond Head Market and Grill, and Southern Wine & Spirits with Emily Field ...
Ben Wood, who sold the Star-Bulletin in the streets of downtown Honolulu during World War II, writes of people, places and things in our Hawaii. E-mail him at
bwood@starbulletin.com