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Monday, August 28, 2000
By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
The Honolulu Hale bell had a storied past.
governor's daughter, broke a bottle of "American champagne" across her bow.Attached to the U.S. Fleet in San Diego, Honolulu paid her first visit to Honolulu in the summer of 1939 and began a brief love affair between ship and city.
The city gave the ship a sterling-silver punchbowl set, for which the territory chipped in $1,000. The rest of the funds comprised school children's pennies.
Skipper Capt. Oscar Smith -- referred to by Navy officials as "Capt. O'Smith, the Irishman" -- was persuaded to dance the hula. In return, he gave the city some flags, bronze plaques and a model made by the ship's carpenters, including rhinestone searchlights liberated from the bracelet of a carpenter's wife.
Honolulu was in Pearl Harbor during the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack and went on to fight in most of the major Pacific campaigns of World War II. In 1947, she was mothballed, and the Navy donated the ship's bell to Honolulu, but billed the city for shipping.
Once the bell arrived, city workers, unable to figure out how to hang it, dumped it outside. Embarrassed officials eventually hid it in a storeroom for more than a year, until local craftsmen donated a koa plinth and plaque. As the bell was being readied for hanging, it was discovered that the clapper had been stolen. The city quietly had a new one made (which today is swathed in bandages to keep gawkers from ringing it).
The bell is in the lobby of Honolulu Hale. The handsome koa plinth is now painted white.
During the 1960s, there was some interest in the city acquiring the ship as a memorial museum, or even as a floating office building, but the ship was cut up in the '70s.
The flags, plaques and the model are in the city's archives, except her battle ensign, which was passed on to the Navy League of Honolulu in 1953 for safekeeping.
Contestants must be Hawaii females, 18 to 26 years old, who have never been married or given birth. Competition categories are swimsuit, evening gown and personality interview.
The entry deadline is Sept. 15. Call or write Pageant Productions for an application form or details. The address is 852 Maniniholo St., Honolulu, HI 96825. Call 395-8715.
All concerts in the series start 7:30 p.m. and will take place at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou St.
The other three concerts in the series are:
Oct. 16 -- "Tintinnabulation," featuring the Spring Wind Quintet.
Nov. 13 -- "Killer B's," with the music of Beethoven, Brahms and Bernstein performed by the Honolulu Brass.
Dec. 4 -- "Basically Baroque," featuring the Tresemble.
Series tickets, at $48, include the four concerts, plus one free guest ticket.
Chamber Music Hawaii's Academy Series at the Academy of Arts Theatre will begin Jan. 22 with "Toujours L'Amour" by the Galliard String Quartet.
The other concert in this series, also starting at 7:30 p.m., are:
March 19 -- "Academy of Arts & Letters," featuring the Spring Wind Quintet.
April 16 -- "All Jazzed Up," music by the Honolulu Brass.
May 7 -- "Surprise, Surprise," featuring The Tresemble.
The cost for this series is also $48, including one free guest ticket.
Tickets for both the candlelight and academy series are $80 for the eight concerts and include two free guest tickets.
Also available is a "sampler series" where patrons select any three concerts for $36. For tickets, call Chamber Music Hawaii at 543-0935.
Entry forms are available at all Borders locations and public libraries. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 15, semi-finalists will be announced in October and the finalist will be chosen in November.
For more information, call Borders at 676-6699.
Talks will take place in the Supreme Court Courtroom at 417 S. King. St.
During the first session at 11:30 a.m., "CanI Represent Myself or Do I Need a Lawyer," District Court Judge Rhonda Nishimura and Family court Judge Allene Suemori will provide an overview of the types of District and Family Court matters that can be handled without legal representation.
During the second session at 12:30 p.m., "How to Use a Lawyer and How to Find One," attorneys James Kawachika and Andrew Winer will explain how to choose a lawyer, and gather information about a lawyer's training, duties, qualifications and responsibilities, as well as discuss what clients should expect once an attorney is contacted.
The program is part of an informational series about courts and the law called "Lunch 'n' Learn the Law." It is sponsored by the Hawai'i State Judiciary. For more information, call 539-4910.
