Hawaii
YESTERDAY we presented Miss Britain in this space, so today we'll get closer to home by showing off 19-year-old Susan Ellen Anton, Miss California of 1969 and second runner up in the Miss America contest. She'll arrive Monday on Western Airlines' inaugural flight from San Jose. For the record, Susan is 5'11" and a brown-eyed blonde. (May 29, 1970) ... 1974: Birds and bons
mots fly as the old
Biltmore fallsTHE WEEK THAT WAS
AT the big Biltmore blast yesterday there were parties galore as curious onlookers gathered to watch the walls come tumbling down ... Pointing to a group of helicopters high aloft to film the action, one wag quipped, "They look like vultures hovering over their prey." ... Somebody noticed pigeons sitting nonchalantly on the balconies of the soon-to-be-destroyed Biltmore and portly publisher Don Over wryly observed, "The building is about to have its revenge on the pigeons.."... As the 8 a.m. demolition time came and went, TV newsman Bob Sevey watched the minutes tick by and murmured, "Anytime you're ready, C.B." Even old DeMille jokes helped pass the time as the demolition experts delayed the blast a bit in order to urge over-zealous onlookers further back from the site ... As everyone must know by now, the charge did go off and the building came down just where the experts said it would. (May 29, 1974) ...
IN a quirky coincidence, Honolulu theater-goers in the next few weeks will be able to see both a "Fiddler on the Roof" and a Fiddler IN the "Roof." That is, Jan Peerce will be starring in the Broadway musical at the Concert Hall June 29 to July 11, and Bill Fiddler has been cast in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" at HCT, opening July 9. (May 27, 1976) ...Comic Andy Bumatai and Olomana are Maui-bound to appear at a concert Sunday at the Lahaina Civic Center, which will benefit several Maui charities. In addition, teen-age magician John Hirokawa will perform. (May 29, 1980)...
WHEN Gail Wayne heard there was a move afoot to put parking meters along Kalakaua Avenue adjacent to and across from Kapiolani Park, she was livid. It is, after all, one of the few free places to park in you want to enjoy what is supposed to be a free recreational area. So Wayne swung into action, painted a sign protesting meters there and in 10 days accumulated 4,280 signatures on petitions just in the park and nearby beach area. She has since met with Mayor Eileen Anderson (whom she found "charming") and presented her with the petition. We'll be watching to see what good, if any, comes of her effort. (May 28, 1982)...
BACK in February I mentioned that Kualiapuu School on Molokai had organized a campaign to gather sales receipts from Foodland stores. The school wanted to qualify for the chain's offer of computers in exchange for certain amounts of receipts. It was a tricky deal since Foodland has no stores on Molokai. But now principal Randolph Kobayashi advises me that since the item appeared, they began receiving receipts from people who wanted to help. The result? They now are the proud owners of two IBM computers. He particularly wanted to thank the Kalahiki ohana. Annie Kalahiki and Alicia Kalahiki sat in front of Foodland stores until the wee hours to fulfill the school's objective. Says Kobayashi, "Our faith in mankind, to a degree, has been restored." (June 1, 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.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com