Hawaii
1971: Even American
Indians can’t escape
Asian tradeTHE WEEK THAT WAS
LITTLE Mignon Devens, young daughter of Corporation Counsel Paul Devens, swallowed a dime the other day. Nonchalantly she asked her dad, "What happens if you eat money?" Answered father in true lawyerly fashion, "That depends on the denomination." She told him, and he took her to the hospital where an X-ray showed the dime in her stomach, clear as could be. The doctor told the Devenses to be patient, and they'd get the money back (July 31, 1970) ... Tom Moffatt is back from New Mexico, where he visited with former Islander Mel (the Money Man) Lawrence and his new hapa-Hopi Indian bride. Moffatt noted that Indian-crafted goods or turquoise were big items in New Mexico, so be bought earrings for his wife and a turquoise-studded belt for his son. As they were unwrapped, Moffatt's wife, Sweetie, noted the box said, "Fred Harvey -- Division of Amfac," and son Troy read the inscription on the belt, "Made in Hong Kong." Very clever, those Indians (Aug. 3, 1971) ...Danny Kaleikini's newest album, "Hula Eyes," has his face on the cover and a sultry pair of eyes on the back side of the LP. Regulars at Comito's La Pasta may recognize the gaze, but for those who don't, it's the restaurant's hostess, Paula Powell, staring out from the back (Aug. 2, 1974) ... Nature called just as Melveen Leed was dining at the Columbia Inn, and she was pointed in the right direction. When she arrived at the three doors, side by side, marked "Gentlemen," "Closet" and "Ladies" respectively, Melveen somehow walked into the middle one -- maybe she thought it was a water closet. Anyway, she turned to see if anyone had caught her boo-boo and was oh, so embarrassed to see that they had (July 30, 1975) ...
JUDGE Robert Richardson, wife Helen and family were visiting Washington a couple of months ago, and an aide to Rep. Spark Matsunaga was showing them around the Capitol. An older man who knew Matsunaga's aide walked up, said hello and then took 3-year-old Mahealani Richardson from her mother's arms to give her a hug and kiss. As he walked off, the aide whispered, "Do you know who that was? Rep. Wayne Hays!" It was the very morning the Hays-Elizabeth Ray story broke in Washington, and Mrs. Richardson reflects on the episode by quipping, "If I were in his shoes, I wouldn't be kissing any girls -- not even one 3 years old" (July 30, 1976) ...
COLONY Hotels VP Bill Henderson wanted a special "present" for his director of sales, Gae Berquist, on her birthday, so he called Jack Cione, who provided a male stripper. And right there in Colony's Grosvenor Center office, he did his thing for Gae. Henderson estimates females from half the offices in the building stopped by to enjoy the "present" along with her (July 31, 1980) ...
PERHAPS you noticed yesterday's front-page story on the significance of next Monday to the Chinese -- it's 8/8/88 -- and it's supposed to be the luckiest of lucky numbers. We have what may be the ultimately lucky young man to introduce to you. He's Andrew Thomas Jordon, son of attorney Tom "Tiny" Jordan and wife Pat, and he turns 8 on 8/8/88. Mrs. Jordan, however turned down the suggestion to have a birthday party for him at the Beretania Street bar and grill called 88 Fat Fat 88. Enough 8's are enough (Aug. 2, 1988) ...
THE Olympics in Barcelona appear to be everywhere. Turn on the TV -- the Olympics. Pick up a sports page or magazine -- the Olympics. There are several local connections to the games in Barcelona. You may have noticed a Kraft commercial during the Olympic coverage. It was filmed at a preschool, and if it looked familiar, it's because the mainland marketing arm of Kraft chose to film the spot at the Queen Emma Pre-School, run by St. Andrew's Priory. The Kraft people liked the multiethnic blend of the young faces at the preschool and the charming Nuuanu setting. Queen Emma school director Susan Tamura says it took 14 hours to film the 60-second commercial, but the kids there loved it (July 30, 1992) ...
THE American Cancer Society was tickled when 16-year-old Jamie Lee-Kwai handed over rolls of pennies that she'd been collecting since she was 4 years old. Not only did she donate over $500 in pennies to the Cancer Society, but then she and her grandmother sent them a beautiful bouquet with a note thanking them "for counting all the pennies." The bouquet is highlighted by sunflowers, roses, lilies and carnations, but not a "peony" in the bunch (July 29, 1994) ...
"The Week That Was" recalls events culled from
Dave Donnelly's three-dot columns over the past 30 years.
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com