 | 1949 |
Feb.
1949: A military wife (shown with her four children) finds a friendly face
when she stops over in Hawai’i en route to joining her husband at his Pacific
outpost. That friendly face belongs to a member of the Aloha Committee, formed
by the Marine Officers’ Wives’ Club at Camp Catlin. “Before the committee was
organized, Hawai’i, to these newly arrived women, meant Pearl Harbor,” writes
Paradise of the Pacific. “In port, giant steel cranes, gray, drab docks and the
noisy bustle of a large shipyard greeted the newcomer.” The Aloha Committee changed
that, welcoming these women with lei and bouquets. Members also gave visitors
a daily-event guide, a map of O’ahu and a copy of Hawaiiana, the travel supplement
of Paradise. Feb. 1954: Joseph M. Kekauoha Jr., better
known as “Little Joe,” is the beloved comic hula dancer known for songs such as
“Hawaiian Scotsman,” “No Huhu” and “The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai.” The 4-foot-10
entertainer even designs his owns costumes. “One of the most asked questions is
one concerning the ‘Princess Pupule’ (shown above) make-up,” writes Paradise.
“Tourists and Islanders alike have asked Little Joe what he uses to simulate a
buxom Princess Pupule. With a twinkle in his eye he answers, ‘Toy balloons I buy
at Kress’s.'”  | 1954 |
Feb.
1979: HONOLULU Magazine profiles local surf legend Gerry Lopez (pictured),
who demonstrates skill and grace both on and off the waves. Before conquering
the infamous Banzai Pipeline twice (in 1972 and 1973), he opened the highly successful
Lightning Bolt surf shop on Kapi’olani Boulevard with business partner Jack Shipley.
Within three months of Lightning Bolt’s opening, the store burned to the ground
in an arson fire. “Lopez didn’t feel too much of anything as he stood there watching,”
HONOLULU writes. “Perhaps it was another example of his flow-with-the-current
approach to life that people say shows itself most strikingly in his graceful,
relaxed surfing style. ‘It was just a wipeout,’ he says of the fire, ‘and when
you wipe out you just swim in, get your board, paddle back out and start surfing
again.'”  | 1979 |
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