It’s sometimes the case that when one of my columns runs, readers send me a story or comment that I didn’t know about previously. Often, they are interesting enough to share with others, as a sort if “P.S.” Here are three postscripts to the original stories.
Chicago and Hawaii
In November, I wrote about several of the connections between Hawaii and Chicago: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1896 featured a huge model of Kilauea Volcano.
Ala Moana Center was modeled after the Old Orchard Mall shopping center near Chicago. Marshall Field department store, based in Chicago, was the first choice to be Ala Moana Center’s anchor tenant in 1959.
Waipahu-born
After the Hawaii-Chicago column ran, Mike Cordeiro added a connection I was unaware of. “Please don’t forget William A. Patterson. He and my grandfather William Cordeiro were born about the same time in Waipahu. They played baseball together.”
Patterson was a co-founder of United Airlines, headquartered in Chicago. Patterson was born in Waipahu in 1899, four years before the Wright Brothers took flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
Patterson’s Irish father was the head luna (supervisor) at the Oahu Sugar Co. plantation in Waipahu. He died when his son was a baby. When Patterson was 13 his mother, Mary Castro, moved to San Francisco while he remained at the Honolulu Military Academy (the location of Kaimuki Middle School today).
He wasn’t happy at the academy and persuaded a captain to allow him to work on his ship in exchange for passage to San Francisco. He was 15 and was seasick for the entire 24-day trip.
Patterson went to work at Wells Fargo Bank, rose to be a loan officer and became familiar with Boeing Air Transport, which hired him away to be an assistant to their president.
Boeing Air Transport was one of the four companies that “united” to form United Airlines. Patterson was the first general manager of United, then VP, then president at age 34.
Christened with sugar
I looked more into the Waipahu-Chicago link and found that in January 1950 a 25-foot lei was placed around the nose of a United Mainliner Stratocruiser at Honolulu Airport.
Alice L’Orange, wife of the manager at Oahu Sugar Co., christened the plane with a bag of raw sugar that had been milled in Waipahu.
The plane was named Waipahu, for Patterson’s hometown. Other Stratocruisers were given island place names, such as Hana- Maui, Kauai, Honolulu and Hawaii.
Patterson’s daughter, Patricia, painted in the letters W, A and P in the word Waipahu on the plane’s nose. The letters were the initials of the airlines’ president.
Waipahu High School’s band, singers and dancers performed. Approximately 2,000 people attended the christening at Honolulu Airport. Patterson said he was proud to have been born in Waipahu.
In placing the seven new double-decked, 55-passenger Boeing Stratocruisers into service between here and San Francisco, his company had made an investment of some $16 million. “This is pretty good evidence of our faith in Hawaii.”
Patterson had a special message to the children of Waipahu, who turned out en masse for the occasion. He told them that this is not a “hard, cold and indifferent world,” like some people say it is.
“One doesn’t need money or influence to succeed in this life,” Patterson said. “Regardless of how humble a person’s surroundings may be during his or her childhood, if an individual has the will and perseverance to succeed, he or she can’t miss, particularly if they come from Waipahu.”
‘Our Little Corner of the World’
An anonymous reader remembered, “In the late 1960s, when on the final approach to Honolulu, about an hour or so out, the captain would release plumeria scent into the ventilation system, the flight attendants would change into full aloha wear, pass out free mai tais and dance hula in the aisles.”
In his 37 years with United, Patterson guided it to become the world’s largest commercial air carrier. In 1980, United carried 50% of the passengers to Hawaii, calling it “Our Little Corner of the World.”
First stewards
Former steward Walter Yuen said: “When United Airlines started flying to Hawaii in 1949, it decided to give passengers a taste of the Hawaiian Islands by initially hiring eight stewards to be on the flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles to Hawaii.
“The purpose of the stewards was to provide a Hawaiian atmosphere to the flight and answer questions passengers may have as to where to eat, what to see, what to do, etc.
“In the early 1970s, United acquired long-range aircraft, and they started to fly between Chicago and Honolulu.
“I was hired in 1968, and there were about 160 of us before United did away with the hiring of male stewards because of anti- discrimination laws.”
Maitre d’ to the rescue
In November, I wrote about the Cavalier restaurant on Kapiolani Boulevard. John Cummings III said he had a special memory that involved its maitre d’ Norbert “Bonne” Nabonne.
“In 1980, I had dinner reservations at Cavalier ahead of my McKinley junior prom. After picking up my date, we made a brief stop at the Makiki Shopping Village.
“As I hurried back to my car in the rain, I slipped on the wet concrete and tore the trousers of my tuxedo. With no other option available, I resorted to using a roll of duct tape I had in my car for a temporary fix.
“Upon arriving at Cavalier, we checked in with the maitre d’, ‘Bonne’ Nabonne. While being escorted to our table, the maitre d’ discreetly pulled me aside and asked me to follow him. He led me to the men’s room, directed me into a stall, and requested that I hand over my trousers.
“In less than 10 minutes he returned. One of the ladies in the kitchen had removed the duct tape and quickly mended the tear.
“The kindness and swift assistance shown that evening made a lasting impression on me, and I have never forgotten that moment.”
Vin Scully
In October, I wrote about the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Dodgers’ longtime announcer was Vin Scully. He was with them from 1950 to 2016.
Retired attorney Willson Moore said: “I met Vin Scully once at a Waialae Country Club party after a round of the Hawaiian Open Golf Tournament (then sponsored by United Airlines).
“I was chatting in a group of maybe seven or eight partygoers, which included Vin. Then, when a newcomer joined the group, I was amazed to witness Vin flawlessly introduce the newcomer to each member of the group and accurately remember my name and that of everyone else in the group in doing so.
“Quite a feat, and quite a man, was the late Vin Scully! Go Dodgers!”
Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.
