This week I have stories about three species of animals. No, this isn’t a “Wild Kingdom” television episode. These animals are tame. This week we’ll look into the Budweiser Clydesdales in Hawaii, a mynah bird named Little Doc and a poodle named Gigi. Read more
Every year at this time, I present my Rearview Mirror Annual Awards to honor those who made, preserved or shared Hawaii history. Read more
Last week I looked back at the more interesting stories I covered in 2023. Read more
I often look for a story about World War II for the first week in December to honor those who fought and died for our freedom. Read more
I think it’s important to take notice and congratulate the companies, schools and nonprofit organizations that have managed to stick around and continue to serve the community for 50 or more years. Read more
What are the most fondly Oahu remembered restaurants that are, sadly, no longer with us? I asked readers to vote for their top 10. Over 150 of you did. Read more
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While this column often focuses on one story, sometimes I find myself with several short stories that are unrelated, that I think readers will enjoy. Read more
Glenn Kaya and GEM had a huge impact on business in the islands. They pioneered discounting, membership stores and being open seven days a week. Read more
I love finding stories that connect dots that are seemingly unrelated. This week’s column begins with the Pioneer Inn, which tragically burned down in Lahaina last month. Read more
Two of the worst hurricanes to hit Hawaii in recent times have come in September and November. Their names were Iniki and Iwa. Read more
In July I wrote about Tosh Kaneshiro, owner of the Columbia Inn on Kapiolani Boulevard near South Street. Read more
Usually, my column is about one topic. But this week I’ve strung a few short subjects together. They’re all based on things people have said to me in the past month. Read more
I had lunch with Gene Kaneshiro last week. He showed me a photo of the Columbia Inn Roundtable All-Star baseball team from the early 1970s. Read more
Laurence Wiig, who says he’s now 81 and living in Oregon, suggested I write about the Saturday Kiddie Matinee Movie Clubs that many Hawaii theaters had in the mid-1930s to early 1960s. Read more
Some Hawaii companies and nonprofits have been around for 50 or 100 years, and some for nearly 200 years. The kingdom of Hawaii became a republic, then a territory and a state in the past two centuries. Read more
One of the greatest family restaurants in Hawaii history, in my opinion, was the Columbia Inn. It wasn’t a fancy place like the Third Floor or Canlis, but it had good, affordable food and was open 24 hours a day. Read more
June marks the beginning of hurricane season in the Central Pacific. Hurricanes Dot (1959), Iwa (1982), and Iniki (1992) were the most consequential in recent times. Read more
uzz Schneider had a talent for starting things. His first restaurant, Buzz’s Steak ‘n’ Lobster, opened in July 1957 in Waikiki. In the following decades there would be over 20 restaurants in his orbit. Read more
I asked readers who they managed to have a photo with. Did they cross paths with a celebrity and have a photo to prove it? Last month I shared stories of their meeting Neil Diamond, Willard Scott, Beatrice Wood and Nancy and Ronald Reagan. Read more
My email inbox is usually overflowing with reader comments and questions. Sometimes they ask things I have never considered, such as when Punchbowl was first considered as a cemetery, or about proposed nuclear power plants on Oahu. Read more
I met R. Buckminster Fuller, the inventor of the geodesic dome, a few times when he was in Hawaii around 1980. I have a photo of us somewhere. Read more
