Columnist Bob Sigall writes the weekly column “Rearview Mirror,” which takes a look back at historic Hawaii through stories, interviews and photos.
Where was the Waikiki Dairy? Not in Waikiki, or even Hawaii for that matter. It was in Spokane, Wash. Why is there a Manoa Shopping Center in Pennsylvania? Why is there a town in Oregon named Aloha? And why do they pronounce it “A-lo-ah”? 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
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
One of the greatest broadcasters in sports history, in my opinion, is Al Michaels. Read more
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Jeffrey Young asked, “Can you find out where ‘Chinese Hollywood’ is and how it got its nickname? Read more
In March I wrote about the original “Hawaii Five-0,” which ran from 1968 to 1980. Several readers told me about their experiences with the long-running TV show. Read more
A few months ago I wrote about vendors who drove, biked or walked though residential communities selling milk, ice cream, pastries, meat, vegetables, fish, manapua, tofu, ice, brooms, etc. Read more
On April 7 I wrote about the somewhat obscure history of that thumb-and-pinkie wave we call shaka. It brought in several interesting comments from readers. Here are some of them. Read more
Recently, Steve Sue, who is making the documentary “Shaka, the Story of Aloha,” interviewed me about that local thumb-and-pinkie wave we do here. In preparing for it, I decided to take all the things I know about the shaka and put it in a timeline. It helped me gain some perspective on it. Read more
People ask me all the time where I get the ideas for my columns. Many of them come from questions readers send me. Here are three I’ve gotten in the past few weeks. Read more
Ronnie Belasco in Sacramento, Calif., suggested a topic for today: “Ask your readers what their first impressions of the mainland were, when they landed. Read more
What happened to all the nightclubs in Waikiki? There used to be at least 25 Oahu nightclubs with entertainment every night. Most had a dinner show and later a cocktail show or two. Read more
The first TV show that was set in Hawaii is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year. Read more
Every month or two, I dedicate a column to answer a few reader inquiries. This week I’ll explore the history of pizza in Hawaii, Lucky Luck’s tavern, the 1949 Merci Train, Henry Berger and automats. Read more
Two new books have come out recently that I have found to be both historical and delightful. One is by Jane M. Goodsill, whose father, Marshall Goodsill, was a well-known Hawaii lawyer. Read more
Recently, I asked readers of my Insider email newsletter about their interactions with local police officers. As you might imagine, they had several interesting stories. Let’s take a look. Read more
