One of my readers asked me recently if I had any information on Thanksgiving in Hawaii. Christians here celebrated Thanksgiving on various days going back 200 years. In 1849, Kamehameha III proclaimed Dec. 31 to be a day of Thanksgiving, feasting and prayer.

Kamehameha IV visited England and witnessed the great festival of Christmas in Europe as a young man. When he became king, he proclaimed Dec. 25, 1856, as a national day of Thanksgiving.

These dates seem odd to us today, but remember, Thanksgiving was not a national holiday in the United States until 1863. Many countries and groups celebrated different Thanksgiving days.

In 1862, Kamehameha IV changed his mind and proclaimed Dec. 25 to be Christmas.

Margaret Kilbey Mizuta told me my article on the Flamingo restaurant on Ala Moana Boulevard brought back fond memories.

"My mother was an accounting clerk at the American Factors warehouse on Pohukaina Street during the 1950s and 1960s. We lived in Waimanalo and the big event every year was when we shopped for school clothes every August or September.

"My dad, who was a fireman, would drive us to town, pick up my mom and we would eat dinner at Flamingo. Then we would go to Sears to buy our back-to-school clothes. That was the only restaurant we ever ate at during those days.

"My favorite dish was beef cutlet, with gravy all over the French fries, and apple pie a la mode. Throughout my life, whenever I went to a Flamingo restaurant that was the only dish I ever ordered."

Another reader asked me to write about musical groups that had a special relationship with Hawaii. I recently wrote about Tommy James and the Shondells, who stayed in Hawaii between concerts in 1969 and missed performing at Woodstock.

He was thinking of the Young Rascals and the Association, but certainly Elvis had a special relationship with Hawaii, as did Frank Sinatra.

Harry Chapin and Jimi Hendrix had special connections with Hawaii because their last concerts were held here.

Do any of my readers have stories about these special relationships?

Every time I write about Frank Fasi, his widow Joyce calls me to tell me I got the story wrong. On Aug. 30, I wrote about the Puka Puka Otea Show at Spencecliff’s Queen’s Surf on Waikiki Beach.

Dancer Kalo Mataele-Soukop said it was a shame that then-Mayor Fasi shut it down. There has never been a place like it.

Fasi had to close it down, Joyce told me, because commercial enterprises on city property were illegal. But he was the mayor, I said. He could (with the City Council) change the law if he wanted to.

Several readers have told me that Fasi and Spencecliff co-founder Spence Weaver feuded with each other, but Joyce says they were friends. The paper has many photos of them smiling together.

On June 21, I wrote about Booga Booga getting a start at the Territorial Tavern downtown. Founder Bob Hampton said Bette Midler used to come to see them.

"Bette Midler was a die-hard fan of Booga Booga and often brought her friends to see the show, during which she spent most of the time explaining the pidgin jokes to them."

Former U.S. Attorney Dan Bent asked me if I knew where the quarried lava rock of some Chinatown buildings came from. "Whenever I am in certain parts of Chinatown where you can see the sides and backs of buildings, it appears that they are made of quarried lava rock."

Bent points to several parking lots that reveal the back walls of buildings. One is near Duc’s on Maunakea Street and another off Nimitz within two blocks before River Street.

"I assume that Chinatown structures were rebuilt after the Chinatown fire of 1900 with stone because of the experience with the fire," he said.

He asked me if I knew where the lava rock came from. "Were the lava rocks used to rebuild Chinatown from the Moiliili quarry where the UH parking structure and athletic buildings are now?"

I don’t know the answer to this, and ask if my readers have any insights. There were very few automobiles in 1900 and moving a lot of stone from Moiliili would be difficult, I would think. It would make more sense to bring it in by train, from west Oahu.

In next week’s column, I’ll look at the long friendship between one local man and Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz.

———

Bob Sigall, author of the Companies We Keep books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.