I like to go through my mailbag every now and then and answer reader’s questions or share their stories.

Bobby Nakamura wrote to ask about the boat rentals that were at one time on the Ala Wai Canal.

“I remember my dad taking me to the pier right by the Ala Wai Community Center on the McCully bridge,” Nakamura muses. The little boats had canopies that could be folded back on nice afternoons like a convertible.

“Also, the waters of the Ala Wai were so clean in those days, we used to fish and go crabbing. I was wondering if you have information on this boat rental service so people won’t think I’m making the story up.”

Yes, it’s definitely true, Bobby. The company was called Ala Wai Boat Rentals, and the owners said it was for families, fishermen, romantic couples or “any man who wants to be captain of his own ship for an hour or so.”

It opened around 1956. A 1959 Honolulu Star-Bulletin article said the rowboats were 75 cents an hour, and battery-powered boats that could hold four adults and three children were $3 an hour.

Thomas Higa, the manager, said about 25,000 passengers enjoyed the boats each year.

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Retired Molokai High School Principal Clifford Horita wrote to tell me about Ruth Hirata, who he said was one of the first to sew aloha shirts on the Big Island in the late 1920s.

She and her mother operated a dress- and shirt-making shop in Honokaa, Horita told me.

Her trademark was “Specially Ruth Made,” which was sewn into the label of all her customized shirts. Each was fitted to the wearer, and she was renowned for her barely detectable pockets.

“In 1932, two Filipino men asked her to make shirts with the colorful cloth in their shop.” Those may have been the first aloha shirts made on Hawaii island. “Growing up, we all bought our custom-made aloha shirts from her every May Day,” Horita told me.

During World War II, 20,000 Marines came for training to Camp Tarawa in Waimea. They were being readied for the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Hirata was the “seamstress of choice” for military personnel there, her 2008 obituary says, making custom-fitted uniforms of the finest quality. And they were easy to maintain and clean.

“She invested (her earnings) in stocks and became very wealthy,” Horita recalls.

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Steve Miura told me he was reading Tom Moffatt’s book, “Showman of the Pacific.”

“On page 83, he mentioned that when he was at KPOI, 1380 on the AM radio dial, they held a Treasure Hunt that was sponsored by Holiday Mart.

“The winner had to find The Golden Hibiscus, which was the Holiday Mart logo, to win a cash prize of $1,380. I wonder if you know when this contest took place?”

Yes. It was 1965. KPOI ran several treasure hunts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. One was a fundraiser for the Falls of Clyde. Another was a promotion for Meadow Gold.

In 1967 a golden hamburger was buried for a treasure hunt with Meg’s Drive-In in Kalihi. Maggie Adaro found it buried near the Waipahu Recreation Center.

Back then there was a “Treasure Hunt” TV show, and maybe that inspired KPOI. I suspect my old friend Ron Jacobs, a manager at KPOI, was the mastermind.

KPOI issued clues over the radio each hour, then ran them in newspaper ads. Here are some examples: “Drive along, wreathed in smiles, from Kahala Hilton, at least 4 miles.” Or, “Once a McInerny’s tiki is in your sight, remember a left hand is better than a right.”

The clues started out pretty obscure but got more specific as time went on.

One in 1964 offered 225 clues to the location of a Meadow Gold miniature cow buried in Kaneohe. A crowd of 3,000 people began forming in Pikoiloa subdivision as early as 3 a.m. with shovels and metal detectors. One even had a divining rod.

Traffic was backed up to Windward City Shopping Center. In the end, 13-year-old Raynard Halualani of Castle Intermediate dug up the buried treasure.

By the way, $1,380 in 1964 was a lot of money — over $11,000 in today’s dollars.

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Sarah Nordwall told me her mother, Adeline Whisenand, was part of a group that helped decide on the uses for the Ward Estate. The city had bought the property for $2 million and wanted a sports arena built, Whisenand said.

She and others met with Mayor Neal Blaisdell and urged him to build something for the whole community, not just sports enthusiasts. They noted that operas were often held in high school auditoriums and that a better venue was needed.

Others said we needed a larger convention facility than the poorly ventilated Civic Auditorium, which could hold about 4,000. Blaisdell and the City Council agreed, and in 1964 a $14 million sports arena, exhibition space and concert hall opened.

It was called the Honolulu International Center, or HIC. There was a lot of community input to name the arena, exhibition space and concert hall.

For the arena, some proposed names included Pacific Arena, Coconut Bowl, Pan-Pacific Auditorium, Palm Palace and Neal S. Blaisdell Arena.

For the concert hall, some suggested calling it the Pacific Playhouse, Symphony Hale, Harmony Hall, Honolulu Theatre of the Performing Arts or Royal Concert Hall.

The exhibition area’s proposed names were Polynesian Pavilion, Lanai Hale, The Showcase and Ward Plaza.

In the end the city called them the Arena, Exhibition Hall and Concert Hall.

Art Linkletter, whose home away from home was Hawaii, emceed the grand opening on Sept. 12, 1964. A Hollywood Party of Stars included Poncie Ponce, Richard Boone, Rhonda Fleming, Chuck Connors and Bob Cummings. Over 7,000 attended.

The center complex was dedicated as a memorial to Hawaii’s war heroes. Young people lit over 300 torches around the complex, then a 100-foot string of firecrackers was set off.

Mayor Neal Blaisdell died in 1975, and the HIC was renamed in his honor in 1976.

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I’ll be launching Rearview Mirror Insider next week. It will be a midweek email to readers who want to know what I’ll be writing about later that week, and stories I have in development.

For instance, I’m working on a story about L&L Dairy, which became L&L Hawaiian BBQ, for next week.

Coming up in the near future may be an article about Kalihi High School, which was named Wallace Rider Farrington High School, and its four proposed locations. One was the former Oahu Insane Asylum, and another was a swamp!

And, as a follow-up to last week’s column about animals and pets, I’m going to write about Dammit the Dalmation and other four-legged creatures. Stay tuned for more about Rearview Mirror Insider next week.

Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books, available at www.companieswekeep.com. Contact him at Sigall@yahoo.com.