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Every week I get lots of emails with reader questions and stories. Ted Takai wrote to me recently. “I wanted to ask — where the Ala Moana Hotel is, I remember my parents buying their 1955 Plymouth Belvedere from a dealer there. I think the salesman was Jimmy Pflueger.”
That very well may be. The Ala Moana Hotel’s location was the site of Universal Motors from 1952 to 1968, and Jimmy Pflueger was a sales manager there.
Universal Motors began in 1924 on Waimanu Street in Kakaako with 10 employees and a contract to buy 12 cars and trucks a month from Ford.
In 1930 it moved to Miller and Beretania streets where the state Capitol is today. Its 1.75-acre site employed 120 and sold about 100 cars a month. The area hosted several car dealers and was called Automobile Row.
Universal Motors moved in 1952 to Atkinson Drive as the state was moving toward enlarging the Civic Center. It was a Chrysler Plymouth dealer then. In 1964 you could buy a new car for $1,964. It also had a branch in Kailua.
A Tropics restaurant was on the mauka side of the property. In 1968 they were both demolished, and by 1970 the Ala Moana Hotel opened in the site.
Pflueger left and opened Pflueger Honda (now called Pacific Honda) in 1969. Jack Hoag said, “He became one of the nation’s first Honda dealers when their car was the laughingstock of the industry but later turned out to be a very profitable franchise.”
Fort Weaver
Barbara Dittrich asked me about Ewa Beach. “Fort Weaver Road is the main drag through old Ewa Beach. But where and what was Fort Weaver?”
Yes, there was a Fort Weaver. It was a set of gun batteries that protected the western side of the entrance to Pearl Harbor. A “sister” fort, Fort Kamehameha, protected the eastern side.
Fort Weaver opened in 1923 and was part of Hawaii’s coastal defense. Before World War II, planners anticipated enemy ships approaching Oahu and firing their artillery at us.
To protect the island, forts and gun batteries were built near important places. Fort Weaver had a cannon that fired 16-inch shells and several others down to 4 inches. They could shoot projectiles several miles offshore.
Fort Weaver was between the current site of the Puuloa Rifle Range and Iroquois Point housing. It was named for Maj. Gen. Erasmus M. Weaver, former chief of coast artillery, who had died in 1920.
When it opened, automobiles were scarce, and no roads led to the area. All supplies came by boat.
Fort Kamehameha opened in 1913 and was named for King Kamehameha the Great. The land at one time had been a beach residence of Queen Emma. Today it’s part of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Fort Kamehameha had a dozen 12-inch cannons, but they were never fired in combat. However, their anti- aircraft machine guns shot down at least one Japanese Zero on Dec. 7, 1941.
Camp Andrews
Nan Bergquist told me that “during World War II the Navy had a rest and recreation camp called Camp Andrews in Nanakuli. There is a beautiful new library on the site now.
“The entrance to the camp had two coral pillars that are still there,” Bergquist continues. “I think that there should be some kind of commemoration for those pillars to honor our military. A story about the former R&R camp would be appreciated.”
The Army and Navy had several R&R spots on the island during World War II, including the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the Pearl Harbor Yacht Club and The Breakers, on the beach opposite the zoo. Camp Erdman in Mokuleia was also turned over to the Navy in 1944 for its officers’ use.
Camp Andrews had overnight accommodations for 1,000 enlisted men and 100 officers. The camp was near the beach, and the food was excellent. It had facilities for basketball, volleyball, softball and other outdoor games.
It was named for Vice Adm. Adolphus Andrews (1879-1948), who worked with the secretary of the Navy, the White House and commanded several ships in his 42-year career.
Alvin Yee told me he once met an old Navy sailor who remembered the OR&L train stopping at Camp Andrews to let sailors off for recreation during the war.
“He instantly recognized the two coral pillars and told me there used to be a sign across them” that said “Kalanianaole Park.”
It honored Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole and his lifetime of compassionate and committed civic service to the people of Hawaii, said City Councilwoman Kymberly Marcos Pine.
Lau Yee Chai locations
Last month I wrote about Waikiki Lau Yee Chai. At one time it and Wo Fat were the two major Chinese restaurants in town.
Waikiki Lau Yee Chai opened in 1929 on Kuhio Avenue, where the Ambassador Hotel is today. It could seat 1,500. It moved in 1966 to the newly built Waikiki Shopping Plaza.
When I wrote about it, I knew they had a few earlier locations, but I didn’t know where. This week I decided to look into it.
What I found is that 30- year-old P.Y. Chong opened his first Lau Yee Chai at 153 N. Beretania St. near River Street in 1926. That is across from the Chinese Cultural Center’s location today.
In his exaggerated pidgin, Chong said his intent was to be the “numbah one Chinese kaukau.”
In 1932 he moved to a “mo’ biggah and mo’ bettah” spot at 43 N. Hotel St. (near Nuuanu Avenue) so “business people can come kaukau luncheon time.”
During World War II he opened a steak place, the House of P.Y. Chong, where the Ilikai is today.
Neighbor islands
When I was younger, I remember being corrected by two kupuna when I used the term “outer islands.”
They like to be called “neighbor islands,” I was told.
Recently, Dennis Kawamoto wrote me about it. “Can you research the use of the term ‘outside islands’ when referring to the other islands in reference to Oahu?
“When I lived on Kauai in the 1940s, we always referred to Kauai as the ‘outside island.’ As far as I can recall, this was an endearing term, not a demeaning term, for we were proud to be from there.
“I also read that ‘Hawaii island’ is used more often than ‘Big Island’ in referring to the island of Hawaii.”
E. Tory Laitila said “the entire island is officially called the County of Hawaii (or Hawaii County), not Big Island County, so I prefer to call it Hawaii island.”
Margie Kiessling says she is from the Big Island and “definitely prefers Big Island, as that is what we have called it for years (and I mean years — I am 83).
“Also, an interesting note is that when we are on the Big Island, we always say we are going down to Honolulu, and when we are on Oahu we say we are going up to the Big Island. It may have something to do with the old sailing boats.”
Readers, what do you think?
The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s weekly email that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. My Insider “posse” gives me ideas for stories and personal experiences that enrich the column. I invite you to join in and be an Insider at RearviewMirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!
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