Every now and then I open my mailbag and respond to reader questions. Here are some I’ve gotten recently.

Lahainaluna

Did Lahainaluna High School become a hospital during World War II? A. Kimura asked. And if so, what happened to the boarders?

Yes, school spokesperson Leslie Hirage told me. The Pioneer Mill Hospital before 1941 was on Front Street, right on the water in Lahaina. Dozens of Navy ships were often anchored there after exercises south of Maui.

Following the Dec. 7, 1941, attack, Japanese submarines prowled Hawaii waters. They shelled Kahului and a few other places. The Pioneer Mill Hospital decided to move to a more secure location. It took over the three boys dormitories at Lahainaluna. The boys who were boarding moved to the school gym.

In September 1943 the hospital moved back to its Front Street location but retained space on each floor of the school building for the storage of beds and supplies in the event of a medical emergency.

50th State Fair

An anonymous reader asked: “I’m not clear on this, but didn’t the 50th State Fair go through a progression of names from 48th State Fair, 49th State Fair, then finally the 50th?

“More interesting are the various staging venues of the fair. I recall Kapiolani Park, Honolulu Stadium, Sand Island, Ala Moana and Aloha Stadium. Were there others?”

The 50th State Fair runs this year from May 27 to July 4 in the Aloha Stadium parking lot. It did have two previous names.

During the 1930s the Honolulu Junior Chamber of Commerce sponsored “Hawaiian Product Shows” at the Armory (now the state Capitol grounds), then at Piers 10-11 (Fort Street) in 1932.

The Hawaiian Product Shows became the 49th State Fair in 1948, as we assumed Hawaii would be the 49th state. It was held at Kapiolani Park and featured the Miss Hawaii contest.

In subsequent years, besides the locations already mentioned, it was held at the Dillingham Boulevard fairgrounds near Honolulu Community College, Camp Caitlin off Kamehameha Highway, and McKinley High School.

With word of Congress’ approval of statehood, the Jaycees renamed the event the 50th State Fair in 1958 — a year before statehood.

Readers, do you have any State Fair memories?

Escalators

Roy Ching asked: “When did the old Sears Beretania store introduce escalators to their customers? As kids we rode them over and over again while our parents were shopping.

“Sears also introduced an X-ray foot machine in the shoe department. I couldn’t believe we could see the skeleton of our foot through our shoe.”

Sears had the first two-way escalators in Hawaii in 1947 at its Beretania Street store. And yes, in 1940 it had a foot X-ray machine to help you buy perfect-fitting shoes. Were safety protocols in place? Doubtful.

Waimanalo

Realtor Ivette Gutarra asked how the “Sherwood Forest” area in Waimanalo got that nickname.

Sherwood Forest is a real area in England where the legendary 14th-century Robin Hood and his merry men hid from the sheriff of Nottingham, when they weren’t stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

So how did the area in Waimanalo come to have that association? In the 1960s the community was concerned that criminal activity was launched from that place.

Gordon Morse wrote in The Honolulu Advertiser in 1967: “Is a portion of Bellows Field being used as a hideout for thieves, car strippers and drug pushers?

“The president of the Waimanalo Council of Associations, Rev. Jack Hedges, says it is. Hedges claimed that crime was rampant in the bushes and abandoned buildings in the state-owned strip, and that nearby beaches were unsafe at night.

“He said that burglars used the bushes for their headquarters, while organized gangs roamed out of the thick ironwood jungle to strip cars, peddle dope and look for new crimes to commit.”

He compared it to the Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood’s days.

Curtis Iaukea, Windward Oahu’s district police captain, denied that gangs were responsible for the break-ins. “We have solved 40% of those break-ins,” he said.

“The ones that did them didn’t come from any gang.” He said police patrol the area day and night.

“No more crime and hiding exists there than any other place you care to name on Oahu,” Iaukea said.

So, that’s how Sherwood Forest, aka Sherwood’s, got that appellation.

Grill your own

Edwyna (Fong) Spiegel asked, “Does anyone remember the name of the Waikiki restaurant that was on Kalakaua Avenue that had a round brick barbecue? You ordered steaks or fish and grilled them yourself. Gosh, it was ono.” There are several possibilities.

Jim and Tanya Reed said Mike’s Broil Your Own Steaks on Beachwalk might be the answer. “For $1.95, it fit our budget perfectly in the 1965 time period.”

Lowell Angel agrees. “There was a place from 1965 to 1975 on Beachwalk off Kalakaua called Mike’s Broil Your Own. It was a fun and inexpensive place, part of the Spencecliff chain, and was in a little house near where the Hard Rock Cafe is now.

“There were tables in the little rooms and a large grill in the main room where everyone stood around and cooked their steak, chicken, ribs or vegetable shish kebabs. I recall they had a policy where if you burned your order, you could get a replacement at a discount.

“One evening, my house guest and I had finished our dinners there, and I excused myself to use the restroom and said I’d meet him at the entrance. When we got home, I asked how much the bill was.

“He said, ‘Didn’t you pay the bill?’ I said no, and I quickly called the restaurant, explained what had happened and said I’d be right down to pay.

“When I got there, our waitress was very happy to see me. ‘Thank you for coming,’ she said. ‘I would have had to pay your bill out of my tips!’

“The place closed in the mid-’70s and, I believe, became the Merry Monarch.”

Yes, it was a Spencecliff restaurant. From 1939 until 2008, Spence and Clifton Weaver had over 50 different restaurants, such as the Tahitian Lanai, Ranch House, Queen’s Surf, Trader Vic’s, Fisherman’s Wharf and Coco’s.

Ciro’s Merry Monarch was there before Mike’s, from 1958 to 1965. It was an offshoot of Ciro’s restaurant downtown on Hotel Street, where Ross’ is now. Don Chapman called it “the only real restaurant downtown, where many a political deal was struck over lunch.” Frank and Al Viviano owned them.

When Mike’s Broil Your Own closed in 1975, it reverted to its Merry Monarch name. Jack Cione opened his “What Do You Say to a Naked Waiter?” musical there.

Today there’s a Tommy Bahama restaurant and store in that space.

Steve Miura said the Tiki Broiler, in the International Market Place, is a possibility. A 1979 advertisement for the Tiki Broiler said, “Broil your own chicken, mahi-mahi, teriyaki kabobs or ground beef steak with a salad and baked beans for $3.95.”

Another prospect is Reilly’s Au Go Go. It was at the corner of Kuhio and Kala­kaua avenues in 1964. They offered “a complete, broil your own, top sirloin steak dinner for $1.95.”

If you have a question about an establishment that is now in our collective rearview mirror, let me know at Sigall@Yahoo.com.

———

Bob Sigall is the author of the five “Companies We Keep” books. Sign up for his free twice-weekly Rearview Mirror Insider email newsletter at www.rearviewmirrorinsider.com.