In the lobby of the Hilton Hawaiian Village stands a bronze statue of the great romantic baritone, Alfred Aholo Apaka — The Golden Voice of Hawai‘i. It recognizes his unique place in Hawai‘i’s musical history. As a family friend described it: “His ability to render a Hawaiian melody was unduplicated for the time, and perhaps forever.”
Born in 1919, Apaka came from Hawaiian royalty. His great-aunt, Lydia Aholo, was the daughter of Queen Lili‘uokalani. Apaka’s son, Jeffrey, says, “I like to think that dad’s musical training came in a direct line from the Queen.” Apaka’s father, Alfred Sr. was himself an accomplished musician and the two often performed together.
In the 1950’s, Apaka was Hawai‘i’s most famous entertainer; a “must see” for all visitors. His unique voice and personality put Henry Kaiser’s Hawaiian Village Hotel on the map. Tourism pioneer, George Kanahele wrote, “Alfred Apaka possessed one of the most remarkable voices to ever come out of Hawai‘i.”
Apaka soon became a featured singer on the legendary Hawai‘i Calls radio broadcasts and later joined the Moana Serenaders at the Moana Hotel. Then in 1952, Bob Hope “discovered” him at Don the Beachcomber’s. Appearances on Ed Sullivan’s Talk of The Town and The Dinah Shore Show followed, giving national television exposure for both Apaka’s golden voice and for Hawai‘i.
Apaka staged lavish shows in the Hawaiian Village’s Tapa Room and later in the geodesic dome built to accommodate his large crowds. He became a recording star, spreading the appreciation of Hawaiian music to the world. Apaka was planning a national television special at the time of his unexpected death at age forty in 1960.
Apaka’s fame lives on. In 1997, he was honored with a Nā Hōkū Hanohano Lifetime Achievement Award. A posthumous album, the Lost Recordings of Hawai‘i’s Golden Voice was released 1999. Describing an Apaka performance, one reviewer wrote: When Apaka sang, a hush fell over those listening. It was romantic and strong. It made you dream. No wonder Apaka and his golden voice have become legend.
Fred Dailey, often called “Mr. Polo,” was passionate about two things in his life: hospitality and polo. Fred didn’t start out in the hospitality business. He was born in Chicago and worked as a reporter in the heyday of the gangster era. Following service in World War II, he married Elizabeth Murphy – known as “Murph” – who would be his business partner as well as his wife. He moved to Hawai‘i after the war, supposedly to retire – but never really made retirement a reality. He applied his imagination and restless energy to the rapidly developing world of Hawai‘i tourism in the 1950s.
The Dailey family developed the spectacular Waikikian Hotel in 1956. Dailey challenged Pete Wimberly, the building’s architect, to design “the most Polynesian hotel in Polynesia.” Placed right at the entrance to Waikīkī, the hotel provided a visual confirmation that the visitor was in a special place. The dramatic lobby was flanked with a series of bungalows designed to feel like Hawaiian hale. Alongside the hotel, Dailey developed the Tahitian Lanai, another distinctive project that became wildly successful in the Waikīkī restaurant scene. Rounding out the Dailey’s hotel operations, the family opened the smaller Driftwood hotel.
In his very active social life, Daily played polo with his tourism industry colleagues in Kapi‘olani park and later organized the Mokulē‘ia Polo Club in 1964. The polo matches attracted celebrities from around the world, including an appearance by Britain’s Prince Charles in 1974.
Apart from the family business, Fred contributed his expertise in marketing and public relations through active involvement in the Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau, the Hawai‘i Hotel Association, and Skal.
Stanley Kennedy Junior was born into a family that shaped Hawai‘i transportation. His grandfather James distinguished himself in the Inter-Island Steamship Company. Stan Senior followed his father’s footsteps but transformed the company into Inter-Island Airways. Inter-Island had become Hawaiian Airlines by the time Stanley, Junior joined it as the third generation in this pioneering family.
Kennedy completed his education at Yale in the class of 1942 – just after Pearl Harbor. He was commissioned in the Navy and asked for duty in the Hawaiian Sea Frontier, where he served at sea and became an underwater demolition officer.
After the war, Kennedy returned to Hawai‘i and continued the family tradition by taking a job at Hawaiian Airlines in 1946. In spite of his Yale degree – and his rank of Lieutenant Commander at the end of the war – Kennedy’s first job was Mechanic’s Helper Third Class, with a salary of thirty-seven cents an hour. He took that opportunity to learn the business inside out and within two years he was licensed as both a pilot and mechanic.
In his twenty six years at Hawaiian, Kennedy had a variety of positions, eventually becoming Vice President of Marketing. He promoted Hawai‘i tirelessly and coined the phrase “You haven’t lived ‘til you’ve seen all of Hawai‘i.”
In 1971, Kennedy was lured away from Hawaiian by Continental Airlines to become Vice President of its Pacific operations and director of Air Micronesia. Kennedy managed Continental’s operations when growth in Hawai‘i and the Pacific exploded. He expanded Continental’s presence in the Pacific and supported the development of Hawai‘i tourism until he retired in 1985.
Among his many achievements in business and the community, Kennedy was particularly proud of his role in founding the Pacific Aerospace Museum.
At the foot of Lewers Street, where the sleek and contemporary Halekūlani Hotel stands today, there once stood a very different Halekūlani. Though it was not as grand as today’s hotels, it embodied a style of hospitality and grace that reflected an earlier era in Hawai‘i tourism. It reflected the style and dedication of the Kimball family that owned it.
Richard Kimball – “Kingie” to his friends – literally grew up in the Halekūlani. His parents, Clifford and Juliet Kimball, leased the property in 1917 … for $150 a month. In those early days, Halekūlani played host to celebrities and socialites and rightfully established a reputation as a Hawaiian classic. Even the look of the hotel became a classic when a new structure with a distinctive high pitched roof designed by Charles Dickey replaced the original building in 1931.
The Kimball family managed the hotel through tumultuous times – the depression era in the 1930s and the second World War. Through it all, Halekūlani always lived up to its name as a “house befitting heaven.”
As tourism in Waikīkī grew in the 1950s and 60s, it was clear to Kimball that the property needed to expand beyond its 190 rooms. Without the capital to finance the expansion, the Kimball family sold the property in 1962 after managing it for forty-five years.
Richard Kimball’s contributions to Hawai‘i tourism went far beyond the management of Halekūlani. After selling Halekūlani, Richard and his brother George remained in the visitor industry, building the Waiohai hotel on Kaua‘i. In his public life, Robert served in the Territorial Legislature from 1936 to 1944, chaired the territory’s Parks Board for many years, and was instrumental in reorganizing the Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau in the post War years.
Why would Ruddy Tongg …a very successful Chinese-American businessman who had made his name in the publishing business … decide to start an airline? It was a dream of course, and post-World War II Hawai‘i was a place where dreams could come true for hard working entrepreneurs. The world had changed and Hawai‘i was changing, too. Waves of returning GIs, and a changing business climate set the stage for the end of the pre-war establishment. Chinese-Americans could work their way into the business world that had been dominated by Hawai‘i’s big five oligopoly.
Tongg, who had been rebuffed several times when trying to fly interisland on Hawaiian Airlines decided to start his own airline. But it would be a different kind of airline. His wanted to create a “people’s” airline that really served the needs of Hawai‘i’s locals. Tongg, with a hui of like-minded investors, founded Trans Pacific Air in 1946.
With thin capitalization, the airline started with a few military surplus DC-3 aircraft. In fact, at the outset, Trans Pacific could only operate charters because the company didn’t have a certificate for regularly scheduled flights. TPA’s applications for certification were bitterly opposed by Hawaiian Airlines. But, in the end, persistence and Tongg’s entrepreneurial spirit overcame all odds, and the airline was certified for scheduled operations in 1949.
Tongg assembled a management team that built the struggling airline into a successful enterprise. Dave Benz took over the administration and was instrumental in getting the airline certified. When a lack of financing threatened the airline’s existence, Tongg turned to financier Dr. Hung Wo Ching. Dr. Ching acquired the capital needed for new equipment and eventually became TPA’s president and CEO.
With an infusion of cash … and supported by Hawai‘i’s growing tourism economy … the airline literally took off, changing its name to Aloha Airlines. Ruddy Tongg’s dream became a real force for the development of interisland travel in Hawai‘i.
Annalie Tatibouet was born in 1913 in Honolulu to German parents. In 1918, counted as German aliens by the Territory of Hawaii, the family was interned on the Big Island, later moving back to Germany. However, Annalie returned to the islands in time to be introduced to a young French Naval adventurer, Joseph Tatibouet, who had shipwrecked at Kalaupapa in 1935. After a whirlwind romance, Annalie left for France, married “Tati” and, with the beginnings of World War II surging across Europe, the young couple sailed back to the islands.
Annalie, destined to become one of the pioneers of Hawaii tourism, became manager of Pensacola Gardens, a small property catering to island visitors. In 1948, based on that hospitality experience, Annalie built her first Waikiki hotel, the fifteen-room Royal Grove, named for its location in a grove of palm trees that once belonged to Princess Ka‘iulani.
Annalie’s vision saw a tourism industry that would ultimately dominate the Hawai‘i economy, and she went out on a limb, borrowing money to participate in that growth. She increased the Royal Grove Hotel to 85 guest rooms giving each room a traditional tropical look however, unlike other hotels of its day, the rooms added a small wet bar and kitchenette. A first in those days.
Fluent in French, German and Spanish, Annalie welcomed travelers from around the world while providing true Hawaiian hospitality and aloha.Owning and managing a hotel was hard work and Annalie was a hands-on general manager – as well as housekeeper, reservationist and engineer! She was also wife and mother; a successful hotelier in an era when hotel management was almost exclusively a male domain.
Annalie’s energy spilled over into her community and professional life. She was a great supporter of The Hawaii Hotel Association, served as a Trustee of the Bishop Museum, was a founder of the Alliance Française of Hawaii, a life-long Soroptomist, as well as a member of Friends of ‘Iolani Palace, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Historic Hawai‘i Foundation.
An avid historian and supporter of the island culture Annalie introduced the concept of “Aloha Wednesdays” to the Hotel Association as a way of preserving Hawaiiana for visitors to enjoy. This you now know as “Aloha Friday!”