By WALT SOUTHWARD
Advertiser Staff Writer
HILO—A gala Merry Monarch Ball last night at three Hilo locations wrapped up one of the gayest four-day festivals ever held here.
The Merry Monarch Festival, which began Wednesday, officially ended with the ball, held at the Hilo and Naniloa Hotels and the Club Hukilau. Continue reading
Advertiser Photo by Walt Southward
Brewer’s float rides down street as Merry Monarch Festival opens.
HILO—The Merry Monarch Festival, depicting the days of King Kalakaua, opened here yesterday with an hour-long parade which passed in review before some 5,000 Big Islanders. Continue reading
Keala Lovell of the Hawaii Visitors’ Bureau is shown displaying the proclamation for the first “Merry Monarch Festival,” which opens in Hilo, Hawaii, today. The program continues until Saturday. Continue reading
Guardian of the Hawaiian Language
By Helen Altonn, Star-Bulletin Writer
SAMUEL H. Elbert vividly recalls the first time he met Mary Kawena Pukui. “She had a flower in her hair and she just captivated me.”
That was in 1937, on the top floor of the Bishop Museum. Pukui, affectionately called Kawena, had just joined the staff as a translator. She was working with E. S. C. Handy, an ethnologist, on a book entitled “Polynesian Family System at Kaʻu,” the Big Island home of her Hawaiian mother’s family. Continue reading
HONORED ON BIRTHDAY—Mrs. Elizabeth Lahilahi Napua-I-kaumakani Webb, authority on Hawaiiana and who was associated with the Bishop Museum for more than 20 years, was honored by the Kaahumanu Society, on the occasion of her 86th birthday, at a luncheon Monday at the Waikiki home of Mrs. Clement K. Parker Sr. Now living at the Lunalilo Home, Mrs. Webb is pictured here admiring some of the many gifts she received. (Advertiser photo by K. Shimogaki.)
(Advertiser, 4/13/1948, p. 9)
Honolulu Advertiser, 91st Year, Number 21,613, Page 9. April 13, 1948.
THE BALLOON, OR OOPUHUE FISH
The sale of puffer or balloon fish (oopuhue) has been banned by the territorial Board of Health, because of recent outbreaks of balloon fish poisoning which caused hospitalization of several persons, Dr. Richard K. C. Lee, director of public health, announced yesterday. Continue reading
Honolulu Advertiser, 140th Year, Number 35,0002, Page 3. May 24, 1960.
HONOLULU — Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) is encouraging the public to take tsunami preparedness into their own hands this April during Tsunami Awareness Month. Seventy years ago, on April 1, 1946, one of the deadliest tsunamis to ever hit Hawaii caused widespread devastation on all islands. Generated by an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands, the massive tsunami took 159 lives and caused more than $26 million in damage. April was chosen as the month to honor and remember the lives lost in all tsunamis to hit the state.
Due to Hawaii’s location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we are extremely vulnerable to the threat of tsunamis. Distantly generated tsunamis can reach Hawaii within several hours and are triggered by earthquakes that take place along the Ring of Fire, which circles the Pacific Rim. Locally generated tsunamis are caused by earthquakes or volcanic activity that occur in or near the Hawaiian Islands, and can make landfall in a matter of minutes.
“There is no season for tsunamis,” said Vern Miyagi, Administrator of Emergency Management. “During a tsunami threat, people only have hours – sometimes minutes – to move to safety. For this reason, it is crucial that families and individuals have their survival kits ready ahead of time and emergency plans up to date so they can quickly respond and react in a safe and efficient manner.”
For distantly generated tsunamis, outdoor warning sirens will sound statewide. For locally generated tsunamis, however, there may not be sufficient time to sound sirens. If you are near the ocean when an earthquake takes place, immediately move to higher ground. Upon hearing any warning sirens, the public should tune immediately to a radio or television for updates and the latest information. Additionally, everyone should be able to recognize the natural warning signs that a tsunami may be imminent. Signs include: rapidly rising or receding water from the ocean; the sound of a locomotive or jet plane coming from the ocean; and empty beaches.
People located within a tsunami evacuation zone should quickly move to higher ground, or inland until they are at least 100 feet above sea level, while avoiding steep cliffs and watching for falling rocks. To find out if you live, work or play within a tsunami evacuation zone, turn to the disaster preparedness pages in your local telephone book or enter your address into the Tsunami Evacuation Zone Map Viewer on HI-EMA’s website at www.scd.hawaii.gov.
On Saturday, April 16, the Pacific Tsunami Museum (PTM) in Hilo will host an open house event with free admission to the public. During the event, PTM will unveil its brand new Science Room, which features an interactive Warning Center Simulation, among other activities. The Simulation allows guests to jump on a world map and generate an earthquake. From there, the player is faced with several questions that give them a taste of the various factors considered by the real Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) before making critical decisions, such as issuing a tsunami warning. PTM is a is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting tsunami awareness and education through a combination of science, history and personal accounts. For more information about the open house, call 808-935-0926.
HI-EMA is also releasing a series of public service announcements, which were produced by partners within the State Department of Defense’s Public Affairs Office with the assistance of PTWC (operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) and PTM. The series provides background information about the science behind tsunamis and warning along with helpful tips about how to prepare and respond. Links to video spots can be found below:
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Media Contact:
Galen Yoshimoto
Public Information Officer
808-733-4300 or 808-620-5408
askcivildefense@scd.hawaii.gov
