Motorcycle riders: Mark your calendars for Monday morning, Nov. 11! Hawaii’s American Legion Riders are again organizing a Veterans Day ride to the War Memorial Natatorium to honor and support our veterans, living and deceased. The group aims to recruit 100 bikers to ride with them to kick off the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the Natatorium, organized by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8616. Logistics Riders will meet at Cycle City and leave for Waikiki at about 0915 (9:15 a.m. for civilians!). Arrival at the Natatorium is scheduled for 1000. Some riders will meet up with and escort a
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Op-Ed: Honor All Hawaii's Fallen at the Natatorium
The Star-Advertiser today published an opinion piece by Donna L. Ching, vice president of the Friends of the Natatorium. She salutes the efforts of the Memorial Task Force, now gathering input on how to honor Hawaii’s sons and daughters lost in Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Terror. Donna suggests that the best course would be to locate a Gulf War Memorial at or adjacent to our Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, creating in effect a memorial park to honor Hawaii’s fallen from all wars. We urge you to read Donna’s piece on the Star-Advertiser website and leave your comments there.
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Another Natatorium Photo Mystery!
From the Big Island, Jim Reddekopp sends this retro-awesome Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium photo from his family archive. We only know two of the four guys in the picture, taken (we don’t know when) on the Ewa end of the Natatorium deck. On the left is Jim’s grandfather, Gene Froiseth, and on the right is Gene’s brother, legendary surfer Wally Froiseth, one of the developers of the Hot Curl board and a pioneer in the 1930s and 1940s of big wave surfing on the North Shore of Oahu. The Froiseth boys were part of the Natatorium’s glory days. Gene and
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The Natatorium Bugle Corps: Enlist Now!
The Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium is many things: recreation facility, competition venue, gathering space, cultural icon. It is also, first and foremost, a memorial to those who served our nation, especially those from Hawai’i who served in World War I. It was built as a memorial to warriors, and opened as a memorial 86 years ago this month. The beautiful Beaux-Arts-style ocean pool still stands as a memorial, even though as a recreation facility it awaits preservation, restoration and reopening. A memorial is a living thing. Its meaning is expressed in the interactions between the place itself and the people
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Happy Birthday, Natatorium!
It was 86 years ago today! On Aug. 24, 1927, our Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium opened. There was a huge crowd of 6,000 in the stands and — according to reports from the time — spectators in every tree with a view of the pool. And the man who took the ceremonial first swim? There could not have been a more appropriate choice. He was the pride of Hawai’i and an Olympic swimming medalist (three golds, two silvers in the 1912, 1920 and 1924 games). And that was his 37th birthday. Yes, the first man in the water on the
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Natatorium Big Band Benefit on Video
Our Big Band Benefit for the Natatorium was a huge success: Great crowd, great music, great dancing, and a great time for all. The Harry James Orchestra, led by the superb Fred Radke, was in terrific form. We know that so many of our off-island friends and supporters really wanted to be there. Since you couldn’t come to the show, now we’re bringing the show to you! We sent a camera out onto the dance floor and right up to the bandstand. Here’s an excerpt from the hugely popular “Take the ‘A’ Train:” httpv://vimeo.com/72510151 Mahalo Thanks to everyone who made
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Natatorium Big Band Benefit: Swing Dance with Us on Aug. 11
The legendary Harry James Orchestra – the big band that gave Frank Sinatra his first big break – is coming to Hawai’i to play a benefit for restoration and reopening of the War Memorial Natatorium. Join us to swing dance — or just to listen — on Sunday, Aug. 11, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Honolulu Elks Lodge. NOTE: ADVANCE TICKET SALES HAVE CLOSED. TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR FOR $45.
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Veterans Leader Michael Soucie Elected to FON Board
Veteran, VA manager and longtime veteran advocate Michael C. Soucie Sr. has been elected to the board of directors of the Friends of the Natatorium. Michael, who retired as a chief petty officer after 22 years in the Navy, returned to civilian life as a case manager and clinical supervisor in Kalaeloa for the United States Veterans Initiative, or U.S.VETS, the largest provider of services to homeless veterans in the country. He has since moved to the Department of Veterans Affairs, assisting veterans struggling with mental illness with their return to gainful employment. Michael now oversees all work therapy programs
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Time Travel: The Natatorium 59 Years Ago
This’ll take you back! A look at photos taken across territorial Honolulu and Oahu in 1954, five years before statehood. Ala Wai Canal. Ala Moana Park. Waikiki. Chinatown. Schofield Barracks. Kaneohe Bay. Kamehameha Highway. Wow; how things have changed in less than six decades! And pay particular attention to the three photos onscreen from 35 seconds to 50 seconds into the video. Yup: That’s the Natatorium. Being used. Being enjoyed. Being exactly what it was meant to be: A place to honor those from Hawaii who served in World War I, simply by enjoying the freedoms they fought to protect.
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The Natatorium Problem: A Concrete Solution?
Natatorium naysayers argue – among other absurdities – that an ocean pool can’t survive being in, well, the ocean. We demonstrated with a post on the ocean pools of Australia just how wrong that kind of thinking is. Turns out, though, that we could have gone a couple of continents farther on and about 20 centuries earlier to make the point. To ancient Rome, in fact. As the science news site Futurity reports, the Romans were whizzes at building concrete maritime structures that have – literally – stood the test of time. Wharves, breakwaters, other harbor structure – all made
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