Scottish novelist William Boyd recently published a New York Times opinion piece headlined “Why World I War Resonates.” He talks about why memories of that horror-filled war remain so vivid in our collective consciousness even now, nearly 100 years after the conflict began. Why it is lived and fought again and again in our films, in our literature, in dramas on stage, in dramas on television. Even in our poetry. “The last old soldier or sailor has died,” he writes, “and almost all of the witnesses have gone, but the war exerts a tenacious hold on the imagination. “ To
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Archives for Waikiki Natatorium
URGENT: Support House resolution on Natatorium by 4 p.m.
We need your help today!!! Here’s what’s happening: Two state House committees will hold a joint hearing tomorrow — Friday, March 23 — on an important first step towards action on saving our Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. The committees will consider HCR 194, a resolution asking the Department of Land and Natural Resources to convene a state task force on the Waikiki Natatorium issue. This is important! Passage of this resolution will put the House and Senate on record as saying “the restoration of the Waikiki Natatorium would benefit the state as a landmark, honor those who served and those
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Mahalo, Lin Pang, for your service to the Natatorium!
We cannot let our 25th anniversary year end without paying special tribute to a man known as the Father of the Friends of the Natatorium. Lin Pang stepped down earlier this year after 25 years as an officer and director of the Friends. He was elected vice chair at our very first meeting in August 1986. “We would never have accomplished anything if Lin was not there,” says Joanie Apo, who met Lin at that first meeting and was elected herself as the Friends’ first executive director. Joanie recalls Lin as the “peacemaker of the group,” the one who bridged
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Join veterans, young and older, for a Veterans Day observance at the Natatorium
Please join Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8616, recent veterans from the U.S. Vets housing and work re-entry programs, the Honolulu Elks Lodge 616 and the Friends of the Natatorium for the VFW’s 15th annual Veterans Day wreath laying and commemoration. The observance will take place at the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium this Friday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. That’s the famous “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” the date and time that the armistice ending World War I went into effect 93 years ago. Nov. 11 has been solemnly observed in the United States ever
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Inflight magazine features Natatorium, calls Friends group "Guardians of History"
Check out this spread on the fight to preserve the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. It’s published in the latest issue of Innov8, the inflight magazine of go! Mokulele airlines. Open publication The story is a good summary of the decades-long battle to restore and reopen a Honolulu landmark designated, when it opened in 1927, as a perpetual living memorial to more than 10,000 from Hawai’i who served in World War I. In an important way, the photo tells the story too. Seen on this page, it’s a reminder of the Natatorium’s gorgeous design and of how beautifully the 100-meter ocean
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Great Star-Advertiser op-ed on the Natatorium! Read it and post a comment in support
A very powerful and eloquent opinion piece in Wednesday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser, calling for action that has been delayed far too long: action to preserve and then restore the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. Six respected leaders joined together to issue this call. Leaders from the Hawaiian community, from the military, from the veteran community, from our water sports community, and from the professional engineering community. If you are a subscriber to the Star-Advertiser, you can read the op-ed here. Once you’ve read it, please join the lively debate in the comments. Speak your mind. Speak up for the Natatorium! If you’re
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Ironic, isn't it? The city moves to "protect public safety" at the Natatorium
The city of Honolulu is starting work on Monday to correct what it describes as “hazardous conditions” caused by cracks in the walls of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. Now, of course, the Friends of the Natatorium support doing what is necessary to ensure the safety of swimmers on nearby Kaimana Beach. But isn’t it ironic? The city is acting now on an emergency basis to mitigate a safety problem it caused and could easily have prevented. The city neglected the Natatorium for decades. It allowed this historic icon and civic treasure to deteriorate. And – in 2005 – it
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Natatorium swimming legend dies at 91
On Sept. 7, legendary Maui waterman, swimmer and coach Keo Nakama died at the age of 91. As two of the “original ditch boys from Camp 5,” Nakama and schoolboy friend and fellow swimming legend Halo Hirose learned to compete in Maui irrigation ditches under future Olympic swim coach Soichi Sakamoto. In college, Nakama swam for national championship teams at Ohio State University. He went on to capture the world record for the 100-meter freestyle and won five Pan Am Games gold medals. At age 41, Nakama was the first person to swim the Molokai Channel. He was inducted into
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Oli and blowing on the Pu mark 84th birthday of the Natatorium
Here’s a slideshow of a commemoration Aug. 24 marking the 84th anniversary of the ceremonial opening of one of the state’s cultural and historic icons, the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. It was the Nat’s 84th birthday! Kahu Manu Mook offered the blowing of the Pu and Kahu Bradford Kaiwi Lum performed the Oli for those gathered at the Ewa end of Kaimana Beach, next to the Natatorium. The Natatorium is the state’s official memorial to more than 10,000 from Hawai’i who volunteered to serve in World War I and to 101 of them who died in the war. It was
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The Natatorium story: California version
Hey, does this sound familiar? A great natatorium opens in the 1920s. It’s a wonderful community resource; people from all across town come together there and enjoy swimming together. But there are years of deferred maintenance and neglect; eventually, it’s closed as unsafe. Same story; happy ending For once, we’re not talking about the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. This is the story of the Municipal Natatorium in Richmond, Calif., better known there as The Plunge. In Richmond, as this article on the New York Times websiteattests, there was a happy ending! Citizens groups rallied to support the local natatorium. The
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