Remembering Hawaii in the50's & 60's

[adobo]

ETA136 wrote:

<quoted text>
The Span... How many said "SPAM" instead? Another term used was "jiggah hand", in Hilo, anyway.
Hopscotch was good fun. We used to try to play on sidewalks with huge squares. We couldn't jump over two in a row. HA!
Single, double, single, single, double, single, double, turn around, go back.

Had a few guys using "SPAM" instead of span.

[Cutchase64]

ETA136 wrote:

Was anyone good with a yoyo? I still have my Duncan yoyo from small kid time. Its dowel is missing and it's all bus' up.

Whoa! These memory sparks lead down a narrow
(synapse flooring -real busted up wood) corridor
to rooms sealed shut decades ago.

I remember a guy named Barney Acres, yoyo champ
came to Pauoa School to give a demo.
I tried searching for his name-came up only because one of the Smothers Brothers remembered.
Whoa..my memory and Tommy Smothers..whoa! hahaha!

http://www.rambles.net/smothers_yo.html

[Cutchase64]

During the 2nd or 3rd grade, our class had
ukelele lessons. The first song we learned
was "Manuela Boy."

The lyrics wound through my head from the earliest
of days:

No Mo Fi-cent
no mo house
Go Aala Park
Moi Moi

Yesterday, while passing Aala Park..
I realized some things never changed.

[Someone]

You too, I had ukelele lesson in grade school also. Now days the kids don't do this.

[nubi]

ETA136 wrote:

<quoted text>
The Span... How many said "SPAM" instead? Another term used was "jiggah hand", in Hilo, anyway.

In marbles, when the Killer's marble just nipped your marble, you each had to race to say "Kani good" or "Kani no-good" to say that the hit was good or not good. As an adult, I learned that "kani" means "sound" in Hawaiian, so then it made sense.

[nubi]

ETA136 wrote:

Was anyone good with a yoyo? I still have my Duncan yoyo from small kid time. Its dowel is missing and it's all bus' up.

I had an orange Duncan Imperial. I could do a few tricks. Once I was trying Around the World in my house and string broke. The yoyo almost hit our picture window!

I loved to play jacks. Right Hand, Left Hand, Double Bounce, No Bounce.(Was there Triple Bounce?) Double-Eights is hard with No Bounce. Double Pigpens too. I don't see kids playing jacks nowdays. I've tried to teach 'em, but they don't have the patience to get good.

[nubi]

Cutchase64 wrote:

During the 2nd or 3rd grade, our class had
ukelele lessons. The first song we learned
was "Manuela Boy."
The lyrics wound through my head from the earliest
of days:
No Mo Fi-cent
no mo house
Go Aala Park
Moi Moi
Yesterday, while passing Aala Park..
I realized some things never changed.

Manuela Boy was the first song my mom taught me to play on the uke! We just sang the first verse. Some versions of the other verses are pretty risqué. They're about parents sleeping around and who's your real daddy.
http://www.squareone.org/Hapa/m2.html

[kamuela]

Sorry to be maudlin about a song but I have become uncomfortable about singing Manuela Boy.

I have concluded that without specific mention of Hawaiians, Manuela Boy stereotyped certain Hawaiians when it was fashionable to make fun of Hawaiians as lazy and ambitionless.

The song talks about father having a blue collar job, about domestic abuse, about brother being a wandering, shameless, pennyless womanizer.

To me mention of alamihi crabs refers to the alamihi crab syndrone which as a popular discussion topic a few years back.

What do you think?

[Cutchase64]

Nubi & Kamuela, you two are among the most
thoughtful (contemplative), sensitive
and tactful on the forum.

It took me almost a half a century to
come across the compelete lyrics (above-
Nubi's link) and I'm appalled that it did
contain such negative stereotyping of
Native Hawaiians. It's clear and obvious.
My apology for resurrecting a memory
that needed an update as to what it
really conveyed. AS kids, we never
got to the other verses, fortunately.

Also, my apologies for the wrong spelling
of the Hawaiian word for "sleep," which
should be "Moe." In the case of the
lyrics posted on Nubi's link-"Hiamoe (sleepy)."

Found it on a Hawaiian Language
translation site (good bookmark):

http://fm.hisurf.com/hawaiian/dictionary.taf...

[kamuela]

I hold no grudges, friend. I think todays Hawaiians have work themselves out of most of the negative stereotypes.

Someone asked about the alamihi crab syndrome. It is like Mexican crab syndrome or other crab syndromes.

It starts with putting alamihi crabs in a bucket. Eventually, the crabs will cluster in an area of bucket and will seem to be helping the others climb on their backs to get to the rim to get out. But the kicker is that there always those crabs that will climb on the highest crab's back before that crab establishes a foothold and pulls the highest crab back down and no crabs therefor reach the rim to get out.

By the way alamihi crabs are tasty and can be eaten like a'ama (rock crabs) and white crabs.

[Cutchase64]

No grudges? Cool Kamuela.
Alamihi syndrome is something that cuts
across cultures and age groups. The kids
especially gotta watch who they hang with.
But, what kid listens?

[ETA136]

Does anybody remember the "Chicken Fat Song" from President Kennedy's Physical Fitness Program? I remember going to Summer Fun and doing callistenics, sit-ups, push-ups and other exercises to that song... "no more chicken fat now..." HA!

[Leimamo]

Cutchase64 wrote:

During the 2nd or 3rd grade, our class had
ukelele lessons. The first song we learned
was "Manuela Boy."

My 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Aiwohi (Bingham Tract School - 1967/68) played the autoharp and she taught us some Hawaiian songs. The one song I distinctly remember singing was "Akaka Falls".'Til today, when I hear it on the radio, I reminisce about 2nd grade. I often wonder what happen to all my classmates.

[nubi]

ETA136 wrote:

Does anybody remember the "Chicken Fat Song" from President Kennedy's Physical Fitness Program? I remember going to Summer Fun and doing callistenics, sit-ups, push-ups and other exercises to that song... "no more chicken fat now..." HA!

OMG, I'm teaching it right now to my students for Field Day. My muscles are aching from sit ups, push ups and I got a rug burn on my elbow from teaching "the bicycle" so many times. Remember that? Lying on your back, lifting your lower body in the air and pumping your legs? Robert Preston sings the version I have. I found this link:
http://www.clubcourtyard.com/ChickenFat.html

Touch down every morning, 10 times!
Not just now and then,
Give that Chicken Fat back to the chicken
And don't be chicken again,
No, don't be chicken again.....

Go, you Chicken Fat, go away,
Go, you Chicken Fat, go.

[ETA136]

Hey! I just found this site. Not only is there a history about the JFK Fitness Program, but there's a multimedia link to the Chicken Fat Song, the Robert Preston version!

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resource...

[Cutchase64]

nubi wrote:

<quoted text>
OMG, I'm teaching it right now to my students for Field Day. My muscles are aching from sit ups, push ups and I got a rug burn on my elbow from teaching "the bicycle" so many times. Remember that? Lying on your back, lifting your lower body in the air and pumping your legs? Robert Preston sings the version I have. I found this link:
http://www.clubcourtyard.com/ChickenFat.html
Touch down every morning, 10 times!
Not just now and then,
Give that Chicken Fat back to the chicken
And don't be chicken again,
No, don't be chicken again.....
Go, you Chicken Fat, go away,
Go, you Chicken Fat, go.

Hahaha Cute! Robert Preston of the "Music Man,"
sure had vocal authority!

Another "Preston" I can recall is
"Sgt. Preston of the Yukon."
I watched the series as a kid, but can't remember
an episode.

[love my kids]

ETA136 wrote:

Was anyone good with a yoyo? I still have my Duncan yoyo from small kid time. Its dowel is missing and it's all bus' up.

Did you have the fancy one that would light up?

[love my kids]

The Chicken fat sing made me think of this, please tell me I am not going crazy, wasn’t there a jingle on the radio with Aku in the morning that went something like Chicken man……….he's everywhere he's everywhere.

[ETA136]

love my kids wrote:

<quoted text>
Did you have the fancy one that would light up?

No. My yoyo was a plain green model. Ooooh... those yoyos that lit up or gave off a whistling sound were so cool...

[adobo]

Leimamo wrote:

<quoted text>
My 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Aiwohi (Bingham Tract School - 1967/68) played the autoharp and she taught us some Hawaiian songs. The one song I distinctly remember singing was "Akaka Falls".'Til today, when I hear it on the radio, I reminisce about 2nd grade. I often wonder what happen to all my classmates.

Wow you went to Bingham Tract School. I went there for summer school in 1966. I had Mrs. Pomroy.