I remember walking to Enchanted Lakes Elementary school with my brother in our “hanabadda” days.  We always walked to school and then ran back home. Mornings were cold back then. When we exhaled, fog would come out of our mouths. We used to practice blowing smoke rings like our dad, who was a smoker back then. My brother was better at it than me. Today, I feel like it is hotter than I remember in the days of my childhood. Upon researching it, I discovered that on Admission Day, the day we became the 50th State on August 21, 1959, it was the hottest day ever recorded in Hawaii. It was a sweltering 92 degrees.

In 1959, Kailua was considered “the country.” To get there you had to drive over the Old Pali Road. It was a very narrow windy road which wove up and over the Nuuanu side of the mountain and down the Kailua side. They didn’t even start building the Pali Tunnels until after statehood. In those days, people were careful about not carrying pork over the Pali unless you wanted something supernatural to happen.

In 1959, you could get a brand new 2-cylinder, 2-door, Rambler Wagon for $754. You could then drive your new Rambler on King and Beretania streets in any direction you wanted because they were still two way streets at the time. You could even drive both ways on Hotel street since it was not restricted to buses back then either.

Bowling was a big in sport in 1959. Thirty-five percent of all Honolulu families were bowling back then. Arnold Palmer was the Tiger Woods of that time. In the summer, people would go to the 49th State Fair to ride rides, play games and eat cotton candy. The name of the Fair didn’t change to the 50th State Fair until after we actually became a state. At the time, everybody thought we would be the 49th state.

For refreshment you could drop into the Primo Beer Garden in Aiea and drink Primo from kegs. It was once called, “The beer that made Milwaukee jealous.” Primo’s rival beer in 1959 was “Oly” Olympia Beer which called itself “refreshingly different”. Kids drank Xexchange Orangeade. One small 6 oz. can could make six big glasses of juice, even more if you liked it watery.

In 1959, you could buy a Hicks home with nothing down. A 2 bedroom home sold for $4,990 and a 3 bedroom home sold for $6,690. The homes were “all heart redwood” (which translates to no termites). Hicks Construction Company’s selling points were, “Why pay more.” “We refuse to be undersold.” “Will build it better for less.” Sigh, those were the days.

Ricky Nelson was making girls swoon all across the country. And in 1959, then Crown Prince Akihito (now emperor) married a commoner shattering 2,619 years of imperial Japanese tradition. On their wedding day, it was also the first time foreigners were admitted to the inner palace shrine amidst the swirling petals of the springtime cherry blossom trees.

It was a time of change. KGMB TV and the Honolulu Star Bulletin placed want ads for a “girl” reporter. Evidently, women were a rarity in journalism back then. In those days, the Star Bulletin was about double the size of the Honolulu Advertiser in terms of advertising and circulation.

Oh, and there were only three TV channels in 1959. Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges was a popular show which appeared on KGMB at 9PM. The TV stations used to sign off around midnight. Black and White TV was what everyone had. Color TV was new technology at the time and didn’t become popular until after 1961. They say, if you wait long enough, it comes back. Well Primo is back! It even tastes a little better than it did the first time around. Just in time for the 50th birthday of our Aloha State. Happy Birthday! Cheers!