November

1965

Old School
Recognizing the state’s need for hotel and restaurant workers, the Territorial Department of Instruction’s Kapiolani Technical School in 1960 offered commercial cooking, dining room service, housekeeping and food cost-control classes. Hawaii Industry reported that high work force demand actually resulted in the school’s problem of retaining students. Located at the Ala Wai Clubhouse in Waikiki, Kapiolani Tech mimicked professional service settings by operating a student-run restaurant. In 1965, the school became the familiar Kapiolani Community College.

1985

Luxury for Your Ears
Six years after the introduction of Sony’s Walkman and a decade and a half before Apple’s iPod, Hawaii Business’ 1985 executive gift guide featured an exclusive Bang & Olufsen Beosystem-10 from the Audio Shoppe. A “portable music system that separates men from the masses,” the stereo had the ability to adjust sound levels, record radio songs and play tapes. Pricier than the average portable audio gadget at $425, the ad aptly warned, “many will desire, but onlya privileged few can own one.” Selling its last Beosystem-10 in 1991 and then forging on to plasma televisions, the Danish company, Bang & Olufsen, continues to specialize in high-tech audio and entertainment products.

1990

The Sugar-Cane Saga
With a looming $100 million debt, fifth-generation kamaaina Francis “Frannie” Morgan fought to save his Hamakua Sugar Plantation in 1990. Hawaii Business featured an intimate look at the “grand master plan” for what was then “the plantation’s sole shot at survival.” Morgan had purchased the business from Theo. H. Davies in 1984, but, three years later, the 116-year-old plantation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed, leaving more than 400 families jobless. In 1994, the Bishop Estate and Kamehameha schools purchased a majority of the old agricultural property, and Hawaii County seized nearly 4,000 acres for the company’s outstanding debts. Today, the Hamakua area has low unemployment and a new agricultural plan. (See “The Big Island Report” HERE.)

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