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Night Life in the Twilight EILEEN O’BRIEN E Mainlanders no doubt laugh when they hear about Hawaii’s new night life—from six to nine, with no liquor served. But to the funstarved residents of Honolulu even a simple pleasure such as this is a welcome blessing.The people of Hawaii have had to learn many new things in the last year and a half, and the latest is that you can have a surprising amount of fun during an evening when you go home at about the time you used to go out. At first they had to learn to stay home—and like it if possible. The blackout was complete and the curfew was strictly enforced. There was no place to go, and if there had been, you wouldn’t have been allowed to go there. Because of the liquor shortage, bars closed at two or three in the afternoon, or else didn’t open at all. On Sundays bars served only beer and were so crowded that most civilians didn’t even try to get in. So, for more than a year the residents of Honolulu confined what fun they had to their own homes and the homes of friends. The afterwork cocktail at a bar, the dinner dance, and the leisurely dining out of the past had completely vanished. Then, gradually, some of the restrictions began to be lifted. Dimmed-out lights appeared on the main streets, and people were allowed to drive until 10 P.M. Buses ran until this hour, and the movies started a “late” show from seven to nine. It seemed almost like an orgiastic revel. Return of night clubs was the next logical step, but it took a lot of courage to consider such a venture. Curfew remains at 10 P.M., so such a club would have to close at nine or shortly after. Liquor still may not be sold after 6 P.M., so the night club would have to be dry. The need for fun was obvious, but would a nonalcoholic, six-to-nine night club succeed? 138 First published June 1943. The answer was found by Ray Andrade, who had the courage to open La Hula Rhumba, Hawaii’s first wartime night club.The goldenvoiced singer has an excellent band of his own, but apart from that he started his venture with nothing but a lot of determination. He finally chose for his location the former Foresters’ Hall on Lunalilo Street, near the Robert Louis Stevenson School. The main hall, cleverly re-decorated in a blue and white color scheme, magically achieved a night club atmosphere, which is helped by an addition that was built at the rear. This is a low-ceilinged room, large enough for the band and the dance floor. Hangings on the walls from ceiling to floor, brightly colored paintings, and potted cactus give this patio a Spanish flair. Andrade soon discovered that his faith in his plans was justified. Honoluluans pack La Hula Rhumba nightly, reveling in the fact that they can now have the sort of good time they had done without for more than a year. Women joyfully go to the back of their closets for dance dresses that have had no place to go, and men are digging out their white suits and dinner jackets. There are no complaints that the fun ends at nine, because the people of the Islands have learned to accept philosophically all kinds of restrictions since the start of the war. When much has been taken away, simple pleasures are doubly enjoyed. Honolulu’s other night club is Kewalo Inn, which resumed its dinner dancing shortly after the opening of La Hula Rhumba. Under new management since the start of the war, Kewalo is ideally suited for blackout fun because the dimmed-out colored lights make it possible to leave open to cooling breezes the side of the patio facing the garden . The excellent music here is provided by Don McDiarmid and his orchestra. The new ruling that permits the sale of liquor until 6 P.M. makes it possible for Kewalo Inn to offer a cocktail hour from five to six, for those with dinner reservations. Sitting in such a pleasant atmosphere and sipping a long cool one is an almost forgotten thrill for Honoluluans . Genial Al Brannen is the host here, and his account of his trials and tribulations make an interesting commentary on wartime Hawaii , his problems being the same...

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