Hawaii in the 1960’s

RememberWhen…

Photo by: Erin Williamson

The assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, overshadowed most, if not all world news during this decade. Yet, in our small but significant part of the world, local history was being laid down, both trivial and consequential. From Hawaii Five-O’s television debut on CBS, to Hawaii’s transition from an almost purely plantation economy to a tourism based economy, Hawaii in the 1960’s welcomed more of the world into it’s culture, values and traditions.

The 1960’s in Hawaii saw many “firsts” and openings of businesses that would become part of the fabric of our island lives. Commercially, the first Zippy’s opened on South King Street and McCully and the first McDonalds also appeared in Hawaii. Kings Bakery (now the new town site of Gulick Delicatessen) also opens, owned and run by Robert Taira. The economy continued to develop in other ways as well, when for the first time, tourism hit the 1 million visitor mark and out earned Hawaii’s sugar and pineapple industries.

On the political scene, Hawaii prefers Kennedy over Nixon, and locally, in 1962, John A. Burns became the governor. Burns’ election would prove to be significant not only because the Democrats took control over both the governorship and state legislature, but also because he would eventually lead the movement that switched Hawaii’s political power from the Republican to the Democratic Party. 1962, also ushered in Daniel Inouye to the U.S. Senate, while Spark Matsunaga was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

During the 1960’s Hawaii would also suffer loss. In 1960, the Kau Kau Corner, a popular local 24 hour drive in, closed. In 1966 alone, forty-two men from Hawaii were killed in action fighting in the Vietnam War and in this same year, Kui Lee —a notable Hawaii composer and musician who was known for helping Don Ho rise to stardom with Lee’s “I’ll Remember You”—died in Mexico. 1968 would also see the passing of Olympic gold medalist Duke Kahanamoku, one of Hawaii’s most well-known and beloved surfer and athlete.

It’s impossible to recap a decade in a few paragraphs, so we’d love to hear from you… share your highlights of this decade with us at Hawaii Traditions!