The Wyandotte news-herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1943-1963, 1945-03-29

some Kind OF shopping to do or
errands to run.
But the average CT. or sailor
just wanders the streets. He is try
ing to seek Q temporary escape
from military hfe-have q meal,
drink, few hours Of freedom,
chance to see a pretty girl. Any
day you can see hundreds of serv-
icemen sauntering down the street.
looking In store windows, and lean
ing against lamp posts.
For half-a-mile down the center
Of town stretches Hotel Street, a
shabby and tawdry Midway of souv-
-enir shops, pinball machines. hula
girl picture booths, drinking joints
and the inevitable high prices.
That is, until the recent closure of
q lot Of these gyp- Joints. There are
still the souvenir shops and drink
ing places, (Which are only open
for a few hours q day because Of
the liquor shortage), but the photo
booths and pinball srcades are no
more.
The sailors are going to miss
those hula girl picture booths, as
sailors were always their largest
group of customers. A booth con-
sisted of little room with cam
era at one end a painted Hawaiian
scene at the other. For a fee Of one
buck you could pose in the arms of
some cheap-looking native girl
dressed In hula skirt. while an
assistant snapped two little photos.
The pictures seldom turned out to
be very good, and always faded
rapidly. Meanwhile the proprietor
and girl make as much as hun
dred dollars day.
Every other doorway on Hotel
Street is more than likely a souve-
mir shop. The stock runs pretty
much the same from shop to shop
"a line Of carved wooden trays,
printed tablecloths, colorful blouses
and sport shirts, grass shirts. per-
fumes and necklaces. These neck
laces, with seashells attached, cost
around five to seven dollars, hula
skirt sets you back three, and the
wooden trays run all the way to $40
or $40. And Of course there are the
hundred and one knick-knacks to
be found in any souvenir shop. Most
of the articles are made in the
States. Every guy who stops in Ha-
vail wants a souvenir of some kind
and has no choice except to pay
the exhorbitant prices. I have been
no exception and have shelled out
plenty for souvenirs. Again, the
natives grow rich!
Waikiki Beach is a main point of
interest for the first trip to Homo
lulu, but soon loses Its attractive
ness. 1t is overcrowded and narrow
It too has Its own Midway" Once
in a while I wander out there to
see a movie or look for good place
to eat, but unless a guy has some
special interest there it is as dull
as the rest of the town.
The biggest drawback to any en-
tertainment in Honolulu is the lack
of girls. You can't very well go TO
a dance or party without girl, and
the island girls are generally cold
towards the servicemen. The recent
arrival Of WAVES and a few
SPARS will undoubtedly help the
situation. but they are only drop
in the bucket.
I've painted dull picture of Hon
olulu so far, haven't I? Yet, 1t isn't
so bad if you really go out and look
for things. The US.O. has done
wonders and has provided the serv-
iceman with every possible thing
that he could want. There is a |
large library in town. You can go
swimming, horseback riding, sight
seeing or fishing for a reasonable
price. And there are several dozen |
movie theatres in the area.
AS far as making the serviceman
happy on his day off, all you need
to do is to send over about twenty
or thirty thousand ordinary Amer
lean girls.