By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

News that you should know about keeps coming in over the back fence. Photo historian Tom Coffman called to say he was at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., recently, working on a video documentary, when the archivist said, "Follow me, I want to show you something."

They went back into the stacks, and there was a 4-foot-high roll of newsprint cross-indexed under "Petition to the national government from the citizens of Hawai'i."

It is the Statehood Honor Roll you may have read about on its 50th anniversary last Wednesday. It was signed by 120,000 residents of the Territory of Hawai'i in 1954. The late Buck Buchwach, a journalist-publicist who later became editor of The Advertiser, dreamed up the idea to urge Congress to pass the statehood-for-Hawai'i bill.

Hat makes the win

A faithful reader is in mourning over the loss by the basketball Warriors of three straight on the road. He said he has a suggestion from a column I wrote 50 years ago when the University of Hawai'i basketball team was having similar problems.

UH Vice President Paul Bachman had a 7-year-old son named Speed, a big basketball fan who went to all the games. He discovered that every time he forgot to wear his beanie, the team lost. When he wore his beanie, they came out of their slump.

Once, he was watching a close game. Toward the end, he fell asleep. His beanie fell off. A UH player named Harvey Lee missed four free throws and the team lost. What coach Riley Wallace should do is find a fan who travels and wears a beanie.

Tugboat bears 2 names

Inside sources tell me that the Navy wanted to name a tugboat after U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye in gratitude for all he's done for the military. But he's too modest. The admiral asked Inouye what name he would like to give it instead.

"Two Scoops Rice," said Inouye.

"We can't name a Navy tug boat 'Two Scoops Rice,' " said the admiral.

They compromised: It's "Kaimanahila," followed in very small letters with "aka Two Scoops Rice."

Turkeys have a soft side

Maybe we've solved the problem of the wild turkeys on Moloka'i that are so tough that hunters can't eat them.

An example of the problem: Vernon Chock, property manager at Loyalty Enterprises, said he shot a turkey that was so tough, he dragged the plucked bird behind his boat all the way to O'ahu to marinate it. Even the sharks wouldn't touch it. In the oven, the turkey shriveled into a bowling ball.

Since then, a reader has passed on a solution known only to cowboys on the Big Island. She said they fill a hypodermic syringe with peanut oil and squirt the oil into the turkey. It comes out of the roasting pan tender and juicy. Let me know if it works. I know a dentist who'd be very interested.