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He Aupuni Palapala Ko‘u

“E nā ali‘i a me nā maka‘āinana, he aupuni palapala ko‘u, a ‘o ke kanaka pono a na‘auao, ‘o ia ko‘u kanaka.” (To all ali‘i and commoners alike, mine is a literate country, and the just and intelligent man is my countryman. (Kauikeaouli – Kamehameha III; Nūpepa Kū‘oko‘a (May 23, 1868;) Puette) The planning for the formal written Hawaiian language in the early part of the nineteenth century was started by the American Protestant missionaries who arrived in Hawaii, starting in 1820.

“… we commenced printing the language in order to give them letters, libraries, and the living oracles in their own tongue, that the nation might read and understand the wonderful works of God.” Through the collaboration between the Hawaiian Chiefs and the American Protestant missionaries, by 1832, the literacy rate of Hawaiians (at the time was 78 percent) had surpassed that of Americans on the continent. (Laimana)

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Hawai‘i: The State That Doesn’t Vote

So said the headline in a 2012 article on CNN … Of the 50-States and the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i ranks 51 (last) in voter turn-out rate. “(F)ewer than half of eligible Hawai‘i residents voted. Compare that with the No. 1 civic-minded state, Minnesota, where 78% cast ballots.”

A cynic might say, “Well, it’s better than it was over 150-years ago. Back then, nobody voted.” (But, back then, citizens weren’t allowed to vote.) In 1959, when Hawai‘i first became a state, Islands voters were at the top of the nation with 84% for Primary Elections and 93% for the General; voter participation has gone downhill since. Hawai‘i has dropped to half of its 1959 participation rate (41.5% in Primary and 52.3% in General in 2014.)

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Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association (HSPA)

From 1835, when the first successful commercial plantation was started at Kōloa, Kauai, to 1999, when one of the last sugar plantations ceased operations, over 100 sugar plantations and mills played a major role in the history of Hawaii. Sugar industry members first organized in 1882 as Planters’ Labor and Supply Company; in 1895 it became Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association (HSPA) (evolved from the Planters’ Labor and Supply Company.)

HSPA was funded by the industry through self-assessments on each ton of sugar produced. The HSPA conducted scientific research in areas of improved seed, fertilization and irrigation practices. In 1919, the HSPA bought 124-acres and Harold Lyon was put in charge of a newly created Department of Botany and Forestation for the Territory of Hawai‘i. The organization changed its name again in 1996 to Hawai‘i Agriculture Research Center (HARC.)

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John Joseph Halstead

John Joseph Halstead was born on October 30, 1808 in a notable New York City family of the early Colonial days. He went to sea in a whaler. In 1840 Halstead sailed to Hawai‘i bringing with him carpentry and cabinet-makings skills. He set up a shop in Lāhainā making furniture, working exclusively with koa. He is reportedly the first to put up a frame house in Lāhainā.

He married ‘Uwaikikilani, a granddaughter of Isaac Davis (who helped Kamehameha in his conquest.) He and his family moved over to Kalepolepo, along the Kihei shoreline, and shortly thereafter built a new house made entirely of koa. His house/store was nicknamed the ‘Koa House.’ In 1876, Halstead closed his store and moved to ʻUlupalakua, where he died on May 3, 1887.

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Palace Theater

“(W)ith the Empire across the street and the Gaiety and others nearby, on October 26, 1925, at 6:30 pm, the New Palace opened its doors to an eager crowd, showing its first movie at 7:30, ‘Don Q: Son of Zorro,’ starring Douglas Fairbanks. Also shown were the short films ‘The Clodhopper’ and ‘Traps and Troubles.’

The New Palace Theater, part of a small family of theaters owned and operated by Adam Charles Baker (1881-1948) was built at the peak of the heyday for American movie palaces. The early shows were silent films. By December 10, 1937, the Palace became not only the first theater, but the first building on the island to be fully air-conditioned.

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