Chun “Ah Ping left Yen Ping district, China. when onJy 20 years old and sailed to Los Angeles where he remained one year. Here he signed a three year contract to come to Hawaii with about 150 other Chinese as a laborer in Hawaii’s growing sugar industry.”
“Upon arrival he was sent to Molokai with 13 of his countrymen to work on the Kamalo sugar plantation owned by Dan McCorriston. He found only two Chinese on Molokai upon his arrival.”
“He laughs out loud when he is reminded of the first Kamalo sugar plantation mill. This mill was wind powered and only one stalk of cane at a time could be fed to the tiny rollers. ‘Sometime cane too big must cut in half,’ he says. …”
“After two years at this plantation, they were suddenly informed that the plantation was being closed down … Receiving no funds. the little group of Chinese disbanded in disgust and moved to other islands. From here, he went to Puunene plantation where he was employed as u camp cook for five years.”
He then went to Kipahulu plantation and became its manager. He remained there for nine years. “He then left for Honolulu in 1915, bought what is now the Nuuanu hotel and retired. In 1921.”
“However, the urge to do things became so insistent that he moved to his present location at Kilohana where he has been operating a large store with the help of his sons.” (SB, Sep 8, 1939) The store was “Right across the road [from] the fish pond, ‘Ualapu‘e Fishpond.” (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
“I had to leave school when I was sophomore to help my father in the store, ’cause he cannot go haul freight thirteen miles from our store to Kaunakakai Wharf. Hard, eh? That’s why I left school to go home help my father.”
After Chun Ah Ping’s death (July 9, 1948), his son Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping and his brothers ran the store – the only store on the east end of Molokai with a gasoline pump.
“Yeah, general merchandise. Working shoes, all kinds, shirt, pants, canned goods, sugar, rice, flour, all kind. Grass knife, you know, cane knife, all the hoe and that pick and shovel.”
“All the kind people want, eh. General merchandise, mix up all kind. Country, eh. Sometimes we order nails, too. Sometimes people like paper roofing, we order paper roofing, you know, all that. Regular country store.” (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
“I do regular general merchandise and the poi shop. There’s a little building on the side … We used to get our taro from Halawa Valley. Every week we grind. Sometimes ten bags, like that, twelve bags of [taro]”. (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
“Early days had plenty wholesalers. Theo [H] Davies used to be grocery, American Factors had grocery department. All that. Early days, salesmen, every month they come take order.”
“We [used to] deliver [groceries]. See, cause when they buy rice, they no buy ten pound, twenty pound. They buy all hundred-pound bag rice, you know, for the whole month.”
“And feed for the hog; barley, scratch feed, and middling for the pigs or whatever it is, chicken like that. Used to get the feed from Fred Waldron Feed Store [in Honolulu]. Those feed barley come in eighty-five-pound bag.” (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
“They get horse those days and get the hitching post where you tied your horse. You go in the back [of Ah Ping Store], all the old folks live in this district all behind, gambling. And they carry gun; they get their gun with them.”
“Get maybe five, six Hawaiians sitting down gambling, all talking Hawaiian and laughing. We used to go watch them. But you no see that [anymore]. Everybody owned horse in the old days. Was dirt road, yeah, over here. Never had the paved road, nothing.” (William “Billy” Kalipi, Sr, UH Oral History)
“And then that was really handy ‘cause he had liquor, too. (Chuckles) Yeah, whiskey. And [Joseph] Ah Hong [Ah Ping] was terrific. Anytime at night (he’d open up), ‘Oh, we want a bottle.’” (Laura Duvauchelle Smith, UH Oral History)
“Crack seed, too, was selling. They say ono, the crack seed. I said, ‘Honolulu get.’ The retail stores. And they say, ‘No ‘ono, Honolulu kind.’ They come they buy two pound, three pound, take Honolulu. Some of them buy about four pound to send to the states.”
“I said, ‘Why? Honolulu get.’ ‘Chee, we get from Honolulu. But funny, the taste is different.’ … Shave ice, once in a while we made. … Yeah, those days all gone.” (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
“[They sold] dry goods and perishables. They (sold) all kinds (of things). Not bad. (It) was a good store. They had everything in there. They (sold) gasoline, (crack seed from China, cans of corned beef, sardines, Vienna sausage. Also dried fish, salt salmon, butterfish, and even laahp cheung).”
“They made poi, too. You know, they (used to) grind (the taro in the) machine (to make poi. The machine was operated by gasoline using the pulley system.) People were fortunate to get the store (in ‘Ualapu‘e). They (didn’t) have to (go) all the way to Kaunakakai because the store (was) centralized.” (John K. Iaea, Sr, UH Oral History)
People used to meet at the store to talk story … “Oh, sometimes some politician come over, stop, see people there and talk. Early days. … They used to come [from Maui] on a sampan, about three miles away from our store.”
“Then get a car and come check on different county matters. Then they go back. … Yeah, all those old politicians all gone.” (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
“[I]f you get good health, you like live in the country, [Molokai is] all right. If your health is not good, it’s no use. When you sick, doctor far away, no specialist. It’s hard, you know. You go on a diet, you cannot have the proper food. You shorten your life.”
“Country, mostly eat canned goods, you know, people. They don’t go hunting. Goat, deer, or what, you no can go hunting every time. Most times in country they eat canned goods, corned beef, tomato sardine. All that eat all the time. Dried codfish, all kind.”
“The doctor no recommend you eat that kind. You see, that’s why you go visit all right, but live permanent – your health not good – no use. Better stay Honolulu.” (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
“Ah Ping Store was like a family store. You know, people who didn’t have money, they charge it until payday. Then they have a book that they write it down, you know, how much you charge on what day. And then when you get paid, they go down there and pay.” (Shizue Murakami Johnson, UH Oral History)
As for working in stores … “’Nough. Tired already, store life.” (Joseph Ah Hong Ah Ping, UH Oral History)
They also had knives … when I was a kid, a coveted pocketknife was the ‘Ah Ping’ knife from Molokai, at least that is what we called it. Lots of sizes, wooden handles in a regular pocketknife format (the larger was the most favored).
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