Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

What Had Long Been Feared

“What has long been feared by some, and considered a certain event by others, has happened. The Chinese quarter of Honolulu has been devastated by a fire, that, gaining headway in the dense aggregation of wooden buildings, was quickly beyond control and sweeping in all directions.” (Daily Bulletin – April 19, 1886)

It started on April 18, 1886.  A few minutes before 1 o’clock the fire started in a Chinese cook house on the corner of Hotel street and Smith’s lane. It started accidentally by the owner of the premises in lighting his fire for cooking.

“Although not a breath of wind stirred … quicker than can be told the fire was leaping from roof to roof, gliding along verandahs, entwining itself about pillars and posts, festooning doors and windows . … In the calm the smoke rose in a vast volume . . . . Both [Smith and Hotel] were soon lanes of fire.”  (Daily Bulletin – April 19, 1886)

After a seven-hour ordeal-about half of it in darkness-the walls of the last building to collapse fell in. It was exactly 11:20 and the place was the makai side of the King Street bridge leading across to the Palama district.

As the embers cooled, tempers flared.

Hawaiians of Chinatown, especially around the ʻEwa side of Maunakea Street, where they had been the greatest losers, were bitter.  They blamed it all on the Chinese.

By midnight a mob of perhaps 3,000 crowded around the King Street bridge and back to the Chinese theater. As Hawaiians itched for a fight, things could get nasty – fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and while skirmishes occurred, a full-on riot was avoided.

Honolulu’s Chinatown, then and now, is the approximate 36-acres on the ʻEwa side of Downtown Honolulu.  It developed into a Chinese dominated place, following the in-migration of Chinese to work on the sugar plantation, starting in 1852.

Between 1852 and 1876, 3,908 Chinese were imported as contract laborers, compared with only 148 Japanese and 223 South Sea Islanders. Around 1882, the Chinese in Hawaii formed nearly 49% of the total plantation working force, and for a time outnumbered Caucasians in the islands.

It had been noted, according to one observer in 1882, for the fact that the great majority of its business establishments “watchmakers’ and jewelers’ shops, shoe-shops, tailor shops, saddle and harness shops, furniture-shops, cabinet shops and bakeries, (were) all run by Chinamen with Chinese workmen.”

By 1884, the Chinese population in Honolulu reached 5,000, and the number of Chinese doing plantation work declined.   As a group they became very important in business in Hawaii, and 75% of them were concentrated in Chinatown where they built their clubhouses, herb shops, restaurants, temples and retail stores.

By 1886, there were 20,000 people living in the area between Nuʻuanu Stream, Nuʻuanu Avenue, Beretania Street and Honolulu Harbor.

Most of the structures were one- and two-story wooden shacks crammed with people, animal and pests. Chinatown had a poor water supply system and no sewage disposal.

Although the fire intensified anti-Chinese feeling, this group had long been under attack. During the 1880s, spurred by what was considered an alarming influx, the Hawaiian government had limited – and for a time halted – their coming.

The year before the fire, massive Japanese immigration started. It had been conceived and encouraged not only to man plantation fields, but also to provide a counterbalance to the Chinese.

The 1886 blaze destroyed eight blocks of Chinatown. While the government soon after established ordinances to widen the narrow streets and limit building construction to stone or brick, nothing was enforced. More ramshackle buildings went up, laying the groundwork for future disaster and disease.

The 1886 fire started at the corner of Hotel and Smith Streets.

They rebuilt.

In 1900, fire struck again.  However, in 1900, the Board of Health intentionally set “sanitary” fires to prevent further spread of the bubonic plague.  Those got out of control.

The 1900 fire caused the destruction of all premises bounded by Kukui Street, River Street, Queen Street (presently Ala Moana Boulevard) and Nuʻuanu Avenue.

Today, the majority of buildings in Chinatown date from 1901 with very few exceptions which escaped the January 20, 1900 fire.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Battle of Hōkūʻula

Prominent features rising above the town of Waimea on the Big Island are the puʻu (cinder cones) in the surrounding pasture.  The South Kohala community made special note of these physical features in the Community Development Plan noting, “the Puʻu define the special landscape ‘sense of place’ of Waimea.”

One of these, Hōkūʻula (red star,) played a prominent role in battles between warring leadership from the islands of Maui and Hawaiʻi.  This story dates back to about the mid-1600s.

To put this timeframe in global perspective, around this time: the Ming Dynasty in China ended and the Manchus came into power and established the Qing dynasty; the Taj Mahal was completed in India: British restored the monarchy and Charles II was crowned king of England; and the Massachusetts Bay colony was forming after the recent landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock.

In the islands, Lonoikamakahiki (Lono) was the Mōʻi (Chief) of Hawai‘i.  He was a descendant of Pili (a high chief from Tahiti from the 13th century.  Lono was grandson of ʻUmi (and great grandson of Līloa.))

“Lono-i-ka-makahiki was a son of Keawe-nui-a-Umi, and was chief of Ka-u and Puna. He was sole ruler over those two districts on Hawaii. He was married to a chiefess, named Ka-iki-lani-kohe-paniʻo, who was descended from Laea-nui-kau-manamana. To them were born sons, Keawe-Hanau-i-ka-walu and Ka-ʻihi-kapu-mahana.”   (Kamakau)

Through marriage and victories over other chiefs, Lonoikamakahiki became the ruler of the Island of Hawaiʻi.  “During Lono’s reign, when he tended to the affairs of his kingdom, the chiefs and commoners lived in peace.”  (Kamakau)

Lono visited the Mōʻi of the various islands, including Kamalālāwalu, ruling chief of Maui.  “Lono-i-ka-makahiki sought the good will of these chiefs when he came to meet and associate with them in a friendly manner. There were to be no wars between one chief and another.”  (Kamakau)

Kamalālāwalu (Kama) met him and welcomed him royally.  The chiefly host and guest spent much time in surfing, a sport that was enjoyed by all.  Lono was lavishly entertained by Kamalālāwalu.

Not long after Lono’s departure and return to Hawai‘i, however, Kamalālāwalu, driven by ambition, decided to invade and conquer the nation of Island of Hawai‘i.  He sent spies to survey the opposition; they reported there were few men in the Kohala region.

When Kamalālāwalu heard the report of his spies, he was eager to stir his warriors to make war on Hawaiʻi.  Most of the prophets and seers supported the chief’s desire and gave dogs as their omen of victory [said that clouds taking the form of dogs foretold victory]. The dogs were a sign of fierceness, and so would the chief fiercely attack the enemy and gain the victory with great slaughter of the foe.

Part of the prophets and seers came to the chief with prophecies denying his victory, and urging him not to go to fight against Hawaiʻi.  When Lanikāula, a high priest from Moloka‘i, warned Kamalālāwalu of the dangers of an assault, an irate Kamalālāwalu replied “when I return, I will burn you alive.” (Fornander)

Kamalālāwalu’s fleet landed in Puakō and met no opposition. Lono’s oldest brother, Kanaloakuaʻana, was in residence Waimea at the time, and, upon hearing of the invasion, marched toward Puakō with what forces he had at hand. A battle ensued at Kauna‘oa (near the present-day Mauna Kea Resort), and Kanaloakuaʻana’s forces were defeated, with Kanaloakuaʻana himself being taken prisoner and eventually killed.

After this initial success, Kamalālāwalu and his Maui warriors marched boldly inland and took up a position above Waimea on top of the puʻu called Hōkūʻula and awaited Lono’s forces.

During the night, Lono’s warriors from Kona arrived and occupied a position near Puʻupā (the large cinder cone makai of the Waimea-Kohala Airport.) His warriors from Kaʻū (led by its high chief and Lono’s half-brother, Pupuakea) and Puna were stationed from the pu‘u called Holoholoku (the large cinder cone out in the plains below Mauna Kea,) those from Hilo and Hāmākua were stationed near Mahiki, and those from Kohala were stationed on the slopes of Momoualoa.

That morning, from his position atop Hōkūʻula, Kamalālāwalu could see that the lowlands were literally covered with the countless warriors of Lono, and realized that he was outnumbered. For three days the armies skirmished, with the actions of the Maui warriors being dominated by Kamalālāwalu’s nephew and chief, Makakuikalani.

“Short and long spears were flung, and death took its toll on both sides. The Maui men who were used to slinging shiny, water-worn stones grabbed up the stones of Puʻoaʻoaka. A cloud of dust rose to the sky and twisted about like smoke, but the lava rocks were light, and few of the Hawaii men were killed by them.”  (Kamakau)

“The warriors of Maui were put to flight, and the retreat to Kawaihae was long. [Yet] there were many who did reach Kawaihae, but because of a lack of canoes, only a few escaped with their lives. Most of the chiefs and warriors from Maui were destroyed.”  (Kamakau)

While Kamakau notes Kamalālāwalu died on the grassy plain of Puakō, other tradition suggests that after Lonoikamakahiki defeated Kamalālāwalu at Hōkūʻula, he brought the vanquished king of Maui to Keʻekū Heiau in Kahaluʻu and offered him as a sacrifice.

The spirits of Kamalālāwalu’s grieving dogs, Kauakahiʻokaʻoka (a white dog) and Kapapako (a black dog,) are said to continue to guard this site.  Outside the entrance to the heiau and towards the southwest are a number of petroglyphs on the pāhoehoe.  One of them is said to represent Kamalālāwalu.

So ended the first of the major wars between the nations of Maui and Hawai‘i, and a turning point in the history of Hawai‘i.

(Puʻu Hōkūʻula is sometimes referred as “”Buster Brown.”  Apparently, while training at Camp Tarawa in Waimea, Marines named it Buster Brown Hill after the former section manager for Parker Ranch, who lived just below the hill.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

St Peter’s Chapel

“There are a few, very small fishing villages, Alae, Alika and Papa, which are reached by poor trails from the mauka road. It is necessary to travel from Hookena mauka to the main road to Papa, and thence by either road or trail to Hoopuloa, the last steamship landing in Kona.”

“This is another village which is dwindling in population, only a few Hawaiians and a couple of Chinese storekeepers remaining. A fair road leads across a barren a-a flow to Miloli‘i, the largest and best specimen of an exclusively Hawaiian village on the Island, which is seldom visited.”

“It is splendidly situated by a sand beach, the sea coming right up to the yard wall, and is inhabited by a rather large population of Hawaiians, who prosper through the fishing which is almost phenomenally good…”

“This region is seldom visited. Its chief points of interest are the remains of a heiau, mauka of the Catholic church at Milolii, some fine papa konane at the south end of the same village a well preserved kuula (still used) where fishermen offer offerings of fruit to insure a good catch, by the beach south of Milolii, where the Honomalino Ranch fence crosses the trail; while all along the trail are smaller kuulas, and at many points the foundations of villages, where old implements may still be found.” (Kinney, 1913)

“Hoopuloa was one of the few typically Hawaiian villages remaining in Hawaii. It comprised of a cluster of 10 to 15 homes of old Hawaiian style and boasted a population of approximately 100 persons … The wharf was a port of call for the Inter-Island steamers”. (Honolulu Star Bulletin, April 19, 1926)

Then … “The number of earthquakes recorded for April [1926] was 671 (compared with monthly average of 52 for the preceding 3 months. … The maximum daily frequency of earthquakes in the 1926 eruption was on April 15 (86 shock), the first day of free-flowing flank eruption …” (Jaggar)

Edward G Wingate, USGS topographical engineer, was mapping the summit of Mauna Loa in 1926, changing campsites as the work progressed. On April 10 his camp was along the 11,400-foot elevation, well into the desolate upland above the Kau District.

An earthquake wakened the campers about 0145; as they drifted back to sleep, a further series of quakes had them sitting up, talking, and wondering. About 0330 Wingate braved the cold and wind; with a blanket wrapped around him, he went outside and stood bathed in reddish light.  (USGS)

There was a brief summit eruption, followed by 14 days of eruption on the southwest rift zone.  “About 3 am April 10 (1926,) glowing lava spouted along the upper 3 miles of cones and pits of the Mauna Loa rift belt, immediately south of Mokuʻāweoweo, the summit crater.  … The actual beginning shown at Kilauea by seismographic tremor was 1:36 am, followed by two pronounced earthquakes.”    (Jaggar)

For three days the HVO party surveyed the sources of the eruption; then they descended and moved into Kona District, where roads, houses, and other property were threatened by the flows. Wingate and his crew stayed behind. Much of the area already mapped was under fresh lava, and there was a lot of remapping to do.  (USGS)

“A crack only 1 to 3 feet wide opened southward from a point tangent to the ease edge of the bottom of the south pit of Mokuʻāweoweo, vomited out pumiceous silvery pāhoehoe froth lava, and extended itself S.30oW. past the next two pits and over the brow of the mountain down to an elevation of 12,400 feet.”  (Jaggar)

“Fortunately the main gushing of this first phase ceased about 5 am the same forenoon, after flowing 5 hours. … (Then,) The vent crack was splitting itself open downhill. The source pāhoehoe changed itself by stirring into scoriaceous aa half a mile from the vents”. (Jaggar)

“When it got close to the upland of Hoʻopuloa, the flow of lava separated into two, and one of the flows went straight for the village of Hoʻopuloa and the harbor, and the second flow went towards the village of Miloliʻi.”  (Hoku o Hawaii, April 20, 1926)  

“(T)he Honomalino flow to the west finally dominated, … This was also aa. … It crossed the belt road at 12:22 pm April 16, 3 miles above Hoʻopuloa village.” (Jaggar)

On April 16, Jaggar scratched marks about a foot apart across the rutted, gravel road (the only road) between the Kona and Kau Districts. A lava flow was approaching, and Jaggar wanted to measure the flow’s speed as it crossed the road.

St Peter’s Chapel, sometimes referred to as Ho‘opuloa Catholic Church, was on the makai side of the road.  Perhaps a hundred people were waiting around the Hoʻopuloa Church, on the uphill side of the road, and at the Kana‘ana house opposite, on the downhill side of the road.

They had seen and heard the flow, 15-20 feet high and more than 500 feet wide, as it moved through the forest uphill.  When it neared the road, people who lived on the Kona side of the flow moved off to the north, and those who lived on the Ka‘u side moved to the south, so they could go home after the road was closed.  (USGS)

Jaggar recorded that it reached the uphill, inland side of the road at 12:22 at an estimated speed of about 7 feet/minute; within two minutes the road was crossed. Jaggar and his assistant, HS Palmer, stayed on the Ka‘u side.  (USGS)  St Peter’s Chapel, sometimes referred to as Ho‘opuloa Catholic Church, was on the makai side of the road.

“The Catholic church, where many Hawaiians worshipped, was one of the first building to be destroyed in the flow which buried Hoopuloa.”  (The Star, NZ, May 21, 1926)

“It is true that I saw the church destroyed by the lava tide, which moved onward with irrevocable majesty, entering the house of worship by way of the open front door.”

“Through the windows I observed the red mass proceed to the alter as the whole structure, capable of seating 20 worshipers, burst into flames.”

“Most dramatic of all was the moment when the slow moving red-hot deluge, pressed on by the mass of lava from the rear, tipped the church from its foundations and set it careening upon the molten river.”

“Straightaway, the bell, which hung in an open steeple, began ringing. It pealed above the roar of the flames and the grinding of the blazing substance surging onward.”

“A dozen doleful strokes of the iron tongue echoed farewell before it fell from the cross beam ringing its own requiem.”  (Father Eugene Oehman, Honolulu Advertiser, July 31, 1932)

A memorial to the church was erected; the plaque on the monument reads “1926 Hoopuloa Catholic Church.” “Under the cross, 25 feet below the surface is all that remains of a small Catholic church, over which the lava flowed without a moment’s halt.” (Honolulu Advertiser, July 31, 1932)

“The fiery lava engulfed the harbor and village of Hoʻopuloa, and now they are but a heap of pāhoehoe lava.” (Hoku o Hawaii, April 20, 1926)

“Families of Ho‘opuloa were forced out of their homes by the flow, and many eventually settles in Miloli‘i on state land.  The displace families remained on the land although they had no legal title to the property.” (Hawaii Tribune Herald, July 10, 1985)

In 1932, St. Peter’s Catholic Church at Miloli‘i was built by Father Steffen to replace an earlier St. Peterʻs destroyed by the 1926 lava flow. (PaaPonoMilolii)

In 1982, the State Legislature passed Act 62 which designated 52.6 acres of state land to be leased to the refugees and the descendants of the Ho‘opuloa lava flow.”

The Act also created the criteria by which people could qualify fo5 65-year leases”  Initial implementation of the Act took place July 12, 1985 with the signing of 12 long-term leases for families living on the designated property.  (Hawaii Tribune Herald, July 10, 1985)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Wind, Wings and Waves

Hawaiʻi is the world’s most-isolated, populated-place, we are about: 2,500-miles from the US mainland, Samoa & Alaska; 4,000-miles from Tokyo, New Zealand & Guam, and 5,000-miles from Australia, the Philippines & Korea.
 
We are surrounded by a vast ocean and sometimes naively feel isolated, separated and protected from outside threats and negative impacts.  Unfortunately, we take too much for granted.
 
Formation of Hawaiian Island chain started more than 70 million years ago.  Yet despite millions of years of isolation, plants, animals and insects found their way to Hawaiʻi … on Wind, Wings and Waves.
 
Some seeds, spores and insects arrived on the wind.  A few birds flew or were blown off course; in them or stuck to their feathers were more seeds.  Some seeds managed to float here on ocean currents or waves.  Ocean currents also carried larval forms of fish, invertebrates, algae and even our freshwater stream species.
 
It is estimated that one plant or animal arrived and successfully colonized every 30,000 years.  Over millions of years in isolation, these original plant and animal species changed, forming into our native species.
 
The first alien species arrived with Polynesians in the year 300 A.D. or so. In 1778, Hawaiʻi was placed on the world map; and so started new invasive species pathways.
 
It is estimated that in the last 230+ years, as many as 10,000 plants have been introduced: 343 new marine/brackish water species; Hawaiʻi went from 0 native land reptiles to 40; 0 amphibians to 6 (including coqui) and there is a new insect in Hawaiʻi every day.
 
The greatest threat to Hawaiʻi’s native species is invasive species.
 
Hawaiʻi has the dubious distinction of being called the endangered species capital of the world and unfortunately leads the nation in endangered species listings with 354 federally listed threatened or endangered listed species.
 
With only 0.2% of the land area of the United States, nearly 75% of the nation’s historically documented plant and bird extinctions are from Hawaiʻi.  We have more endangered species per square mile on these islands than any other place on Earth.
 
Impacts from invasive species are real and diverse: Tourism and agriculture-based economy; Forests’ ability to channel rainwater into our watersheds; Survival of native species found nowhere else; Health of residents and visitors; and Quality of life that makes Hawaiʻi a special place.
 
Today, the pathways to paradise are diverse, including: air & ship cargo; ship hulls & ballast water; hand-carry/luggage; mail & freight forwarders; forestry activities; horticulture trade; aquaculture; pet trade; botanical gardens and agriculture experiment stations (or simply on you and your clothing.)
 
While I was at DLNR, we formed and I co-chaired the Hawai‘i Invasive Species Council, a multi-jurisdictional agency, established to provide policy level direction, coordination, and planning among state departments, federal agencies, and international and local initiatives.
 
Our focus was primarily on two actions: the control and eradication of harmful invasive species infestations throughout the State; and prevention the introduction of other invasive species that may be potentially harmful.
 
We must continue to be vigilant in stopping new pests from coming in and eradicating those that have already made it to our shores.
 
We share a common goal.  Whether your concern is in having enough water, healthy reefs, diverse forests, a healthy economy or a healthy family, we all want the same thing:  To make and keep Hawaiʻi a great place to live.
 
 

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Funeral Flower

Ralph Solecki theorizes that the Neanderthals intentionally buried their dead, as evidenced by having flowers at the burial location in the Shanidar Cave in Kurdistan.

It was at the ‘Shanidar IV’ site, the famous ‘flower burial’, so-called because clumps of pollen grains from adjacent sediments were interpreted as evidence for the intentional placement of flowers with the corpse.

“Analysis of soil samples from the Shanidar IV burial in the Shanidar cave, revealed the same pollens throughout the sequence, with variations in frequency. However, samples 313 and 314 contained, in addition, several pollen clusters of as many as 100 pollen grains, evidence that complete flowers were introduced into the burial cave.” (Science Magazine)

Solecki “has argued that ‘Neither birds, nor animals could have carried flowers in such a manner in the first place, and the second, they could not have deposited them with a burial’.” (This theory is questioned by some – Sommer believes the flowers were brought by rodents.)

“Leroi-Gourhan interprets the pollen evidence as indicating that between May and July, in a year more than 50,000 years ago, the body of Shanidar IV was laid on a bed of woody branches {Ephedra) and flowers. (Sommer, Cambridge Archaeological Journal)

In modern times, flowers originally served a very practical purpose in funerals. They were used for odor control as the body decomposed.

Back before embalming became an integral part of the funeral process and before refrigerated storage was common in funeral homes, bodies decomposed naturally very quickly. Funeral home directors used flowers draped around the casket – which is still traditional today – to mask the smell, which could be quite noxious.

Reportedly, one of the most famous examples of this was the funeral of President Andrew Jackson in 1874. He was not embalmed; so by the day of his funeral, his corpse was in terrible shape. Funeral Director Lazarus C Shepard closed his casket and piled fragrant flowers around and on top of it to mask the odor long enough for the funeral to be completed.

As embalming and other preservation techniques improved, the need for flowers to serve a practical purpose in the funeral process disappeared. However, flowers were seen as an visible expression of sympathy, care, respect and love for the deceased and the deceased’s family. (JacobsFuneralHomes)

One such ‘Funeral Flower’ was the carnation.  The original birthplace of the carnation is on the coast of the Mediterranean. The popularity of the flower goes back many centuries; the Romans were already making wreathes and fresh eau de toilette out of carnations. (Flower Council)

Later, Americans began to like the carnation … “So when (a florist) finds it necessary to his business to introduce a new ‘fashionable flower’ he takes care that it shall be very expensive and that his customers shall believe it to be very rare.”

“Such a flower is the carnation. It first leaped into prominence as a ‘florists’ flower’ nearly thirty years ago and its vogue at the time was greater even than that of the chrysanthemum in its best days.”

“One day everybody was wearing a rosebud, ten or Bon Selene, (the carnation craze succeeded the ‘Boston bud’ craze); the next day everybody was wearing a carnation.”

“And with a great many people it has remained in favor ever since. This is not only because of its beauty of form and color and its spicy fragrance. The carnation seems to have been especially designed by nature for a boutonniere.”

“It sets closely and neatly to the coat lapel, it keeps fresh and unfaded for a long time, it requires no pinning in place, and it never breaks from its stem”. (Democrat and Chronicle, New York, December 4, 1894)

The carnation can be regularly seen in religious paintings, as a symbol of the Virgin Mary and as a symbol for the suffering of Christ. The Latin name for the carnation is Dianthus, derived from Dios (God) and anthos (flower) – divine flower. (Flower Council)

According to legend, the carnation flower appeared after the Crucifixion of Christ. When mother Mary wept at the death of her son, her tears fell to the earth. Carnations sprang forth from each spot where Mary’s tears stained the earth. This legend lends credence to the theory that the carnation earned its name from incarnation.  (FlowerMeaning)

On the continent, the start of the 1900s was also an era of huge funeral flower displays. These were designs such as wreaths, pillows, crosses, lyres, Holy Bibles, armchairs, broken columns, broken wheels, gates … The influenza epidemic during World War I stimulated the demand for flowers, and greenhouse construction increased after the conflict.

American Protestant missionary wives are credited with bringing the first carnations to the Islands in the mid-1800s.  The first variety was a white, scented flower and it soon became the favorite for lei makers. Red carnations were introduced later.  (Bird)  In 1900, gardens in Pauoa supplied lei sellers at the piers with carnations and other lei flowers.

The carnation, one of the most important commercial field-grown floricultural crops in the Islands, has been under cultivation for many about a century. It initially was grown primarily for the lei trade; however, later, interest in cut-flower production increased considerably due to the introduction of Mainland commercial varieties.

The main production areas for lei carnations shifted from Waialae to Maunalani Heights.  These regions are suitable for lei flower production, but not for cut-flower production due to the relatively warm night temperatures. The cut-flower varieties are known to require cool night temperatures for optimum growth and production.

Carnations “used to cover portions of Maunalani Heights”. (Star Bulletin)  There is even a Carnation Place up the hill, there.

The ‘Pink’ is one of these varieties; it has been under continuous cultivation since around 1900. It produces throughout the year relatively small but highly fragrant flowers on short stems.

The major emphasis in the past has been on the production of carnations for lei flowers, and qualities demanded of cut flowers were generally ignored. Consequently, the types grown had small flowers, short stems, and bushy growths.  (CTAHR)

Carnations were also cultivated in the Koko Crater area on O‘ahu especially to meet the demands of the fast growing tourist industry. 

Japanese and Korean farmers leased small parcels of land along Lunalilo Home Road and soon their ‘carnation plantations’ were familiar sights, likewise in Kaimuki and Palolo.

The white carnation lei is usually given to women and the red to the men: white being femininely pure and withdrawn – red representing masculine boldness, strength and power. (Ka Lei, Marie McDonald)  Depending on the style and flower size, 50 to 100 flowers may be used.

Back in the 1950s-1970s, the fat, fragrant carnation lei was popular.  Friends bestowed thick carnation lei at the airport gate, politicians regularly wore them and nightclub entertainers typically had a carnation lei.

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