Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 5 Comments

Tripler Army Medical Center

Some suggest the Tripler building got its pink color because the color and other design elements were borrowed from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel down in Waikīkī.

However, an engineering booklet related to its design notes, “the layout of the buildings was planned to create an easy, informal environment, avoid an institutional atmosphere and create the impression of a residential community.” (army-mil)

“Therefore, the hospital building, nurses’ quarters, fire house, chapel, bachelor officers’ quarters and mess, theater and enlisted men’s barracks will be of pink stucco finish.” (army-mil)

Let’s step back a bit.

In 1898, the Spanish American war was going on, including in the Pacific (primarily in the Philippines) – Hawaiʻi became involved. The US Army set up Camp McKinley in Kapiʻolani Park and soon realized an urgent need for a hospital in Hawaiʻi.

The Army’s first medical facility in Hawaiian Islands opened in 1898; it was a 30-bed hospital for soldiers and sailors in transit to and from Manila located in the Independence Park Pavilion (an old dance pavilion at the intersection of King Street and Sheridan.) Field medical tents at Fort McKinley added support to the hospital.

Casualties were streaming into Hawaiʻi from the war in the Philippines. The hospital on King Street rapidly grew into a 100-bed operation and was visited by more than 21,000 troops during the Philippine Insurrection following the war with Spain.

Later, in 1907, Department Hospital, a wooden post hospital facility consisting of a single hospital building and mess hall, was constructed at Fort Shafter.

Department Hospital was re-designated “Tripler Army Hospital” on June 26, 1920, named after Brigadier General Charles Stuart Tripler (1806-1866) – in honor of his contributions to Army medicine during the Civil War (he authored of one of the most widely-read manuals in Army medical history, the “Manual of the Medical Officer of the Army of the United States.”)

Then, the US Army Health Clinic, Schofield Barracks, a 500-bed hospital, was completed in 1929. It was activated as the Station Hospital, Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaiʻi.

The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the construction of Tripler Army Medical Center. At the outbreak of World War II, the hospital at Fort Shafter had a 450-bed capacity which, over the years, expanded to 1,000 beds through the addition of one-story barracks-type buildings.

Plans for a new Tripler hospital atop Moanalua ridge were drawn in 1942, construction was authorized in June 1944; the ground was broken August 23, 1944; actual construction began in 1945: and construction was completed in 1948.

When it was completed, Tripler was the tallest building in the Pacific region. (Three additional wings to the hospital were completed in 1985 with other additions/renovations over the years.)

Tripler was dedicated on September 10, 1948 and has been a visible and valuable landmark in Hawaiʻi. It is the largest military medical treatment facility in the entire Pacific Basin.

In 1961, Tripler US Army Hospital became known as US Army Tripler General Hospital, and finally in 1964, the name changed to Tripler Army Medical Center.

In a cooperative agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1992, the Spark M Matsunaga Medical Center was added at Tripler.

Located on a 375-acre site, Tripler Army Medical Center’s geographic area of responsibility spans more than 52-percent of the earth’s surface, from the western coasts of the Americas to the eastern shores of Africa (encompassing three million square miles of ocean and more than 750,000-square miles of land mass.)

Nearly 800,000-beneficiaries in the Pacific Basin are eligible to receive care at Tripler; this includes active-duty service members of all branches of service, their eligible families, military-eligible retirees and their families, veterans, and many residents of Pacific Islands.

In a typical day, more than 2,000-patients are seen in outpatient clinic visits, more than 1,500-prescriptions are filled, more than 30-surgical procedures are performed, and more than 30 patients are admitted. There are more than 200-births each month. (In August 1955, 427-babies are born at Tripler, setting a record for one-month deliveries.)

by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Hawaiians Leaving Home

We consistently hear of folks coming to Hawaiʻi, but often overlook that many were/are out-migrating from Hawaiʻi.

And, the increased scale of migration between Hawaiʻi and California and other parts of the continent may have started with us to them, rather than the reverse.

There is historical evidence suggesting that Hawaiians began moving to the US mainland as early as the late-1700s for economic survival.

As early as 1811, Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) had already hired twelve Hawaiians on three year contracts to work for them in the Pacific Northwest. By 1824, HBC employed thirty-five Hawaiians west of the Rocky Mountains.

The number of Hawaiians working as contract laborers for the Hudson’s Bay Company steadily grew. The large number of Hawaiian workers in the village at Fort Vancouver led to the name “Kanaka Town” in the early 1850s – “Kanaka” is the word for “person” in the Native Hawaiian language.

Historians suggest “that young Hawaiian males left Hawai’i as workers on whaling ships and traveled to China, Europe, Mexico, and the U.S. mainland. In addition, many ventured into the Pacific Northwest territory, worked in the fur trade, and ended up settling in those areas.” (pbs-org)

In 1839, John Sutter brought a small group of native Hawaiians with him when he arrived in California. They worked for him and eventually intermarried with local Maidu families. They settled in the area of Vernon, which is now called Verona, where the Feather River flows into the Sacramento River in South Sutter County. (co-sutter-ca-us)

At the time of Sutter’s arrival in California, the territory had a population of only 1,000 Europeans, in contrast with 30,000 Native Americans. It was at that point a part of Mexico and the governor, Juan Bautista Alvarado, granted him permission to settle.

In order to qualify for a land grant, Sutter became a Mexican citizen on August 29, 1840 after a year in the provincial settlement; the following year, on June 18, he received title to 48,827 acres and named his settlement New Helvetia, or “New Switzerland.”

Sutter employed Native Americans of the Miwok and Maidu tribes, Kanakas and Europeans at his compound, which he called Sutter’s Fort.

In his memoirs, Sutter recalled the Hawaiians, using a name then common to describe Hawaiian workers, “I could not have settled the country without the aid of these Kanakas.” They also built the first settlers’ homes in Sacramento – grass shacks, or hale pili, made with California willow and bamboo.

“In the summer of 1865 some Hawaiian fishermen and their “wahine,” who had sailed the placid Pacific in search of new realms for their nomad spirits, arrived in San Francisco bay only to discover that the cool fogs bred dire distress in lungs …”

“… used to none but the fervid breezes of a tropic sea, so on they kept until, after a day and night of clear weather, they reached Vernon, a busy farming community on the banks of the Feather river.” (The San Francisco Call – March 26, 1911)

“It was here that San Mahalone and his companions built their huts and that today their children and grandchildren are peopling this colony this begun over 40-years ago, preserving their individuality and accumulating properties and competencies on the fertile lands of Sutter county.” (The San Francisco Call – March 26, 1911)

“Hawaiians also migrated to Yolo County, California to participate in the Gold Rush and created their own Kanaka Village. There is evidence that Hawaiians settled across California in the late-1800s and even intermarried with Native Americans.”

“Many scholars speculate that Hawaiians migrated to the mainland in order to gain more economic opportunity and to flee from the dramatic Westernization that was changing the face of Hawai’i.” (pbs-org)

In 1894, at Iosepa in Utah, “the colony of Hawaiians established in Skull Valley, Tooele county comes in with a splendid showing this year. This is all the more satisfactory when the difficulties which the colonists have had to contend with are considered.” (Deseret Evening News – December 22, 1894)

“Last spring a few members of the colony accepted the government invitation to return to the Sandwich Islands. Several of these have written back, expressing the wish that they were here, and declaring an intention to return to the colony as soon as practical.” (Deseret Evening News – December 22, 1894)

The Hawaiians’ legacy can be seen today in the places named with Hawaiian words. Theses include include Kanaka, Owyhee (an old Hawaiian name for Hawaii) and Kamai (named after the Hawaiian Kama Kamai): the Kanaka Glade in Mendocino County, California …

… Kanaka Creek in Sierra County, California; Kanaka Bars in Trinity County, California; Kanaka Flats in Jacksonville, Oregon; Kanaka Gulch, Oregon; Owyhee River in southeastern Oregon; and Kamai Point, British Columbia.

Of course, this summary only highlights some of the early outmigration of Hawaiians from Hawaiʻi. Recent decades has seen a flurry of movement of Hawaiians (and others) from Hawaiʻi to the continent. (Some areas on the continent show over 100% increases decade-by-decade in the number of Hawaiians living there.)

by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Freemasonry in Hawai‘i

Freemasonry, with its commitment to interdenominational and international fellowship, originated in the British Isles. The secret society emerged from the medieval guilds of stonemasons in Britain and Europe that set standards, protected workers’ rights and provided other benefits.

Though only Scottish and English associations can be connected to the modern Masonic fraternity, similar craft guilds and companies existed across Europe, playing an important role in the construction of abbeys, cathedrals and castles.

Masons’ tools such as the level, square and compass served to underline the fraternity’s values: equality, honesty, spirituality. Freemasonry spread like wildfire throughout Europe and America during the eighteenth century.

Hawai‘i was first visited by Freemasons as early as the early-1790s, with the visit of George Vancouver. In addition other lesser known Freemasons (mariners, merchants and professionals) visited the Islands.

Oddly enough, it was a French mariner who introduced this British cultural export into Hawai‘i at a time when the Union Jack flew over the kingdom’s capital.

On April 8, 1843, during the reign of King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli,) Freemasonry was formally established in Hawai‘i by Joseph Marie Le Tellier, Captain of the French whaling barque “Ajax” when he warranted Lodge Le Progres de l’Oceanie No. 124, of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the Supreme Council of France.

This was the first Masonic Lodge to be instituted in the Sandwich Islands (as Hawai‘i was referenced at that time) and is quite likely the first Lodge to be founded in the Pacific and West of the Rocky Mountains.

With it, Freemasonry became firmly established in the Sandwich Islands. In Honolulu, the original lodge members were European and American mariners, shopkeepers and farmers.

Membership in Masonic lodges has always served to facilitate business contacts, as well as social ones. By the late-1840s there were about thirty-five merchants and storekeepers in Honolulu, of whom about one third were Masons. Similar ratios existed for the other 150 skilled “mechanics” and professionals in town.

Hawaiian Royalty soon looked to membership. The association between Freemasonry and the Hawaiian Monarchy started with Prince Lot when he was raised in Hawaiian Lodge in 1853, and became the first Native Hawaiian to become a Freemason (he later became Kamehameha V.)

Prince Lot was followed into the fraternity by his younger brother Prince Alexander Liholiho, who later became Kamehameha IV, and was the Master of Lodge le Progres de l’Oceanie in 1859, 1861 and 1862.

In June 1853, Foreign Minister Robert Crichton Wyllie sent the lodge a request from King Kamehameha III that the reigning monarch be initiated “into our ancient and benevolent order.” Apparently, the lodge did not take the opportunity to enroll King Kamehameha III.

In July 1860, the ground breaking for Queen’s Hospital included a traditional Masonic cornerstone laying ceremony attended by thousands and presided over by the young monarch.

Later, in 1879, King Kalākaua (one of the most active members of the Craft in the Island Kingdom,) conducted a grand Masonic ceremony at the site of the new ‘Iolani Palace, using Masonic silver working tools specially crafted for the occasion.

Other public buildings dedicated under Masonic rites were Ali‘iolani Hale (now home to Hawai‘i’s Supreme Court) and Lunalilo Home.

Other notable Masons of that time included John Dominis (husband of Queen Lili’uokalani,) Archibald Cleghorn (Governor of O‘ahu,) Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku (younger brother of King Kalākaua) and Prince David Kawananakoa.

During the first decades of Masonic activity in the Islands, Americans constituted 40 percent to 50 percent of all members, and Scots, Irish and English together constituted another 30 percent.

Native Hawaiians, on the other hand, comprised no more than 5 to 10 percent of the fraternity, but because they were frequently royalty or important governmental officials, they were highly conspicuous.

In 1852, Hawaiian Lodge was chartered by the Grand Lodge of California and all Hawaiʻi lodges became part of that grand lodge from 1902 until 1989, when the Grand Lodge of Hawaiʻi was established.

After 137 years to the month (when the Hawaiian Lodge was chartered,) May 5, 1852 – May 20, 1989, of being a part of the California Jurisdiction, Hawai‘i established its own regular Grand Lodge.

On May 20, 1989, the twelve Masonic Lodges of Hawaiʻi instituted The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Hawai‘i.

The Grand Lodge of Hawai‘i is the smallest and youngest of American jurisdictions, consisting of eleven constituent lodges and about 1,700 members. Over the years, its members have included three kings, four governors and six chief justices of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court.

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by Peter T Young 2 Comments

O‘ahu Sugar Company

“‘I doubt if any plantation was ever confronted from its very inception with a more Herculean task in clearing the land than we have seen,’ Ahrens reported.”

“‘Ridding ourselves of the tangled masses of lantana and mimosa were mere child’s play compared to that which did not show on the surface — stones, big stones, and close together. In fact, stones as big as houses.’”

“But in 1899, the harvest of O‘ahu Sugar’s first crop signaled the birth of a new plantation town.” (Star Bulletin)

“The idea of a 10,000-acre sugar company was inspired by a prospectus written by Benjamin F. Dillingham in 1894. The idea took root, and, led to the incorporation of O‘ahu Sugar Company.”

“The company was to be situated on the slopes of the Waianae and Koolau mountains, east of Honolulu … this arid land was mostly covered with rocks, lantana and guava.” (Plantation Archives)

Dillingham partnered with J Hackfeld and Company (Paul Isenberg) and Mark Robinson (who provided land for the mill site) to form the company, which was incorporated in March 1897.

“The O‘ahu Sugar Company … is one of the new plantations that is creating wide-spread interest. Having many natural advantages that are lacking in some other estates, O‘ahu is expected to be a great money maker.”

“The corporation was organized four years ago and 13,000 acres of land were secured, mostly leased, for sugar growing. Planting commenced at once under the supervision of August Ahrens, manager, who had then been connected with sugar plantations nineteen years.”

“There are now only 6,500 acres under cultivation, but some of it will yield ten tons to the acre, satisfactorily to the farmer in almost every instance. Some Japanese will clean up $300 at the end of the year and are ready to go back to Japan with their families. Prosperity in this case depends almost entirely upon the industry of the laborer.” (Paradise of the Pacific, April 1902)

The Company’s managers from 1897-1940 were: A. Ahrens (1897-1904); E.K. Bull (1904-1919); J.B. Thomson (1919-1923); E.W. Greene (1923-1937); and Hans L’Orange (1937-1956). (Plantation Archives)

The O’ahu Sugar Company (OSC) plantation and mill began in Waipahu as a development project of Benjamin F. Dillingham, who had leased land from James Campbell, prompting noted historian Muricio Michael’s observation: “The town of Waipahu is a child of O‘ahu Sugar [Company].”

O‘ahu Sugar Company’s first harvest was in 1900 and yielded 7,900 tons of raw sugar. The population of Waipahu grew as the plantation increased production and required more field and mill laborers, tradesmen, supervisors, and engineers.

By the late 1920s, Waipahu extended southward along Waipahu Road with a business district centered at Waipahu Depot Street, while residential areas were located both north of the mill and to the east along Waipahu Road.

By the 1930s, Waipahu “included second and third generations” that “had grown up on the plantation and considered Waipahu their home”. In 1940, Waipahu had a population of 6,900. (NPS)

The skilled employees at O‘ahu Sugar came primarily from Germany. As typical of plantations during this time period, O‘ahu Sugar faced a shortage of unskilled laborers with the exception of a small number of Hawaiian workers. Mostly laborers came from the Philippines, Japan, China, Portugal, and Norway.

Each employee received a house free of charge, complete with firewood, fuel, and water for domestic purposes. By the 1930s, garbage collection, street cleaning and sewage disposal were provided.

The plantation store sold produce and retail goods to employees at cost. Other store buildings were rented to tenants of various nationalities to give employees a wide choice in the selection of goods.

O‘ahu Sugar provided clubhouses, athletic fields, and playgrounds. Baseball was a favorite past time and O‘ahu Sugar’s team maintained an outstanding record in plantation league tournaments.

A hospital was built in 1920 and the services of a resident physician were provided free of charge to unskilled employees. There was a moderate charge to skilled employees and “outsiders”, people not employed with OSC, who sought medical assistance.

By 1925, the population of the plantation ranged between 9500-10,000 people. There were approximately 2,850 names on the payroll and it was estimated that at least ¾ of the residents of Waipahu earned a living in connection with the production of sugar.

The greatest portion of work performed at Oahu sugar was done on the “contract” or piecework system. For example, cutting and piling cane was paid for by the ton; plowing and planting was by the acre; irrigation, cultivation, and general care of the fields was based on crop yield. (Plantation Archives) Oahu Sugar Company operated until 1995.

The Company donated labor and materials to local schools. One lasting legacy of the plantation is the August Ahrens Elementary School.

Founded on September 1, 1924 to serve students from the surrounding sugar plantation area, August Ahrens opened its doors to 605 students and 13 teachers.

August Ahrens Elementary School continues to provide educational services for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade on its 14-acre campus in Waipahu. It is the largest single-track elementary school in the state with approximately 1,500 students and 220 faculty and staff.

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A Day in the Life

“June 29th. A busy day. – – – -”

In part, the sole entry for that day in Sybil Bingham’s journal (1820) helps to describe what life was like for the families of the early missionaries in Hawaiʻi.

The missionary family’s day began at 4 am (… it continued into the night, with no breaks.)

The mission children were up then, too; in the early morning, the parents taught their children. “We had one tin whale-oil lamp between us, with a single wick…. Soon after five we had breakfast.” (Bishop)

By 9 am, after accomplishing all domestic duties and schooling of the children, the wives would begin the instruction of the Hawaiian children – and taught them for six solid hours, occasionally running into the house to see that all was straight.

“Very soon I gathered up 12 or 15 little native girls to come once a day to the house so that as early as possible the business of instruction might be commenced. That was an interesting day to me to lay the foundation of the first school ever assembled”. (Sybil Bingham)

“It has been a busy day – have done fitting work, of gowns, for two or three native women, – attending to the reading of others, – instructing our school children, entertaining Mr. Allen, and his little Peggy who has been with us through the day, writing a little, etc., etc. The days glide smoothly with us inwardly.” (Sybil Bingham)

Mission Stations

The missionaries were scattered across the Islands, each home was usually in a thickly inhabited village, so that the missionary and his wife could be close to their work among the people.

By 1850, eighteen mission stations had been established; six on Hawaiʻi, four on Maui, four on Oʻahu, three on Kauai and one on Molokai.

Meeting houses were constructed at the stations, as well as throughout the district. Initially constructed as the traditional Hawaiian thatched structures; they were later made of wood or stone.
Life on the Neighbor Islands

“Visits To Kaawaloa … Our nearest missionary neighbor outside of the town of Kailua were the Ruggleses, who lived at Kaawaloa, twelve miles south. Their dwelling was at Kuapehu, two miles up the mountain, a most verdant and attractive spot.”

“It later became the residence of Rev. John D. Paris. Kaawaloa proper was a village on the north side of Kealakekua Bay.”

“We often visited Kaawaloa, probably twice a year, going by water in a double canoe, generally starting two or three hours before daylight, so as to carry the land breeze a good part of the way.”

“Missionary Visits To Kailua … Some mention should be interesting of memories of visits at Kailua from various missionaries. Such visits were always delightful to us.”

“Yet the ladies and sometimes the children were apt to be landed from their schooners in sad plight, after the hardships of the voyage. I remember two fair young women being brought in in fainting condition in the litters which they had occupied on the deck of the vessel.”

“These were Mrs. Dr. Chapin and Mrs. Ephraim Spaulding. The Spauldings made us a long visit, during which I formed an intense childish attachment to Mr. Spaulding, who was a sweet and devout man. An earlier visit is recalled made by the Bingham family about 1833. Most of their time was spent on the upland above us.”

“Mrs. Bingham was much of an invalid. Father Bingham was a somewhat stately, courteous gentleman, for whom I had much liking and a little fear. The Baldwins repeatedly visited us from Waimea. Dr. Baldwin we all liked. He was personally active, even breaking into a run, something rarely seen in grown men in Kailua.”

“My childish impressions of all these friends was wholly favorable, accompanied by the utmost reverence for their spirituality and devoutness.”

General Meetings

Very prominent in the old mission life was the annual “General Meeting” where all of the missionary families from across the Islands gathered at Honolulu from four to six weeks.

“Often some forty or more of the missionaries besides their wives were present, as well as many of the older children. … Much business was transacted relating to the multifarious work and business of the Mission. New missionaries were to be located, and older ones transferred.” (Bishop)

“That was an annual assembling at the capital of all the missionary families, occupying from four to six weeks. The hospitality of the missionaries residing at Honolulu was severely taxed in entertaining their rural associates.” (Bishop)

“The design of their coming together would naturally suggest itself to any reflecting mind. They are all engaged in one work, but are stationed at various and distant points on different portions of the group, hence they feel the necessity of occasionally coming together, reviewing the past, and concerting plans for future operations.”

“Were it not for these meetings, missionaries at extreme parts of the group might never see each other, and in some instances we know that persons connected with the Sandwich Island Mission, have never seen each other’s faces, although for years they have been laboring in the same work.” (The Friend, June 15, 1846)

This is a summary, Click HERE to read more.

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Mission Stations - MissionHouses-Map
Mission Stations – MissionHouses-Map