Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Old Koloa Town

“Koloa is the product of all of the peoples and cultures who have come to live there … ‘Families were close, and there was more than enough love for children and the elderly. . . . Hard work and character were respected as were other old fashioned values such as cleanliness, decency and courtesy.’”

“‘Crime was virtually unknown . . . the people of Koloa did not have to contend with the negative aspects we have in so many parts of our country today: illegitimacy, drug use, senseless violence at a presumed slight, or the rioting and looting that destroy a community . . .”

“. . . those who were old enough to remember Koloa as children and are still with us agree the high water-mark was in the thirties; and the tide has been receding slowly since’”. Donohugh; Bushnell)

“The last direct hit [to Kauai] was by Hurricane Dot in 1959. Dot passed south of Oahu but took a sudden turn to the north and hit Kauai, its eye passing right over Lihue.”

On November 23, 1982, “Hurricane Iwa aimed winds gusting to 110 mph at Hawaii Tuesday and 5,000 residents of Kauai island were evacuated from the storm that posed the fiercest threat to the islands since 1959.” (UPI)

“Property loss was estimated at $130 million by Thomas C. Hamner, the Federal emergency relief coordinator. … Some landmarks are gone, particularly along the island’s south coast, which were hit by the strongest winds.” (NY Times)

Old Kōloa Town grew up around the Plantation industry, attracting people to come work there from many different countries. Plantation workers not only labored, lived and shopped on the plantation, they also received medical care.

Kōloa’s buildings housed plantation stores and services for these people, including Kauai’s first hotel. Kōloa was the center of agriculture and, as such, became the center of activity for Kauai.

“Of course, we heard there was going to be a hurricane, so I had the radio on. And I was watching. And they start telling that, ‘You people better be prepared with candles or something because the lights going off.’  And I looked around all over the place, and I just couldn’t find one candle. And I thought, ‘I better go up to the store and get one.’”

“When I opened the door, it was just cats and dogs. It was raining and blowing. I said, ‘Oh, no. I’m not going.’ So I shut the door, and then I looked in all the drawers, and finally I found one big one that in the restaurants, in the hotels, they use in the cup?”

“Those, yeah. I had one of those, so I thought, ‘Oh, this should last.’ So I had it here. I sat here and I looked outside and it was blowing gales. And I thought, ‘Chee, I better sit here. And just in case the house should come down, then if I lay down between here, then it will protect me.’”

“Then, next morning, early, I went out, I see my neighbor’s house, Aoki’s house, the roof had all flown away, the living room. And then, the roof flied, was way over on the other side of the bridge and some was on the bushes.” (Kōloa resident, Masako Hanzawa Sugawa; UH Oral History)

Hurricane ʻIwa damaged some of the structures in the town, most were simply old.  Then, a group called Kōloa Town Associates (KTA) persuaded the Smith‐Waterhouse Family Partnership to grant the group a long-term lease on the property comprising the core of the town.

The stated intention was to restore the historic structures in this part of Kōloa. Project architect Spencer Leineweber and landscape architect Michael S Chu collaborated in preparing the overall master plan and detailed design work for the restoration and repair of Old Koloa Town.

The challenge for the design team was to preserve the town without imposing twentieth century aesthetics. The focus for the development was on three major principles: design, organization, and economic restructuring. (Leineweber & Chu)

“As he had done with several Chinatown properties, Gerrell is trying out his ‘preservation and profit’ formula to ‘return Koloa Town to its original appearance’ and attract more visitors to Kauai.” (SB, May 12, 1983)

“[Bob] Gerell … doing business as Koloa Town Associates, has signed a 67-year lease with the Mabel P Waterhouse Trust. Waterhouse has owned much of the town’s commercial property since 1850.”

“Gerell has begun refurbishing 18 buildings on four acres of land in the original town … He plans to demolish some ‘unsalvageable’ structures and build six or seven new structures with space for up to 25 tenants.” (SB May 12, 1983)

“When we took over, there were 18 original plantation-style buildings. Our intent was to renovate them back to this original appearance. We were able to save 13, but the rest were in such bad condition that they had to be torn down.” (Gerell, SB, Aug 29, 1984)

“The design development of the oldest area, known as the Kahalewai Court, concentrated on restoration of the old general store and the old hotel building. Since the Yamamoto Store has the strongest visual image for Koloa, this area will become the visual gateway to the development.”

“The area will have an open lawn for outdoor performances. A dry stream bed will meander through the area to provide a necessary relief drainage system. It is quite common in older developments that the buildings are not always positioned in the most ideal locations for drainage.”

“Since the existing relationship with the ground was critical to the overall perception and scale of the buildings, a secondary drainage system that was not foreign to the old town was added so that the original ground drainage patterns could remain.”

“The second area in the town’s development was the Plantation House Shops. As the plantation expanded, housing for the workers began to develop around the town. A portion of these residential buildings will be developed into small craftsman-style shops. The landscape development in this area will be residential in scale and have that ‘chopsuey’ look of many plantation villages.”

“The last area of the town to develop was the false front ‘old west’ commercial structures. These buildings will once again have canopies over the sidewalk and boardwalks connecting the buildings to each other. Large shop windows that have been boarded up for years will once again display merchandise.” (Leineweber & Chu)

The wooden walkway along Kōloa Road in front of the buildings was added to facilitate tourist shopping. Some attention was paid to exterior features such as false fronts to give an appearance from the street similar to the original. Kōloa Town Associates named the resulting group of new buildings ‘Old Kōloa Town’ and leased them to businesses catering to tourists.

Although the majority of the structures were in an extremely dilapidated condition when the project began, the emphasis of the renovation was to bring the historic assets of the town back into focus. Techniques for accomplishing this include the careful repair of cornice moldings, small window panes, decorative rail work, as well as substantial replacement of structural beams and roofings. (Leineweber & Chu)

“One of the distinct advantages of a shopping center, organization of the tenants, was applied to Koloa. Since the developer, Mr. Robert Gerell, has a sixty-seven-year master lease with the landowner, all of the shops can have a similar lease. This arrangement gives them common marketing advantages (promotions, sales, common store hours, signage).”

“The merchants begin to give up the idea of being the biggest and the best on the block and seek a stronger image of being part of a larger whole.”

“The revitalization of any area cannot happen overnight. The emphasis is not on instant solution to problems that have taken years to develop. A gradual but steady program of improvements based on a flexible master plan is essential in anticipating the dynamics of this town of Koloa.” (Leineweber & Chu)

Monkeypod trees are the signature of Kōloa Town. The trees line Kōloa, Weliweli, Waikomo and Po‘ipū Roads. They enhance the character and atmosphere of Hawai‘i’s first plantation town.

Two monkeypod seeds were been brought to Hawai‘i from Mexico by Mr. Peter Brinsdale who was the American Consul in 1847. The seeds were germinated and the seedlings planted. One was planted in Kōloa. The second seedling was planted in Honolulu. This tree was removed when the Alexander Young Hotel was built on the site.

Old Koloa Town is part of the region’s Holo Holo Kōloa Scenic Byway.  We prepared the Corridor Management Plan for the Byway. The CMP was recognized with a “Preservation Commendation” from Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and the American Planning Association – Hawaiʻi Chapter presented Hoʻokuleana LLC with the “Community-Based Planning” award.

© 2024 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pipe Line

An image posted on the ‘History of Hawaii Island (The Big Island) in photos’ Facebook page caught my eye. It is an aerial image of a portion of Hilo Bay from NARA (National Archives and Records Administration).

It showed and was labeled ‘Pipe Line, Hilo Harbor, Hawaii, TH, 6 August 1935’. It looked like a pier going out into the bay coming off of Downtown Hilo. I had never seen this before on any images or maps, and certainly did not know what it was.

The land-based connection of the pier was at the northern end of Kaipalaoa (also known as Mokupane and Isabel Point). I had just researched that area of Hilo and there was never any mention of a pier, nor any mapping or photos of it … until now.

Looking at nautical charts, the ‘pier’ extended from the fringing, shallower part of the Bay to the drop-off. Initial thoughts suggested the ‘pipe line’ may mean it was a fueling line (that offshore ships could refuel or it could be a place for ships to offload fuel for the city).

(Somewhat supporting this idea, starting in 1917, Hilo Gas had a manufacturing facility nearby on Ponahawai Street that produced liquid gas from crude oil for local industrial, lighting, and cooking needs.  By 1935, the facility could produce 120,000 cubic feet of gas in eight hours.  (The plant was destroyed by the May 22, 1960 tsunami.) (Weston))

After further review, it was clear the fuel alternatives – either supplying ships or off-loading from ships – were not viable (there was no land-based evidence of fuel storage in the vicinity).

Then, the prospect of something relating to wastewater disposal came up. Initially, a subtle reference to ‘Sewage Sys’ (and very small square near the railroad track) on the land was noted on a map.

Further investigation led to more information about the ‘pier’ and ‘pipe line’ led to the conclusion that the ‘pier’ in the image was associated with sewer improvements in Hilo.

The word “Sewer” is derived from the term “seaward” in Old English, as in ditches and ravines slightly sloped to run waste water from land to sea.

From an 1857 story in the Commercial Pacific Advertiser it appears that the first sewer facility to be constructed on Oʻahu was a storm drain located at Queen Street at the foot of Kaʻahumanu Street opposite Pier 11.  (ASCE)

Despite three outbreaks of smallpox, a typhus epidemic and two cholera epidemics between 1853 and 1895, no other serious actions were taken to improve conditions.

In Hilo, “The old system built in 1905 together with minor improvements and extensions up to 1933 was serving only 2.6 per cent of the city within the old limits (9 square miles) and 0.6 per cent within the new limits (43 square miles).”

“With the increase in population and extension of the city limits in Hilo, the old sewer system was found to be inadequate to meet the growth and expansion.”

“The low areas in the lands of Ponahawai, Waiolama, Waiakea and Kapiolani drained their sewage into the Waiolama canal, Wailoa river and the Kalepolepo and Mohouli ponds.”

“Twenty or more years of house wastes being discharged into these waterways made them dangerous open sewers. The bay areas were simultaneously greatly polluted by the discharges from these two sources.”

“Formal application for a direct grant and loan for the immediate sewerage works program for the city was made on October 19, 1933”. (Hawaii Tribune Herald, Sept 13, 1936)

On January 1, 1935, the Star Bulletin reported, “Hawaii received more than $18,000,000 in federal government’s ‘spending program’ for public works”.

With respect to the County of Hawaii, one of those projects was “A sewer system for the city of Hilo, consisting of an 1,800 foot outfall into Hilo bay, three pumping stations and the required interceptor and laterals.” (SB, Jan 1, 1935)

“The first unit consisting of a pipe 24 in. in diameter, will start near the present outfall and carry along Shipman St, then over Keawe and up Furneaux St, across three blocks midway between Kilauea and Kinoole streets, and back along Kilauea St, as far as the junction at Hualalai.”

“The purpose of this pipe will be to ‘intercept’ all the mains above coming down toward the bay; and acting as a trunk line, convey the pump-in sewage out into the bay 2,000 feet to a new outfall by force of gravity.”  (Hawaii Tribune Herald, Nov 16, 1933)

Then, information on the outfall pipeline and ‘pier,’ “Contractor EE Black, who is in charge of Job 870, outfall unit, is now working his men on a 21-hour shift. The men worked until 3 am today in constructing trussels for a distance of 1800 feet into the bay. “

“This is preparatory work for the excavating of trench and laying of 24-inch cast iron pipes.” (Hawaii Tribune Herald, April 4, 1935) On September 4, 1935, the project engineer announced that the outfall was complete.

“The outfall sewer job is well-constructed, and is functioning very well … There was no sign of sewage coming to the surface.” (HTH, Sep 4, 1935)

The Hilo Chamber of Commerce recently suggested that a buoy be put up over the outfall terminal in order to prevent ships from anchoring in its vicinity.” (HTH, Oct 3, 1935)  A red buoy was placed the next month. (HTH. Nov 27, 1935)

So, the 1935 ‘Pipe Line’ image shows the brief installation and use of the ‘pier’ above the waterline, while the contractor trenched, then laid, the new sewer outfall.  There are no identifiable remnants of that ‘trussel’ structure.  There is a remnant of pumping station on the makai side of the highway, just before you get to the Wailuku River – it was completed March 13, 1936.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pōhakuloa CCC Camp

In 1876, the legislature passed “An Act for the Protection and Preservation of Woods and Forests” in response to water crisis in Honolulu due to deforestation and decrease in stream flow Nuʻuanu Stream, the main source of water for Honolulu. 

In 1882, the first government tree nursery was established to provide tree seedlings for reforestation of mauka lands above Honolulu. 50,000 tree seedlings are planted on the denuded slopes of Tantalus (Honolulu). (DLNR-DOFAW)

In 1903, the Hawaii Territorial Legislature passed Act 44 establishing the Board of Agriculture and Forestry, predating the USDA Forest Service by one year. Act 44 expanded on the Forestry Act of 1876 and provided the legal vehicle for the creation of reserves encompassing private as well as public lands.

The Forest Reserve System was created by the Territorial Government of Hawai’i through Act 44 on April 25, 1903.  It was cooperative arrangement between the Hawai‘i Sugar Planters Association and the territorial government.

Plantations needed wood for fuel, but they also needed to keep the forests intact to draw precipitation from the trade winds, which in turn fed the irrigation systems in the cane fields below. (DLNR-DOFAW)

The first Territorial forester, Ralph S Hosmer, suggested that the forest had been declining in the uplands as a result of fire, grazing and insects. In order to preserve the forest, it was necessary to keep the ungulates out. From 1924 to 1926 hundreds of thousands of pigs, sheep, cattle and goats were reportedly removed from Hawaii’s Territorial forests.

But the planters were also worried about hunters in the woods starting fires from their camps. Likewise, the commercial ranchers were also wary of individual hunters who could also shoot cattle from the ranch.  (Peter Mills)

Then the US economy took a hit … after a decade of national prosperity in the Roaring Twenties, Americans faced a national crisis after the Crash of 1929. The Great Depression saw an unemployment rate of more than twenty-five percent in the early 1930s. (pbs)

As a means to make work Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized the New Deal; the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) succeeded the Emergency Conservation Work agency, which started in 1933. In 1939, the CCC became part of the Federal Security Agency. (It was eliminated in 1943.) (UH Mānoa)

The purpose of the CCC and its predecessors was to provide employment in forestry and conservation work. It “brought together two wasted resources, the young men and the land, in an effort to save both.” (NPS)

From FDR’s inauguration on March 4, 1933, to the induction of the first CCC enrollee, only 37 days had elapsed. The goals of the CCC according to the law were: “1) To provide employment (plus vocational training) and 2) To conserve and develop ‘the natural resources of the United States.’”

By the end of the third year, there were 2,158-CCC camps in the nation and 1,600,000-men had participated in the program. (NPS)

There were five primary CCC camps built in Hawaiʻi (the CCC Compound at Kokeʻe State Park, the most intact today; what is now a YMCA camp at Keʻanae on Maui; a research facility on the Big Island; Hawaiian Homes Property with only two buildings remaining on the Big Island; and part of Schofield Barracks in Wahiawa on Oʻahu.) Other temporary campgrounds were spotted in work areas around the Islands. (NPS)

While the first 57 CCC enrollees on Hawaiʻi Island began working in 1934, it was not until June of 1935 the first CCC camp was established (in Hawai‘i National Park – as Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was originally called), which housed 200 enrollees.

The territorial foresters’ camp at Keanakolu was expanded into a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) field camp. All of these buildings are still standing today.

Additional camps were also constructed around Mauna Kea Forest Reserve boundaries to house crews of CCC enrollees. In 1935, a CCC camp was at Pōhakuloa.  It included a cluster of buildings and tents that included a recreation/ dining hall, two bunkhouses, two cottages, seven cabins, and seven outbuildings.

Pu‘u Pōhakuloa is a cinder cone overlooking the PTA headquarters area on the Saddle Road.  Pōhakuloa means long stone.  It also refers to a deity of the forest lands that extended across Mauna Loa towards Mauna Kea. Pōhakuloa, the deity, was a form of the akua Kū, a lover of Poliʻahu, a patron of canoe makers, and in his human form an ʻolohe expert and woodworker,

The hill gives its name to the respective Pōhakuloa references in this area.  One early name was associated with a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in this area.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) undertook fencing, road building and visitor facilities on Mauna Kea.  The CCC built a stone cabin at Hale Pōhaku, which gained its name (house of stone) from that structure. The cabin at Hale Pōhaku provided a shelter for overnight hikers, hunters and snow players.

In 1935-36, as part of the effort to eradicate wild sheep from the mountain, the CCC took on the project of building a fence around the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve (over 60 miles of fencing).  Sheep drives were then carried out in an attempt to eliminate the sheep from the reserve.

The CCC brought water down to Pōhakuloa from a mountain spring … “The CCC days … Up the gulch, up on the mountain, remember, they tapped one of the springs up there …”

“Yes, they had one of the pipes going up.  You can see the pipe when you go, it’s coming down.” (Jess Hannah; Maly) “[T]hat water for Pōhakuloa, there’s a spring, Hopukani Spring.  CCC boys built the pipeline.” (Davd Woodside; Maly) The spring provided a “continuous supply of pure water.” (Bryan; ASM) (Spring water is no longer used; water is trucked in from Hilo or Waimea.)

The advent of World War II brought an end to the CCC program, as the remaining manpower and funding for the program were redirected toward the war effort.

By July 1, 1942, all Territory of Hawaiʻi CCC camps were closed, transferred to the military, or abandoned.  The Army operated Camp Pōhakuloa between 1943 and 1945.  The army also took over the old CCC camp house at Pōhakuloa and used it during the war.

After the end of the CCC programs and World War II, the old CCC facilities at Pōhakuloa were primarily used by staff of the Territorial Divisions of Forestry, Fish and Game including lodging by sheep and bird hunters or by other members of the public seeking recreational accommodations.

“Sheep hunters usually gather at Pohakuloa, the lodge maintained by the Hawaiian Board of Forestry and Agriculture. Here they spend the night under piles of blankets (because of the 6,500 foot elevation, the nights are almost always cold) and start out before sunrise for the mountain ridges.”

“They climb to the ten thousand foot elevation, where wild sheep and goats are in abundance. The Board of Forestry encourages hunting, as the animals have caused serious erosion by eating vegetation, and some authorities believe that the sheep and goats will never be entirely exterminated.”

“In its desire to provide hunting facilities, the Territory maintains not only Pohakuloa lodge, with its bedding accommodations for fifty people, but smaller lodges at Kemole and Kahinahina.” (Paradise of the Pacific, May 1948; Maly)

In 1954, the Division of Territorial Parks was created, and the former CCC facilities became part of Pōhakuloa Park, also called “Pohakuloa Hunting Lodge”.

The division began a series of improvements that would eventually replace the existing CCC cabins with all new buildings. (No physical evidence of the original CCC structures remain, as they were removed by 1968.)

In August 1962, DLNR’s Division of State Parks officially assumed all responsibility for administering these facilities and booking overnight accommodations. Forestry, Fish and Game staff continued to use a number of older structures.

The transformation of the Pōhakuloa CCC camp into the Pōhakuloa Park and later Mauna Kea State Recreation Area happened between 1961 and 1970.

The first of these improvements was a picnic area south of the Saddle Road from the CCC cabins. In 1961, major improvements to the Park began with the addition of new cabins. The first three cabins, variously called the “Housekeeping,” “Family,” or “Vacation” cabins, were built northeast of the former CCC complex, followed by two more the following year.

These five identical cabins, built on post-and-pier foundations, were prefabricated cedar structures manufactured by Loxide Structures of Tacoma, Washington. The cabins were roofed with cedar shakes and were replaced with corrugated metal in 1989.

Each of these cabins was named after a native Hawaiian plant as illustrated by a wooden plaque near its door with the plant name. In 1963, the existing comfort station was built, using a combination of fir, pine, and hollow tile.

A new headquarters building, caretaker’s cabin, and a storage building were constructed. Each of these were pre-fabricated by Pan-Abode Company in Washington State. The buildings are tongue-in-groove cedar log cabins built on post-and-pier foundations and roofed with cedar shakes.

The two “Family” cabins (now the ADA accessible cabins) were also built near the cluster of vacation cabins on the other side of the recreation area. These cabins, like the other new buildings, were prefabricated tongue-ingroove cedar kit cabins supplied by the Pan-Abode Company.

With the construction of the Comfort Station, the park’s picnic area was relocated from south of Saddle Road to its present location.

At its meeting on March 28, 2014, BLNR approved the management transfer of the State Park to the Department of Parks and Recreation, County of Hawai‘i; and approved the withdrawal of the park area from the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and set aside to the County for park purposes.

The park was renamed Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area in 2019.  The late Hawai‘i Island State Senator, Gilbert Kahele, “worked just down the road from the recreation area for 34 years as Director of the Public Works Division at the Pōhakuloa Training Area.”

“When he served in the state legislature he was instrumental in achieving park improvements by way of the transfer of the management to Hawai‘i County.” (Kahele; DLNR Release) Lots here is from Cultural Surveys, ASM and Rosendahl.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Arcadia

“As one enters the grounds the pure style of the white structure is more impressive.  Simplicity, which always spells tase, reigns supreme, and the grassy terrace on one side of the broad walk advancing to meet one, is a quiet spot of beauty …”

“… as well as a sign of the hospitality which will always endear the Governor and his wife to the public and their intimate friends.” (Evening Bulletin, Jan 18, 1908)

In 1907, a new home was built “where their old cottage stood for so many years”. (Evening Bulletin, Jan 18, 1908) “Arcadia” was “known as a center of culture and refinement”. (Hawaiian Gazette, June 20, 1899)

Born October 29, 1863, in Grass Valley, California, Walter Francis Frear was the son of Walter and Fannie E (Foster) Frear. He descended on his father’s side from Hughes Frere, a French Huguenot who emigrated to New York from Flanders in 1676 and was one of the twelve founders of New Paltz, New York.  On his mother’s side, he is a descendant of George Soule, who came to America with the Mayflower Pilgrims.

Arriving in the Islands with his parents at the age of seven, Mr. Frear first saw Hawaii on Christmas morning, 1870. He graduated from O‘ahu College in 1881 and received his AB degree at Yale University in 1885.

After serving as an instructor at O‘ahu College, Mr. Frear entered Yale Law School, receiving an LL.B. degree in 1890 and was awarded the Jewell prize for the best examination at graduation. In 1910 the honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Yale University.

Returning to Hawaii, he was appointed second judge, First Circuit Court, by Queen Liliu‘okalani on January 1, 1893, just before the revolution which ended the monarchy, and was appointed second associate justice of the Supreme Court by the Provisional Government, March 7, 1893.

Frear married Mary Emma Dillingham Frear on August 1, 1893. Mary was a daughter of Benjamin F Dillingham, one of the most prominent businessmen and entrepreneurs in Hawaiʻi, and Emma Louise Smith, daughter of missionaries Rev and Mrs Lowell Smith, who had come to Hawaiʻi from New England in 1833.

During the Republic of Hawai‘i, Mr. Frear was made first associate justice of the Supreme Court, January 6, 1896. In 1898, following annexation by the US, he was appointed by President McKinley a member of the commission to recommend to Congress legislation concerning Hawaii.

Frear was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court, Territory of Hawai‘i, June 14, 1900, serving until August 15, 1907. He was appointed Hawai‘i’s third Governor in 1907 by President Roosevelt; Frear remained in office until 1913.

The Frear home, known as “Arcadia,” was located at 1434 Punahou Street.  (Punahou74) “There is a feeling of space and comfort all over the house. Nothing is over-done. … The bedrooms are all dainty and possess the same restful atmosphere.”  (Evening Bulletin, Jan 18, 1908)

“Always interested in the Greek language, the Frears chose a name in it for their home. Horses, cats and other pets also were often given Greek names.  Arcadia has been variously translated as peace, rest an beauty, of ‘the home of pastoral simplicity and happiness.’ The Frears had originally met when he was her Greek teacher.” (Star Bulletin, April 10, 1965)

“It is certainly a house of culture, of rest, and of peace.  That atmosphere pervades everything, and on feels on intimate terms with the host and hostess from the moment of entering it portals.”

“It is also a home, a place to live in, and the sympathetic natures of the occupants are felt immediately. That Governor and Mrs Frear will be one with the public and its needs goes without saying, for they believe heart and soul in ding all in their power for the general good of mankind.”

Walter died January 22, 1948 in Honolulu.  Mary died on January 17, 1951. “Arcadia. The stately home … at 1434 Punahou St, together with all the land [about 3-acres] and improvements [was] bequeathed to Punahou School under the terms of Mrs’ Frear’s will … [and she] requests her residence be known as the ‘Walter and Mary Frear Hall.’”. (Honolulu Advertiser, Feb 2, 1951)

Punahou considered such options as faculty housing but, by the fall of 1955, the facility had been remodeled to accommodate the kindergarten. Classes were held there until May 1962. (Punahou74)

Then, “The present home will be torn down to make way for the new Arcadia … The project will be built and owned by the Central Union Church.” (Honolulu Advertiser, April 15, 1965)

“Punahou had announced plans for the retirement home there last October but for tax reasons decided to lease it to the [Central Union] church instead.” (Star Bulleting, Feb 25, 1965)

“Ground was broken … for the $7.4 million Arcadia ‘retirement’ apartment building to be located on the site of the old Frear home at 1434 Punahou Street.”

“Instead of the customary shovel-full of dirt, the ground-breaking ceremony featured a hitching-post ‘transplanting’.  A metal hitching post at the side of the home, which dates back to 1907, was moved to a special container, which will be given a permanent niche when the Arcadia project is completed.”  (Honolulu Advertiser, April 15, 1965)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“Nothing can touch it”

“‘When we first went to Napili,’ said Mrs Kep Aluli, ‘it was an isolated beach with one cottage on it.  We loved it.’” Star Bulletin, Jan 14, 1970.

In 1956, Kep Aluli and Yoshio Ogami were successful bidders for two of the thirteen “choice Napili beach lots” [they bought lots 7 & 8] “at “Napili beach in the Kaanapali section of Lahaina”. These were through an auction of Territory of Hawai‘i properties.  (Advertiser, July 2, 1956)

Shortly thereafter, it was reported that “Kep Aluli, Honolulu builder, is planning a hotel at Napili Beach”. The land acquired from the Territory plus an acquisition of adjoining property “gives the developers a two-acre, beach-frontage hotel site and another acre a hundred feet away for tennis courts and beach facilities.”

“Describing the location, Aluli said, ‘Nothing can touch it.’” (Star Bulletin, Sept 11, 1956)

Aluli and Ogami built the Mauian Hotel on this property and shortly thereafter the Napali Kai and Hale Napli (and later others) sprang up.

“An entirely new resort complex has developed around Napili Bay, pioneered by Honolulu’s Kep Aluli and Canadian investors.” Honolulu Advertiser, Feb 15, 1966)

“Beyond Kaanapali, in that heart of Lahaina around Napili Bay, the new era already seems to have arrived.” “If the muscle and brain of the new Lahaina are at Kaanapali, its heart is more easily found at Napili”. (Honolulu Advertiser, July 17, 1964)

Kep Aluli was my parents’ classmate at Punahou. Others in the extended Aluli family were classmates with me and my siblings. When we were kids, we used to visit different neighbor islands during the summer; the visits to the Alulis at Napili were a special treat.

(During an extended Punahou alumni celebration, some of our classmates went to Maui and stayed at the Mauian at Napili – I wonder if the arrangers and others knew of the generations of connection the place has back to Punahou (with Kep’s nephew being one of our classmates.))

Napili, meaning the joinings or the pili grass, is on the West end of Maui. This area is referred to as Hono a Pi‘ilani (the Bays of Piʻilani (aka Honoapiʻilani,); from South to North, six of the identified bays are Honokōwai (bay drawing fresh water), Honokeana (cave bay), Honokahua (sites bay,) Honolua (two bays), Honokōhau (bay drawing dew) and Hononana (animated bay).

Sweet potatoes were reportedly grown between Honokōhau and Kahakuloa, presumably on lower kula lands; Kahana Ahupua’a was known as a place of salt gathering for the people of Lahaina.

Coastal marine foraging and fishing were combined with more upland agricultural pursuits. People would have moved between the coast and the upland agricultural fields, using the full range of resources available within their ahupua‘a. Semi-permanent and permanent habitation probably occurred in both coastal and upland settings.

Whaling (centered at Lahaina Town) was the first commercial enterprise in West Maui, but it had more or less collapsed by the 1860s. Commercial sugar cane production was the next large business venture in West Maui, starting as early as 1863, and it was focused between Ka‘anapali and Lahaina.

In the later 19th century, lands in West Maui became part of the Campbell Estate. This was also the time that the Honolua Ranch was first established. Cattle ranching began then and was continued by Henry Perrine Baldwin, who acquired the lands from the Campbell Estate in 1890.

In addition to ranching, other early commercial activities included coffee farming. David T. Fleming became manager of Honolua Ranch. Fleming was well-versed in pineapple production from the Hai‘ku area and gradually began shifting the ranch’s initiative to pineapple production.

The Honolua Ranch/Baldwin Packers complex shifted from Honolua to Honokahua in 1915, and a pineapple cannery was constructed. A major commercial pineapple industry emerged in West Maui during the 1920s.

The plantation communities of Honokahua and Napili emerged and developed as the Honolua Ranch/Baldwin Packers pineapple operations grew. The population of the Lahaina area increased with the successful economic operations of the pineapple plantation.

Baldwin Packers merged with Maui Pineapple Company in 1962 to form Maui Land and Pineapple Company, Inc. After this time, much of the Honolua Ranch lands were converted for resort development.  Kep Aluli expanded that into Napili.  (Lots of information here is from Scientific Consultant Services.)

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