Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kawaihae Harbor

Kawaihae is also generally referenced as Pelekane, which means ‘British,’ possibly named after the Young and the Davis families who lived there (when Isaac Davis (born in Pembrokeshire, Wales) died in 1810, his friend and co-advisor to Kamehameha, John Young (an Englishman born in Liverpool,) looked after Davis’ children.)

The vicinity around what is now Kawaihae Harbor (“the water of wrath”) has been the scene of many important events, from the killing of Kamehameha’s rival and cousin, Keōua in 1791, to interactions with foreign visitors, including Captain George Vancouver of Great Britain, Otto von Kotzebue of Russia, and dignitaries from France, the United States and other nations.

Kamehameha had a house here.  Following his death in 1819 and the succession of Liholiho to rule as Kamehameha II, Kawaihae served as the initial Royal Center for Liholiho, who sought consolidation of his forces and consecration of his leadership role, there.  (Kelly)

When the Pioneer Company of the American Protestant missionaries arrived the next year, they first stopped at Kawaihae; this is where the missionaries first learned that the kapu system had been abolished and heiau were destroyed.

Kawaihae’s position as the center of inter-island trade and transport on northwest Hawai‘i is detailed in a description published in the Merchant’s Magazine and Commercial Review in 1858:

“Kawaihae is a small village in the bay of the same name in the western shore of Hawaii…It derives its importance from being the port of the rich and extensive grazing uplands of Waimea, one of the finest agricultural districts of the islands, which has not yet developed its full resources.”

“Forty or fifty whale ships have annually visited this port for the last few years, to procure salted beefs and Irish potatoes, which are considered the finest produced in the islands.“

Features of the village in 1861 were described by Charles de Varigny, the secretary of the French Consulate in Honolulu (who later served Kamehameha V as finance minister and minister of foreign affairs.)

Varigny observed how much of the village was given over to its commercial functions: “The village consists chiefly of a single large wooden structure which serves as a country store and warehouse for the products of the district. Around the shop are clustered several makeshift buildings providing annexes for further storage.”

“A small wharf serves for the departure and landing of travelers. At a short distance from shore floats an old stripped-down vessel, its melancholy hull balancing at anchor and providing storage for products arriving from Honolulu.” (pacificworlds)

Over time, Kawaihae and Waimea (up the hill) developed a synergistic relationship.  The area was a canoe landing area, whether for commerce or combat.  (This is where Maui’s chief Kamalālāwalu landed in his assault against Lonoikamakahiki’s Hawaiʻi forces (Lono won.))  But Kawaihae’s presence was really focused on commerce as a landing site.

A 1914 map of Kawaihae Village shows a concentration of development along the shoreline; the uplands of the Kawaihae region remained undeveloped pasture land.

During WWII war years (1941-1945,) Kawaihae’s role as the shipping outlet for Waimea was intensified.  Troops were shipped in and out through Kawaihae. At the southern end of the bay, in Kawaihae 2, amphibious landing exercises were conducted and military emplacements were set up in the area of Puʻukohola Heiau.

The war in the Pacific had been over less than a year when on April 1, 1946, an earthquake off the Aleutian Islands caused a tsunami that devastated the Hawaiian Islands.  Although no lives were lost at Kawaihae, its effects wiped out commercial fishing activity there and it was reported that the tsunami “…was the beginning of the end for the Kawaihae Fishing Village. People left.”  (Cultural Surveys)

The old landing had been destroyed in the 1946 tsunami and the one built in 1937 had proven unsafe in high seas. By the 1950s, the need for improved harbor facilities at Kawaihae was apparent.

The Kawaihae Deep-Draft Harbor project was authorized by the US Congress in 1950; to be constructed were: “an entrance channel 400 feet wide, approximately 2,900 feet long, and 40 feet deep; a harbor basin 1,250 feet square and 35 feet deep; and a breakwater with a maximum crest elevation 13 feet above low water and approximately 4,400 feet long, of which 3,200 feet would be protected with heavy stone revetment.”

The harbor was created by dredging part of an extensive coral reef which extended 4,000-feet seaward and ran along the shore more than a mile south of Kawaihae town; the reclaimed reef area created a coral flat peninsula that extends approximately 1,000-feet makai (seaward) of the piers across the natural reef, forming a beach along the south harbor boundary and terminating at the outer breakwater.

The harbor’s construction was hailed as an “economic shot in the arm,” for sugar planters in the Kohala region of the island would no longer had to ship their crops overland to Hilo or to Kailua-Kona. The harbor would serve military needs as well. The Army was about to acquire a 100,000-acre training site nearby and could unload supplies at Kawaihae Harbor.  (Cultural Surveys)

At the completion of construction in 1959 (officially dedicated on October 5, 1959,) the Kawaihae facilities included an inter-island terminal, mooring areas, and a large harbor basin with a wide entrance channel.  Harbor modifications in 1973 widened the entrance channel and enlarged the basin (a little over 71-acres.)

The South Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor entrance channel and 850-foot West breakwater was constructed as part of Operation Tugboat and completed in December 1970.  As part of Project Tugboat, the Army used conventional high explosives to blast an 830-foot entrance channel, 120-feet wide/12-feet deep and a 200 by 200-foot turning basin.

(“Project Tugboat” was conducted by the Army’s Nuclear Cratering Group; perhaps because of this, some suggest nuclear explosives were used to clear the small boat harbor.  However, twelve 10-ton charges of an aluminized ammonium nitrate slurry explosives (placed 36-feet deep and 100 to 120-feet apart) were used; they were meant to simulate the yield of a nuclear explosion, but were not radioactive.)

After years of delay, it was recently announced that a project to improve the eastern portion of Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor is moving forward.  Among the improvements are a 445-foot long floating dock, as well as a 47-foot-long access ramp, gangway and 25 berthing stalls. Later a paved access road and new water system is planned.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Lei Sellers

“Hawaiians have a very attractive custom of decorating themselves with floral or other leis on any eventful occasion. The usage is readily noticed by all new comers, or passing strangers, and its predominance at the steamer dock, on departures, give a lasting favorable impression as parting friends are seen bedecked … as a ‘bon voyage’ decoration.”

“At least this is the principal feature into which this national custom has gradually drifted, the origin of which is to be accredited to King Kalakaua in the early part of his reign”. (Thrum 1922)

“Sometime during the mid-nineteenth century the demand for leis reached a point where it became profitable to make and sell leis. The demand came not only from the burgeoning non-Hawaiian population, but from natives as well.”

“By the turn of the century, the lei industry was well established in Honolulu. Hawaiian lei sellers–generally women–were visible on the sidewalks of Downtown Honolulu in the area of Hotel, Maunakea, and Kekaulike Streets.”

“They sat on mats with their flower baskets beside them and their leis hanging on nearby trees or buildings. Later, in the 1920s, they sat at small tables, making and selling their leis.”

“‘I was maybe about ten, eleven years old, when I was at Maunakea Street with [my grandmother] …. Most of the lei sellers did not have a name for their business. They were outside on the sidewalk in the front of [established] businesses …. We had tables. We had like a long board with nails on it . Then we just put our leis on [it], hanging down .’” (Sandra Santimer)

“The flower gardens at this time were mainly in Nu‘uanu and Palama. Lei sellers picked what they could from their own yards and neighborhoods. They rarely purchased flowers but when they did, it was from backyard growers, not commercial nurseries.”

“‘We have to get up five o’clock in the morning …. We used to pick [flowers] every morning before we go to school. We soak it down, keep it cool, then we come home and we string it up … . And we worked hard for so cheap.’” (Moana Umi)

“November 1927 marked the beginning of Matson Navigation Company’s luxury liner service between California and Honolulu, which increased tourism. Steamer days occurred more frequently and the lei-selling industry continued to grow.”

“On steamer days these Downtown lei sellers and others, who came from all parts of the island, went down to the waterfront. Customers bought leis to bedeck arriving or departing passengers. The most common leis were maile (made thick with multiple vines), white and yellow ginger, carnation, rose, and haku leis.”

“Also popularized at this time was the crepe paper lei, particularly the yellow, resembling the ‘ilima flower. Overseas passengers purchased them as souvenirs.” (UH Oral History)

“Since California authorities placed their ban on all plants and most products of Hawaii, excluding them from being brought in to the State for fear of insect pests, the floral profusion in the lei market and at steamer departures has been greatly modified …”

“… but the spirit and activities in the observance of the custom of decorating departing friends and guests finds its expression in paper leis. At first this was confined to the yellow ilima, and proved a very successful substitute of more durable quality.”

“This led to the adoption of other and variegated colors, for gayety rather than an imitation floral product; crepe paper furnishing the material.” (Thrum 1922)

“‘They were good sellers then, … the seeds [seed leis] and crepe paper leis. Because they always wanted to keep them and take ‘em back as souvenirs. That, we did quite a bit, although the work that was involved in it was quite a bit of work. But then, those days, money had a lot of value.’”

“‘So even if the leis were supposed to be sold as twenty-five cents, if you couldn’t sell it at twenty-five cents, you went down to two for twenty-five cents just so you made some money. You see, but your labor didn’t count.’” (Gail Burgess)

“According to Hawai’i Tourist Bureau estimates in 1931, there were 200 Hawaiian lei sellers in the territory. As large numbers of lei vendors gathered on steamer days, competition intensified. Pushing, shoving, and rushing customers were common.”

“In this environment, lei sellers became familiar with marketplace competition. As one seller shouted out the prices of her leis, others countered with similar or lower prices. At times arguments arose, but when the day’s selling ended, the lei sellers gathered and socialized as friends.” (UH Oral History)

“‘That’s where we opened, we opened [on] the waterfront. And was good. We all sit down, string our leis. My mother was there, too. And she’d make food and call everybody. Everybody eating raw fish …. Oh, and they used to enjoy that.’”  (Sophia Ventura)

“By 1933, the number of lei sellers and the intensity of their competition necessitated regulation. Most agreed on the need, and a set of rules and regulations was adopted with the formation of the first lei sellers’ association.”

Police Chief WA Gabrielson called a meeting of the more than 100 Honolulu lei sellers, “The chief suggested that the lei sellers form an organization among themselves for their protection and to preserve the Hawaiian tradition of the lei as well as put a stop to public criticism of some lei sellers’ activities.” (SB, May 10, 1933)

As a result, “prices became stabilized and the old-time ‘mobbing’ of potential purchasers was virtually eliminated.”  “Five dollar fines will be imposed upon members of the Hawaiian Lei Sellers association who violate the organization’s rule prohibiting mobbing of prospective customers”. (SB, Aug 8, 1933)

“[F]urther regulatory measures were suggested – and adopted” … “all male vendors” were barred from the waterfront. “At the same time a further regulation was voted which would bar minors below the age of [16].” (Adv, June 27, 1933) 

That did not fully end peaceful interactions between the sellers … “Lady lei sellers indulged in fist fight on famous pier 11 and visited jail via emergency hospital route.  One was lei-ed up, you know.”  (Adv, Aug 13, 1933)

“As jobs grew scarce in the 1930s, the industry attracted more women seeking a livelihood for themselves and their families. Requiring no initial funding and no labor other than that provided by family, lei selling became a viable means of support.”

“During World War II, a majority of lei sellers acquired war jobs. … Some occasionally sold leis at nightclubs. Others, despite the diminishing tourist trade, retained their lei businesses on a full-time basis. They concentrated on the military clientele.”

During the WWII war years, leis were not the only thing these lei makers made – with growing demand for camouflage material, many of Hawai‘i’s lei makers supported the war effort by weaving camouflage netting.

“Camouflage workers included soldiers, lei makers, artists and fishing net weavers, each group with skills to contribute to the challenge of hiding military equipment from the enemy.  Even Hawaiian language scholar Mary Kawena Pukui was hired to be a part of the camouflage work.” (Denby Fawcett, Civil Beat)

“No boats came in”, so a “lot of the lei sellers at that time didn’t have a job. You know, there was no more. And the lei sellers were all mostly elderly people. … [my mother] went get jobs for the lei sellers to come into work camouflage.”

“[M]y mother went and asked to have the lei sellers to work in the camouflage for the army. That’s how they had all the lei sellers go. … Majority of the lei sellers from the boat all worked camouflage.” (Martina Macalino, UH Oral History)

“The Army figured lei sellers with their nimble fingers and understanding of texture and shape already had the needed skills for weaving scraps of fabric into camouflage nets. Fish net makers joined in to make the netting on which the lei makers wove dyed burlap strips.” (Denby Fawcett, Civil Beat)

“As part of the war effort from 1941–1943, [Mary] Kawena [Pukui] served as forelady of a camouflage unit in Waikïkï, under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working with the lei ‘garland’ makers, whose job was to weave burlap strips into chicken wire for moveable covers for coast artillery, airplanes and trucks.” (Honolulu Rosies)

“The introduction of commercial aviation in 1945 drew some lei sellers to the airport. Lei selling continued in Waikiki and at nightclubs around town, but ceased on Downtown Honolulu streets when it was outlawed in the 1950s. As airplanes overtook ocean-going passenger lines as the mode of travel to the Islands, waterfront sales also dwindled.”

“The first location of the airport lei sellers was on Lagoon Drive near Nimitz Highway. Leis were hung in the back of old trucks converted into lei stands.”

“‘[We] had all these jalopies. No more electricity over there. Just a dark road and don’t even have street lights. What we have is gas lanterns. We hang it onto the stand. This is how it started. Just by experience, ‘Oh, let’s take a chance.’” (Harriet Kauwe)

“‘The navy used to have a boat [seaplane] by the name of the Mars. That boat used to bring in good, good business for us lei sellers at the airport …. That plane used to come in about two or three times a week. When they go out, oh, we used to make tremendous business.’”  (Irene Sims)

“The site was a very prosperous one and news traveled quickly to other sellers. The group grew until there were about a dozen trucks along Lagoon Drive. (The line-up order was important, as it was on the waterfront, and as it is today. The first ones in line seem to attract more customers.) This closed group of lei vendors established themselves as the airport lei sellers.”

“In 1952 the Hawai‘i Aeronautics Commission invited fifteen lei sellers to move into territory-built thatched huts located on Lagoon Drive at the entrance to the airport. Lei sellers fondly recall the huts, described by some as a Hawaiian village.”

“‘The old folks were told, ‘We’ll take you off the road, build grass huts for you, and it’ll be pleasant surroundings to sell leis.’ … It was very nice. I liked the grass huts. … Lagoon Drive in the ‘50s was good business.’”  (Maile Lee)

“‘Well, one had to sit in the back. And then, in the front where you sell, only one person could sit. … We had a small little … pune‘e in the back there, where you can sit or if you’re tired, you can lie down …. And a chair outside for whoever is working outside. It was not too much room. That’s why everybody had to stay in the house in the back to string [leis].’” (Bessie Watson)

“‘Everybody came. ‘Cause then, my brother and them would play music. They started to play in the back [of the thatched huts] …. So, that’ll get all the tourists. You know, they hear the music. From in the front, when the buses used to stop, [they] take pictures, they all go in the back …. Pretty soon, everybody’s dancing …. That was really nice over there.’” (Lillian Cameron)

“When a new airport was built in 1962, the lei sellers made another move.  The thatched huts were replaced by a single wooden building constructed near the main terminal. In this decade, rapid economic growth due largely to tourism increased revenues and brought steady business.”

“In 1978, the lei sellers moved to their present airport location, a concrete structure housing twelve lei stands. While family members still provide help, many non-Hawaiians–primarily Filipinas–now work at the airport stands.”

“As the Islands’ visitor industry grew, so did the lei industry. The business acumen of the lei seller paralleled this growth. As the lei business developed from its humble, uncomplicated beginnings into a sophisticated one, the lei seller developed into the business person of today.” (Lots here is from a summary in a UH Oral History project on lei sellers.)

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by Peter T Young 5 Comments

James Wight

James Wight was born in India in 1814 of Scotch-Irish parentage; he received liberal education at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated in 1836.

At 22 years of age, he went to Australian with the intention of practicing his profession as physician, but his interest was for business pursuits.  After thirteen years practicing medicine, there he abandoned the profession and migrated to Hawaiʻi.  (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)

Wight, with the initial intent to go to the gold fields of California, came to Hawaiʻi in 1850 with his wife (Jane Tompkins Wight – formerly of Cape Colony, South Africa, now called Cape of Good Hope.)

On August 2, 1850, they went from Honolulu to Kawaihae and from there to Mahukona in an open boat.

While attempting to land ashore at Mahukona on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi, the small boat was ship wrecked during a storm.  Their 13-month old daughter Ada Wight drowned during the tragedy.

Once ashore, Dr. Wight was made aware of white parishioners living close by. He made the decision to venture out and get help for his ailing family.  (Restarick)

They were given a grass house and there during the night, Jane Wight gave birth to a child while the dead one lay in the room.  (The Wights had 13 children, six of whom died before they were grown.)

The Wights were persuaded to stay in Hawaiʻi; he became an influential community leader, serving as postmaster, circuit judge (1852-1863,) representative to the territorial government (1886) and a member of the house of noble (1886-87.)  In the House, he was noted for his independent stand and those were trying times.

He enjoyed remarkably good health during his long life and Dr. Wight’s home was noted for its hospitality. His word was his bond and during his long residence he was seldom involved in litigation. Of the thousands who have been in his employ, all speak of him as a generous though firm employer.

Although he had no inclination to practice medicine, he was always ready to assist any sufferer needing the services of a physician.    (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)

He had initially established a store with a pharmacy and carried on business until 1884, when he sold it to SG Wilder.  Wight then turned his business interest to land investments and Hawaiʻi’s emerging sugar and cattle industries.

He became interested in sugar when the Kohala Plantation was started and paid quite an interest in that concern. He established the Hālawa Plantation and conducted it for a number of years.    (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)

Wight bought Puakea and built the first animal mill on the Island to process sugar and began raising cattle.  (Wight’s daughter Clara and her husband Howard Rattenbury Bryant continued the cultivation of sugar cane at Puakea until 1930 when the last crop was milled and the operation closed.)  Parker Ranch later leased the Puakea lands from the Estate and finally purchased the ranch in 1944.

Wight was reportedly one of the first to import orchids from England and ironwood trees from Australia.  Mrs. Wight owned the first carriage seen in Kohala. It had a single seat with a perch forward for the driver.

In approximately 1860, the family purchased a large parcel of land that looked out over the ocean on which to build their homestead.

They built a home, Greenbank, on 22-acres in Kohala; it was once a showcase home and social center of the Kohala district for many years.  (The property is reportedly haunted; a stone shark god idol at the property was later given to Bishop Museum.)

Several buildings were added to the estate, including additional residence, caretaker quarters and a carriage house for his buggy. Later years would include a greenhouse adjacent to the main house where some of the first botanical species in the state were grown.

Dr. James Wight passed away on the morning of September 2, 1905 at Kohala; he was the oldest and one of the most respected of the foreign settlers in that district.

He had been closely identified with the progress of the islands for more than fifty-five years.  (Hawaiian Gazette, September 5, 1905)  (Lots of images and information here from greenbankhawaii.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

First Interisland Air Passengers

“Until 1929, people traveled between the Hawaiian Islands by steamboat, schooner, or outrigger canoe. But seas could be rough and the trip took days.” (Michelle Liu)

Throughout the years of late-prehistory, AD 1400s – 1700s, and through much of the 1800s, the canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawaiʻi.  Canoes were used for interisland and inter-village coastal travel.

Most permanent villages initially were near the ocean and at sheltered beaches, which provided access to good fishing grounds, as well as facilitating convenient canoe travel.

As long-distance voyaging declined, the need shifted from voyaging canoes to large canoes for chiefly visits and warfare within the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in changes in canoe design.

Then, competitors Wilder Steamship Co (1872) and Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co (1883) ran different steam ship routes, rather than engage in head-to-head competition.

Inter-Island operated the Kauai and Oʻahu ports plus some on Hawaiʻi.  Wilder took Molokai, Lānai and Maui plus Hawaiʻi ports not served by Inter-Island. Both companies stopped at Lāhainā, Māʻalaea Bay and Makena on Maui’s leeward coast.  (HawaiianStamps)

Mahukona, Kawaihae and Hilo were the Big Island’s major ports; Inter-Island served Kona ports, Kaʻū ports and the Hāmākua ports of Kukuihaele, Honokaʻa and Kūkaʻiau.  Wilder served Hilo and the Hāmākua stops at Paʻauhau, Paʻauilo and Laupāhoehoe.

Then, on April 27, 1927, “Mr and Mrs WE Eklund of Hilo are returning home from Maui this morning via airplane. They are passengers on the first commercial airplane trip to be made between the two islands, their pilot being Martin M Jensen.” (Star Bulletin, April 27, 1927)

Jensen was in the Islands as a result of the Dole Derby.  In April 1927, the Hawaiian Pineapple Co began a national advertising campaign, independent of the Association of Hawaiian Pineapple Canners.

The advertisements were centered on the brand name “Dole,” which was stamped in bas-relief on the top of every can of pineapple produced by the company. The advertising was designed to enable consumers to identify the Hawaiian Pineapple Co’s products from other company’s products, no matter what label the can carried.

The advertising campaign was launched in a spectacular way.  At the time, Charles Lindbergh successfully completed his solo flight across the Atlantic, leaving New York and landing at Le Bourget Field, near Paris, on May 21 at 10:21 pm. Thousands of cheering people had gathered to meet him. He had flown more than 3,600 miles in 33 ½ hours.

On May 25, 1927 James D. Dole offered $25,000 to the first flyer to cross from the North American continent to Honolulu, Hawai‘i, in a nonstop flight (second place would receive $10,000.)

Four airplanes were in the race, winging across the Pacific: Aloha, Golden Eagle, Miss Doran and Woolaroc … later, only two landed in Hawai‘i. (Woolaroc  was the first finisher that landed August 17, 1927 at Wheeler Field after a flight of 26 hours, 17 minutes and 33 seconds.)

Honolulu’s Martin Jensen in the Aloha, with Paul Schluter as navigator finished second.  The Aloha was previously christened with a bottle of Waikiki water, complete with Hawaiian singers and hula dancers.

Miss Ruby Smith, an Oakland beauty queen, broke the bottle amidst Hawaiian strains and dances.  Jensen was particularly proud of the painted Hawaiian flower lei which draped comfortably around the plane’s nose.

Unfortunately, the other two contestants were lost, Dole put up a $10,000 reward for anyone finding each of the missing planes. A huge search party was set up, soon swelling to 42 ships and planes.  The search was to no avail.

In Honolulu, the following day, the Star Bulletin carried James Dole’s statement: “Hawaii is on the lips of the world today, in the minds of countless millions of people.”

“Aviation during this year 1927 has definitely brought our own Hawaiian territory closer than ever before into the consciousness of the whole American people.  Time and distance between Hawaii and the Pacific Coast are magically shortened.”

“I feel that this has great practical as well as sentimental value to the people of Hawaii.  Business and commerce, social and civic relations, national and international contacts, are the better served, the more greatly inspired and stimulated.”

“Mrs Walter Eklund, now of Kona, was to become the first woman in Hawaii to make an inter-island trip by commercial plane.  Mr Eklund in May, 1927 persuaded Jensen to give him and his wife a ride in Jensen’s plane from Wailuku, Maui to Hilo.”

“Eklund, manager of the then Von Hamm-Young Motor Co, and his wife crossed the Channel in Jensen’s one-engine Lewis plane, the ‘Malolo.’ They landed on Wainaku baseball field (Ho‘olulu Park) without difficulty.”  (Hawaii Tribune Herald, Nov 3, 1965)

Mr and Mrs Ralph Wilson of Wailuku (he was Von Hamm-Young manager on Maui) took the return flight back to Maui. “‘Mr. Jensen made one little flight to warm up his plane. Again we crawled in, baggage and Mary Louise.  Out hopped directly over the ocean leaving out of sight almost instantly the few who had gathered down to see us take off wondering.’”

“‘Mary Louise looked down at the water, misgivingly, ‘Mother are we, going to fall in the water’ l assured her that the man was holding the plane up, so she cuddled down into my arms and went to sleep.’” (Wilson, HTH May 15, 1927)

“Inter-Island commercial flying, with passenger and mail service, is not far distant. This is the declaration of all who follow the signs of the future, for the prospects for such progress are excellent at this time. An appropriation of $25,000 has been made for the field at Waiakea, and when this is in shape, the last link in inter-island aviation will have been made.” (HTH, May 15, 927)

In 1928, Stanley C Kennedy, a Silver Star Navy pilot, convinced the board of directors of Inter-Island Steam Navigation of the importance of air service to the Territory and formed Inter-Island Airways.

Young Kennedy had visions of flying for many years.  But it was not until the Great War that Stanley Kennedy was to pilot an airplane.  Dissatisfied with a Washington desk job, the naval officer talked his way into flight training in Pensacola, Florida.  In short order, Ensign Kennedy sported wings as Naval Aviator No. 302.  (hawaii-gov)

On November 11, 1929, Inter-Island Airways, Ltd introduced the first scheduled air service in Hawaiʻi with a fleet of two 8-passenger Sikorsky S-38 amphibian airplanes. The first flight from Honolulu to Hilo with stops on Molokai and Maui took three hours, 15 minutes.  (It was later renamed Hawaiian Airlines.) (hawaii-gov)

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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Olopua

Athens was named for goddess Athena after she disputed Poseidon’s claim (he plunged his trident into the ground and unleashed a salt water spring to symbolize his power as god of the sea.)   Athena planted an olive tree, saying that it represented peace and prosperity.

Zeus intervened and asked the other gods and goddesses to settle the matter by deciding who had given them the better gift. All of the gods voted for Poseidon and the goddesses for Athena, but as Zeus abstained, the women’s votes outnumbered the men’s by one, and Athena won.

Today, the olive branch continues as a symbol of peace and prosperity.

Hawaiʻi has an endemic olive, the Olopua (it is found only in Hawaiʻi.)  It belongs to the Oleaceae or Olive family which include olives, as well as forsythia, ash, privet, jasmine and pīkake.

The early Hawaiians had a number of uses for the very durable hard wood. Though it was difficult to work with and they fashioned spears (ihe,) digging sticks (ʻōʻō,) adze handles (ʻau koʻi,) daggers for warfare (pāhoa) and rasps for making fish hooks.

The strong wood was also used for posts, rafters and thatching posts or purlins in house (hale) construction. It was a preferred firewood, as it burned with a hot flame even when green.

Olives were also imported to Hawaiʻi – for its leaf tea, fruit and oil.  Don Francisco de Paula Marin (known to the Hawaiian as “Manini”) was a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.)

Marin was known for his interest in plant collecting and brought in a wide variety of new plants to Hawai‘i.  His gardens were filled with trees, vines and shrubs – including olives.

Another early olive importer was another Kamehameha ally, Captain Alexander Adams (he arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1811;) among other crop plants, he brought olives from California.

Later, attempts were made (and/or encouraged) to expand Hawaiʻi’s agricultural diversity.

“We welcome His Honor Judge Jones back from his trip to Oliva Wainiha, Kauai, whither he went last week to plant olive trees and grape vines on his plantation.”

“We are glad to know that our people are taking a lively interest in the matter of introducing  fruits from abroad, and that a spirit of enterprise has taken hold which, if persevered in, will in due time bring forth good results. Every man should remember that ‘he who causes one more blade of grass to grow is a benefactor,’ and has not lived in vain.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, March 19, 1879)

“We noticed in our last Issue that a number of olive trees in fine condition had been imported by Mr. Bush. We have since learned that they were imported by Mr. Bush for Judge Jones, who has started a new Industry at Wainiha, Kauai.”

“He has a vineyard of 10,000 assorted vines and several hundred olive trees now growing and in a flourishing condition. We understand that be intends to add yearly to the number of his olives and vines, and for that purpose the late importation was made.”  (Pacific Commercial, March 6, 1880)

Then a newspaper article raised an interesting perspective, “In Southern California at the present time there are 2,500,000 olive trees, and the product of these trees is in ever increasing demand. The trees yield to the owner from three to seven dollars each, according to age.”

“The California pickled olive is gaining in favor in the East and is competing strongly with the olives from the Mediterranean seaboard, the fruit from the Pacific Slope being of finer quality. If Southern California can raise olives, undoubtedly the Hawaiian islands can.”  (Hawaiian Star, March 11, 1898)

Some took on the challenge, “Some years ago olives were grown up on this Island and shown to be a practical success. The trees were sturdy although not scientifically grown and bore fruit that an expert from Greece stated to be superior to any grown in Ionia.”

“’The trees were first planted by Judge Jones,’ said John Emmeluth this morning ‘and afterwards came into my hands. The growing of olives seems to be satisfactory and easy enough in these islands but in this instance were not properly looked after in the Initiatory stages of their growth.’”  (Hawaiian Star, December 16, 1901)

“From my observation it takes about twelve years for the trees to bear, a long time for the small farmer to wait for his profits, but It must be remembered that the trees can be cultivated as a subsidiary Issue for the first few years and that they will grow on the rocky uplands that could not be cleared and used for ordinary crops.”

“The greatest trouble we experienced and on which among other causes finally stopped the growing of olives was the destruction of the fruit by the birds, the trees flowered readily and if, as soon as the olive showed in fruitage, I covered the branch with netting and kept off the depredations of the birds, the fruit yield was most satisfactory.”

“I don’t think it was the mynahs that did the damage but rather the small rice birds that roosted in the branches over night and made their breakfasts on my young olives in the morning.  I imagine that they have similar troubles elsewhere and have found means of counteracting the difficulty. I think that there is little doubt but what the olive could he grown here successfully and profitably.” (Hawaiian Star, December 16, 1901)

Reportedly, Eben Parker Low planted olive trees around his hometown of Waimea on the Island of Hawaiʻi around 1895.

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