Economy | Page 230 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

May 8, 2015 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Pualani Mossman

“They say she is the most photographed girl in the Islands …”

“(I)f you are really lucky … If you are one of those of whom refreshing and enchanting things sometimes happen. You will have wandered into the Hawaiian Room at the Lexington and seen her dance those ancient native hulas of Hawaii.”

“You will have hailed the first passing waiter and inquired her name. Let me beat the waiter to it. Let me tell you her name. It is Pualani, which in the land beyond old Diamond Head means ‘Flower of Heaven.’“ (Tucker, Man About Manhattan, June 14, 1938)

Pualani Mossman was born on April 16, 1916 in Honolulu. She began to work at the age of six in her father’s (George Paele Mossman) various Hawaiian ventures, which included ‘ukulele manufacturing and a Hawaiian language school. (Imada)

In 1932, her father opened the Lalani Village in Waikiki with demonstrations of traditional crafts, music and lūʻau as a way of preserving and teaching what he termed “Hawaiian lore that is fast vanishing.”

The family operation included every member of Mossman’s immediate family: his wife, Emma; several sons; and three daughters: Leilani, Piʻilani, and Pualani. Mossman and her sisters performed and taught hula.

Pualani was known for her “Volcano hula” dance, the highlight of the show. She would dance alone on a raised platform with another performer blowing fire and lighting a model of a volcano.

In 1934, Mossman was originally tapped by the Hawaiʻi Tourist Bureau to star in “Song of the Islands,” the first color movie made in Hawaiʻi, intended to promote tourism. After the film, she started modeling.

In 1937, Matson Navigation sent Mossman to New York City to be photographed for the company’s national advertising campaign. She became known as the “Matson Girl,” appearing in Life, Time and Fortune magazines.

“If you opened a major national magazine in those years it is very likely you would have seen Pualani in a Matson ad.” (Brown; Wilson) She was the face of Hawaiʻi in national travel advertisements.

“That photo appeared all over the country and was everywhere in New York City, even a year later. My, that was exciting, to be the Hawaiian poster girl.” (Mossman; Ryan)

For more than 50 years, Pualani Mossman epitomized the image of a Hawaiian hula dancer as the original poster girl for Matson cruises and the Hawaii Visitors Bureau. (Gee)

After the Hawaiian Room opened in the Hotel Lexington in New York City, Mossman, Meymo Ululani Holt, Mapuana Bishaw and Jennie Napua Woodd were dancers there – they were known as the “Aloha Maids.”

There, Mossman met her future husband, Randy Avon Sr, the hotel’s chief accountant; they married in 1939. The couple returned to Hawaiʻi for a few years, then relocated to Florida in 1950 where she taught hula.

Mossman was one of the most active fighters for statehood in Washington, DC, in the early-1950s. Her family later endowed the University of Hawaii with funds to perpetuate the Hawaiian language and traditions. (Ryan)

Pualani Mossman Avon’s hands symbolized the wind and the flowers when she danced and were like the song she inspired: “Graceful as birds in motion, gliding like gulls over the ocean.”

Mossman spent her last 55 years in Florida. She continued to dance hula and spread aloha well into her 80s, performing at senior-citizen centers during visits to Hawaiʻi and with Hawaiian entertainers appearing in South Florida. She died on May 8, 2006 in Palm Bay, Florida.

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Pualani Mossman Avon, Hawaii Statehood promotion-PP-33-5-034-1947

Pualani Mossman – the Matson Girl-1937

Pualani Mossman-Matson

‘Aloha Maids’–Jennie Napua Wood, Pualani Mossman, and Mapuana Bishaw-HawaiianRoom-1938

Pualani Mossman-Hotel Lexington-Hawaiian Room

Pualani Mossman dancing the hula at Lalani Village, Waikiki-PP-33-1-017-1935

Hula dancers-Pualani Mossman, Leilani Mossman, Piilani Mossman

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May 7, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Barnum of the Pacific

Abraham Fernandez was a merchant, serving as Manager/Treasurer of Hawaiian Hardware Company (1903.)

He joined the Mormon Church in 1895, after a missionary blessed and miraculously healed his daughter. Fernandez went on to serve in many Church leadership positions in Hawaiʻi, as well as hosting missionaries and visiting authorities at his home in Kalihi.

Fernandez Street, in Kalihi is named for this full-blooded Hawaiian man. He was born in 1857 to a woman named Kalama Mahoe and adopted by her second husband, Peter Fernandez.

Abraham was appointed to the Privy Council by Queen Liliʻuokalani. His wife Minerva Davis Fernandez was one of the few people allowed to visit the Queen while she was imprisoned in ʻIolani Palace following the overthrow; they baptized the Queen into the Mormon faith just a few years later.

On July 16, 1907, Fernandez was one of the petitioners joining Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaʻole for the formation of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I.

Later advertisements note the company Abraham Fernandez & Son (Importers and Dealers in Agricultural Implements (1911.)) But, it’s the son noted in the family firm’s name that is the subject of this summary, and the company he formed that carried his name.

“Eddie” followed the family in their faith and attended Brigham Young University, Utah, that school’s first Native Hawaiian enrollee (1903.)

He, reportedly, was also called “Keiki Kiʻi Oniʻoni” (the moving picture kid;) he went to plantation camps and entertained workers by projecting scenic silent films onto bed sheets. He later set up an open-air theater in his back yard and charged admission (his films were later projected in the local theaters.)

He later branched out to “talkies,” fairs, carnivals, circuses, rodeos, stage shows, burlesque, boxing matches, bullfights and any other attraction he thought would draw a crowd.

Eddie held his first circus and carnival in Honolulu at Aʻala Park in 1915, with 20-performers and six acts. The star attraction was “Alice Teddy.” (Alice Teddy played other Hawaiʻi venues, as well.)

“(I)t was ‘Alice Teddy,’ a 400-pound wrestling and skating bear who beckoned Fernandez into the circus world. He brought the bear over to the islands from Los Angeles as an added attraction to his movies.”

“‘She stole the show.’ he said. ‘Most of the people had never seen a bear before, and the shows were packed. It was then that I decided to bring a circus to Hawaiʻi.’”

“To prepare for the venture, Fernandez traveled with the Ringling Circus, watching and absorbing everything he could about putting on a big show.” (The Daily Telegram, May 21, 1969)

By the end of World War II, Eddie (Edwin Kane ‘EK’ Fernandez,) was being called “the Barnum of the Pacific,” and EK Fernandez Shows “crossed the Pacific with tents, elephants and ice-making equipment to transport entertainment to Guam, Tokyo, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, Java and Shanghai.” (The Daily Telegram, May 21, 1969)

The company’s first amusement ride was a steam-powered merry-go-round called a Flying Jenny, which EK Fernandez introduced at the Maui County Fair in 1915.

The first elephant at the Honolulu Zoo was named Daisy (1916) and was one of the elephants that came to Hawaiʻi to perform in an EK Fernandez show.

He produced Honolulu’s first circus, imported Hawai‘i’s first ice show, first bullfight, first boxing match and first rodeo.

Rose and Margaret Nearing were a balancing wire act brought to Hawaiʻi by EK Fernandez in 1927. In 1930, the 18-year-old Rose was crowned Miss Oʻahu.

Margaret went on to make motion pictures in Hollywood. Rose remained in Hawaiʻi and, in 1933, became Mrs EK Fernandez.

Eddie Fernandez was a Punahou graduate. But his professional association with the school began in 1936 with a carnival that had one ride — a Merry-Go-Round. (Today, the Punahou Carnival is the company’s biggest two-day attraction, drawing more than 30,000 people per day.)

Some of the most famous acts to perform in an EK Fernandez production were the Flying Wallendas and their seven-person aerial pyramid, the wild animal trainer Clyde Beatty, and the famous clown Emmett Kelly.

In 1949 EK Fernandez signed an exclusive agreement with the Honolulu Junior Chamber of Commerce to operate the “49th State Fair,” even though Hawai’i was still a territory. (After Alaska got there first, the name was promptly changed to the “50th State Fair.”

Today, EK Fernandez Shows is a locally-owned, third-generation family business that operates a large assortment of kiddie rides, family rides, thrill rides and spectaculars. (Lots of information here is from EK Fernandez, Wood and Foley.)

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Eddie Fernandez Shows-TGI-Nov_7,_1922

EK_FErnandez-in back (Duke)

Early Poster-1950-(HnlAdv)

Early Poster-(HnlAdv)

All-American_Rodeo-(HnlAdv)

George & Carrie Crapsey and wife Carrie, with Alice Teddy

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EK Fernandez & Elephant

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Clyde Beatty appeared with lions and tigers in the 1940s-(HnlAdv)

Bathing beauties on a fire truck advertised a 1948-49 E.K. Fernandez circus.-(HnlAdv)

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EK Fernandez Shows

Flying_Wallendas-7-person_pyramid-(image not from Hawaii)

Emmett_Kelly-circus clown

April 27, 2015 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ralph Sheldon Hosmer

“The forests and timber growing therein, shall be considered as government property, and under the special care of the minister of the interior, who may from time to time convert the products thereof into money for the benefit of government.”

Thus, through King Kamehameha III’s Act No. 2, Chapter III, Article I, Chapter VI, Section VII of April 27, 1846, ‘forestry’ began in Hawaiʻi.

Around 1870, Henry Perrin Baldwin of Maui, “had systematically planted blocks of forests on his lands on the lower slopes of Mount Haleakalā” with several hundred thousand koa, eucalyptus, ironwood, silk oak, cedar and Java plum trees. (anderson)

On the continent, on November 30, 1900, seven foresters formed the Society of American Foresters (Mr Gifford Pinchot, Mr Overton Price, Mr William Hall, Mr Ralph Hosmer, Mr Thomas Sherrard, Mr ET Allen and Mr Henry Graves.) Today, it’s the largest professional organization for foresters in the world.

On May 13, 1903, the Territory of Hawaiʻi, with the backing of the Hawaiʻi Sugar Planters’ Association, established the Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and Forestry. (HDOA)

The next year, Ralph Sheldon Hosmer (one of the Society founders) became the first Superintendent of Forestry in the Islands.

Hosmer, son and grandson of Unitarian ministers, was born on March 4, 1874 in Deerfield Massachusetts. (The Hosmer family first came from Kent, England to Boston in 1635, then settled in Concord in 1637.) His mother’s side of the family (Julia West (Sheldon) Hosmer (of the Williams family)) went to Deerfield in the Connecticut Valley about 1650. (Maunder)

After completing his preparatory education, two years of which were at the Boston Latin School, he entered Harvard University from which he was graduated in 1894.

His first government position was with the US Department of Agriculture Division of Soils from May 1896, to November 1898. In the latter year, he became interested in Forestry and transferred his activities to the Division of Forestry.

His early work in the field was spent principally in the Adirondacks and the White Mountains. After several years, Hosmer took a leave of absence to attend the newly established Yale School of Forestry, obtaining his Master of Forestry Degree in 1902. He was a member of the first class to be graduated from this School.

Shortly after, Hosmer left for Hawaiʻi to fill the Superintendent position.

On December 30, 1913 that Ralph Hosmer of Newton Massachusetts was married to Jessie Nash Irwin; their three children were born on the continent: David Irwin, Jane Sheldon (Mrs. Robert Hall Llewellyn), and Emily Francis (Mrs. Marc Daniels)

From 1908 to 1914 he was chairman of the Territorial Conservation Committee of Hawaiʻi, and from 1907 to 1914, vice-president of the Board of Regents of the College of Hawaiʻi. (Harvard)

A lasting legacy of Hosmer is the result of his implementation of the Forest Reserve System, created by the Territorial Government of Hawai’i through Act 44 on April 25, 1903.

With Hawai‘i’s increase in population, expanding ranching industry, and extensive agricultural production of sugarcane and later pineapple, early territorial foresters recognized the need to protect mauka (upland) forests to provide the necessary water requirements for the lowland agriculture demands and surrounding communities. (DOFAW)

After more than a century of massive forest loss and destruction, the Territory of Hawai‘i acknowledged that preservation of the forest was vital to the future economic prosperity of the Islands.

Urged by sugarcane growers and government foresters concerned about the vanishing woodlands, the forest reserve system became the basis for the largest public-private partnership in the history of the Islands. (Last Stand)

Hosmer considered “nine-tenths of the forest proposition of Hawaiʻi forest protection problem,” arguing, “What is needed is simply to leave the forest alone, keeping man and animals out.”

While forest reserves were important watersheds, their boundaries were drawn “so as not to interfere with revenue-producing lands,” and such lands were not generally thought to be useful for agriculture. (hawaii-edu)

Hosmer’s second priority was to explore the opportunities for planting trees on eroding hillsides where the native forest did not regenerate and to experiment with trees of value for lumber, fuel, posts, bridge timbers and other uses. Except for the endemics koa and ʻōhiʻa, none of the native tree species were considered valuable for commercial purposes.

Hosmer believed that the forest reserves were useful for two primary purposes: water production for the Territory’s agricultural industries, and timber production to meet the growing demand for wood products. The forest reserve system, he said, should not lead to “the locking up from economic use of a certain forest area.”

Even in critical watersheds the harvesting of old trees “is a positive advantage, in that it gives the young trees a chance to grow, while at the same time producing a profit from the forests. (LRB)

A main concern was finding an alternative to importing redwood and Douglas-fir from California for construction timbers. In 1904 the government nursery was asked to grow timber tree species instead of its usual ornamental, flowering trees (pines, cypress, cedar and Douglas fir.) (Anderson)

“The diminishing supply of wood and timber on the American mainland, the consequent rise in price of all wood products, the local need for wood suitable for fence posts, railroad ties, bridge timbers and the like, not to speak of general construction timber and the necessity for a cheap fuel supply–that already in some districts is a serious problem – all point to the wisdom of tree planting.” (Hosmer; LRB)

Hosmer held the Superintendent position until 1914, when he became Professor of Forestry and head of the Department of Forestry at New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, a position he held until his retirement in June 1942. Hosmer died July 20, 1962 in Ithaca New York.

At the time of his resignation from service in Hawaiʻi, 37-areas had been designated forest reserve and acreage had grown from zero to 800,000-acres. The territory had set aside 550,000-acres, and private lands had contributed 260,000-acres.

Another legacy is the Hosmer Grove, located just inside the main entrance to Haleakalā National Park on Maui, at about 6,800-feet in elevation. It features many of the non-native species Hosmer experimented with. It also has a campground and picnic area (with picnic tables, barbecue grills, drinking water, and toilets.)

Charles S Judd, who succeeded Hosmer, was Hawaiʻi born and descended from the early missionary, Gerrit P Judd. He took over in 1914 and followed Hosmer’s lead in designating reserve areas. By 1930, more than 1,000,000-acres had been set aside. (Robinson)

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Hosmer-Grove-Campground-Picnic-NOS

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Forest Reserves-2014

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April 23, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

The King vs Greenwell

“The whipping of servants or laborers is not justifiable under the laws of this Kingdom.”

“Where the hurt of injury inflicted is of a severe or dangerous character, and the efficient cause of death, although there be a predisposing condition of the body, without which it would not have been fatal, it is, nevertheless, a killing by means of such hurt or injury.”

The King vs HN Greenwell, Indicted For Murder in the Second Degree (Hawaiʻi Reports; Supreme Court, 1853)

“This case was called on for trial and parties answering they were ready, accused was arraigned and plead not guilty and … jurors were drawn from the list sent in by the British Consul General, accused being a British subject.”

“(A) Chinaman (Salai) had run away … and the Chinaman was down and Mr Greenwell was beating him with his fists … he knocked the Chinaman down, … and he then kicked him, and the Chinaman got up and sat down, and Mr. Greenwell reached a piece of iron that was lying on the top of a barrel and struck the Chinaman between the shoulders…”

“(T)he day the Chinaman died he brought him back into his own room, the first day he tied him up, the second day he beat him, and the third day he died, they gave him nothing to eat or drink not even a drink of water”. (Polynesian, January 8, 1853)

Henry Nicholas Greenwell arrived in Hawaiʻi on January 20, 1850. He worked as an agent for HJH Holdsworth in his importing and retail business, and opened a branch of the business at Kailua (Kona) in September of 1850. (Kona Echo, April 1, 1950; Melrose, Kinue)

Later, Greenwell store was built around 1851 at Kalukalu (Kealakekua, near Konawaena High School) and originally served as a store and post office. (Greenwell also served as the area’s postmaster as well as the area’s general merchandiser.)

Greenwell started to buy land, gradually acquired extensive land holdings, and got into the cattle, sheep, coffee and orange business on a large scale. (In 1879, he acquired the lease on Keauhou from Dr Georges Trousseau.)

“It is said by the learned counsel for the defense, that there has not been a killing, because though Salai was severely whipped, yet he did not die from this or any other inflicted injury, but in the due course of nature, from long sickness and from his own voluntary exposure for several nights, without food or raiment, to the rain, cold and hunger in the forest.”

“Or at the most, the whipping would not have proved fatal, had it not been for the previous sickness, and exposure; and that where the death is occasioned partly by injuries and partly by predisposing circumstances, it is impossible to apportion the operations of the several causes…”

“… and to say with certainty that the death was occasioned by any of them in particular, and consequently you cannot find a killing from the whipping or other bruises, and the prisoner is entitled to an acquittal.”

“However feeble the condition of Salai may have been, and however short, the tenure of his life, if you find that the whipping, or any other injury inflicted by the accused, was the means of accelerating the death of deceased, then the killing is made out, and Greenwell must answer for it, unless he can show a legal justification for inflicting the punishment.”

“If you should find that the whipping or other injuries did not hasten or accelerate the death, then there is no killing, and your verdict should be not guilty.”

“But if you should find that there was a killing, the next question to determine will be, whether the accused is justified in inflicting the punishment complained of.”

“The whipping of servants or laborers is a custom not tolerated by the laws of this country, and the plea of necessity, which is urged in its behalf, when applied to coolies and natives, is without foundation in law, and totally opposed to freedom and humanity.”

“The next inquiry, should you find the killing, is, was it committed with malice aforethought? … Whoever kills another without malice aforethought, under the sudden impulse of passion, excited by provocation or other adequate cause, by the party killed, of a nature tending to disturb the judgment and mental faculties, and weaken the possession of self-control of the killing party, is not guilty of murder, but manslaughter.”

“The whipping was clearly an unlawful act, and if you shall be of the opinion that it was the efficient cause of the death or accelerated it, then, even though there was no malice, it is manslaughter.” (Hawaiʻi Reports; Supreme Court, 1853)

Several witnesses were called.

Cummings, the Deputy Sheriff for Hawaiʻi, noted, “I was present when the body of Salai was examined at the inquest … we examined the body very closely, there was a small space on the left breast and down the middle of the back not much bruised …”

“… but on his right thigh and side was a large bruise, and below that was a smaller one, on the left thigh was another dark place across the hip; below the small of the back, were several marks as though he might have been struck by a whip …”

“… the left arm was considerably bruised near the wrist a discoloration, the left hand was swollen and two marks across the back, and in a small place the skin was off probably the size of a rial. I saw the deceased before he was buried and saw nothing unnatural.”

Shultz noted, “(Salai) was sick at the time, and Mr Greenwell did not allow him to do heavy work; he was given work close by the house, so as to escape rain. His health improved … on Friday the same day he ran away again, he stole some of the Coolies clothes…”

Choo stated, “the day the Chinaman died he brought him back into his own room, the first day he tied him up, the second day he beat him, and the third day he died, they gave him nothing to eat or drink not even a drink of water”. (Polynesian, January 8, 1853)

The matter was handed over to the jury.

“The jury after an absence of half an hour returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty.” (Hawaiʻi Reports; Supreme Court, 1853)

The image shows Henry Nicholas Greenwell.

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April 21, 2015 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Hilo Yacht Club

While the Club’s website suggests it formed in 1913, the January 20, 1897 issue of Pacific Commercial Advertiser noted, “The past week has recorded another innovation in Hilo the organization of the Hilo Yacht Club …”

It will “aim to encourage aquatic sports and athletics. The initiatory meeting was held on Saturday evening, the 9th (1897)… Within five days the membership roll included 75 names…”

The original site of the Club was the CC Kennedy home built before 1900 and situated near Reeds Bay. The Club maintained a small boat house and several boats to support the lively interest in competitive rowing. During the early years the Club entered rowing competitions in both Hilo and Honolulu against Honolulu rowing crews.

By 1919 the growth and success of the Club prompted members to begin a drive to replace the Kennedy house. Likewise, members concerned with the potential liability from the Club’s indebtedness wanted the protection of the corporation and incorporation was accomplished on December 18, 1919.

Then, expansion took place.

“Architect Davis of the firm Ripley & Davis is preparing plans for the Hilo Yacht Club building, which is to be erected on the Cocoanut Island side of the Hilo Wharf. There is much enthusiasm among the members of the newly formed club and all are anxious to get into their club quarters.” (Star-bulletin, August 16, 1913)

On September 10, 1937 the Yacht Club’s lease came up for renewal. Charles C Pietsch, a prominent Honolulu realtor, outbid the Yacht Club trustees after spirited bidding.

The Inter-Island Steamship Company, the Hilo Hotel and Doris Duke Cromwell were among the possible interested parties.

By April 1938, the community learned that a group of Hilo businessmen headed by Senator WH “Doc” Hill, a Yacht Club member, was negotiating a lease from Pietsch for the purpose of building the Naniloa Hotel.

Having lost the lease, the Hilo Yacht Club, in 1939, moved, again, relocated and renovated the Keaukaha home of Frank Harlocker, on 2.84-acres. (Wilson)

Frank Arakawa, county architect, was hired to draw up plans and specifications for a combination dance pavilion and badminton court, a bar room, alterations to the former Harlocker home and a swimming pool and bathhouse.

The Clubhouse included the new pavilion and the former Harlocker home. The remodeled home included a reception room, dining room, kitchen, ladies’ dressing room, and men’s smoking room.

In 1939 the Club membership included: 106-resident members, 21-lady members, two-junior members, four-life members, one-honorary member and 66-nonresident members.

Just before 7 am on April 1, 1946 a devastating tsunami hit the Island of Hawaiʻi; the water rose up to the level of the steps. Staff was able to escape by the back roads the tsunami washed away all buildings on the site of the Yacht Club.

A bathhouse was quickly rebuilt at the swimming pool, and by July the swimming pool was reopened. The Clubhouse was not so easily restored. The Yacht Club made arrangements with the Girl Scouts to use their clubhouse (until 1949 when the present clubhouse was completed.)

I recently attended a function at the Hilo Yacht Club; unlike prior days (with a ‘boathouse’ and ‘several boats,’) there were no boats in sight.

It seems the mission of organizing a ‘social club’ promoting ‘other’ pastimes is being fulfilled.

The club website notes, “The recreational focal point of the Club is the spacious ocean view pool enjoyed throughout the year. For those who prefer outdoor sports, the club maintains three tennis courts, a black sand volleyball court and a new Fitness Center.”

A recent Club newsletter notes current membership includes: 511-resident members, 38-allied members, 20-honorary members and 55-nonresident members (624-total.) (Lots of information and images from Hilo Yacht Club.)

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