Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mōʻiliʻili Skeletons

This story raised more questions than answers.  It related to a Honolulu Advertiser story published on April 24, 1926.  It asks, “What mysteries will the skeletons of Mōʻiliʻili reveal …?”

In part, it notes theories by historian WD Alexander, who suggests, “it is nearly certain that there were two distinct periods of emigration to these Islands.”

“The first settler must have arrived in the very ancient times, as the discovery of human bones under ancient coral beds and lava flows.  Judge Fornander estimates that these Islands were inhabited as early as 500 BC.”

At Mōʻiliʻili, the paper notes that, “Skeletons that may be thirty centuries old, have just been uncovered from the encompassing layers of brown sand, still in a remarkable sate of preservation, the skulls intact, not a tooth missing.”

“And some of the skeletons are reported by the discoverers to have been found in a standing position. Above the sand is a top soil from a score to 50 feet in depth. Below, in the sand strata, 15 feet below the top soil, the skeletons were found a few days ago.”

We know that during the island’s formative stage, the sea level was more than 25 feet higher than its present level.  This is estimated to have happened during the Sangamon Interglacial Stage (the Pleistocene Epoch). In Hawai‘i, folks refer to this as the Waimanalo High Sea Stand around the island about 120,000 years ago.

This period of sea level elevation is responsible for the deposit of fossil reef limestone (and, thus, some sand) in southern coastal Oʻahu, including up to the region we now know as Mōʻiliʻili.

The weathering and erosion of Oahu’s dormant volcanoes, the Waianae and Koʻolau, paired with the rise and retrieval of the sea level resulted in the formation of “interbedded marine and terrestrial deposits”.

So, sand in Mōʻiliʻili is not unexpected.  But the news report adds a peculiarity … “How does it happen that this sand is different from any other sand found on Oahu, unlike the Waianae sand or the sands from the beaches?”

“How does it happen that this sand  is similar to the standard Ottawa sand, and one of the best known to builders? From this sand bank ton upon ton is being excavated and transported to the city of Honolulu and is being incorporated in some of the great new structures rising all over under the impetus of the new building activity”?

Back to the skeletons … “Those who have seen these skulls are intrigued by the belief that they do not resemble the usual type of Hawaiian skull, in that their contour is practically perfect, suggesting a pure Aryan origin. No marble figure of the Greek has a more perfect head that that found in the Mōʻiliʻili sand strata.”

“Some. Hawaiians, threading back into the ancient and misty past, and clinging to the thought that the Hawaiians came out of the ‘place of the dawn,’ or the rising sun, believe in the possibility of a migration from the western continental hemispheres, possibly Aztec, possibly Inca Origin …”

“… and with this trend of thought presented it is easy to build up an ethnological mosaic that would hark back to the area of the continent of Atlantis, [peopled] by those of the farther east, and after all, clinging still to that trend, the origin could be traced to the shadow of the pyramids.”

“The startling fact was revealed that one has was found whose sightless eye orifices faced, apparently, to the east, toward the rising sun, the ‘Kahiki’ of the Hawaiians, their ‘place of dawn’ …”

“… for even the Hawaiians, in their legends and their ancient chants handed down, generation to generation by the bards, ‘word-of-mouth-narratives’ expressed a theory of having come from ‘out of the dawn – the east.’”

Having said that, the Star Bulletin came out with a following statement from the Bishop museum where they reported, that while “Members of the staff have not examined the skeletons …”

“In the absence of definitive proofs of extreme age, scientists of the Bishop Museum are not inclined to ascribe special importance to the finding of several skeletons at the Mōʻiliʻili quarry”.

“‘As far as the location of the burials is concerned,’ says Dr Herbert E Gregory, director of the Bishop Museum, ‘they do not indicate any great lapse of time.  They are not found at any great depth.’” (SB, April 27, 1926)

No further reporting was found in the old newspapers about the Mōʻiliʻili skeletons; however, it seems questions remain (a burning one for relates to why the burials were in ‘a standing position’).

(A prior post on the Mōʻiliʻili Karst noted the eroded limestone caves under Mōʻiliʻili: https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/moiliili-karst-moiliili-water-cave/)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Inter-Island Hula Contest

David and Lydia Bray sought to reinsert hula into everyday public life.  A group of influential Hawaiians – a princess, a famed hula dancer, and a composer – gathered at a Honolulu home in 1919 to judge a private hula performance.

The Brays, a young Hawaiian couple who were dancers themselves, had staged this unofficial “hula trial.”  They sought to address the question, Was hula truly vulgar and vile? All we know is that girls from the ages of eight to fourteen presented their hula repertoire before the panel.

At the end of the presentation, the judges conferred and delivered a “not guilty” verdict. The hula was clean; its practitioners should not fear performing before Hawaiian and American audiences. (Imada)

For many Hawaiian women, hula presented a dream ticket out of Hawai‘i, promising fame, glamour, and middle-class status difficult for them to achieve in the plantation and service industries. Hula dancers could earn between fifty and one hundred dollars a week, compared with four to ten dollars a week in the pineapple canneries.

Talent recruiters from the US continent took advantage of the ample labor pool in the islands. Orchestra leaders, Hollywood film studios, and American nightclubs periodically scouted for dancers in Hawai‘i, where women often faced stiff competition for coveted hula contracts. (Imada)

Then, in 1938, sponsored by Hollywood’s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) and the Hawai‘i-based Consolidated Amusement Company, the “Inter-Island Hula Contest” sought to crown a “hula queen.”

In the “greatest hula contest ever staged in the Islands,” nearly five hundred young Hawaiian women competed for the title for more than a month, going through several rounds of competition. Each hoped to win the grand prize: a trip to Hollywood and a chance at stardom in the United States.

On almost every island, audiences followed the competition with great enthusiasm, buying tickets for preliminary rounds held at movie theaters and rooting for their favorites.

On Friday nights on O‘ahu, local people attended elimination rounds at the Hawai‘i Theater and indicated by applause their choices of finalists. (Imada)

In September 1938 five finalists from five different islands gathered in Honolulu for a “Hula-Nui Nite” (Big Hula Nite).  Finalists were Keahi Bright, Oahu; Rita Lum Ho, Maui; Dorothy K Dudoit, Molokai; Ethel Moniz, Hawaii and Kealoha Holt, Kauai.  In an overflowing theater, a board of judges crowned the contestant from Kauai, Alice Kealoha Pauole Holt, “Hula Queen.”

Holt was born on February 10, 1919 into a life of modest means with a lineage directly tied to the royal families of Hawai‘i. Her introduction to the world of movies came by way of MGM, who sponsored the event, and sent her to Hollywood to play the part of the native dancer in the movie Honolulu with Robert Young and Eleanor Powell.  (IMDb)

Holt subsequently passed her MGM screen test in Hollywood and spent three months there, touring as an “ambassador of good will” and dancing in the American stage and film productions of Honolulu.

Holt may have been MGM Studio’s only official “Hula Queen,” but she was only one of a generation of Hawaiian women who began leaving Hawai‘i in the 1930s for the US continent. (Imada)

“Hollywood knew Hawaii’s brightest and best hula dancer, Kealoha Holt, for a brief few months, before the young lady suffered pangs of homesickness and returned to the islands.” (SB, Sep 30, 1939)

American nightclubs and showrooms packaged hula as middlebrow American entertainment, and hula dancers joined circuits that routed them between Hawai‘i and Manhattan. Hula became the ticket out of Hawai‘i for many women, promising fame and glamour in the United States. (Imada)

“And now, the newest crop of hula dancers, singers and musicians are in New York .… Most of the girls, in long letters home, write of their longing for Hawaii. Some, like Kealoha Holt, just pack up and return.”

“Their jobs pay from $75 to top prices of $100 a week. They put on three shows a night, six nights a week. They usually live at the hotel where they work, or in apartments adjoining night clubs where they are featured. … They pick up pin money making recordings, if they sing; posing for advertising, teaching the hula to patrons.”

“Today, with Hawaii’s good will emissaries stationed in strategic centers such as San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago and New York, synthetic shimmies of yesterday are giving way to real Hawaiian hulas.”

“These singing and dancing islanders who invade mainland night spots provide splendid advertising for Hawaii.  They take with them the charm and grace of an island paradise where two thirds of America longs to visit. They are fresh and blood representatives of a South Seas island lure of which escapists dream.”  (MacDonald, SB, Sep 30, 1939)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hilo Fire Department

When arguing against a legislative budget appropriation for fire equipment for Hilo, a representative rationalized that, “it never got dry enough in Hilo for a fire.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, Oct 18, 1890)

However, others saw that “Hilo needs a hook and ladder company at once”. (Hawaiian Gazette. Jan 17, 1888) “… but since then no one seems to feel any interest in the matter.  Insurance must be higher here than it would otherwise be, as there is no protection against fire.” (PCA, Nov 29, 1888)

During the 1890 legislative session, Rep. Nawahi moved to insert $5,000 “to provide fire apparatus for Hilo” into the budget.  “Rep Brown said $5,000 wouldn’t build the house for the engine let alone buy the engine.  A good engine costs from $10,000 to $15,000.”

“The only way to have a fire department is to organize it, and to do that you must pass an Act.  Therefore instead of putting this in the Appropriation Bill it had better go to a select committee.”  They were told, “Without a law authorizing the organization of a fire department nothing can be done.”

“Rep Lucas stood out numerous calls of ‘question,’ and said that $4,000 or $5,000 would be enough.  A very good hand machine could be got for $2,000 to $3,000. The Item passed.”  (PCA, Aug 2, 1890)

On January 9, 1893 Lili‘uokalani approved an act that, “There shall be a Fire Department for the town of Hilo, on the Island of Hawaii, which shall consist of a Chief Engineer, not over two assistants, and as many firemen as may be approved by the Board of Representatives of the Department duly chosen as by its by-laws”.

“Any person may be a member of the Fire Department of Hilo by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members of any fire company to which such person shall have applied, provided always, that such person shall not be a vagrant or disorderly person, and shall not have been convicted of any felony which shall not have been pardoned.” (Evening Bulletin, Jan 26, 1893)

On July 27, 1893, “The first election for chief engineer of the Hilo fire department … was held in the court-house … Daniel Porter, Clerk of the third and fourth circuit court, was elected chief for two years and A Wall assistant engineer for the same period.”

“Now that the organization is complete, and the Hilo fire department an accomplished fact, it is expected that the property-owners about the town will take more interest it its welfare and assist the fire company by making donations to its building fund. And by joining the Provisional government to enlarge and improve our water works system.”

“A movement is on foot to establish a hose company among the native Hawaiians, and a meeting was held at the court house, August 1st, to effect arrangements of the organization.” (Hawaiian Gazette, August 15, 1893)

Although initially volunteer firefighters, “Members of the Fire Department who shall have been in the active performance of their duties for at least a year … shall be exempt for the payment of poll, school and road tax in each year.” (Evening Bulletin, Jan 26, 1893)

Later that year, Andrew Brown, chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners in Honolulu, purchased the bell “which has so long occupied a position in the Bell Tower [of the Mechanic’s Engineer Company No. 2]; and after having it cleaned and its fittings painted … present[ed] it to the Hilo Fire Department.” (Hawaiian Star, Sep 4, 1893)

By 1899, “Chief Engineer Vannatta has had but little actual fire-fighting to engage in but he keeps the department ‘up to date’ in drill and discipline.” (Godfrey)

Steam Fire Engine Co., No. 1 was the first fire station and was located at the corner of Waianuenue Avenue and Kekaulike Street.  A steamer and hose wagon were located in the new station.

“Wood was used to fire the boiler, which produced steam to run the fire pump. By 1910 the Hilo Volunteer Fire Department had 60 members and responded to 11 fire calls that year. Additional equipment in service included a chemical wagon mounted on a car and a second car was used to tow the steam engine.”

“During 1919 the first motorized apparatus, a 750 gpm Seagraves engine was placed in service. The first career firefighters were hired in 1924 and included William Todd the first paid chief, an assistant chief, drivers, and hosemen; seven personnel total.”

“The career service was supplemented by volunteers, which continue in service today. In 1927 the second motorized apparatus was purchased, which was a 1,000 gpm Seagraves.”

“During 1931, 12 additional personnel were hired, and in 1937 a third engine was placed in service. Emergency medical service (EMS) was added to the department in 1972 with the first two firefighters trained as emergency medical technicians (EMTs).” (Robert A Burke)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Feast

271 hogs, 482 large calabashes of poi, 602 chickens, 3 whole oxen, 2 barrels salt pork, 2 barrels biscuit, 3,125 salt fish, 1,820 fresh fish, 12 barrels luau and cabbages, 4 barrels onions, 80 bunches bananas, 55 pineapples, 10 barrels potatoes, 55 ducks, 82 turkeys, 2,245 coconuts, 4,000 heads of taro, 180 squid, oranges, limes, grapes and various fruits.

But we are already getting ahead of ourselves, let’s look back.

On April 25, 1825, Richard Charlton arrived in the Islands to serve as the first British consul. A former sea captain and trader, he was already familiar with the islands of the Pacific and had promoted them in England for their commercial potential (he worked for the East India Company in the Pacific as early as 1821.)

Charlton had been in London during Kamehameha II’s visit in 1824 and secured an introduction to the king and his entourage.  By the time he arrived in Hawai‘i in 1825, instructions had already arrived from Kamehameha II that Charlton was to be allowed to build a house, or houses, any place he wished and should be made comfortable.  This apparently was due to favors Charlton had done for the royal party.  (Hawaiʻi State Archives)

In 1840, Charlton made a claim for several parcels of land in Honolulu. To substantiate his claim, Charlton produced a 299-year lease for the land in question, granted by Kalanimōku.  There was no disagreement over the parcel, Wailele, on which Charlton lived, but the adjoining parcel he claimed, Pūlaholaho, had been occupied since 1826 by retainers and heirs of Kaʻahumanu.

In rejecting Charlton’s claim, Kamehameha III cited the fact that Kalanimōku did not have the authority to grant the lease.  At the time the lease was made, Kaʻahumanu was Kuhina Nui, and only she and the king could make such grants.  The land was Kaʻahumanu’s in the first place, and Kalanimōku certainly could not give it away.  (Hawaiʻi State Archives)  The dispute dragged on for years.

This, and other grievances purported by Charlton and the British community in Hawai‘i, led to the landing of George Paulet on February 11, 1843 “for the purpose of affording protection to British subjects, as likewise to support the position of Her Britannic Majesty’s representative here”.

On February 25, the King acceded to his demands and noted, “In consequence of the difficulties in which we find ourselves involved, and our opinion of the impossibility of complying with the demands in the manner in which they are made … “

“… we do hereby cede the group of islands known as the Hawaiian (or Sandwich) Islands, unto the Right Honorable Lord George Paulet … the said cession being made with the reservation that it is subject to any arrangement that may have been entered into by the Representatives appointed by us to treat with the Government of Her Britannic Majesty…”

Under the terms of the new government the King and his advisers continued to administer the affairs of the Hawaiian population.  For business dealing with foreigners, a commission was created, consisting of the King (or his representative,) Paulet and two officers from Paulet’s ship.  Judd served as the representative of the King.  (Daws)

On April 1, 1843, Lord Aberdeen, on behalf of Her Britannic Majesty Queen Victoria, assured the Hawaiian delegation that: “Her Majesty’s Government was willing and had determined to recognize the independence of the Sandwich Islands under their present sovereign.”

On November 28, 1843, the British and French Governments united in a joint declaration and entered into a formal agreement recognizing Hawaiian independence (Lord Aberdeen signed on behalf of Britain, French ambassador Louis Saint-Aulaire signed on behalf of France.)

After five months of British rule, Queen Victoria, on learning the injustice done, immediately sent Rear Admiral Richard Darton Thomas to the islands to restore sovereignty to its rightful rulers. On July 31, 1843 the Hawaiian flag was raised.  The ceremony was held in area known as Kulaokahuʻa; the site of the ceremony was turned into a park Thomas Square.  After five-months of occupation, the Hawaiian Kingdom was restored.

July 31, 1843 is now referred to as Ka La Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Sovereignty Restoration Day, and it is celebrated each year in the approximate site of the 1843 ceremonies.  The plot of land on which the ceremonies took place was known as Thomas Square. Kamehameha III later officially gave this name to the area and dedicated it as a public park.

“In the afternoon Kamehameha III went in a solemn procession with his chiefs to Kawaiahaʻo Church … A ten-day celebration of Restoration Day followed, and was annually observed. The last of the Restoration Day celebrations came in 1847.”  A thousand special riders, five abreast … were followed by 2,500 regular horsemen …” (Helena G Allen)

As the procession crossed Beretania street on Nuʻuanu royal salutes were fired from the fort and the king’s yacht, the Kamehameha III. They were headed to Kaniakapūpū, Kamehameha III’s summer home.  (Thrum)

Kaniakapūpū (translated roughly as “sound (or song) of the land shells” sits on land in the Luakaha area of Nuʻuanu Valley.  The structure at Kaniakapūpū (modeled on an Irish stone cottage) was completed in 1845 and is reportedly built on top or in the vicinity of an ancient heiau.  It was a simple cottage, a square with four straight walls.

The royal party reached the picnic grounds at about 11 o’clock in a pouring rain; in fact it rained in occasional showers throughout the day … A man stationed at the first bridge for the express purpose, counted 4,000 horses going up the valley and 4,600 returning-visitors from Koʻolau making the difference in numbers.  (Thrum)

Before dinner, which was set for 2 pm, the guests were entertained with some of the ancient games – a mock fight with spears ; the lua, hand to hand combat, and the hakoko, or wrestling match.

The dinner – the feeding of the immense crowd of men, women and children – was a sight to be remembered. Henry St John, the king’s steward, had the care of this department, and he well understood his business.

For the foreign guests, who were not supposed to squat on the mats with natives, tables were provided in the cottage, where was an abundant supply of food cooked in foreign style, but the multitude were fed in the long lanais, at the far end of which was seated the royal party, the ministers and chiefs.

First there was singing of hymns by a choir of native school children, led by Messrs. Marshall and Frank Johnson, to airs that sounded sweetly to New England ears. Grace before meat was solemnly said by John Ii, and then, on a signal from the king, the assembly went vigorously to work on the immense stores of food before them.

While the feast was going on, several old women in the immediate neighborhood of where the king sat, kept up a constant chanting of metes – native poems – in his honor and that of his ancestors, accompanying the chant with gyrations and motions of the arms. And in the evening, after the most of the company had departed, a company of hula girls gave a “concert” with their attendant drum and calabash beaters.  (Thrum)

In the evening there were religious services at Kawaiahaʻo church, which was filled to overflowing, the king and queen being present. A sermon apropos of the occasion was preached by Rev. Richard Armstrong, the text being taken from Psalms 37, 3 – ‘Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.’ There could have been no question but that his hearers had been fed on that day.  (Lots here from Thrum)

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‘Coffee Meant Freedom’

Kona was, at one time, the largest single area outside the sugar plantation system that so dominated the history of modern Hawaii.

In the late 19th century, Kona gained a reputation as a ‘haven’ for immigrants who broke their labor contracts with the islands’ sugar plantations.

“There were lots of people who’d run away from sugarcane plantations before their contracts had expired. They came to Kona because it was a big place. There were some people who changed their last names. I knew this because some of them told me that their real name was such-and-such.”

“There were lots of them who ran away from the plantations, breaking their contracts. And most of them started in coffee farming.” (Torahichi Tsukahara, retired ranch hand and coffee farmer)

By the 1890s, however, the industry experienced financial difficulties.  So the lands were divided into small three- to five-acre lots and sold or leased to individuals. Small-scale coffee farming appealed to these new farmers. By 1915, tenant farmers, largely of Japanese descent, were cultivating most of the coffee.

“The value accorded to independence is clearly indicated in discussions of reasons for migrating to Kona and in comparisons of the meaning of work on coffee farms and plantations.”

“‘Coffee meant freedom’  compared with work on the plantations. Compulsion and demeaning treatment were frequently mentioned as aspects of plantation work.”

“Over here in Kona you have the freedom of going wherever you want to, and work for whoever you want to. In the plantation you have to work only for the plantation there, you see.”

“And here in Kona … you had a chance to build up something. Maybe you like build a piggery, raise pigs, or maybe if you get money you can lease a piece of land and raise your own cattle like that. In the plantation you couldn’t do that. In Kona you had all that privilege, all that freedom to do that.” (Johnny Santana)

“On April 16, 1916 I bought the coffee lands for myself. If other people could do it, then I figured I would give it a try … Back then kopi [coffee] was cheap. It was a time when it was only nine cents a pound. So I thought if you bought something when it was cheap, then you could make money later on.” (Kazo Tanima, coffee farmer)

Many hours were spent cleaning and weeding the land, pruning the trees, harvesting the crop, pulping the berries, and drying them for the mills.

“If you wanted to get a good crop of coffee out, there was no end to the work. There was always something – some place with a withered tree that needed to be replanted – some work to be done.” (Kazo Tanima)

Most farmers depended on their families and neighbors for labor.  “When we apply fertilizer then all the neighbors get together

and apply fertilizer. After the job was done then we had that dinner or luncheon, most of the time was chicken hekka.” (Yoshitaka Takashiba, coffee and macadamia nut farmer)

“At that time, we used to work until dark. You see, no matter how young you were, you have to work. Before going to school, we pick one basket of coffee, then go to school. We come home from school and we pick another basket.”  (Tsuruyo Kimura, lau hala store owner)

Single men and families were hired during the harvest season – September through December – and were paid according to the number of bags picked.

Eventually, some bought or leased their own lands and became farmers.  They disliked the low-paying regimented jobs on sugar plantations, where they worked in gangs under the watchful eyes of the luna, or foreman. They, like others before them, sought a more independent life.

“I am on my own on the coffee work. Whatever I earned nobody shares with me. The plantation work, the boss shares with my earning. In my coffee work,  all the income is mine. I have no boss. I can do what I liked to do. Nobody to supervise me. I rested when I wanted to because there was no boss.” (Raymundo Agustin, former sugar worker and ranchman, coffee picker and farmer)

Kona, in the 1920s, enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. Large sums were invested in equipment and machinery, acreage was expanded, and new homes were built. Farmers obtained credit for these improvements and they borrowed heavily.

Those outside coffee farming – those who provided goods and services – prospered. The Y.K. Aiona Store, owned by Sam Liau’s family, was one of many stores that enjoyed a brisk business. The Manago Hotel, now a Kona landmark, expanded its facilities and services.

“I told my husband that this [hotel] is a good business, and that we should add a second floor to have more rooms. And we divided one room into two, with six tatami mats in the front room. And we advertised that we had a Japanese room.”

“It became popular and everybody came . … Business was very good, and we started selling sake, beer, and other things. And after work, coffee picking, people started coming to have a drink, … And our business was growing little by little.”  (Osame Manago, co-founder of Manago Hotel)

Hopes continued to soar. But, when coffee prices fell, Kona’s people, too, fell deeper and deeper into debt. The hopes and dreams of many were shattered.

Between 1929 and 1938, the number of farmers decreased by an alarming 50 percent. Relief was obtained only in the late 1930s. Farmers, storekeepers, and others united in an effort to save their community.

Usaku Morihara was one of many who participated in this effort.  “People started running away because of the depression. So we started negotiating with American Factors. I told Factors to reduce all of the debts.”

“I told them the people would remember this and be loyal to them until death. I told them the coffee business would be doomed otherwise, and there would be no farmers in Kona, so it would be their loss as well as ours. I told them let us be free of our debts.”

“I told them the farmers would start working hard when everything started fresh. And those who’d run away would come back since they liked Kona better than the sugar plantations and any other place.”

“Factors said they would forgive all but two percent of the debts. So the negotiations succeeded. If it hadn’t been for this, the coffee business would have been finished. But we kept it going.” (Usaku Morihara, storekeeper)  (All here is from A Social History of Kona)

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