Wishing you and your loved ones peace, health, happiness and prosperity in the coming New Year! Merry Christmas!!!
One of my favorite Christmas songs, Henry Kapono – Merry Christmas to You:
Merry Christmas!!!
Merry Christmas!!!
People celebrate seasonal meals in different ways and at different times – for some, the special meal is Christmas dinner; for us, our big meal was Christmas Eve.
As a kid, it seemed like we always had others over at our house for dinner at this time of year. For a while, Marines shared our table.
Later, 2-3 members of the Oregon swim team stayed at our house and joined us for holiday meals (UH had a swim meet around Thanksgiving/ Christmas and we joined other local families in hosting members of the visiting teams.)
For us, in the early years, Christmas Eve dinner was pretty much like Thanksgiving dinner – turkey and the works; in later years we had roast beef.
I also remember my parents having a special “champagne” with dinner – Cold Duck (it had nothing to do with the swim team) – for them, it was a special wine for the special meal.
As a little kid, the approaching night was a difficult time to sleep – the anticipation, the expectation … the joy of the time. I don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight, either.
And, let’s not forget the reason for the season. Merry Christmas!!!
When we were little, my brother sang this song in a school program – since then, it has been my favorite Christmas song. Here is Willie K singing O Holy Night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13m_isWrtho
First Christmas Tree
Mary Dominis, mother-in-law to Queen Liliʻuokalani, is credited with starting the Christmas tree and Santa Claus traditions in Hawai‘i.
“Christmas Eve was worthily observed in Honolulu by a party at Mrs. Dominis residence which drew together such a crowd of company that no second house could have opened its doors successfully.”
“The ‘Christmas Tree’ was beautiful in its decoration and beautifully covered with fruit such as no other tree can bear, that bent its branches to the ground.” (Polynesian, January 1, 1859)
“The Christmas tree can be traced to the land of Luther. How long it there flourished in the forests of Germany, before Luther’s day, we cannot stop now to enquire.”
“A sprig was brought to the Sandwich Islands few years ago, and it appears to have found genial climate and fruitful soil. It is really wonderful how it flourishes.”
“Like Jonah’s gourd, which came up in night and perished in night, the Christmas-tree makes great display of fruit on the first night of its growth.”
“Mrs Dominis, with her wonted skill for flower-growing and tree-planting, produced Christmas-tree that was much admired, especially by the juveniles, who gathered under its shadow and plucked its ripe fruit ready to drop into their hands, marked and labelled.”
“How much Santa Claus had to do in the wonderful production we cannot say, but he appeared very much at home on the occasion, and seemed to know by name all the little folks that were dancing and kiting about like so many fairies.”
“We congratulate the children of Honolulu that they enjoy so many pleasant gatherings, and we would thank Mrs. Dominis for her expense, trouble and labor to make the young people happy. (The Friend, January 1, 1859)
As further described in the newspaper, “Christmas – passed off in the good old fashioned, style. The eve was ushered in by the assemblage, about 7 o’clock, of a large number of children and their parents at Washington Place, the Mansion of Mrs Dominis …”
“… where Santa Claus had given out that he would hold his court, and distribute the gifts which he had ordered for the occasion. A magnificent “Christmas Tree” had been provided in one of the upper chambers, and the little folks …”
“… as they gathered about it with sparkling eyes and clattering tongues, found it all lighted up with candles and the branches bending under the weight of gifts. …”
“In a moment old Santa Claus was heard at the door, and in a twinkling more he stood before the youthful group, who greeted him with a volley of merry shouts. He came dressed in the garb in which children love to imagine the saintly old elf. …”
“For an hour, or while he was bestowing his gifts with princely lavishness among the hundred children present, there was some of the happiest groups ever witnessed in Honolulu.”
“He bid a gift for every one, and bestowed it with a facetiousness that added much to the enjoyment of the occasion and him a host of friends among the juveniles, who will long continue to talk of Santa Claus of Washington place.”
“After the tree was lightened of its burden of presents, some of which we noticed were quite costly, the old saint bid the little folks a hearty good-bye and vanished.”
“He sprang to his sleigh, to his team he rare a whistle.
And away they ail flew like the dawn of a thistle;
But I heard him exclaim, ere be drove out of sight,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
“The whole affair was got up and executed with good taste. After the gifts were distributed the children were invited to a liberal repast prepared by the generous hostess.”
“As the little folks retired to their homes their places were filled with an assemblage of ladies and gentlemen, and the evening was spent in dancing.”
“At 10 o’clock on Christmas forenoon the Episcopal service was performed by Rev Mr Arthy on board the Calypso, which had been gaily decked for the holiday.”
“At half past eleven Episcopal service was also performed by the same gentleman at the Bethel, which was well filled.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 30, 1858)
“The evening was a happy one to every body present, and the hospitality unbounded.” (Polynesian, January 1, 1859)
Duke Kahanamoku Beach
Duke Paoa Kahanamoku was born in 1890, one of nine children of a Honolulu policeman.
Duke was named after his father who was given the name by Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The elder Duke explains his naming as “Mrs. Bishop took hold of me and at the same time a salute to the Hawaiian flag from the British Battleship in which the (Prince Albert) Duke of Edinburgh arrived”.
“… after I was washed by Mrs. Bishop she gave me the name ‘The Duke of Edinburgh.’” (The Duke of Edinburgh was visiting the Islands at the time (July 21, 1869.))
“The Duke heard and was glad and came to (the) house and I was presented to him and tooke me in his arms. And that is how I got this name.” (Nendel)
Both were born at the Paki property in downtown Honolulu. The Paki (Pauahi’s parents) home was called Haleʻakala (the ‘Pink House,’ made of coral.)
A couple years after Duke’s birth (1893,) the family was living in a small house on the beach at Waikiki where the present day Hawaiian Hilton Village now stands.
Duke had a normal upbringing for a young boy his age in Waikiki. He swam, surfed, fished, did odd jobs such as selling newspapers and went to school at Waikiki grammar school; he would never graduate from high school due to the need to help his family earn enough money to live.
For fun and extra money he and others would greet the boatloads of tourists coming to and from Honolulu Harbor. They would dive for coins tossed into the water by the visitors, perform acrobatic displays of diving from towers on boat days, and explore the crop of newcomers for potential students to teach surfing and canoeing lessons to on the beach.
He earned his living as a beachboy and stevedore at the Honolulu Harbor docks. Growing up on the beach in Waikiki, Duke surfed with his brothers and entertained tourists with tandem rides. (Nendel)
Duke’s love of surfing is what he is most remembered. He used surfing to promote Hawaiian culture to visitors who wanted to fully experience the islands.
Through his many travels, Duke introduced surfing to the rest of the world and was regarded as the father of international surfing.
Back at home, the beach and subsequent lagoon near where he lived now carry his name.
Ownership of the Waikiki property by the Paoa family goes back to Kaʻahumanu as noted in testimony before the Land Commission on December 16, 1847 (LCA 1775:)
“I hereby state my claim for a section of irrigation ditch. I do not know its length – perhaps it is two fathoms more or less. The length of my interest at this place is from the time of Kaahumanu I, which was when my people acquired this place, and until this day when I am telling you, no one has objected at this place where I live.”
“The houselot where we live is on the north of the government fence at Kalia. Some planted trees grow there-five hau and four hala. There is a well which is used jointly.” The Royal Patent for the claim was awarded to Paoa on December 7, 1870 (Royal Patent No. 7033) (Rosendahl)
In 1891, the ‘Old Waikiki’ opened as a bathhouse, one of the first places in Waikiki to offer rooms for overnight guests. It was later redeveloped (1928) as the Niumalu Hotel. Henry J Kaiser bought it and adjoining property and started the Kaiser Hawaiian Village.
The shoreline area was filled and is considered State-owned land. A 1955 lease allowed Kaiser’s Hawaiian Village to dredge and fill areas – in the process the 4.6-acre Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon was created in 1956. To the east of the lagoon is the crescent-shaped Duke Kahanamoku Beach. (In 1961 Kaiser sold to Hilton Hotels.)
Initially, the Territory of Hawaiʻi constructed the ‘Crescent Beach’ project by dredging and filling the nearby ocean shoreline; most of the material that now makes up the banks of the lagoon originated from that project (the beach and lagoon were built at the same time.)
Duke Kahanamoku Beach was crowned the Best Beach in the list of annual ‘Top 10 US Beaches 2024’ by Stephen Leatherman, a.k.a. ‘Dr. Beach’ (and has been on the top 10 list often).
Drying Tower
On December 27, 1850, King Kamehameha III passed an act in the Privy Council that established the Honolulu Fire Department, the first fire department in the Hawaiian Islands and the only fire department in the US established by a ruling monarch.
In 1870, the tallest structure in Honolulu was the bell tower of Central Fire Station, then-located on Union Street. Spotters would sit in the tower, ready to sound the alarm. Central Fire Station was later relocated to its present site at Beretania and Fort Streets. (HawaiiHistory)
Back in those early days, firefighting equipment was primarily buckets and portable water supplies. As the department grew, several hand-drawn engine companies were added.
But bucket brigades were very labor intensive and very ineffective. Large amount of water would be lost during the passing of these buckets before it could be thrown on the actual fire.
In 1693 the first fire hose (what Dutchmen Jan Van Der Heiden and his son Nicholaas called a “fire hoase”) was a fifty-foot length of leather, sewn together like a bootleg. These inventions allowed firemen a steady stream of water and accurately deliver it directly on the fire.
Leather hose had many disadvantages. It was high maintenance. Leather would dry out and crack. The hose had to be washed, dry and preserved using codfish and whale oil as a preservative.
James Boyd in 1821 received a patent for rubber lined, cotton-webbed fire hose. In 1825 the Mayor of Boston reported that a 100 feet of hose would do the same work as 60 men with buckets and more efficient. In 1827 the Fire Chief of New York City put 30 pumpers in a line to pump water a half mile. (Gilbert)
Hawaiʻi later used the rubber lined, cotton covered hoses. But the hoses’ cotton could rot, so they needed to be dried to prevent mold.
Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, as they built new fire houses, a drying tower was added to the main fire house, so the hoses could be hung up to dry.
More often than not, there drying towers are mischaracterized as observation or spotting towers; their main purpose was to hang and dry the cotton covered hoses.
By 1912, the first motor apparatus was put into service. Then, three old steam engines at stations 1 (Central,) 3 (Makiki) and 4 (Palama) were replaced by motorized 1,000-gallon capacity combination engines and hose wagons during January in 1916. May 1920 saw the last of the horses, a gray and black team called Jack and Jill.
By the 1920s, the accepted style for most public architecture in Honolulu was Spanish Mission Revival or, more broadly, Mediterranean Revival. Five fire stations built on Oʻahu between 1924 and 1932 illustrate this stylistic design, despite being designed by three different architects.
The prototype for all five appears to have been Palama Fire Station (Fire Engine House #4,) designed by Oliver G Traphagen. The construction of the building was begun late in 1901 (it was completed on July 1, 1902,) which makes it the oldest public structure completed in Hawaiʻi during the Territorial Government period.
It was boasted in the Pacific Commercial Advertiser that the new station was equal to the “best of its class in the States.”
The building included all the latest equipment: an electric automatic door opener with slide poles to connect the upper dormitory quarters with the ground floor. The lower floor interior was occupied by stands for the engine, hose wagon and horses, a feed room, lavatories and hose washing tanks.
There was a horse watering trough near the feed room. Fire Engine House #4 had a 75-foot drying tower with tackle and hood racks immediately above the hose washing tanks.
The Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) operates 44 Fire Stations on the Island of Oʻahu, and in and around Honolulu. Seven current or former stations are on the National Register of Historic Places, of which five are still in use today as fire stations.
Although designed by various architects, the seven fire stations are similar in character. All seven fire stations are box-shaped, two-story structures, with engine bays on the ground floor and dormitories upstairs.
All have prominent towers. The towers, which generally rise approximately sixty feet in height, function as a space in which to hang and dry the cotton sheathed rubber hoses. (NPS)
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