Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

House Without a Key

“The koa-wood key has reached me and it is a lovely thing – but that was to be expected, since it came from Hawaii.”

“I am proud of the friends I have made in the Islands and prouder of this key than of anything that has happened to me in 20 years of writing.  I was eager to draw a true picture of Hawaii, but was not entirely confident of success. “

“I was only a malihini, a stranger, and what would the thousands who had known and loved the islands for many years think of the story?  That I did not entirely fail, this gift is proof, and that is only one of the reasons why I shall always prize it highly.”

“I should add at once that my long delay in writing you was due to the fact that the key was only just reached me, having traveled to New York, and thence back to the coast.”

“Most people who have been to Hawaii long to return, and in the future I shall long a bit more ardently than most. I hope before many months I shall be able to do so.”

“In the meantime I want all those who had anything to do with the key to know that their thought of me has touched my heart.  Please than them all for me.”

“Their unexpected, graceful gift is characteristic of Hawaii, and just another proof that he who has friends in the islands is rich indeed.”  (Star-Bulletin, June 19, 1925)

The thank you letter above was written by Earl Derr Biggers and sent to the Hawaii Tourist Bureau in 1925.

On January 24, 1925, ‘The Saturday Evening Post’ began its serialization of the book that would make Earl Derr Biggers famous: The House Without a Key, the first of the Charlie Chan series.

The principal character in the story was Charlie Chan, the celebrated Chinese detective.  Chan was modeled after Chang Apana.  In 1897, Helen Kīna‘u Wilder was given the authority to enforce animal cruelty laws.  She was appointed a special constable by the Marshall of the Republic of Hawai‘i.

She and her friends pooled their resources to pay a salary to hire Chang Apana, the first officer to investigate animal crimes, who inspired author Earl der Biggers’ popular Charlie Chan series of detective novels. (Hawaiian Humane Society)

Born Ah Ping Chang on December 26, 1871 in Waipiʻo, Oʻahu; he eventually became known as Chang Apana (the Hawaiianized version of the Chinese name Ah Ping.)  In 1898, Chang joined the Honolulu Police Department and the “shrewd and meticulous investigator” rose through the ranks to become detective in 1916.

Biggers was an early guest at the Halekūlani Hotel in Waikiki. Biggers’ book title was based on his discovery that no one locked their doors there.  In memory of the author and his novel, the Halekūlani named its seaside bar and lanai “House Without a Key.”

“’The House Without a Key’ is the story of a very rich man who has many enemies. He wants a certain locked chest in San Francisco cast into the sea – until it is beyond the reach of man he will know no peace.”

“He commissions his nephew to do the deed. But before the nephew reaches Honolulu the man is dead – murdered by an unknown assailant.”

“The secret of the chest. By mystery of the murder and the enmity that existed between the dead man and his brother furnish a lively plot”. (Stockton Independent, December 4, 1926)

The ”Decision to present the key to Biggers was made at a recent meeting of the tourist bureau, and arrangements for having it made were left to WH Hussman, Hawaii representative of the bureau.”

The key measures 25 inches in length and is six inches in width at both ends.  It was made at the Hilo Boarding School manual training shop. (Star Bulletin, April 6, 1925)

“The present of the Hawaii Tourist Bureau was for a time displayed in Benson, Smith & Co.’s window, where it attracted much interest.” (Star-Bulletin, April 15, 1925)

Bigger’s book and subsequent movies helped to put Hawaii and one of its iconic hotels on the map.

The key had an inscription, “Hawaii is still the ‘House without a Key’: you have it.  Use it often.”  True to his word, Biggers would soon return to the Islands.

Earl Derr Biggers was born in 1884 in Warren, Ohio. He graduated from Harvard University in 1907 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After college, Biggers went to work at The Boston Traveler, where he wrote a humorous column, and then reviews, until 1911.

Biggers ultimately wrote six Charlie Chan mystery novels: The House Without A Key, The Chinese Parrot, Behind That Curtain, The Black Camel, Charlie Chan Carries On, and Keeper of the Keys.

The Charlie Chan movies were one of the most successful screen series in history, with over 40 movies based on the character. There were also numerous Chan radio adaptations and comic strips, as well as attempts to bring the character to television. Earl Biggers died in Pasadena, California, in April of 1933 at the age of 48, from a heart attack.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Cubit – Ha‘ilima

“And God said to Noah, I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.” (Genesis 6:13 – 15)

The word cubit (′kyü-bǝt) in English appears derived from the Latin cubitum for elbow. It was πήχυς (pay′-kus) in Greek. The cubit is based upon a human characteristic – the length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to end of the elbow. (Stone)

“[I]t was from the members of the body that they derived the fundamental ideas of the measures which are obviously necessary in all works, as the finger, palm, foot, and cubit. These they apportioned so as to form the ‘perfect number,’ called in Greek τελειον, and as the perfect number the ancients fixed upon ten.”

“For it is from the number of the fingers of the hand that the palm is found, and the foot from the palm. Again, while ten is naturally perfect, as being made up by the fingers of the two palms, Plato also held that this number was perfect because ten is composed of the individual units, called by the Greeks μονάδεϛ.” (Vitruvius)

The Cubit is a unit of linear measure used by many ancient and medieval peoples. It may have originated in Egypt about 3000 BC; it thereafter became widespread in the ancient world.  (Britannia)

The cubit was a basic unit in early Israel and the surrounding Near East countries. The Tabernacle, the Temple of Solomon, and many other structures are described in the Bible by cubit measures.

It is אטה in Hebrew (pronounced am-mah′), which can be interpreted “the mother of the arm” or the origin, that is, the forearm/cubit.  (Stone)

To some scholars, the Egyptian cubit was the standard measure of length in the Biblical period. The Biblical sojourn/exodus, war, and trade are probable reasons for this length to have been employed elsewhere. (Stone)

The cubit, generally taken as equal to 18 inches, was based on the length of the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger and was considered the equivalent hand measurements of 6 palms or 2 spans. (Britannica)

Fathom, old English measure of length, the longest of many units derived from an anatomical measurement, is now standardized at 6 feet, has long been used as a nautical unit of depth.  A fathom equals four cubits.

The fathom originated as the distance from the middle fingertip of one hand to the middle fingertip of the other hand of a large man holding his arms fully extended. The name comes from the Old English faedm or faethm, meaning outstretched arms. (Britannia)

Hawaiians used a similar unit of measurement to the cubit – the ha‘ilima; it is the measurement from the tip of the longest finger to the elbow of the same arm.

Variants of this include:

Iwilei – (equivalent of two ha‘ilima) measuring from the center of the chest to the tip of the longest finger while the arm is stretched out to the side of the body, parallel to the ground

Muku – (equivalent of 3 ha‘ilima) resembling the hula stance, both arms stretched out to the side of the body and parallel to the ground, then bend one arm at the elbow inward to the center of the body; the measurement is from the bent elbow to the tip of the longest finger of the opposite arm.

‘Anana – (equivalent of 2 iwilei or 4 hailima) measuring from longest fingertip to the longest fingertip when both arms are stretched out and parallel to the ground.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Blue Men

“Captain James Cook, who had been sent into the Pacific on a voyage of exploration by the King of England, discovered several islands which he named in honor of the Earl of Sandwich.”

“He later sailed northward and in March of the next year sighted the American coast in the neighborhood of the present Yaquina Bay. He thus became the first to make a contact between the Oregon country and Hawaii.”

“Cook was followed within a few years by vessels that engaged in trading furs from the Indians along the northwest coast of America which they sold in China. The captains of such ships were quick to learn the value of the Hawaiian Islands as a resting place and provisioning station.”

“Their custom was to stop there on the northward voyage, spend a season in trade, return to the islands for the winter, and afterwards sail back to the American coast to complete their cargo of furs before going to Canton.  (Clark)

“King Kamehameha, claiming the throne in 1810 after an internal power struggle, attempted to forge a united kingdom out of competing groups.. He decided upon. an outward-looking policy to cushion his country against foreigners by absorbing the European’s economy and Christianity.”

“The heart of this policy was to send out young men to learn western techniques and values through practical experience.  One place they migrated to was the Oregon Country, where Hawaiians had been in the crews of merchant vessels as early as 1788.”  (Dodds)

When the Americans entered the fur trade of the Pacific in 1788 they, like the British, stopped at the Hawaiian Islands.  (Clark)  The Hawaiians soon became a vital labor supply in the fur trade.  (Dodds)

“Loyal and docile, asking only food and clothing for compensation, the Hawaiians on one occasion saved Donald McKenzie from a surprise attack at Fort Walla Walla at the hands of his discontented Indian trappers.”

“The Hudson’s Bay Company and Nathaniel Wyeth also found the Kanakas most valuable as laborers, canoe men, sailors, gardeners, herders, and domestic servants, among other pursuits.”

“The missionaries, too, admired the islanders. The Methodists used them as blacksmiths, farm laborers, and kitchen help, and the Lees at one time proposed to import Hawaiian Christians as missionaries to their countrymen.”

“At the Whitman mission the Kanakas were also well received; and they worked in a variety of pursuits.  Both Methodist and American board workers found the Kanakas to be in an respects preferable to their Indian charges.”

“The Indians, in missionary eyes, were slow in emulating American agriculture and domestic science, but the Hawaiians were adaptable and hard working.” (Dodds)

In the nineteenth century the Hawaiians were known as Kanakas or ‘Blue Men.’  One theory for the ‘Blue Men’ name  is because of traditional tattooing, which appears blue in color. (Rogers)  Others suggest it was because they turned that color in the winter drizzles of the Pacific Northwest.  (Dodds)

The growing population of Hawaiian into the Oregon Country resulted in growing concerns.  Then, in 1845, the Oregon legislature addressed a bill designed to reduce the flow – it was called the Sandwich Islander Tax.

The intent was later disclosed, “For the taxation of the Sandwich Islanders, employed almost exclusively as servants and laborers, by the HB Company, and intended merely to annoy and embarass the gentlemen in charge of the said company.”  (Oregon Historical Quarterly, 1909)

However, on October 15, 1862, Oregon Governor Addison C Gibbs approved the law that had passed the House of Representations (October 8, 1862) and Senate (October 13, 1862) that stated:

“Employers of Hawaiian labor were taxed three dollars for those islanders already residents and five dollars for those who were to be introduced in the future.  After the organic law of 1848 created the territory of Oregon, Kanakas on several occasions applied for American citizenship.”  (Dodds)

“The final blow came in the passage of the Oregon Donation Land Act of 1850, which gave to the emigrants 160 to 320 acres of free land (depending on their time of arrival), but which … excluded from its term blacks and Hawaiians, although not part-Indians.”

“After this rebuff most of the Kanakas returned to the Islands. more fortunate than other ethnic minorities, who had no place to go. In the end, in spite of the Hawaiians efforts to accommodate, racism had conquered assimilation.”  (Dodds)

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 8 Comments

The end of … “You’ve got mail!”

These Posts will continue (at least for a while) … the excerpts and full posts are and will continue to be at: www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com.

However, the subscriptions and email notifications through MailChimp will end, soon.  This will not necessarily be a weaning process, more like cold turkey.

In the past, I have been charged varying amounts from MailChimp to send the email notification of the daily posts.  Prior to when I stopped (after 8 ½-years of posting), I paid between $20 and $40 per month.  That was fine.

When I recently restarted, the fee from MailChimp was a little over $50 per month.  Again, doable.

However, the challenge with my present subscription with MailChimp is that it covers 30,000 emails per month.  If I exceed that, it is an additional $10 per every additional 300 emails.

I have almost email 1,500 subscribers (and its growing daily); for a 30-day month, that is 45,000 emails per month.

For the past few weeks I have been reaching out to MailChimp trying to get something like my prior subscription rate – based on the number of subscribers, not the total number of emails.

To allow for more emails per month, the next level of service from MailChimp costs almost $300 per month. 

I do not have a reasonable resolution.

At one time, I considered monetizing these posts.  However, over the years it became clear to me that the goal was never about making money, it was about learning about the place that I live and sharing what I learn.

So, I am not going to charge – that is counter-productive and flies in the face of the whole intent.  I am also not going to ask for ‘donations’ – that is the same thing (so don’t send any money).

I concluded that I need to cancel the email subscription component of this process and cancel my relationship with MailChimp.

Nothing else really changes.

The excerpts and full posts are at: www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com.  New posts are programed for publication at 12:01 am (HST) each day.

If you want to keep seeing daily historical posts from me, you will need to change your habit and go to that website (and not rely on the email reminder).

In addition, excerpts and links to the full posts are on:

The auto-posting to these other sites is not fail-safe.  Just this morning, both Facebook and LinkedIn did not get the message.  So, I manually posted there.

Again, if you really want to see these, the most assured way to get the latest is going to www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com.

If you are not used to going directly to www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com, it is really simple:

  • Once you click the link, you will get to the home page.  The three most recent posts are there – on the left is today’s post, the middle is yesterday’s and the right has the post from day before.
  • Every day, the new post will fill the left position and the others will shift to the right.
  • The site has the ability to look at prior posts – go to “Archive” – and from there you see older posts and/or you can do a word search, depending on what you want to look for.

Over the years, I have seen that the Facebook algorithms support those that engage in the posts.

If you occasionally Like, Comment or otherwise engage, you are more likely to see future posts.  Those that simply read and move on have been known to have future posts not show up in their feed.

I am sorry about dropping this email service; I hope you understand.

Thanks,

Peter.

PS.  Again, if you want to continue to read the daily posts, I encourage you to go directly to www.ImagesOfOldHawaii.com (after 12:01 am (HST) each day for the latest post).

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sinking of the Two Carthaginians

The Wandia was built in Denmark in 1921 as a three-masted schooner.  Captain Peterson used her to haul general cargo in the Baltic for some 30 years.  She then had a few years of service as a commercial fishing boat in Iceland, and later hauled cargo in Central America.

In 1964, Robert Tucker Thompson (‘Tucker’) flew to Costa Rica to deliver a yacht back to Newport Beach. Sailing up the coast of Central America, there were stories of a Baltic trading schooner that was just ahead.

“Wandia” was anchored in Acapulco; when Tucker arrived, he was interested in the boat and the owner was considering selling. … Several months later, the ship arrived in San Diego and the deal was done. (Tucker’s father worked as a film processor in the movie industry.)

Then the ship needed to go to work. Tucker sent letters and photos to all the film studios. A film of James Michener’s 1959 book “Hawaii” was about to be made by Mirisch. The studio had one ship, but also needed a whaling ship.  Tucker and the production entered into a purchase/re-purchase agreement.

Re-rigging took place in San Pedro harbor (LA) in a rushed ‘Hollywood‘ manner – dismantling and building taking place almost simultaneously. The “Wandia” was then named the “Carthaginian” (the name James Michener gave the whaling boat in his novel).  (Tucker)

“In addition to changed rigging, the Carthaginian also had the special equipment necessary to a whaling career installed. Such things as the small boats used to harpoon whales …”

“… as well as lookout hoops for sighting their quarry, equipment for removing blubber, and many other items, were added. At the same time, the entire hull was completely checked and repairs or replacements effected.”  (McConkey)

The original script eliminated the arrival of the New England missionaries in Hawaii, a key element of the original story, but include Rev. Abner Hale and his wife, Jerusha (Max Von Sydow and Julie Andrews), a missionary couple.

An October 24, 1964 news conference in Honolulu announced the production would be filmed in Hawaii.  Filming for the movie began February 22, 1965, about as far from the islands as one can be: 150 miles above the Arctic Circle, off Bodo, Norway.  In the spring, filming moved to New England.  (McWhorter, Star Advertiser)

On June 9, 1965, filming began on Oahu at an Army facility at Makua.  Most of the production crew stayed at the brand-new Ilikai Hotel; the lead actors rented homes on Diamond Head Road and Kahala Avenue.

The Mirisch Corp. brought 168 people from Hollywood to Hawaii for filming and hired 200 local technicians and 700 local residents as extras. Ten locals were cast to portray missionaries, among them Bette Midler, a 1963 Radford High School graduate.

The theme song of “Hawaii” eventually was altered to become the longtime KGMB jingle, “One of the good things about Hawaii … is wonderful … KGMB.”

A combination of wind, rain, sun, sand, dirt and military helicopters buzzing above delayed production an extra month at Makua.

Filming concluded on Oahu on November 10, 1965. (McWhorter, Star Advertiser)

When filming finished and the movie company no longer needed the ship, the re-purchase option was executed. Tucker and family moved aboard and took on crew for a trip around the Islands and to California, with plans for a South Pacific cruise.

While anchored off Lahaina, Larry Windley, director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, urged the members to consider purchasing the ship for a museum; by the time the ship reached Hilo, representatives had arrived there with a proposal ready for signing, to take effect when the South Pacific cruise had finished.

“Carthaginian” continued on to the west coast.  Then, arrangements were made for the voyage of the “Carthaginian” to the Marquesas, Society Islands and Hawaii.  (Tucker)

“The first Carthaginian owned and operated by the restoration foundation as a floating museum since 1966 when it was purchased for $75,000, had been rigged out to represent a three-masted bark, similar to the type that brought the early missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands.”

A few years later, tragedy struck; the Carthaginian “sank in April 1972 after it was caught on a reef in the Lahaina channel while being sailed to Honolulu for an annual dry-dock checkup.” (Star Bulletin, April 9, 1977)

“Efforts to save her were given up when it was discovered that the ship had a 12-foot hole in its hull and a broken keel. … the 51-year-old- ship will be towed out to sea where it will be sunk.”  Star Bulletin, April 4, 1972)

“Efforts to find a replacement for the vessel were begun immediately.  The search lasted several months and involved a hunt in shipyards around the world until the discovery of what was considered the perfect replacement.”

“The new Carthaginian, a 52-year old cargo ship named the Komet was found in Trollhatten, Sweden and purchased by the foundation for $25,000.” (Star Bulletin, April 9, 1977)

Carthaginian II was a 97-foot steel-hulled sailing boat that was converted into a replica whaling ship and floating museum to replace the popular Carthaginian tourist attraction.

A big point was made that she was exactly the same size as the ‘Thaddeus,’ the brig that brought the first missionaries to Hawaii from Boston. Visitors were invited to imagine what it must have been like for the missionaries, tossing across the waves for many months crammed inside her.

The boat was built in 1920 in Kiel, Germany at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft shipyard and was once run as a two-master. Later the boat was converted to diesel power and in the Baltic Sea used as a freighter for cement.

She was renamed Carthaginian II and restored over several years.  Masts made of spruce, a deck of eucalyptus, and other details for a whaling supply ship of the 19th century were installed.

Upon completion of the renovations, the Carthaginian II served as a floating museum in Lahaina Harbor from 1978 to 2001.  (Atlantis Artificial Reef FEA)

But age caught up with her, finally. It was decided that refurbishing the old ship was cost-prohibitive and, anyway, she would probably not survive being towed to Oahu for the repairs. Meanwhile, she was becoming a potential safety hazard sitting in the harbor. (Maui 24/7)

In 2003, the Lahaina Restoration Society asked Atlantis Submarine Maui, a tour company featuring underwater ocean tours, for help in exploring whether she could be used as an artificial reef off the Lahaina coast. The company, which had been offering submarine tours off Lahaina since 1991, agreed. (Maui 24/7)

After permitting, then came the sinking of Carthaginian II … In 2005, the boat was towed half a mile away from the coast and sunk to create an artificial reef, and now stands at a water depth of about 100-feet and also serves as a destination for diving expeditions.

© 2021 Hoʻokuleana LLC