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June 23, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The New “Big 5”

This story was inspired by a luncheon talk former OHA Trustee, Peter Apo gave to the Hawaiʻi Economic Association I attended. Although he hinted at the “Big 5” reference, he purposefully referenced it differently.

Since the early/mid-1800s, until relatively recently, five major companies emerged and dominated the state’s economic framework. Their common trait: they were founded in agriculture – sugar and pineapple.

They became known as the Big 5: Amfac – starting as Hackfeld & Company (1849;) Alexander & Baldwin (1870;) Theo H. Davies (1845;) Castle & Cooke (1851) and C. Brewer (1826.)

The luncheon talk suggested a new group of five is making a difference in Hawaiʻi’s economic scene.

The new “Big 5:” Kamehameha Schools, Queen Emma Foundation/Queens Health Systems, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust.

Their common trait: they are entities formed from or for native Hawaiians.

Kamehameha Schools (KS)

The largest, Kamehameha Schools (KS) was founded under the terms of the 1884 will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop and is supported by the land assets she provided to support the schools.

The Princess noted in her will that a trust is “to erect and maintain in the Hawaiian Islands two schools, each for boarding and day scholars, one for boys and one for girls, to be known as, and called the Kamehameha Schools.”

She further stated, “I desire my trustees to provide first and chiefly a good education in the common English branches, and also instruction in morals and in such useful knowledge as may tend to make good and industrious men and women”.

Through the legacy of its founder, KS is endowed with 365,000-acres of land statewide, ninety-eight percent of which is in agriculture and conservation.

KS has about 1,000 agricultural tenants who farm a variety of crops including coffee, papaya, pineapple, macadamia nuts, lettuce, asparagus, sweet potatoes, taro, watercress, avocado, bananas, tomatoes, cattle, aquaculture, and more.

Kamehameha Schools has net assets of nearly $7-billion and annual operating revenue of $1.34-billion.

Queen Emma Foundation/Queens Health Systems

The Queen’s Hospital, now called The Queen’s Medical Center, was founded in 1859 by Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV.

Queen Emma Land Company was established to support the Queen’s Medical Center and its affiliates and accomplishes this by managing and enhancing income-generating potential of the lands left to the Queen’s Hospital by Queen Emma in 1885 and additional properties owned by the Queen’s Health Systems.

Today, the Queen’s Health Systems is Hawaiʻi’s oldest health care-related family of companies, ranking 13th in size among Hawaiʻi’s corporations and employing approximately 3,700 employees with net revenues of roughly $516-million.

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL)

Written in 1920 and passed in 1921 by the US Congress, the “Hawaiian Homes Commission Act” established a structure and framework for the establishment of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) to enable native Hawaiians to return to their lands in order to fully support self-sufficiency for native Hawaiians and the self-determination of native Hawaiians.

The principal purposes of the Act: establishing a permanent land base for the benefit and use of native Hawaiians; placing native Hawaiians on the lands; preventing alienation of the fee title to the lands set aside so that these lands will always be held in trust for continued use by native Hawaiians in perpetuity …

… providing adequate amounts of water and supporting infrastructure, so that homestead lands will always be usable and accessible; and providing financial support and technical assistance to native Hawaiian beneficiaries.

When considering development and use of its lands, DHHL asserts its land use authority over Hawaiian Home Lands through its General Plan and Island Plans and is exempt from State and County land classification requirements.

DHHL has net assets of approximately $717-million and annual operating revenue of over $12-million, plus on-going capital improvement/development expenditures.

Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)

Amendments to the State Constitution in 1978 established the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA.) Those amendments also established a board of trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is a semi-autonomous state agency created “to address the needs of the aboriginal class of people of Hawaii.”

Duties of the Board of Trustees include, “hold title to all the real and personal property now or hereafter set aside or conveyed to it which shall be held in trust … (as well as) manage and administer the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of the lands, natural resources, minerals and income derived from whatever sources for native Hawaiians and Hawaiians”.

Recently, it was announced that the State and OHA settled disagreements on past ceded land payments. The State is giving about 25 acres of land to OHA, worth $200 million.

This is added to its existing inventory of Wao Kele O Puna (25,800+ acres,) Waimea Valley (1,800-acres) and other smaller properties.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has net assets of over $650-million and operating revenue of over $40-million.

The Liliʻuokalani Trust (QLT)

In 1909, Queen Liliʻuokalani executed a Deed of Trust that established the legal and financial foundation of an institution dedicated to the welfare of orphaned and destitute children of Hawaiʻi.

Her Deed of Trust states that “all the property of the Trust Estate, both principal and income … shall be used by the Trustees for the benefit of orphan and other destitute children in the Hawaiian Islands, the preference given to Hawaiian children of pure or part-aboriginal blood.”

The trust owns approximately 6,200-acres of Hawaiʻi real estate, the vast majority of which is located on the Island of Hawaiʻi. 92% is agriculture/conservation land, with the remaining land zoned for residential, commercial and industrial use.

The trust owns approximately 16-acres of Waikīkī real estate and another 8-acres of commercial and residential real estate on other parts of Oʻahu. It has operating revenues of approximately $40-million.

In addition to these land holdings, the Legislature created the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) to manage the Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve while it is held in trust for a future Native Hawaiian sovereign entity.

While most of the prior “Big 5” have slowly faded away and no longer influence Hawaiʻi’s economy as in the past, these other five have a growing presence and influence in Hawaiʻi’s future.

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June 20, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Territorial Fair Grounds

In 1916, after a revival of local county fairs, there was discussion to establish a Territorial Fair, with the idea that an event held every 2-3 years could draw from across the Territory to “display the results of their efforts along agricultural lines.” A Fair Commission of Hawaiʻi was formed.

With the US participation in World War I, from April 6, 1917 until the war’s end in November 1918, the Territorial fair was largely focused on “a demonstration in intensive cultivation of staple and special field products and also as a demonstration in food conservation … it was found (that) the islands depended too largely on the mainland for food supplies”

The first Territorial Fair was held during June 10-15, 1918; over a six day period, one hundred and eighteen thousand tickets of admission were sold.

The Army stepped forward and set up a tent city at Kapi‘olani Park for the first fair, providing “almost unlimited space for exhibits, a considerable reduction in charges to merchants, and a material saving in cost of building.” Likewise, the Army and Navy stepped up to present “a big amusement program.”

Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, it was a “campaign of education … designed to acquaint our people of Hawaii, as well as those abroad, with our resources and the opportunities which are presented in this Island Territory.”

“For, as we become better acquainted with the possibilities of our Island Home and better understand our opportunities and capabilities … and better be able to take advantage of the many blessings with which Nature has endowed this Cross Roads of the Pacific.”

It also sought to “interdisperse amusement as well as refreshment, in order to secure the greatest measure of success.”

“The Fair presents a splendid business opportunity to the merchants to show their stock and wares; a fine opportunity for the producer to exhibit what our soil has brought forth; and an excellent educational treat to all who would learn more of the land in which we live, as well as a wonderful opportunity to enjoy an unusual program of amusement and entertainment.”

The Fair Commission adopted the slogan “A War Fair Over Here to Back up the Warfare Over There.” The purpose of the first fair was “in the interest of conservation and production and in educating the people of the Territory up to a point where we may be self-sustaining.”

With that initial success, the Chamber sought “A Bigger and Better Fair.”

A second fair was held June 9-14, 1919. “Help Win the War!” was the slogan that made the first Fair a success and it was based on common sense and a real need.

In 1921, the Territorial legislature appropriated funds from the “general revenues of the Territory of Hawaii for the purpose of purchasing and improving land to be used for territorial fair and amusement park purposes.”

A site was selected and “set aside for territorial fair and amusement park purposes that portion of the government lands lying mauka of the proposed Waikiki drainage canal (Ala Wai) and adjacent to Kapahulu road.”

Then field work was undertaken for the Fair Commission in connection with improvements of the fairgrounds and amusement park: polo field and race track; grandstand site was surveyed; two baseball diamonds and two indoor baseball diamonds were staked out.

For a time, Charles Stoffer operated his seaplane “from both Kapiolani Park and later the Territorial Fair Grounds. Several flights were made to Kahului, Maui, and also to Molokai. Schedules were usually set up to coincide with paydays at the plantations.”

The Territorial fair continued for a number of years. However, it’s not clear why the use of the site transitioned from a Fair Grounds to something else – but a transition appears apparent, starting in 1923.

Reportedly, golf started at the Fair Grounds in 1923, when someone placed a salmon can down as its first hole. A year later, three more holes were built for a total of four. By 1931 five more holes were designed and it became a nine-hole course.

It was renamed the Ala Wai Golf Course.

The second nine was added in 1937, and the original clubhouse followed in 1948. In the 1980s, a new water feature was added and the course was also fitted with a new sprinkler system. The driving range was relocated to make room for expansion of the Honolulu Zoo in 1989 and, finally, a new clubhouse was built in 1990.

The state, through the Fair Commission of Hawaiʻi, had jurisdiction of the Ala Wai Golf Course until just after statehood (when the Fair Commission was abolished and the functions and authority relating to the Ala Wai Golf Course was transferred to the City and County of Honolulu. (However, the state continues to own the land today.)

This Territorial Fair discussion reminds me of my final years at University of Hawaiʻi and membership in the Honolulu Jaycees. Back then, the Jaycees operated the 50th State Fair (I served on the fair committee.) In those days, we ran the fair out at Sand Island.

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Grass_House-Territorial_Fairgrounds_(Ala_Wai_Golf_Course)-(DMYoung)

Territorial_Fairgrounds_(Ala_Wai_Golf_Course)-(DMYoung)

Territorial_Fair-front_page_of_'Honolulu'-Chamber_of_Commerce_Publication-1919

Territorial_Fair-Advertisement-Maui_News-1919

Territorial_Fair-Special_Rates-Advertisement-The_Garden_Island-1919

Hawaii Territorial Fair Track & Field Games Medal, 1918

Hawaii Territorial Fair Track & Field Games Medal

Royal_Hawaiian_Hotel-Moana_Hotel-Aerial-1940-(Territorial_Fairgrounds-upper_right)

USGS_Map-Waikiki-1933-noting_Fairgrounds_Location

Waikiki_and_Vicinity-1923-noting_Territorial_Fairgrounds

June 18, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Aloha Amusement Park

An amusement park for the city of Honolulu was a long contemplated project by a number of prominent citizens, and various sites convenient to the public traffic were considered.

The “official” opening of Aloha Amusement Park on Kalākaua Avenue in Waikīkī was September 14, 1922. (Although the American Legion held a 4th of July carnival there as its first use (even though the park was not completed, they used the partially completed facility for the celebration.)

The three-day 4th of July celebration attracted nearly 25,000 paid admissions to the park; of this number, 16,395 attended on the closing day.

That year’s annual report of the Honolulu Rapid Transit and Land Company noted the opening of the park “resulted in a considerable increase in night travel. This attraction in its present location will no doubt stimulate travel on the cars.” (In part, the siting of the facility was due to the accessibility over the transit line.)

Reportedly, the Advertiser described it as “another laurel to the wreath of Honolulu’s progressiveness.”

The reception was not all good. Apparently, the Outdoor Circle and many residents called it an “atrocious ballyhoo bazaar”. There were complaints of commercialization of Waikīkī.

Likewise, a petition, signed by property owners in the area, said the park was misrepresented when the permit was granted, would lead to immorality. RA Vitousek, attorney, represented the park and its manager, WA Cory.

City Supervisors said they cannot revoke the permit but feel it should be investigated. (Krauss) (The City’s 1922 financial report notes a $50 expense, for “Aloha Amusement Park Investigation”.)

The operator noted the complaints were coming from people who are already operating hotels, bath houses and dancing places – all of which were catering to the rich. He noted that the rest of the people should have a place in the same area. (He had considered and decided against siting the Park in Pālama.)

Aloha Park was adjacent to Fort DeRussy, an American army base and was opened by the Aloha Amusement Company, a group of local investors. They invested $250,000 to build and equip the park with modern rides. They hired Los Angeles resident Cory to manage the park and gave him a stake in the new company.

While Honolulu only had a permanent population of 90,000, it also had a transient population of 30,000 soldiers, sailors and tourists. And its mild climate was perfect for year around operation.

Although its proximity to the army base was helpful, the five-acre site required extensive filling and dredging to make it into an amusement resort. Two acres were set aside as sunken gardens and grass lawns.

Technical director Mark Hanna was in charge of the park’s construction. The park’s entrance was designed after the Palace of Fine Arts arcade at the 1915 San Francisco Exposition.

The park’s rides included the Big Dipper roller coaster designed by Prior and Church of Venice, California, a Noah’s Ark fun house, a 70 foot high Traver Seaplane, a ten-car Dodgem, a carousel built by Arthur Looff, and a miniature railroad.

The dance hall had a floor 120 x 150 feet, with a 20 foot lanai, where refreshments were served, and contained boxes for private parties. Music was provided by the Hawaiian brass band, that played at the band pavilion where a big musical revue was staged nightly.

Electric lights at light brightly lit up the grounds and rides. Free daily entertainment was provided. Oscar V. Babcock performed his thrilling bicycle loop-the-loop during the park’s opening weeks.

Running into financial difficulties, the Park went into bankruptcy in 1924. New investment came in and the park was renamed Waikiki Park. It is believed the park lasted until the 1930 Depression.

The Park played a role in the Massie case in 1931. Five young men who had been charged with rape of Thalia Massie, as she walked home from a Waikiki nightclub, had reportedly been at a dance at the Aloha Amusement Park (and used that as an explanation in their defense.)

Lots of information here from National Amusement Park Historical Association and Bob Krauss’s newspaper notes.

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1925 Entrance to the Waikiki Amusement Park-Ilikai

Aloha Amusement Park-Hnl SB-Sept 14, 1922

Honolulu and Vicinity-Map-1934-(portion-noting-Waikiki_Park)

Honolulu and Vicinity-Map-1934-(portion-noting-Waikiki_Park)-Waikiki_Park-Honolulu-Map-1927

June 17, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Preparing a Constitution

Collaboration between Ali‘i and the American Protestant missionaries resulted in, among other things, the introduction of Christianity, the creation of the Hawaiian written language, widespread literacy, making Western medicine available, and the evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition with harmony and choral singing.

In addition, the missionaries collaborated with the Chiefs on the promulgation of a constitutional government. Reverend William Richards came to Hawai‘i in 1823 as a member of the Second Company of missionaries sent to the Islands by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; he was instrumental in transforming Hawaiian governance, through a constitution with individual rights.

It was a time of transition. when the Hawaiian people were faced with the difficult task of adjusting themselves to changing conditions. They turned to their teachers, the American missionaries, for guidance along this intricate path.

The king and chiefs, acknowledging their own inexperience, had sought for a man of probity and some legal training who could act as their advisor in matters dealing with other nations and with foreigners within the Islands. (Judd)

Richards “accepted the invitation of the Chiefs to become their teacher, and entered into engagements with them which were signed on the 3d of July (1838). According to those engagements, (he) was to devote (his) time at (his) discretion to the instruction of the King and chiefs, as far as (he) could and remain at Lahaina, and do the public preaching.”

“(He) was also to accompany the King to O‘ahu if important public business called him there. (He) engaged to act as interpreter and translator in government business of a public nature when called to it, and was to receive for (his) services 600 dollars a year, to be paid in quarterly enstalments of 150 dollars each.”

“As soon as the arrangements were completed, (he) commenced the compilation and translation of a work on political economy, following the general plan of Wayland, but consulting Lay, Newman and others, and translating considerable portions from the 1st mentioned work.”

“(He) also met king & chiefs daily when other public business did not prevent, and as fast as (he) could prepare matter read it to them in the form of lectures. (He) endeavored to make the lectures as familiar as possible, by repeating them, and drawing the chiefs into free conversation on the subject of the Lecture.”

“They uniformly manifested a becoming interest in the school thus conducted, and took an active part in the discussion of the various topics introduced in the Lectures. The Lectures themselves were mere outlines of general principles of political economy, which of course could not have been understood except by full illustration drawn from Hawaiian custom and Hawaiian circumstances.”

“In these illustrations (he) endeavored as much as possible to draw their minds to the defects in the Hawaiian government, and Hawaiian practices, and often contrasted them with the government and practices of enlighted nations.”

“The conversation frequently took so wide a range that there was abundant opportunity to refer to any and to every fault of the present system of government. But when the faults of the present system were pointed out & the chiefs felt them & then pressed me with the question, ‘Pehea la e pono ai,’ (How will it be bettered?)”

“During the year (Richards had) been called on to translate various documents and laws, some of which were transmitted to the USA & some were for promulgation at the Islands.”

“(He had) said scarcely nothing to the king and chiefs respecting the existing evils or defects in the government, except as the subject has come up naturally and almost necessarily while discussing established principles of Political Economy.”

“A system of laws has been written out by (Boaz) Mahune, a graduate of the (Lahainaluna) high school, and he was directed by the King to conform them to the principles of Political Economy which they had learned. Those laws are some what extensive and protect all private property.”

“According to this code, no chief has any authority over any man, any farther than it is given him by specific enactment, and no tax can be levied, other than that which is specified in the printed law …”

“… and no chief can act as a judge in a case where he is personally interested, and no man can be dispossessed of land which he has put under cultivation except for crimes specified in the law.” (Richards Report to the Sandwich Islands Mission, May 1, 1839)

No Ke Kālai‘āina (translation of William Richards’ Book)

Classes in political economy were taught by Mr. Richards for the chiefs; these laid the foundation for the political reforms started soon after. Indeed, it can be said that Mr. Richards exercised a profound, though somewhat intangible, influence on Hawaii’s evolution towards a constitution form of government.

Richards translated portions of Dr Francis Wayland’s ‘Elements of Political Economy’ into Hawaiian and organized discussions with the Chiefs on constitutional governance.

The Chiefs proposed themselves to publish the work which I have compiled, & they are to have the Copy Right & defray the expense of the publication.” (The book was known as No ke Kālai‘āina.)

Richards was instrumental in helping to transform Hawai‘i into a modern constitutional state with a bill of rights (1839) and a constitution (1840).

A project of the Hawaiian Mission Houses bicentennial commemoration involves translating the Hawaiian text into English and research William Richards and process of constitution in Hawaiian language sources.

Click HERE to view/download Background on Preparing a Constitution

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Elements of Political Economy-Wayland

William_Richards

June 15, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Smallpox Epidemic – 1853

Smallpox was introduced to Hawai‘i by an American merchant ship, the Charles Mallory, sailing from San Francisco and arriving at Honolulu Harbor on February 10, 1853.

Displaying a yellow flag indicating a serious infection on board, the ship berthed in isolation on a reef off Kalihi.

One of the passengers had smallpox.

When the period of quarantine ended in late-March, no new cases had been reported, the smallpox patient was recovering and the ship set sail and left.

In May 1853, the disease reappeared.

Two native women were stricken; their homes and the adjacent properties were cordoned off and their infected clothing and grass huts were burned.

This time smallpox spread rapidly; cases were reported from most of Honolulu’s districts.

In response to the growing impacts, June 15, 1853 was declared a national day of mourning, prayer and fasting.

The epidemic was at its worst in July – August with the island of O‘ahu recording more than 4,000-cases and 1,500-deaths.

Despite efforts to contain it, smallpox spread to Kaua‘i, Maui and Hawai‘i, killing at least 450-people.

The people on Ni‘ihau, Moloka‘i and Lāna’i remained protected because of their remoteness, stricter quarantine and better vaccine quality.

Missionary Dr. Dwight Baldwin was the government physician for Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna’i during the smallpox epidemic. Due to his vigilance, the number of smallpox deaths on these islands was only 200 deaths.

Statewide, during an eight-month period, about 8% of Hawai‘i’s population died of the disease.

When the epidemic ended late in January 1854, the estimated number of statewide cases was 6,400 – 9,100 and an estimated 2,500 – 5,750 deaths.

The intensity of the epidemic led the Hawaiian legislature to make vaccination mandatory for both residents and visitors in 1854.

Smallpox is a serious and contagious disease due to a virus, causing illness and death wherever it occurred. It mainly affected children and young adults. Family members often infected each other.

Smallpox localizes in small blood vessels of the skin and in the mouth and throat. In the skin, this results in a characteristic rash, and later, raised fluid-filled blisters.

After a twelve-day incubation period, patients developed severe headaches and backaches, a high fever, and chills, followed by a severe rash, a return of the fever, and bacterial infection. Death came by infection of the lungs, heart, or brain. The entire course from infection to death usually took five or six weeks.

Smallpox spreads easily from one person to another from saliva droplets. It may also be spread from bed sheets and clothing. It is most contagious during the first week of the infection. It may continue to be contagious until the scabs from the rash fall off.

It is reported that the Honuakaha Smallpox Cemetery (near South Street and Quinn Lane in Kakaʻako) has more than 1,000 burials from the 1853-1854 smallpox epidemic.

This is near the present Honolulu Fire Department Headquarters stands, adjoining the former Kakaʻako Fire Station. (Some suggest, because of this, the Kakaʻako firehouse is haunted.)

Because of the smallpox epidemics a Small-Pox Hospital opened. Likewise, over the years a small island in the reef across from Downtown Honolulu was used as a quarantine site.

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