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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.

‘View_of_Smallpox_Hospital’,_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_Paul_Emmert,_c._1853-59

Honolulu_Harbor-Reef_Titles-Reg1471 (1885)-Note_’Quarantine_Island’-(present_day_Sand_Island)

Smallpox

Kakaako Fire Station, Hook & Ladder Building, 620 South Street, Honolulu-LOC-218878pv

Kakaako Fire Station, Hook & Ladder Building, 620 South Street, Honolulu

Hawaii_Small_Pox-tally

Hawaiian officials documented statistics of the smallpox epidemic, O‘ahu, 1854

June 13, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Lāhainā Lighthouse

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands.

The whaling industry was the mainstay of the island economy for about 40 years. For Hawaiian ports, the whaling fleet was the crux of the economy. More than 100 ships stopped in Hawaiian ports in 1824.

Whalers needed food and the islands supplied this need from its fertile lands. There was a demand for fresh fruit, cattle, white potatoes and sugar. Hawaiians began growing a wider variety of crops to supply the ships.

In the record year of 1846, 736 whaling ships arrived in Hawai‘i. Lāhainā was the port of choice for whale ships.

To aid the ships in reaching the port, in 1840, King Kamehameha III ordered a wooden tower built as an aid to navigation for the whaling ships. It was equipped with whale-oil lamps kept burning at night.

It was built on a section of waterfront known as Keawaiki which means literally, “the small passage,” referring to a narrow break through a coral reef leading to protected anchorage.

This structure was the first lighted navigational aid in the Hawaiian Islands and is older than any lighthouse on the US Pacific Coast.

Later, a light was installed on top of the Union Hotel, which helped the mariners until 1856 when the government installed two powerful locomotive lamps by the Custom House.

Repairs and improvements continued to be made to the lighthouse with a new one being built and put in operation on November 8, 1866.

The new design was a store-house building with a light tower built on top, which contained the light room and a sleeping room for the keeper. The new lamps burned kerosene oil, instead of whale oil.

In 1905 a new wooden, pyramidal, skeleton tower fifty-five feet tall which raised the focal plane of light to sixty feet above high water and had an enclosed workroom near the top, just below the lens platform. The lens had red and white sectors. As long as a mariner remained in the white sector, a safe approach to the port could be made.

In 1917, the wooden tower was replaced by the present thirty-nine foot, pyramidal, concrete tower. A metal ladder leads up one side of the tower to the platform from which a fixed red light is shown. The durability and ease of maintaining such concrete towers led to their wide deployment throughout the islands.

In 1996 the Lāhainā Restoration Foundation signed a 30-year lease agreement with the Coast Guard and assumed responsibility for maintenance of the site.

A metal plaque placed at the tower in 1984 by the Lāhainā Restoration Foundation, the caretakers for the lighthouse, gives a brief history of the towers built at the site, which was originally home to the “oldest Pacific lighthouse.”

The plaque reads: “Oldest Pacific Lighthouse – On this site in 1840, King Kamehameha III ordered a nine-foot wooden tower built as an aid to navigation for the whaling ships anchored off Lāhainā. It was equipped with whale-oil lamps kept burning at night by a Hawaiian caretaker who was paid $20 per year.”

“The tower was increased to 26 feet in 1866, rebuilt in 1950, and the present concrete structure was dedicated by the Coast Guard in 1916. Thus, this light was the first in the Hawaiian Islands and pre-dates any lighthouse on the US Pacific Coast.”

Lahaina-Harbor-Light-1866 lighthouse on the left and new 1905 skeleton tower (lighthouseguy-com)

Lahaina_Light-Station._View_Looking_NE_along_dock._Site_of_proposed_new_light-station_buildings-1905

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna (EngravedAtLahainaluna)

Village of Lahaina Whaleships at Anchor (hawaiianhistoricalprints-com)-1848

June 12, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Queen’s Hospital

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

In King Kamehameha IV’s initial speech to the legislature in 1854, the King voiced his desire to create a hospital for the people of Hawaiʻi.

At that time, the continued existence of the Hawaiian race was seriously threatened by the influx of disease brought to the islands by foreign visitors.

Queen Emma enthusiastically supported the dream of a hospital, and the two campaigned tirelessly to make it a reality. They personally went door-to-door soliciting the necessary funding.

Through six generations, The Queen’s Medical Center has become a major provider of health care to the people of our State and a part of the cultural fabric of Hawaiʻi.

The Queen’s Medical Center, located in downtown Honolulu, is largest private hospital in Hawaiʻi, licensed to operate with 505 acute care beds and 28 sub-acute beds. The medical center has more than 3,000 employees and over 1,200 physicians on staff.

Its Mission Statement is, “To fulfill the intent of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV to provide in perpetuity quality health care services to improve the well-being of Native Hawaiians and all the people of Hawaiʻi.”

The first official building of Queen’s Hospital was erected on the same site where Hawaiʻi’s leading medical center stands today. It was a two-story structure made of coral blocks and California redwood that held 124 beds.

This original building stood for more than 60 years and was called “Hale Mai O Ka Wahine Ali‘i,” or “Hospital of the Lady Chief.”

Most of the buildings on the Queen’s campus have been given Hawaiian names to honor Hawaiian Royalty or other prominent citizens in the hospital’s development.

Nalani Wing (a shortened version of Queen Emma’s name, Kaleleonalani) is all that remains of a structure built in 1922, over the spot where the original hospital stood.

The Nalani facade remains today, with its ornate crest emblazoned over the entrance to the main lobby. Still visible are the now-sealed arched windows which originally lined open walkways, welcoming the trade winds and cooling the occupants within.

The Bishop Wing was an 1893 building that was razed in 1989, making way for a new addition to the Queen Emma Tower, which now houses Hawaiʻi’s largest Magnetic Resonance Imager (MRI).

The first Pauahi Wing stood in the same location as the present-day building, which was constructed in 1971. Its name honors Bernice Pauahi Bishop, whose husband, Charles Bishop, donated the wing in memory of his wife.

Maluhia was the location of the first Emergency Department and means “Peace” or “Rest” in Hawaiian. Maluhia was razed in 1998 to make way for the new Emergency Room and Same Day Surgery Center.

Edward Harkness of New York donated more than half the cost of the Harkness building in 1932 for the original School of Nursing, and as a residence for nurses. It remains virtually unchanged in its appearance and is now home to many administrative offices.

Kīna‘u was the name of King Kamehameha IV’s mother. Built in 1945, it has housed a wide variety of patient services and units.

The first open heart surgery in Hawaii was performed in the Kamehameha Wing (constructed in 1954 and named for the co-founder of Queen’s, King Kamehameha IV,) which was considered the most advanced surgical center in the state for over 30 years.

Iolani means “royal hawk” in Hawaiian, and was one of King Kamehameha’s names. The Iolani Wing was completed in 1960. It houses the Pathology department, patient rooms, Emergency department and administrative offices.

The Hawaiʻi Medical Library was established in 1913 and moved to the Queen’s campus in 1916. It has served the medical community for over 83 years.

Kekela was the name of Queen Emma’s mother, and this building, built in 1973, honors her memory. The University of Hawai‘i School of Medicine occupies the upper floors and Queen’s Mental/Behavioral Health Services is on the lower floors.

Naea was the name of Queen Emma’s High Chief father. The building bearing his name is the home of the Radiation Therapy department and its three linear accelerators.

Paahana means “hard working,” and this building, built in 1981, is the site of the hospital’s utility services plant. It supplies the infrastructure services necessary to operate the facility.

Manamana was originally an apartment building; this structure now houses administrative offices and housing units for patients and their families who have traveled to Oahu for treatment.

Named in honor of Queen’s founder, the Queen Emma Tower was constructed in 1985. Its unique design features a triangular shape with an open central core.

Its ten stories are filled with patient care units and services. The top-most floor is occupied by the Maternity Department, where the charm of the birthing suite’s decor won a designation as “the most beautiful hospital room in Honolulu.”

Old_photograph_of_the_Queen’s_Hospital

Queen_Emma_and_Kamehameha4

King Kamehameha IV & Queen Emma went door to door seeking donations to build what became the Queen’s Medical Center

The original Queen’s Hospital, shortly after being built, was sparsely surrounded in 1860

An early façade (1861) of The Queen’s Hospital

The main hospital building as it stood in 1898

Queen’s_Hospital_in_1905 (HSA)

Queen’s_Hospital,_ca._before_1899

Date_Palm_Avenue,_Queen’s_Hospital,_1899

June 5, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Grapevine

“In reporting to the Society on the subject of the grape-vine, it is gratifying to feel, that in this body, at least, its value, as well as its suitableness, to the soil and climate of these islands, is conceded … “

“… and that we have no longer to combat the hostility of some, who on former occasions, sought to discourage its culture, on the ground that we are ‘too far South,’ and that ‘grapes cannot be profitably grown in the tropics’ and so forth.”

“The cumulative experience of each succeeding season, goes incontrovertibly and conclusively to negative such obsolete theories, which cannot hold their ground against the every day evidence of our senses.” (John Montgomery, Report to Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, June 1, 1854)

Don Francisco de Paula Marin (known to the Hawaiian as ‘Manini’), a Spaniard who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in the 1790s (at about the age of 20), is credited with introducing and/or cultivating in Hawai‘i: pineapple, coffee, avocado, mango and grapes.

He fermented the first wine in Hawai‘i and distilled brandy. He also made rum from sugarcane and brewed beer, all of which he sold at his boarding house-saloon near the waterfront.

His ‘New Vineyard’ grapevines were located Waikiki side of Nu‘uanu Stream and makai of Vineyard Street; when a road was cut through its mauka boundary, it became known as Vineyard Street.

“‘The Doubter’ … asserted that the grape could not be profitably grown in the tropics, and which I rebutted by an array of facts, proving that grapes are grown and good wine made in large quantities, in much lower latitudes than ours.”

“The suitableness of our climate for vine-culture, being conceded, the next most important consideration in connection with the subject, is the selection of the best soil and situation for the full development of the fruit.”

“It is generally known that volcanic countries are those in which the vine flourishes most and produces the best and most abundant crops. The best wines of Italy are yielded by grapes grown in the vicinity of Vesuvius, and large quantities are grown in the neighborhood of Aetna; both Tokay and Hermitage, are the produce of volcanic regions.”

“I entirely concur in the remark of Dr. Baldwin in his report on this subject, last year, that so far as our observation goes, we should expect that the grape would flourish in every part of the islands where there is sufficient depth of soil, not too dry, well exposed to the sun, and where they are protected from the trade-winds.”

“That the alluvial soil of the valleys, formed by deposits of the disintegrated and decomposed volcanic rocks which form the basis of our mountains, combined with decomposed vegetable matter, is admirably adapted for vine-culture, no one who has visited Lahaina, on Maui, or Waimea valley, on Kauai, can doubt …”

“… and I presume many others of our sheltered valleys would be equally productive. But our valleys form only a small fraction of the entire surface, and besides are so very valuable for the raising of other important crops, which cannot be well grown elsewhere …”

“… that it becomes the more important to investigate with care, the other portions of the surface, with a view to finding localities, less valuable for other purposes, where the grape can be profitably grown, and whether the rocky hill-sides which in other volcanic countries produce grapes in abundance, cannot here also be made available for the purpose.”

“A soil abounding in rocks and stones, is that in which the vine flourishes most, in the majority of wine-making regions ; and the rocky and precipitous hill-sides of Madeira, Teneriffe, the Azores and other similar countries where wine of high character is largely made for export, closely resemble our own barren mountain slopes.”

“In these countries, the earth found in the interstices of the rocks, is stirred up to a sufficient depth to receive the young plant, which finds usually sufficient moisture and shelter, to induce its rapid vegetation …”

“… and in the course of time its erratic shoots deposit and dispere themselves over the intervening rocks, where they find abundant heat and light to encourage the growth and the full development of their fruit, which in such a position matures with much rapidity, to great perfection.”

“That the same result will follow in similar localities on these islands has been already proved by several parties, one of whom, Mr. Cummins, of Kealakeakua, has at present a flourishing and highly promising little vine-yard on the stony surface of Kona, on Hawaii, a district which I apprehend, offers unmistakable evidence of its entire adaptation to vine-culture on a vastly extensive scale.”

“The elevation at which the vine will flourish and produce large and remunerative crops of fine fruit, is much higher than many imagine, and it is a great error to suppose, that it requires the high temperature of Lahaina to bring it to perfection.”

“Dr. Baldwin states in his report of last year, that he has seen ‘the finest grapes, produced too, in great abundance, in Kuapehu, on Hawaii, at an elevation of 1,500 feet,’ and adds that his impression is that the vine-growing regions are of great elevation, in which opinion he is fully sustained by facts.”

“On the same island, in Hāmākua, and at about the same elevation, another of our enterprising settlers, Robert Robinson, has produced enormous crops of excellent grapes this season; but it is unnecessary to multiply evidence on the subject.”

“Next in importance, after the selection of suitable soil, for a vineyard, is to secure a situation, either naturally sheltered from the trade-winds, or on which artificial shelter can be cheaply and easily made. “

“The mode of training the vine is also an important consideration. The object sought to be obtained by training, is to secure the largest crop of grapes of the best quality, and for the latter, an abundant exposure to the direct rays of the sun, both for heat and light, seems to be indispensable.”

“In extensive vine-yards, the more usual plan is, to train each plant to a single pole, the plants being set in rows 3 or 3 ½ feet apart, each way, and this method seems to answer the purpose admirably, and at a small cost.”

“Another method, perhaps best adapted for gardens, is to train the shoots on lateral trellices, about 6 feet high, but avoiding all top shade, which is always injurious to the quality and flavor of the fruit.”

“Humidity of climate, so far from being beneficial, is decidedly injurious to it, and in damp countries, grapes seldom come to perfection …”

“… whereas, in some countries, where it never rains, as in Guayaquil, in Bolivia, and other parts of the South American continent, excellent grapes and good wines are produced in abundance, a sample of which wine I have had the pleasure to taste at the hospitable board of HBM’s Consul-General in this city.”

“In discussing the important subject of vine-culture, I have hitherto gone on the assumption that it is desirable to be carried on, on an extensive scale …”

“… but if our present system is to be perpetuated, and that we are to be prohibited from using the fruit for any other purposes than eating only, it is idle to think of converting our now barren wastes into vine-yards, which could serve no useful purpose, or compensate for the cost of their formation.”

“The application of a crop, for the encouragement of the culture of which, this Society awards annual premiums, I take to be within the scope of a report, and as such I would take leave to say that I trust and hope the time has gone by when the manufacture of wine for export will be opposed by any important sections of this intelligent community.” (John Montgomery, Report to Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, June 1, 1854)