Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

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)

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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).

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

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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by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kīkā Kila

There are three conflicting claims attributing the invention of the steel guitar to three different people: James Hoa, Gabriel Davion and Joseph Kekuku. Of this trio, Kekuku has been the most commonly mentioned as inventor of the steel guitar – and the evidence is impressive. (Kanahele)

Likewise, there are three stories as to how Kekuku started the steel guitar phenomenon: (1) walking along a road, a rusty bolt accidentally vibrated one of the strings, (2) rather than a road, he was walking along the railroad tracks, he picked up a bolt and slid it across the strings and (3) he was playing his hair comb wrapped in tissue paper like a harmonica, with his guitar in his lap, he dropped the comb on the strings causing them to vibrate.

The latter was on the Kamehameha Schools website, where he was student at the time … come to your own conclusion – most credit Kekuku as being the originator.

Kekuku was then inspired to substitute the back of his knife for his comb. Later, in the school shop, Kekuku developed the smooth, steel playing bar used today, and raised the guitar frets so that the bar would glide easily across the strings. He also switched from gut to wire strings for more sustained notes, and designed individual finger picks for the opposing hand. (Hawaiian Music Museum)

Joseph Kekukuʻupena-kanaʻiaupunio Kamehameha Āpuakēhau (Keeper of the nets that surround the kingdom of Kamehameha) (Joseph Kekuku) is credited for inventing the Kīkā Kila, the steel guitar.

In 1993, Joseph Kekuku was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame with full honors as the inventor of the Hawaiian steel guitar. In 1995, he was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.

Kekuku was born (in 1874 or 1875) in Lāʻie at Koʻolauloa on the windward side of Oʻahu, one of a large family of Joseph Kekukupena Āpuakēhau and Miliama Kaopua. At 15, he and his cousin, Sam Nainoa, left for boarding school at Kamehameha Schools in Kalihi.

In 1889, while attending the Kamehameha School for Boys, Kekuku accidentally discovered the sound of the steel guitar. He then performed in school concerts.

That sound has been described as, “”The most beautiful and soothing of all music is brought to us from the South Seas islands of the Pacific and to many the instrumental and vocal music of Hawaiians is by far the sweetest.” (Dover Historical Society)

Kamehameha notes Kekuku was in the class of 1894; in 1904, the left for the American continent performing in vaudeville theaters from coast to coast. His group was ‘Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet’ and were sponsored by a management group called ‘The Affiliated.’

In 1909, Seattle was the host city of a world’s fair – the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A-Y-P.) The A-Y-P Exposition featured Joseph Kekuku who apparently intrigued enough fair attendees that he was swamped with requests to give lessons and as a result Kekuku reportedly stuck around town for a while to provide locals with steeling lessons.

In time, Kekuku relocated to Los Angeles where he helped the Hawaiian craze expand, performing and taking on students, one of whom – Myrtle Stumpf – went on to produce the first-ever tutorial course, a 68-page classic booklet titled: the Original Hawaiian Method for Steel Guitar. (Blecha)

The Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 provided another showcase and fueled the Hawaiian Music craze across the country. The Hawaiian Pavilion was built; there were Hawaiian shows several times a day.

Joseph Kekuku was a guest artist. The impact of this expo was phenomenal. It was followed by an instant boom in Hawaiian recordings (which outsold all other pop music recordings), Hollywood movies with Hawaiian themes, formation of new Hawaiian musical groups, and demand for instruction on steel guitar. (Bocchino)

“Mr Kekuku has appeared in the one hundred and twenty-five largest cities of America. Over one million people have heard him play. It is not uncommon for Mr Kekuku to play five encore numbers for each regular selection presented. His audiences seem never to tire of the beautiful music.” (Promotional Brochure)

“Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet, bringing with them a breath of the Paradise Isles will be the main feature of the closing day (at Chautauqua, Lompoc Opera House.) The honey-sweetness and soft witchery of the languorous music of the Hawaiians curl around the heart of the listener like the invisible tendrils of a dream.”

“The key to this irresistible whispering hum-like effect in stringed music is in the hands of Joseph Kekuku of Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet, premier Hawaiian players and singers of the original Toots Paka, Alisky and Bird of Paradise Companies.”

“Mr, Kekuku is the originator of the celebrated steel method of guitar playing, the most bewitching note yet sounded in instrumental music. The members of Kekuku’s Hawaiian Quintet are: Joseph Kekuku, steel method guitar; Henry Aaka, basso, harpguitar; Alfred Weila, baritone, ukulele; Gaby Kalau, tenor, guitar, taropatch.” (Lompoc Journal, May 19, 1916)

Kekuku later joined the Bird of Paradise show that toured Europe from 1919 to 1927 (he was probably the first to play steel guitar on that continent.)

“Like the New York Times columnist who admired the ‘scenic beauty’ of The Bird of Paradise, most critics appreciated the production’s impressive staging. The inclusion of native Hawaiian musicians proved equally critical to the show’s success, and their music became a key selling point.”

“Enthusiastic reviewers of the musicians and the music of The Bird of Paradise commended ‘the native musicians who make the haunting musical interpolations of their own land’ and drew attention to the distinctive ‘threnody of the ukulele and the haunting, yearning cry of steel pressed against the strings of the guitar.” (Garrett)

He returned to the United States at the age of 53 and first settled in Chicago; around 1930, he left Chicago and visited Dover, New Jersey (he later moved to Dover – he was often referred to as “The Hawaiian.”) (Bocchino)

On January 16, 1932 at the age of 58 Joseph Kekuku died in Morristown of a brain hemorrhage; he is buried in the Orchard Street Cemetery, Dover, New Jersey.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

DUKW (Duck)

“Auto that sails the seas and boat that runs on land”

“An Alaskan expedition to study explosive Mount Katwain in 1927 furnished Dr (Thomas Augustus) Jaggar with the motive for developing an amphibious motor car.”

“After several months of experimentation, he completed his pioneer water bug and dubbed it ‘Ohiki,’ which is Hawaiian for sand crab.” (Popular Mechanics)

“In preparation for this expedition, the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory machine shop built a wooden amphibious boat around a ‘low-geared small motor car with balloon tires,’ that Jaggar had used over tundra and beach of the Alaskan Peninsula in 1927.”

“Inlets, rivers, and rocks were obstacles that made Jaggar mentally design modifications of the car into a ‘car-skiff.’”

Jaggar invented the first practical wheeled amphibian. (Popular Mechanics)

“She first took to the sea at Ninoʻole Cove in the Kaʻū District, and she quickly revealed the need for additional work.” (USGS)

“Several hundred skeptical spectators witnessed the formal launching January 17, 1928, at Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Many wagers were lost as the Ohiki lumbered off the highway and trundled along the beach into the water.”

After modifications (freeboard raised, length slightly increased, paddle-wheels enlarged, a winch and cable mounted in bow, 5-horsepower outboard motor added,) an extended trip was made along the west coast of the Island of Hawaii to make beach and sea tests.

Lorrin Thurston went along as a passenger and publicity man; Mrs Jaggar served as stewardess. The car with the boat body excited all the roadside children of Kona with delight. (USGS)

“Dr. Jaggar’s initial amphibian was a skiff 21-feet long with a beam of five feet four inches, mounted on an elongated Ford chassis … just forward and mounted through the sides of the boat was a Ruckstall axle to which sidewheel paddles were attached … the front wheels were disked and served as rudders.” (Popular Mechanics)

“Jaggar’s Ohiki made a speed of about 4 mi/h in water with the combined power of paddle wheels and outboard motor… It made more than 20 mi/h over highways.” (USGS)

He later created another amphibian, the Honukai (sea turtle;) it was a twin-screw steel amphibian, built in Chicago by the Powell Mobile-Boat Corp.

In 1928, when the National Geographic Society joined with the USGS to sponsor an expedition with Jaggar in charge to map, photograph, and survey in the Aleutians around Pavlof Volcano, the Society supplied an amphibious boat.

In the 400-miles along the coast of Alaska, from Shumagin Islands to King Cove, the expedition did not even have to pump up the tires. (USGS)

The Honukai’s numerous excessively low gears even enabled them to drive up to the snowline and bring out the heavy fur and bones of a bear that Jaggar had shot on the snowy volcano, Mount Dana. Jaggar brought the Honukai back to Hawaii with him and based it in Kona. (Popular Mechanics)

“As a result of his experiences and design work with the Ohiki and the Honukai, Jaggar was later able to help the US Army with the design of amphibious vehicles for World War II, and he received in 1945 the Franklin L Burr Prize of the National Geographic Society for this work.” (USGS)

In 1942, the Army, faced with challenges in landing troops and supplies, modified a 1 ½ ton GMC truck – it was called the DUKW (D = built in 1942; U = amphibious 2½ ton truck; K = front wheel drive and W = rear wheel drive.) (Army Transportation Museum)

Today, we simply call these vehicles ‘Ducks.’

Jaggar was considered grandfather of the ‘Duck,’ which has played a prominent part in amphibious landings both in the European and South Pacific theaters of war. (Mount Caramel, February 27, 1945)

(Lorrin Thurston and George Lycurgus were instrumental in getting the volcano recognized as Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. In 1912, Jaggar moved to Kilauea to start the observatory, studying volcanoes.)

(On August 1, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the country’s 13th National Park into existence – Hawaiʻi National Park (later (1961) split into Haleakalā National Park and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.)

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