Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Flying the American Flag

“Twenty-eight members of the crew of the American armed steamer Aztec, 3,808 tons, which was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine are missing …”  (Mercury, April 5, 1917)

Before we expand on this, let’s look back – both in Hawaiʻi and elsewhere.

Captain John Dominis was an Italian-American ship captain and merchant from New York who had been trading in the Pacific since the 1820s.  In the 1840s, he purchased property on Beretania Street; he built a home for his family, Mary Lambert Dominis (his wife) and John Owen Dominis (his son.)

In 1847, on a voyage to China, Captain Dominis was lost at sea. To make ends meet, the widowed Mary then rented spare bedrooms; one of her tenants was American Commissioner Anthony Ten Eyck.  Impressed with the white manor and grand columns out front, Ten Eyck said it reminded him of Mount Vernon (George Washington’s mansion) and that it should be named “Washington Place.”

King Kamehameha III, who concurred, Proclaimed as ‘Official Notice,’ “It has pleased His Majesty the King to approve of the name of Washington Place given this day by the Commissioner of the United States, to the House and Premises of Mrs. Dominis and to command that they retain that name in all time coming.”  (February 22, 1848)

In 1862, John Owen Dominis married Lydia Kamakaʻeha (also known as Lydia Kamakaʻeha Pākī.)  Lydia Dominis described Washington Place “as comfortable in its appointments as it is inviting in its aspect.”  Reportedly, the American flag flew at the residence until Mary Dominis’s death, when Liliuokalani had it removed.  (Mary Dominis died on April 25, 1889, and the premises went to her son, John Owen Dominis, Governor of Oʻahu.)

Lydia was eventually titled Princess, and later became Queen Liliʻuokalani, in 1891.  John Owen Dominis died shortly after becoming Prince consort (making Liliʻuokalani the second widow of the mansion;) title to the home then passed to Queen Liliʻuokalani.

On the continent, former Princeton University president and governor of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson was elected President in 1912; under him, the US proclaimed its neutrality from the beginning of World War I (in the summer of 1914.)

After the German sinking of the British passenger ship Lusitania in May 1915 (which killed 1,201 people, including 128 Americans,) Wilson sent a strongly worded warning to Germany.  After attempts to broker peace, then sinking of the American cargo ship Housatonic, Wilson broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

With German submarine warfare continuing unabated, the final straw came on April 1, 1917, when the armed merchant ship Aztec was sunk off the northwest coast of France by U-boat 46 under the command of Leo Hillebrand. The Aztec was on its way from New York to Le Havre, France with a cargo of timber, copper, steel, chemicals and machinery.

All twenty eight members of the crew were killed, including Boatswain’s Mate First Class John I Eopolucci, a Naval Armed Guard – the first US Navy sailor killed in action in World War I.  The attack on the Aztec was the final straw and led to America’s intervention into World War I.

On April 2, 1917, President Wilson appeared before Congress to deliver his historic war message and asked for a declaration of war against Germany.  (history-com)  Then as Congress convened, two more ships were sunk, the large freighter Missourian and the schooner Marguerite, with no casualties aboard either ship.  On April 6, 1917, after twenty-nine months of official neutrality, the US declared war on Germany, formally entering World War I.

The passage of the war resolution by Congress, April 5, 1917, and the issuance of the President’s proclamation the next day declaring that “a state of war exists between the United States and the Imperial German Government,” was the signal for Hawaiʻi once more to declare its loyalty and pledge its unfaltering support of the nation’s cause. Appropriate resolutions were adopted by the legislature and by numerous clubs and organizations.  (Kuykendall)

On the very day on which President Wilson delivered his memorable war message to Congress, the ground for his indictment of the German government was brought home to the people of this territory by news that five youths from Hawaiʻi had lost their lives in the sinking of the Aztec.  (Kuykendall)

When the American steamer Aztec was sunk a few days ago by a German submarine, five Hawaiians … lost their lives …. Two of these Hawaiians were residents of Honolulu, the other three of Hawaiʻi.  (Hawaiian Gazette, April 3, 1917).

The five Hawaiian merchant marines that were part of the Aztec crew were: John Davis, Charles Kanai, Eleka Kaohi, Julian R Macomber and Henry Rice (they were all civilians.)

Support grew for an event to mourn the loss of Hawaiʻi’s first war dead.  In a memorial service for the five, held April 22, 1917, “The dead were eulogized as heroes who lost their lives while maintaining the right of the principle that the seas are free to all.  About a pavilion platform that was decorated with the Star Spangled Banner and the flag of Hawaiʻi … more than 2000 gathered …”

“That the Hawaiians died in the service of their country in upholding American right of legitimate commerce at sea was emphasized by the presence on the platform of the heads of the military and naval service in Hawaiʻi, and there was a solemn martial atmosphere to the gathering to remind even casual spectators that this was a memorial service in war time.”  (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 23, 1917)

“Senator HL Desha speaking in Hawaiian delivered an oration appropriate to the occasion. He spoke of the five brave men who died doing their duty and declared that for all we know on this earth, these men might have sacrificed their lives for the peace of the whole world.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, April 24, 1917)

Lorrin Andrews delivered an oration on what the American flag represents, “There is a Flag floating over this building which symbolizes to all of us that which we hold most dear. It was conceived in a struggle for liberty against oppression. It presided over the birth of the greatest republic that the world has ever seen, and it has always represented honor, freedom and justice.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, April 24, 1917)

Not long before her death in 1917, Queen Liliuokalani nobly expressed support of the United States in World War I by ordering that the American flag be flown over Washington Place.  (hawaii-gov)

“For the first time in its long and picturesque history, Washington Place, home of Queen Liliʻuokalani, was decorated today with an American flag.”

“It was the occasion of the visit of the legislators to pay their respects to the aged queen and in view of the extraordinary crisis in international affairs and the prospect of patriotic war action by congress …”

“… the queen allowed the flag to be flown in honor of the government which years ago was responsible for her loss of a monarchy.”  (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 3, 1917)  (Reportedly, the American flag continued to fly over Washington Place.)

Liliʻuokalani continued to occupy Washington Place until her death later that year (November 11, 1917.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

April Fool

April Fools’ Day, also called All Fools’ Day, in most countries is the first day of April. It received its name from the custom of playing practical jokes on this day.

Although the day has been observed for centuries, its true origins are unknown and effectively unknowable. It resembles festivals such as the Hilaria of ancient Rome, held on March 25, and the Holi celebration in India, which ends on March 31.

Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563.

Because Easter was a lunar and therefore moveable date, those who clung to the old ways were the “April Fools.” Others have suggested that the timing of the day may be related to the vernal equinox (March 21), a time when people are fooled by sudden changes in the weather. (Britannica)

These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as poisson d’avril (April fish), said to symbolize a young, “easily hooked” fish and a gullible person.

Fast forward to Hawai‘i … Herschel Leib Hohenstein, aka Hal Lewis, aka J Akuhead Pupule or Aku, was the morning air personality in 1965 at KGMB, an AM station in Honolulu.

Lewis was reported to be the world’s highest-paid disc jockey, bringing in $6,000 a week when he died of cancer in 1983 at age 66.

Back in the day, you were cautioned to not ‘bite’ at the antics of Aku on April 1st.  No matter how sincere he sounded broadcasting that day, you needed to pause and reflect on the plausibility of the ‘news,’ whether it was traffic, weather or otherwise.

April 1, 1954 … Aku announced that the US Senate had not only approved Statehood for Hawaii but had also provided for an “immediate” refund of all 1953 Federal taxes to Island residents.

The announcement seemed plausible because a Hawaiian tax refund had been in the news recently when Congressman Joseph Farrington had suggested that islanders should be given a refund of all federal taxes if Hawaii wasn’t granted full statehood.

The news caused massive turmoil throughout Hawaii. Radio stations, newspapers, and the Internal Revenue Bureau were flooded with calls from people seeking more information. Many banks received calls from people who wanted to place orders for stock and bond purchases with their forthcoming refund.

The uproar was so intense that the Associated Press had to officially set the record straight, calling it “the greatest commotion in Hawaii since the Pearl Harbor attack.” The general manager of the radio station publicly apologized, going on to say that DJ Hal Lewis was fired.

Honolulans, proving they could take a joke, flooded the radio station with calls to protest the firing, only to find out later in the day that the firing and the “general manager” were all part of the joke too! (Sharon Lathan)

April 1, 1983 … the last Aku pulled; hundreds turned out to watch, with beach chairs and coolers, as Aku told them that the ‘Easter Parade’ with Magnum, PI star Tom Selleck, Gov. George Ariyoshi and many Easter Bunnies walked down Ala Moana Boulevard, turn right on Kalakaua Avenue and made their way to Kapiolani Park.

Aku played recordings of marching bands, and reporters described the floats and procession.  Those lining and waiting on the street saw nothing but cars passing by. (Sigall)

Lewis died on July 21, 1983, in his Wai‘alae Iki home at the age of 66 just little more than a month after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

Lewis’ substitute host, Larry Price, took over the morning drive with Michael W Perry and, like Lewis, the duo dominated the morning drive time for the next 33 years until Price retired in 2016.

Of course not a joke, on April 1, 1946 an 8.6-magnitude earthquake off the Aleutian Islands triggered a tsunami. Alaska and California were also hit with tsunami waves. (A 100-foot wave crushed a small Alaskan village, killing all five inhabitants.)

The most destructive tsunami in Hawai‘i’s modern history barreled onto island shorelines. Waves topped 50 feet. The wave that hit Hilo was at least three stories tall. And at Laupāhoehoe, a schoolhouse was hit with tsunami waves. The teacher and 25 students were killed.

By the time the waves had receded, 159 people were dead, homes, businesses and roads were destroyed, and there was a new appreciation for the sheer destructive force of tsunamis.

© 2026 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Beauty Hole

Laniloa Point (or Lāʻie Point) is a protrusion of rock separating Lāʻie Beach to the south from Laniloa Beach to the north. Laniloa, literally means “tall, majesty.”

In ancient times this point was a moʻo (lizard-like creature,) standing upright; Lua Laniloa was a hole that was the home of the moʻo, who “menaced all travelers pausing to refresh themselves beside his pool.”

The moʻo were slain by the demi-hero Kana and his brother Nīheu. When the brothers killed the monsters, they chopped them up into the five islands off shore of Mālaekahana and Lāʻie.

The moʻo hole has been confused with a pool known as the “Beauty Hole,” which formed in the 1930s during construction of Kamehameha Highway when excavation led to the collapse of a sinkhole. (Cultural Surveys)

“The mere mention of the Beauty Hole brings tears to the eyes of those who remember it fondly. It might not have looked like much to the passerby … but to people like Phyllis Kuamoʻo, ‘it was our Natatorium.’”

“Indeed, the chance to jump into the refreshing water was a reward that had to be earned … making it all the more cherished. Phyllis remembers going directly from Lāʻie Elementary School in the afternoons to the taro patch, where she and her siblings would get hot and muddy pulling taro. It was only after she pulled her share that her dad might offer the chance to jump in the swimming hole.”

“Vatau Galeai Neria also holds happy memories of the Beauty Hole. Coming from Sāmoa in 1952, she never learned to swim. That is, until her friends encouraged her to try out the Beauty Hole, which she did by boldly jumping in the first time.”

“Thankfully, there was a ‘learner’s section,’ where you could doggie paddle from rock to rock and never stray into the center.”

“Of course there were always the dare devils. Using a hand made diving board, some adventurous young swimmers would dive down to where the water was dark and deep, fill a glass soda bottle with water that was noticeably colder, and offer proof to friends waiting on the surface of how close to the bottom they’d been.”

“Young people and families from Lāʻie would flock to the swimming hole where, inevitably, musicians would set themselves up on a nearby mound for an impromptu concert, and many would feel blissfully connected and carefree.” (Hoʻomua)

“The pond was not much more than twelve or fifteen feet in diameter. And of course, when you’re used to it, you don’t become frightened. But I learned to swim there by having someone throw me in, and that’s the way many of us swim.”

“They’d throw us in the pond and it was supposedly bottomless, but you could swim around the edges.” (Adam Forsythe, BYUH Oral Histories)

“The beauty hole … was an indentation, the origins of which are somewhat obscure, but people do remember it back as far as present memory can go. The accounts have been that it was possibly uncovered as a result of digging off the end of Lāʻie point during road construction.”

“(T)hat’s where our swimming hole was and this is where Hawaiian boys and girls – myself – learn how to swim. I’ve been living here seventy-two and I never noticed any drowning in here.”

“And this beauty hole here has produced two boys they was raised in Laie and they called themselves Kelii brothers and they were once-upon-a-time champion swimmers in 1925, ’26, ’27, ’29; they were champion swimmers. It was from the Beauty Hole they learned it from here.”

“Close to the road you cannot touch there; it’s very deep, but close to the wall, you can. It is only about twenty feet deep and this is the pool where I used to make a lot of money like diving for nickels twenty-five cents. Oh, yes especially on Sunday.”

“This one Sunday I didn’t go to priesthood meeting but I made a lot of money … When you throw the money you don’t jump on the money you jump on the side because when you jump on the money you just find bubbles coming up.”

“So that’s how I beat the other boys. So they named me Five-Cents, so today I’m still Five-Cents. Well I’m glad I’m Five-Cents because if you raised me up twenty-five cents, then the government tax me more.”

“We had three little diving boards … that’s where we learned how to dive on that high tower.” (Thomas Au (‘Uncle Five-Cents,’) BYUH)

Some say Beauty Hole got its name because a beautiful old woman with long grey hair would come to swim during each full moon, and then sit on a rock under the moonlight and comb her hair.

She had apparently found solace in that spot after losing her daughter. Whether or not the story is true is irrelevant, because for all those who long ago got to swim there, it was unquestionably a place of beauty. (Hoʻomua)

Located across from where Foodland is now, the Beauty Hole eventually got covered over in the 1960s and built on.

© 2026 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 4 Comments

Tutasi

“No other clubs compared to the Hawaiian Room.” (Tutasi Wilson; Imada)

“Although the Lexington Hotel is located in New York City, it still had the ability to play an integral role in sharing and perpetuating the Hawaiian culture and traditions.”

“The Hawaiian Room was the hub of all things Hawaiian in the Big Apple, and these people were the ambassadors of Hawaiʻi to America.” (English)

‘The girls’ saw their mission as selling Hawaii in a nice way. (Imada)

From 1937-1966, in the heart of what was the largest city in the world at the time, the Hawaiian Room was a pioneering venue where authentic hula and Hawaiian music were shared with millions from around the world.

Its performers represented the finest talent Hawai‘i had to offer, and they were readily embraced and celebrated by the diverse New York community.

The Room itself was the first of its kind and featured a glamorous dining room with island decor, large dance floor and American orchestra, and a Hawaiian music and floor show that was unmatched in its professionalism, elegance, and beauty.

It was New York after all – the land of Broadway shows, fast- paced lifestyles, ethnic diversity, and celebrities. (hula preservation society)

Some of the important names in Hawaiian entertainment performed at the Lex. They include Alfred Apaka, Ed Kenney, Kui Lee, Manu Kanemura Bentley, Lei Becker Furtado, TeMoana Makolo, Mona Joy, Ray Kinney, ‘Uncle’ Keola Beamer, Olan Peltier Carpenter, Leialoha Kaleikini, Jennie Woodd and Lani McIntire. (Wood)

Tutasi was one of the performers at the Lexington Hotel’s Hawaiian Room.

Helen Tutasiilemauosamoa Wilson was born in Leone, Pago Pago American Samoa on March 7, 1914; she was the daughter of Helen Ripley of Leone, and Frederick Roy Wilson of Hope, Michigan.

In 1925, when Tutasi was 10 years old, she was sent to Honolulu where she attended Lincoln School and later Kamehameha School for Girls; thus, in 1933, becoming the first non-Hawaiian girl to graduate from the school.

Between trips back to Samoa, she studied at the University of Hawaiʻi, worked in social services, and later returned to Samoa to work in this field.

Eventually, Tutasi left Samoa for California to further her studies, but the offer of a role in ‘Mutiny On the Bounty’ was too tempting, and thus her career in movies began. (PPSEAW)

During her time in Hollywood, she was a roommate with actress Jane Wyman. She also met Jane’s boyfriend Ronnie, another actor, and quickly they all became good friends. (Ronnie was Ronald Reagan, the 40th US President.)

Movie life soon paled and she then accepted an offer to join the Honolulu Maids at the Hotel Lexington’s Hawaiian Room in New York where she started a new career that included Polynesian dancing, costume design and catering services.

Tutasi became a valued addition to Arthur Godfrey’s weekly CBS-TV program in New York with her dancing and acting. Also featured on the show was her lifelong friend Duke Kahanamoku. They were a big hit with the Hawaiʻi-conscious audience.

Later, Tutasi launched her own business called Polynesian Services and Entertainment, and became involved in the lucrative New York tourist business by featuring travel packages for a ‘Hawaiian South Seas Weekend in Atlantic City,’ where she supervised everything from the luau dinners to the Polynesian dancing and fashion shows. (SamoaNews)

Her first husband was Charles Simmons; they married in 1936, when she was 21 years old. Simmons, a Navy pilot, died less than two years later, killed during a test flight.

In 1960, Tutasi married Dr Lewis Steinhilber, the head surgeon at the American Samoa Hospital. Dr Steinhilber passed away in 1982; following his death, Tutasi relocated to Hawai’i.

“An advocate for education, Tutasi mentored many young Samoans, encouraging them to pursue professional goals not merely for personal advancement, but to help the aiga (family) and others. So many people have benefited from her kind generosity.” (SamoaNews)

‘Aunty Tutasi’ died April 5, 2013 in Hawaiʻi at the age of 99. She was buried in the Ripley Family Cemetery in Sogi, Saita’a. In her last will and testament she gave this tender farewell:

“My heartfelt wishes and aloha shall go to all my dear relatives and friends in Samoa and Hawaiʻi for their friendship and kindness extended to me throughout my lifetime. Aloha nui loa – Tutasi”. (SamoaNews)

© 2026 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Tutasi_Wilson-Tutasi Rebecca Ainu’u Wesley
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Tutasi Wilson-Wedding day toDr. Lewis Steinhilber-Tutasi Rebecca Ainu’u Wesley
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Early advertisement for the Hawaiian Room
Hotel Lexington New York Hawaiian Room (1953)

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Telling Time

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

The answer to both is Yes … and Kekaha on Kauai has the distinction of being one of only two official Time broadcast points in the United States (the other is in Fort Collins, Colorado.)

At first, I thought “Time” was a pretty simple thing. Oh yeah, every now and then we need to mentally add or subtract an extra hour between points on the continent for time zone changes – and most folks there need to adjust for “Daylight” or not – but in looking into the Kauai operation, I quickly learned that there are many variables of “Time.”

OK, let’s fast forward past the daylight-darkness, sundial, wind-up and quartz watch timing eras … nowadays, transportation, communication, financial transactions, manufacturing, electric power and many other technologies have become dependent on accurate clocks; folks need to be more accurate than being “about” a certain time.

In addition, some folks need time referenced to the Earth’s rotation for applications such as celestial navigation, satellite observations of the Earth and some types of surveying. For those folks, Time relative to the motion of the Earth is more important than the accuracy of the atomic clock (even though Earth time fluctuates by a few thousandths of a second a day.)

For the rest of us, highly accurate atomic clocks and the agreement in 1967 on what a “second” is (the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of the radiation associated with a specified transition of the cesium atom) led to a compromise time scale of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC.)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST – an agency of the US Department of Commerce) laboratories in Boulder, Colorado does the computing for us and even broadcasts the UTC(NIST) via various means. (UTC(NIST) is the US national standard for measurements of time-of-day, time interval and frequency.

Here’s the official statement on what they do: “UTC(NIST) is the coordinated universal time scale maintained at NIST. The UTC(NIST) time scale comprises an ensemble of cesium beam and hydrogen maser atomic clocks, which are regularly calibrated by the NIST primary frequency standard. The number of clocks in the time scale varies, but is typically around ten.”

“The outputs of the clocks are combined into a single signal by using a weighted average. The most stable clocks are assigned the most weight. The clocks in the UTC(NIST) time scale also contribute to the International Atomic Time (TAI) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).”

“UTC(NIST) serves as a national standard for frequency time interval, and time-of-day. It is distributed through the NIST time and frequency services and continuously compared to the time and frequency standards located around the world.”

Whoa, that’s waaay more information than I needed; … and, I think you are confusing me with someone who cares. (Short answer, those guys “keep” the time.) OK, let’s move on.

If you really want to know what Time it is, go to http://nist.time.gov, select your desired time zone in the US and the time will be displayed for you.

Or, call to hear the “Time” broadcasts by dialing (303) 499-7111 for WWV (Colorado) and (808) 335-4363 for WWVH (Hawaiʻi).

These are not toll-free numbers; callers outside the local calling area are charged for the call at regular long-distance rates. The telephone time-of-day service is used to synchronize clocks and watches and for the calibration of stopwatches and timers. It receives about 1,000 calls per day.

OK, back to Kauai.

At Kokole Point at Mānā, Kauai, the NIST radio station WWVH broadcasts time and frequency information 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to listeners worldwide. (These are the guys who “tell” the time.)

The information broadcast by WWVH includes time announcements, standard time intervals, standard frequencies, UT1 time corrections (time derived by astronomers who monitor the speed of the Earth’s rotation,) a BCD time code (time data is coded binary coded decimal (BCD) digits in the form HH:MM:SS:FF,) geophysical alerts, marine storm warnings and Global Positioning System (GPS) status reports.

Voice announcements are made from WWVH once every minute. The announced time is “Coordinated Universal Time” (UTC). Coordination with the international UTC time scale keeps NIST time signals in close agreement with signals from other time and frequency stations throughout the world.

UTC differs from local time by the number of time zones between your location and the zero meridian (which passes through Greenwich, England.) (In Hawaiʻi, it’s UTC – 10 (the online and telephone time broadcasts are calibrated for Hawaiʻi.))

UTC is a 24-hour clock system. When local time changes from Daylight Saving to Standard Time, or vice versa, UTC does not change. However, the difference between UTC and local time may change by 1-hour. UTC runs at an almost perfectly constant rate, since its rate is based on cesium atomic frequency standards.

In addition to the time-related data, NOAA uses WWVH to broadcast geophysical alert messages that provide information about solar terrestrial conditions. Marine storm warnings are broadcast for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service provides the storm warning information. (This information is broadcast at specific time intervals in each hour.)

Another critical function of the WWV system (especially for Hawaiʻi) is keeping the clocks on the GPS satellites in sync. GPS technology requires very accurate timekeeping as the difference in radio signal arrival is a big part of fixing your location. Without WWVH, the GPS system would drift off and lots of transportation and related functions would be affected (airplanes, ships, self-driving cars, etc.)

WWVH began operation on November 22, 1948 at Kihei on the island of Maui (the site now houses the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary offices.) In July 1971, the station moved to its current location, near Kekaha, Kauai.

For those wondering why these two facilities, that are west of the Mississippi River, have call signs that start with “W” (typically, station call signs west of the Mississippi start with “K” and those east start with “W,”) the time station’s early location was in Washington, DC (May 1920) – when it moved to Fort Collins (1966,) it kept the call sign. For consistency, Kauai followed the call sign pattern.

© 2026 Hoʻokuleana LLC