Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Paul Emmert Artist/Traveler

Born near Bern, Switzerland, in 1826, Paul Emmert (1826‒1867) immigrated to the United States at the age of 19, landing first in New York and then heading west with the discovery of gold in California.

In 1853, he became one of the many artist-travelers to come to Hawai‘i to satisfy the thriving market for images of the islands’ dramatic topography and singular culture.

In Honolulu, he opened a print shop, where he made prints after his own drawings of local landmarks. Eventually, he moved to Kailua-Kona and farmed the sugar plantation where he lived out the remainder of his life.

In his 14 years in Hawai‘i, Emmert made drawings of the mountains, coastlines, vegetation, and geophysical phenomena in and around O‘ahu, Maui and the Island of Hawai‘i.

While Emmert was in Honolulu he made a series of sketches of Honolulu, one from the harbor and five from the bell-deck of the Catholic Cathedral.

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, located at the north end of Fort Street (and Beretania) in downtown Honolulu, is said to be the oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States and one of the oldest existing buildings in the downtown area.

The Cathedral stands on land which was given to the Catholic missionaries by King Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) when the mission was established in 1827.

Here is a summary of the images in the six sketches of Honolulu:

No. 1. View of Honolulu from the Harbor (1854)

Center image is view looking mauka at Honolulu Harbor from the water.
Smaller images, circling the center image, include various buildings: (clockwise from top left) the Royal School, Custom House, interior of the Fort, market house, charity school, stone church, “Bethel” (Bethel Church?), armory, court house, palace of King Kamehameha III, Honolulu House, the steamer Akamai, the native church and the Catholic church.

No. 2. View of Honolulu from the Catholic Church (1854)

Central image is view looking toward Diamond Head.
Smaller images, circling the center image, include various residences and consulates: (clockwise from top left) John Yung; Mr. Angel, U.S. Consul; General Miller, H.B.M. Consul General; Mr. Perrin, French Consul; Prince Alexander and Lot; Mr. Armstrong; L. Anthon, Danish Consul; U.S. Consulate; King’s summer house; Mr. Hackfield, Swedish Consul; Mr. Montgomery; Mr. Gregg, U.S. Commissioner; Mr. Wyllie; Mr. Davis, Peruvian Consul; Mr. Hall; Mr. Reynolds, Bremen Consul.

No. 3. View of Honolulu from the Catholic Church (1854)

Center image is view looking toward Kakaʻako.
Smaller images, circling the center image, include various businesses and buildings: (clockwise from top left) Dentist, MacFarlane Hotel, National Hotel & Billiard Saloon, French Hotel, F. Spencer, Lafrenz & Fisher Cabinet Makers, Tailoring by Chas. Nicholson, Stuart & Rahe Cabinetmakers and Turners, Dr. Lathrop Drug Store, Hudsons Bay Company, Globe Hotel, Chas. Vincent, Reynolds, French Store, Ruggles and H Hackfeld & Co.

No. 4. View of Honolulu from the Catholic Church (1854)

Center image is view looking makai toward Honolulu Harbor.
Smaller images, circling the center image, include various businesses and buildings: (clockwise from top left) T. Spencer Ship Chandler, Rice & Co., Makee & Anthon’s Building, C. Brewer, DN Flitner Watch Maker, Dr Hoffman – Spalding, Honolulu Iron Works, H Sea – R Coady, Holt & Heuck, Melchers & Co., Mitchell & Fales – Wells Fargo & Co., BF Snow, Porter & Ogden, Allen & Co., Polynesian Office and Hawaiian Steam Navigation Office.

No. 5. View of Honolulu from the Catholic Church (1854)

Center image is view looking toward Central Oʻahu.
Smaller images, circling the center image, include various residences: (clockwise from top left) Boullion, Dubois, Capt. Snow, Cartwright, Spencer, Spalding, Ford, Capt. Crab, Sea, Newcomb, Bungalow, Dr. Wood, Sommner, Macfarlane, Porter & Ogden and Dowsett.

No. 6. View of Honolulu from the Catholic Church (1854)

Center image is view looking mauka toward Nuʻuanu Valley.
Smaller images, circling the center image, include various residences: (clockwise from top left) Dr, Lathrop, Paki, Washington Place, John Ji, Judge Andrews, Bishop, Capt. Luce, Rev. Damon, Dr. Hildebrand, Dr. Judd, Capt. Makee, Bates, Nuʻuanu Valley Waterfall, Wood, Wood and Ladd.
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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Did it start with Puka Shells?

NBA rules state that “officials shall not permit players to play with any type of jewelry.” (NBA-com)  Likewise, “exposed jewelry” is considered “prohibited equipment, apparel” by the NFL. (NFL-com)

More often than not, jewelry is not allowed to be worn by players in a game … except baseball.

Baseball rules don’t specifically come out and say it, but comments within the MLB rules suggest that players can and do wear jewelry.

Such as, “A batter shall not be considered touched by a pitched ball if the ball only touches any jewelry being worn by a player (e.g., necklaces, bracelets, etc.).” (Rule 5.05(b)(2) Comment)

Likewise, in discussion on what a ‘Tag’ is, “For purposes of this definition any jewelry being worn by a player (e.g., necklaces, bracelets, etc.) shall not constitute a part of the player’s body.” (Definitions of Terms)

However, some limitations are put on the pitcher.  “The pitcher may not attach anything to either hand, any finger or either wrist (e.g., Band-Aid, tape, Super Glue, bracelet, etc.).” (Rule 6.02(c)(7) Comment)

Baseball players have picked up on the allowance of wearing necklaces and bracelets in a big way (and sometimes with big chains around their necks).

Some suggest players wear chains and other necklaces for religious beliefs (a lot include crosses with their chains), superstition (they have grown up wearing them and playing without them could impact their play), style/status and/or marketing deals.

It’s not clear when the necklace wearing first started, but some suggest it was George Scott who started to wear a puka shell necklace, and that may have stated the ‘chain gang’ craze.

After the 1971 season the Red Sox traded Scott to the Milwaukee Brewers. It was here that the puka shell made its debut.

When a writer asked him what the necklace was made of, Scott deadpanned, “Second basemen’s teeth.” (ESPN)  After five seasons in Milwaukee, Scott returned to Boston for the 1977 season.

He was named to the American League All-Star Team three times and is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

Then, the bling …

ESPN describes Uni Watch, that touts “the obsessive study of athletics aesthetics”, Chain Gang – “players who insist on wearing necklaces on the field, no matter how impractical or annoying they might be.”

“But not just any necklaced player can make the Chain Gang.  Like any good GM, Uni Watch is applying tough, exacting standards.”

“Simply wearing one of those bogus titanium thingies, for example, does not make you a Chain Ganger — it just makes you lame-o. So titanium devotees such as Kameron Loe, Todd Jones and Brandon Webb, among dozens of others, won’t make the cut.”

“Chain Gang roster spots are being reserved, however, for guys who wear anything shiny or knobby, with bonus points if the neckwear frequently emerges into full view, like Schilling’s does.”

“Like every team, the Chain Gang has its superstars.” George Scott made that list, as did Jeff Weaver (“The undisputed king of wayward neckwear, Weaver has the preternatural ability to wrap his gold chain around the right side of his face with virtually every pitch.”

So did Japan’s team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. “You wouldn’t wear a Hawaiian lei on the field, right? But the Japanese WBC squad did the next best (or worst) thing, wearing braided titanium necklaces that lent a distinctly tropical air to the proceedings.”

Likewise, ESPN notes “Chain Gang Old-Timers Day, where the participants could include Joe Black, Ralph Kiner, Willie Mays, Willie Stargell, Joe Carter, Rickey Henderson and Robbie Alomar (with Joan Payson serving as owner emeritus).” (ESPN)

Gold and/or titanium chains are now so common in Major League Baseball that listing the wearers would be endless.  As ESPN notes, “once you start looking, you’ll see it’s actually pretty tough to find players who aren’t sporting on-field bling”.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Monkeypod

Monkeypod (Pukui refers to it as ‘ōhai) was introduced to Hawai‘i in 1847 by Peter A Brinsmade, then consul from the Kingdom of Hawai‘i at Mexico City, who brought in two seeds.

One became a tree which was at Bishop and Hotel Streets in downtown Honolulu until 1899, when it was cut down to permit construction of a building. The other seed was planted at Kōloa, Kauaʻi, and produced a tree that was the parent of a large stand of monkeypod there.  (CTAHR)

Originally from northern South America, primarily Venezuela, it goes by many names in the countries to which it has been introduced. In most English-speaking countries it is called rain tree.

A January 23, 1902 article in the Hawaiian Star notes, “Monkey Pod Valuable. Marston Campbell Shows Finely Polished Sample of the Wood.”

“Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Marston Campbell has had a section of native wood polished for exhibition to the government. The slab Is taken from the upper trunk of a monkey pod and shows a beautifully polished light wood not unlike mahogany, heavy and close grained.”

“‘This is what the people of Honolulu are burning in their stoves,’ said Mr. Campbell ‘The calabashes from the wood are splendid and I have some tables of It that cannot be beaten for polish and appearance.’”

“‘The wood is of great commercial value and there is plenty of It around.’ One tree furnishes enough material for a whole set of furniture. It is very hard and takes a splendid polish. He had to give up trying to surface it by hand and used the buffer at the planing mill for satisfactory results.”

“Wray Taylor has these notes in his agricultural report for 1900 ‘Albizzia Saman – Monkey pod – grows freely in lower portion of Tantalus forest though not to such size as In town.’ It would seem that line the algeroba, the monkey, pod nourishes best on sea level and not higher than 500-feet.”

Here, it’s typically planted for shade.  In some places, the pods are feed for cattle, hogs, and goats. Some people chew the pods for the sweetish flavor like licorice.

Hawaiʻi has had a couple notable Monkeypod trees.

First, in 1866, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) traveled through Hawaii writing articles for the Sacramento Union, which were the basis for several chapters in Roughing It.

Twain spent four months in the islands in 1866, when he was 31 and working on becoming famous.  Waiʻōhinu boasts of a monkeypod tree which was planted by Twain, when he visited there.

It stood in the front yard of the residence of Samuel Kauhane, former chairman of the Hawaii supervisors, and is an excellent specimen of the tree.

It is known as the “Mark Twain” tree.  (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, November 22, 1915)  In 1957, the original tree was blown down and a new tree grew from its sprouts that still stands today.

Moanalua Gardens is also the home of a large monkeypod tree (about 130-years old) that is known in Japan as the Hitachi Tree, one of the most recognizable corporate icons in Japan.

The Hitachi Tree first originated through a TV commercial for Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi, Ltd that first aired in Japan in 1973.

The tree is widely recognized, especially in Japan, and has become an important symbol of the Hitachi Group’s reliability, and earth-friendliness.  It also enhances Hitachi’s brand value as a visual representation of its corporate slogan: “Inspire the Next.”

Over the past 40 years, the Hitachi Tree has become a valuable Hitachi Group asset as a familiar and respected image in Hitachi’s expanding messages globally.

An earlier agreement between the Damon Estate and Hitachi gave Hitachi exclusive worldwide rights to use the tree’s image for promotional purposes in exchange for annual payments.   It was reported that Hitachi Ltd, has agreed to pay the owner of the Moanalua Gardens $400,000 a year for 10 years to use the garden’s famous monkeypod tree in its advertising.

The tree is registered as an exceptional tree by the City and County of Honolulu and cannot be removed or destroyed without city council approval.

We also know monkeypod for the various bowls, figures and furniture and other woodworking art/function.  I suspect, like many, I have a ‘project’ monkeypod end table that needs refinishing.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kona Oranges

The orange is one of the oldest of cultivated fruits; although its nativity is not known, it probably originated in the Indo-Chinese region. It is now widely distributed.

Native to Asia, oranges were introduced to Hawaii by Captain George Vancouver; in 1792 he came from Tahiti, where it had long grown, having received a large store of supplies from the natives there.

Arriving on Hawaii Vancouver left with the native chiefs of Kona a number of valuable seeds and ‘some vine and orange plants.’ A few days later he left some ‘orange and lemon plants’ on the island of Niihau.

It is supposed that these plants were the parents of the famous russet Kona oranges that are such general favorites among islanders. On Molokai, far back in the mountains, an old orange grove was seen in a fairly thrifty state.

Some of the trees were two feet in diameter at the height of my shoulder. Everything about them indicated their great age, and it is highly probable that this grove antidates the introduction of the plants by Vancouver.  (Bryan, Natural History of Hawaii)

As noted in Captain Vancouver’s journal in March 1792:

The retinue of Tianna (Ka‘iana) on this occasion was to consist of a considerable number; part were to attend him on board the Discovery, and, the remainder was to proceed in the Chatham. His residence was a little to the north of Karakakooa (Kealakekua); and as it was proposed his suite should be taken on board the next afternoon …

As Tianna had several goats, I did not present him with any of these animals, but made him very happy by giving him some vine and orange plants, some almonds, and an assortment of garden feeds, to all of which he promised the most particular care and attention. (Vancouver (Vol 1, 1792)

“The orange flourished in the dry climate, similar to that found in the Valencia region of Spain from which the variety originated.”

“Many acres of what came to be known as ‘Kona oranges’ were grown and, for many decades during the nineteenth century, these oranges were a major export from the region.”

“Many of these oranges were bound for the West Coast, with some making their way into the goldfields of California. A few Kona orange trees still exist, bearing fruit to this day.” (Nagata, WHT)

The California gold rush brought an economic boom to Hawaii agriculture; Irish and sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins, oranges, molasses, and coffee were shipped to the West Coast. (DOA)

Then, “In the late 1880s and 1890s Holualoa was an agricultural region settled by Chinese, Portuguese and Japanese immigrants who planted coffee, cotton, grapes, breadfruit and Kona oranges for export to support their growing community.”

“From 1899 to 1926 coffee was replaced by sugar cane, which then supported their local economy very well. Coffee later saved the Holualoa economy after the sugar market collapsed.” (Burt, Western Express)

Oranges continued to grow and be sold in Kona, “the orange tree branches are real strong. They won’t break, and you can rely on it. We used to climb the trees, pick it by hand.”

“But another thing, what [my father] did was, to save time instead of getting the basket going up, he made basket on the top with a funnel like thing made out of cloth and the thing would drop all the way to the ground.”

“And what we did was, with the basket we just spin the thing round and around, and when we picked the orange, the orange would come down whirling, whirling, no damage to the orange. So, when you get down there, you know no damage.  So that’s the way we were picking the orange.”

“And the biggest success from the orange was when the Second World War came on, the army wanted our oranges and they wanted it real bad. So we just had to go pick, even half-ripe ones, whatever came up to the station up here. The thing just went on the truck and gone. We had four years of good [business].”

[Interviewer Question:] “So wartime, oranges was good then.  [Answer]; Oh yeah, couldn’t keep up. … Yeah, in Kona. Kona Orange. …”

“Well, after school, because we were so busy those days. Coming back from school we had to grade the oranges and watch the store when my mother was cooking. My dad wasn’t around, so we all pitched in and did all the things that had to be done.”

“We were lucky because all our brothers stood by, never did go anyplace. But one of the setbacks was, since we had to work on the farm, my second oldest brother couldn’t volunteer for the army because they classified him 4-F.”

“They wanted somebody to run the farm because my father wasn’t here. So, he stayed back and then my other brothers were drafted. The oldest was [a member of] the 100th [Infantry] Battalion. The other one, he just got into the army when the war was over….”

“Yamagata Store was not only general merchandise, [my mother] went into material, and oranges were sold in the store too. In fact, the oranges had their own place in the veranda. We had a rack made just for the oranges; people would just stop and buy the oranges….”

“Tourists used to stop by because of the oranges, we displayed the oranges. A lot of tourists. … [Question]: So it’s mostly tourists buying the oranges? … [Answer] “Yeah.”

“It’s a small quantity going to the tourists, but most of them we had to ship them out to Honolulu, all over. They used to go out, by the truckload they used to ship them out. So we had to make the crates and everything.”

[Oral History Question]: “It wouldn’t make sense for a Kona person to come buy oranges, yeah?” [Answer]: “We used to give them. You know, when the oranges getting a little too old or something, ‘Here, take ‘em home.’”  (Sukeji Yamagata, N. Yamagata Store, Kona Heritage Stores Oral History)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pāhoa

Early settlement patterns in the Islands put people on the windward sides of the islands, typically along the shoreline.  However, in Puna on the Island of Hawaiʻi, much of the district’s coastal areas have thin soils and there are no good deep water harbors. The ocean along the Puna coast is often rough and windblown.

As a result, settlement patterns in Puna tend to be dispersed and without major population centers. Villages in Puna tended to be spread out over larger areas and often are inland, and away from the coast, where the soil is better for agriculture.  (Escott)

This was confirmed on William Ellis’ travel around the island in the early 1800s, “Hitherto we had travelled close to the sea-shore, in order to visit the most populous villages in the districts through which we had passed. But here receiving information that we should find more inhabitants a few miles inland, than nearer the sea, we thought it best to direct our course towards the mountains.”  (Ellis, 1823)

An historic trail once ran from the modern day Lili‘uokalani Gardens area in Hilo to Hāʻena along the Puna coast. The trail is often referred to as the old Puna Trail and/or Puna Road. There is an historic trail/cart road that is also called the Puna Trail (Ala Hele Puna) and/or the Old Government Road.

This path was essentially the main thoroughfare through the Puna district before the late-1800s.  Pāhoa was oʻioʻina (a resting place) on the trail.  (Papakilo)  Then it grew to become the principal town of lower Puna.

The evolving trail (first by foot, then by horse, cart and buggy, and finally by automobile) likely incorporated segments of the traditional Hawaiian trail system often referred to as the ala loa or ala hele.  (Rechtman)

The full length of the Puna Trail, or Old Government Road, might have been constructed or improved just before 1840. The alignment was mapped by the Wilkes Expedition of 1804-41.  (Escott)

People who traditionally had lived along the Puna coast were moving toward Hilo and into the more fertile upland areas of Puna in order to find paid work and to produce cash crops for local markets and for export.

The focus began to shift to the center of the Puna District and the developing sugar and related industries near ʻŌlaʻa, Hilo and the volcano region.

Before the turn of the century, railroad operations began – with lines running into Hilo. A main railroad line and several feeder lines were constructed in the early-1900s from Keaʻau to locations in lower Puna District.

The major line ran from Hilo through Keaʻau to the Kapoho area.  A branch line ran from the ʻŌlaʻa Sugar Mill up past present day Glenwood. A second branch line ran to Pāhoa town.

Some suggest this is how Pāhoa received its name.  “Then the train was put in from Hilo to Puna. One spur went up into Pāhoa; it was like a dagger into the forest. I‘m told this is how Pāhoa got its name. (Pāhoa means dagger.)”  (Edwards; Cultural Surveys)

People began to work in the inland areas to grow sugarcane. The new road, the Pāhoa branch of the railroad, sugarcane agriculture and a logging venture all combined to create Pāhoa as a population center in the region.  (Rechtman)

Macadamia nuts and papaya were introduced in 1881 and 1919; at the turn of the century, large-scale coffee cultivation was attempted.  Over 6,000-acres of coffee trees were owned by approximately 200-independent coffee planters.

This fledgling industry couldn‘t compete with more successful ventures located in other districts, and after a few decades the coffee industry in Puna was abandoned.  (Cultural Surveys, Rechtman)

By 1901, sugar dominated the island’s industry and landscape, and Hilo was the epicenter of production and export. Railroads connected sugar mills and sugar plantations in Hilo, the Hāmākua and Puna. The railroad also connected the mills to the wharves at Hilo Bay.

Early on, one of the major export items transported by the railroad was timber.  Starting in 1907, the Hawaiian Mahogany Company began cutting trees to clear land for sugarcane. The logs were brought to Pāhoa Town to be milled, then sent to Hilo Harbor and eventually shipped to the US Mainland as railroad ties for the Santa Fe Railroad.

The lumber mill facilities and the railroad line that served them were located near the center of town where the Akebono Theater is located.

In 1909, the company was renamed Pāhoa Lumber Company. In 1913, the main mill facilities were lost in a fire; it was rebuilt that year the company was renamed the Hawaiian Hardwood Company.

The company closed down in 1916 when the Santa Fe Railroad ended its contract to buy lumber. The defunct company then leased its mill facilities, buildings and railroad tracks to the expanding ʻŌlaʻa Sugar Company.  (Rechtman)

Today, Pāhoa Town has a main street – the former highway route before the construction of the by-pass road – that still retains much of the original street-wall of plantation-era structures, as well as some significant stand-alone buildings.

Most of the uses are commercial or civic.  The County has acquired a large tract of land within Pāhoa Town, which presents a significant opportunity for community revitalization and a possible catalyst for economic activity.  (Puna CDP)

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