Prominent People | Page 18 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

August 6, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kimis

William James Kimi was born on January 10, 1898, in Hilo, Hawaii; his father, Sapau James Kimi Fong, was 41 and his mother, Maria da Conceicao Cozy Deniz, was 19. He married Matilda Elizabeth Wassman on May 28, 1920, in Hilo.

“Kimi had a long and varied career. He and the late State Sen. William H. (Doc) Hill began their political careers together in 1928 when both were elected to the Territorial House as Republicans. Kimi served in the Senate in the 1935 and 1937 legislatures, switched to the Democratic Party in 1938 and in 1959 rejoined the GOP.”

“The kamaaina had served as liquor commissioner, County Building Inspector and a variety of other appointments. His business career was widely varied from cane grower, to housing developer (Kimiville [a low rent housing development in Hilo])”. (HTH, Aug 20, 1971)

One of Kimi’s sons, Richard Wassman Kimi (born Feb 3, 1925), “had to learn at a young age whatever skills it took to help put food on the family table. As his father was quite the entrepreneur.”

“Richard worked hard at their drive-in diner at nights, Hilo’s only roller skating rink on weekends, the circus when it came to town, and waking up at 2 am every morning to make ice cream that he would sell at chicken fights and pay days in the Hamakua Coast plantation camps.”

He “yearned and learned to be a salesman. His education [was on] the streets rather than the classroom. At age 8, because of family hardships, he lived in Kamuela with his hanai Uncle and Aunty and learned cattle raising and building roads on their ranch.”

“Right after the Pearl Harbor attacks, he enlisted to serve our country in the U.S. Army; where his leadership skills earned him his Sergeant stripes at age 19, the youngest Sergeant in the U.S. Army at the time. When the war ended he chose to return home to help his family business”.

That business “was now selling Army surplus goods (over-supplies like clothing, tents, shovels, canteens, trucks, bull-dozers, electric and plumbing fixtures) at his father’s store near Hilo airport; where Hilo Seaside Hotel is today.”

“As the business kept struggling, he turned to the construction business with the surplus equipment he could not sell. He and his brothers built Kimiville … Soon, his successful sales skills sold all the surplus store inventory; except for an old dump truck, a bulldozer, some lumber, roofing and a steam-roller.”

“He was 29 by then, but wanted a life for his family that made money while you were sleeping and decided to build a hotel where the surplus store was. All the ‘experts’ he consulted thought he was crazy yet the contrarian that he was he saw an opportunity the war had ended and prosperity was in the air why not build a hotel that was affordable to the average person?” (Legacy Obituary)

“Alan Kimi, Richard’s son and president of Seaside Hotels Hawaii, said his father never wanted to build large hotels. He said his father’s main objective was to serve local residents and budget-minded visitors.

“‘People traveled by boats in those days and the ones that traveled by plane were rich,’ Alan Kimi said ‘So his idea was, as the airplanes became bigger, what about the average guy?’”

“‘What about the local traveler, people that lived in Kona, but that wanted to go to Hilo for a couple of days but couldn’t afford it? That’s how it started.’” (Adv, Feb 1, 2009)

“So he built the 30-room Hotel Hukilau, and soon it was always busy; so he built more rooms there. As smaller propeller planes became larger jet planes; travel to Hawaii became more affordable for the masses. What about building a hotel in Kailua-Kona, so visitors could spend one week on the Big Island? (Kona Hukilau now known as Kona Seaside Hotel opened with 44 rooms in 1960.)”

“As vacations became longer guests wanted to see Maui. So the family moved to Kahului and built the Maui Hukilau (Maui Seaside Hotel today) in 1962. Jet planes became jumbo jets but could only land in Honolulu. … [He] bought the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel [now, the site of Hyatt Regency Waikiki] in 1965.”

“He was a legend in Hawaii tourism a pioneer of the kamaaina rate; air, hotel and car packages for locals, reservations by toll-free phone lines, then fax lines, and now on-line bookings. His vision was affordable and friendly hotels. Today they are known as the Seaside Hotels Hawaii. It is the only Hawaiian owned and operated family hotel chain in the world.”

“He enjoyed teaching sales, marketing and business to hundreds of students; and always favored the under-dog and the little guy. One of his students, Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad books, recognized Richard Kimi as his original ‘Rich Dad’ and continues sharing his lessons to the world.” (Legacy Obituary) Richard Kimi died on December 19, 2008, in Honolulu.

Another son of William James Kiki Sr was William ‘Uncle Billy’ James Kimi, Jr (born Nov 6, 1922), Richard’s older brother. Like his younger brother, Uncle Billy was “One of the island’s most well-known residents, [who] had a number of landmark businesses, including the Uncle Billy’s Kona Bay Hotel in Kailua-Kona and Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel. He also managed Uncle Billy’s Fish and Steakhouse for 45 years”.

In 1978, “three main partners – real estate agent Kenneth Fujiyama, transportation kingpin Chiaki Matsuo and hotelman Billy Kimi” acquired and converted the Kona Inn hotel into the Kona Inn Shopping Village (that opened as the shopping center in July 1980). (Adv, Aug 3, 1980) (Fujiyama later sold his interest in the property.) (Star Bulletin, Sep 4, 1981)

“[H]is resume would fill pages: entrepreneur, importer, financier, retailer, wholesaler, developer, accountant and farmer, innkeeper, restaurant owner, art dealer, shopping center owner and more,” the citation read in recognition of the businessman.”

“‘This is where it all started for my family,’ [Kimi] said. ‘I just wanted to have a business where my kids could work and build their families without having to leave home.’”

“Kimi was also involved in the Occupational Skills Program at Konawaena High School, which taught special education students work skills at the shopping village and hotel during the 1980s. They worked every weekday but Wednesday, in areas such as retailing, sales, cooking, laundry work, maintenance, housekeeping and construction work.”

“Kimi said at the time he helps because he ‘prefers to train people that don’t know anything’ about the hotel business and wanted to help people improve their careers. He said he’s the same with his other employees, supporting them anytime they can better themselves,’ even if that means leaving his business.

“His 70 years of entrepreneurial creativity, work and vision have provided jobs for hundreds of people in a multitude of businesses, as well as improving the Hilo and Kona communities. He has worked diligently to improve education and health care for the children of Hawaii.” (HTH, Feb 2, 2016) Uncle Billy died Feb 19, 2016.

August 2, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pipi Chute

In the middle 1800s, ranching became a significant economic engine in the Hawaiian Islands. On Lānai, Mānele Landing served as the port of call for ships picking up cattle, sheep and goats; and also in service of passengers and freight.

Ranching was the primary commercial enterprise on Lānai between 1860 to 1922. Initial activities focused on goats and sheep, but by the early 1900s cattle had become the primary stock.

To ship the cattle (in Hawaiian, pipi) to Honolulu, the animals were driven down to Mānele, held in pens, and then loaded on interisland steamers.

“They used to send cattle out, and then the Inter-island Steam [Navigation] Company’s boat, you know, freighters, used to come in, take those cattle to Honolulu, O’ahu, anyway.” (Fusako Nishimura Uchimura, UHM Oral History)

“In the early 1900s there were not as many wharves as there are today, and it was in few places that stock could be loaded onto the vessels through chutes as is more general now. The steamer would be anchored out from the shore and a heavy line run to some attachment on the land.”

“A boat was then tied to this shoreline and held in deep water. The cattle would be in a corral above high water or were driven out into the water and kept there by the surrounding cowboys.”

“On Lānai the corral was at Mānele at the top of a wide beach separating it from the sea. A lasso was thrown over the horns of one of the animals in the corral, the other end held by a man on horseback, and it was herded out and down the beach following the horse.”

“The animal’s efforts to escape brought it into the water as the horse headed for the boat. When within reach, just as the led animal lost its footing and the horse was reaching for the bottom with its hind feet the cowboy threw the rope to the men in the boat who would then throw another rope back to him.”

“The boat, with several beasts securely tied to the thwarts on each side, would be towed back to the steamer. Slings were adjusted to the animals and in turn they were hoisted to the deck and tied along the sides.”

“In fine weather this worked out well, but when rough it was risky, and sometimes cattle were injured or drowned. … so we devised a portable chute in sections, for bringing the stock to the water’s edge. The sections were drawn up when not in use. This was a great improvement, but we were not yet satisfied.”

“A corral was then built at the top of a low cliff overlooking a small tidal shelf with fairly deep water close to it. A chute was run out to above the edge of the tidal shelf close to deep water and supported there by posts.”

“Into this another chute was telescoped which, when run out over the water, reached to the deck of the steamer. By using a calf led down the chute, the large cattle were induced to follow, and the loading was done in a few minutes.”

“The calf was brought ashore ready for the next shipment. The steamer then pulled out, and the cattle were tied up as she proceeded on her way.”

“Even with this method, the work could still prove more or less harassing with changes of weather. After the Hawaiian Pineapple Company built the Kaumalapau Harbor and wharf, the cattle were shipped from the wharf through a chute. The pen and chutes were movable and, when not in use, kept out of the way of other work.” (Munro:105)

“I think more in the ‘20s, maybe, that’s when they built that chute. That thing was really something. You know they’d lead the calf down. The cows all follow the calf, they go right onto the ship.”

“But one time that thing broke, the cattle fell in the water. Some died; some, you see them swim. I didn’t know they could swim, they good swimmers. The cows, yeah.” (Violet Keahikoe Gay, UHM Oral History)

“They put the chute down onto the deck of the ship, and the ship would be going [i.e., bobbing] up and down, and the cattle would be bawling their heads off, and they’d have to be prodded to go down this chute to get onto the deck of the ship.” (Jean Forbes Adams, UHM Oral History)

“When I came over here, they had the chute and they had down. When too rough, the boat no can go by the side [of the chute], so they go by the sand side, everybody go swim. Over there, they rope ‘em and drag ‘em inside the water.” (Ernest S. Richardson, UHM Oral History)

After Kaumālapa’u harbor was built, “they still used Manele and the chute … Probably, since that was all built there. Yeah, Kaumalapau was strictly for pineapple shipping.” (Jean Forbes Adams, UHM Oral History)

With construction of the chute, the pipi could be driven along the cliffs to the chute and walked across the water onto the waiting boat. In addition to the “Pipi Chute,” a series of mortar salt making beds were built on the shore of the landing in the 1930s.

In May 1943, the salt making beds were moved to the cliffs. On the south side of the boat harbor were the salt beds and an old fence line that contained cattle as they were being driven down the chute for shipping to Honolulu. The salt beds were periodically filled with salt water, which evaporated and provided fresh sea salt for drying meat and treating hides.

On rough days, when the steamers couldn’t safely draw along the Mānele cliff side, cattle were driven into the ocean at Hulopo’e Beach. They were then tied up to a launch, which took them out to the steamer, and hoisted onto the boat for transport. Typically, anywhere from 30 to 70 cattle from Lānai were shipped in one trip.

By 1918, Charles Gay and family began experiments in planting pineapple on Lānai in the uplands near what would become Lānai City. Once harvested, the fruits would be taken by truck down to Mānele Landing via a stone and dirt trail that was almost impassable.

The crop was then loaded onto a small boat and transferred to Maui for canning. It was a difficult trip which caused the loss of much of the fruit, due to bruising. However, as a result of the Gay family’s success, James Dole’s Hawaiian Pineapple Company knew that the crop could be grown, and in 1922 Dole purchased almost the entire island of Lānai.

And the rest, as they say, “is history.”

July 26, 2025 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Clarissa Haili

Clarissa Meleka Haili, one of five children of George and Rebecca Haili, was born into a musical family on October 28, 1901 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She first went by the name ‘Clara.’

She attended Kaʻahumanu Elementary School; graduated from the Territorial Normal School. Setting out to be a teacher, Clara began teaching at Waipahu Elementary in 1923.

Though she taught English, social studies and math, her real love was teaching music and many of her students remembered her with great fondness. (Singletary)

While still teaching she started performing – singing and dancing. (“I never had a hula lesson in my life. I just learned to dance by watching others. I just do what comes naturally.” (Clara; Reading Eagle, October 11, 1972)

Clara turned professional in 1936 when she entertained with the Royal Hawaiian Girls Glee Club. They sang at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the Waiʻalae Country Club. (“We would get $25 for an appearance, and there were 25 of us, we each got a dollar.” (Clara; Reading Eagle, October 11, 1972)

She took part in the Kodak Hula Show. Clara participated in the summer shows from 1937 through 1940.

While traveling to Portland, Oregon in 1936 for a teachers’ convention, Clara was part of the entertainment on the ship. She became such a huge hit with the passengers. (hawaii-edu)

This was a turning point in her career. During a program of entertainment on the ship, she first performed a song written by Don McDiarmid.

McDiarmid had a much more sultry dancer in mind when he wrote the song, and he was conducting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel orchestra when a dancer fell ill and Clara performed the song in her unique comic style.

He was astounded when the audience loved Clara’s interpretation. The song would later be her theme, as well as her name.

Clara continued to teach school while performing at night, when the National Shriners’ convention put her at the top of their list of entertainers in 1938 in Los Angeles.

She and Al Kealoha Perry and his Singing Surfriders entertained all over Los Angeles. Clara’s next mainland trip was to the St Regis Hotel in New York, in 1939.

Upon returning home, Clara was told by the Board of Education that she must choose between teaching and performing. She gave in gracefully and decided to go back to school herself to get her teaching degree.

However, Harry Owens took over the band at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and immediately hired Clara. Clara said she would probably “still be teaching if it hadn’t been for a professor at the University of Hawaiʻi who told her to stick to entertaining.” (Reading Eagle, October 11, 1972)

Owens got her into movies in Los Angeles; they also entertained in various Southern California hotels.

Then the war broke out. They entertained soldiers and sailors departing for the Pacific and participated with the Red Cross, USO and hospitals. For the next 26-weeks, they were on the road entertaining at big hotels and military bases.

After the war, Clara became a disc jockey for Honolulu radio station KPOA. Harry Owens had a television program and Clara became a regular on the Hawaiian music show in 1949. The show ran for nine years.

During the late-1940s and 50s, she criss-crossed the country in Hawaiian-themed show rooms.

Finally, after years on the road, Clara returned to Hawaiʻi and the Tapa Room at the Hawaiian Village in 1960, where she recorded her first live album. Engagements followed at the Ilikai’s Canoe House, the Halekūlani, the Kahala Hilton, the Royal Hawaiian and Moana. She continued performing until 1977.

Oh, her stage name (and later, legal name?) … Hilo Hattie. And, the song, ‘When Hilo Hattie Does The Hilo Hop.’

Here’s a link to “Hilo Hattie Does The Hilo Hop” and “Cockeyed Mayor Of Kaunakakai:”

Clara legally took the name Hilo Hattie at the insistence of Harry Owens when she performed in the 1941 film Song of the Islands. Unfortunately, she doesn’t perform her signature song in the movie, only a shortened version of ‘The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai.’

In 1971, an original line of clothing was also named after her. While attending the Merry Monarch festival in Hilo that year, Clara was approached by Evelyn and Richard Margolis and entered into an agreement for them to design and sell a line of ‘Hilo Hattie’ clothing.

The namesake store, Hilo Hattie’s, originally started in 1963 as Kaluna Hawaii Sportswear on Kauaʻi. The name changed in 1979, with the purchase of Hilo’s Evelyn Margolis Manufacturing and Retail Co and rights to Hilo Hattie’s name.

She was married a few times: John Baxter, in 1920 (divorced); Milton Douglas, in 1926 (divorced); Theodore Inter, in 1930 (divorced) and Carlyle Nelson (a violinist), in 1949 (the last lasted for 30-years.) She died December 12, 1979. (Lots of information here from Singletary.)

Hilo_Hattie,_1941

Hilo_Hattie,_ReadingEagle-1972

Hilo_Hattie-honoluluadvertiser

Hilo_Hattie

Hilo Hattie with Al Kealoha Perry’s Hawaii Calls musicians -(HSA)-1937-PP-33-1-016

Hilo Hattie doing the hula, Hawaii Calls, Banyan Court, Moana Hotel-PP-33-5-043-1950s

Hilo_Hattie-gravesite NMCP

Hilo_Hattie-gravestone NMCP

July 21, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pahikaua – Rebellion of 1831

On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner (a slave on the Travis farm) and six of his men met in the woods to make their plans. At 2 am, they set out to the Travis household, where they killed the entire family as they slept.

They continued on, from house to house, killing all of the white people they encountered. Turner’s force eventually consisted of more than 40 slaves, most on horseback.

By mid-day the next day, word of the rebellion had gotten out to the whites; confronted by a group of militia, the rebels scattered and Turner’s force became disorganized. (PBS)

Several of the rebels were captured. The remaining force then met the state and federal troops in final skirmish, in which one slave was killed and many escaped, including Turner. In the end, the rebels had stabbed, shot and clubbed at least 55 white people to death.

Nat Turner hid in several different places near the Travis farm, but on October 30 was discovered and captured. His “Confession,” dictated to physician Thomas R. Gray, was taken while he was imprisoned in the County Jail.

On November 5, Nat Turner was tried in the Southampton County Court and sentenced to execution. He was hanged, and then skinned, on November 11. In total, the state executed 55 people, banished many more, and acquitted a few. (PBS)

But that is not the 1831 rebellion this summary is about – this is about an 1831 rebellion in the Islands.

From 1825 until her death in 1832, Kaʻahumanu was one of the staunchest friends of the missionaries and one of the foremost supporters of their cause.

Kaʻahumanu was missionizing throughout the islands, proclaiming the new taboos against murder, adultery, Hawaiian religious practices, hula, chant, ʻawa and distilleries. (Silva)

In 1824, Boki and Liliha, along with some other aliʻi actively opposed Kaʻahumanu and the missionaries. (Silva)

From 1816 to 1829 Boki was Governor of O‘ahu and was in charge of Liholiho’s (Kamehameha II) and then Kauikeaouli’s (Kamehameha III) O‘ahu lands.

Boki participated in establishing a sugar plantation in the upper part of Mānoa valley. Untimely rains raised the stream and destroyed a dam under construction at the mill site. (Kuykendall) His partners constructed a still and began to make rum from molasses. (Daws)

Boki’s trade in entertaining the visiting ships and distilling liquor ran him afoul of the missionaries and Kaʻahumanu. Kaʻahumanu had him fined in 1827 for misconduct, intemperance, fornication and adultery, apparently in connection with his brothels and grog-shops. (Nogelmeier)

Kaʻahumanu ordered the sugar cane on his Manoa plantation to be torn up when she found it was to be used for rum. When Boki could no longer provide the cane for distilling and Kaʻahumanu had the sugar crop destroyed, Boki turned to distilling ti-root. (Nogelmeier)

Then, in 1829, Boki, in debt, attempted to recover his financial situation by assembling a group of followers and set out for a newly discovered island with sandalwood in the New Hebrides; he never returned. Boki’s wife, Liliha, succeeded him in the office of Governor of O‘ahu.

During Boki and Liliha’s tenure (ca. 1830) Chief Abner Paki was appointed konohiki (land agent/overseer) of some of the lands under their control – Paki is Liliha’s cousin.

Kaʻahumanu was concerned about Liliha’s lifestyle (indulging in drinking and other worldly pleasures) and asked her father, Hoapili, to go to Oʻahu and teach his daughter “to let liquor alone and abandon drunkenness, loose living, and wastefulness.” (Kamakau)

Concerned about Kaʻahumanu’s control, in 1831, Paki joined with Liliha in an attempt to take over Oʻahu.

Pahikaua (literally war knife or sword) was the name given to the attempt made by followers of Liliha to retaliate against Kaʻahumanu for the threat made by (her) against Liliha if she continued to live in her independent fashion. (Silva)

However, the Pahikaua rebellion failed.

As a result, Liliha was removed from power and lost official control of most of Kamehameha III’s lands. However, Liliha maintained some of her lands and “continued to play a governess role in Pali Ko‘olau (Ko‘olaupoko) into the mid-1830s.”(Cultural Surveys)

At a national council held April 1, 1831, Kuakini (Governor Adams,) brother of Kaʻahumanu, was appointed governor of Oʻahu, and Naihe governor of Hawaiʻi.

Kuakini proceeded to vigorously enforce the laws of 1829, which had been allowed to become a dead letter under Boki and Liliha. (Alexander)

About a year later, June 5, 1832, Kaʻahumanu died, after an illness of about 3-weeks. She was buried at Pohukaina at ʻIolani Place and later transferred to Mauna ‘Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu Valley.

On August 25, 1839, Liliha died unexpectedly in Honolulu, at the age of 37 and was buried at Waineʻe (Waiola) Church cemetery.

Na_Poki._and_his_wife_Liliha-1824

Kaahumanu,_retouched_image_by_J._J._Williams_after_Louis_Choris

Kaahumanu-(HerbKane)

Abner Pākī (c. 1808–1855) was a member of Hawaiian nobility. He was a legislator and judge, and the father of Bernice Pauahi Bishop-1855

Confessions_of_Nat-Turner

Nat_Turner_Rebellion

July 20, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pitman Tablet

“In 1878 the Kingdom of Hawaii, with King Kalakaua at its head, honored Captain Cook at the centenary celebration of discovery. The permanent memorial established in Honolulu at that time was the splendid statue of Kamehameha the Great which stands upon a high pedestal in front of the Judiciary Building.”

“The Hawaiian Historical Society sponsored the first movement to honor Captain Cook in a sesquicentennial [150^th] celebration in Hawaii in 1928.”

“[Albert Taylor], in 1925, proposed a major celebration to include the official visits of warships of England and America, these to visit Waimea, Kauai, where Cook first landed, and Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, where Cook was killed, and at the latter place to fire an international salvo.”

“Strangely enough the original plan was carried out to the letter in August, 1928. Bruce Cartwright, at this same time proposed the issuance of commemorative stamps and a coin.” (Taylor)

“The Taylor-Cartwright plan … particularly, included formal invitations to be addressed to the Governments of Great Britain, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada to participate; with request that the British and United States governments send warships to Hawaii …”

“… that the United States government issue commemorative Captain Cook stamps and a silver 50-cent coin; that speakers of note, particularly in historical fields, be invited to make addresses …”

“… that a bronze tablet be set just beneath the surface of the water at Kaawaloa, Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, where Capt. Cook ‘fell on his face in the water,’ as his chroniclers state …”

“… that a monument be erected at Waimea, Kauai, where Cook set up his astronomical instruments, and where William Whatman, a seaman, was buried, Capt. Cook there reading the burial service of the Church of England, the first recorded Christian service ever held in the Hawaiian Islands.” (Taylor)

In a unique incident, “Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Pitman and her son, Theodore Pitman the artist, of Boston, presented a beautiful bronze tablet to the Cook Commission, commemorating Captain Cook.”

“The tablet was given, also, to commemorate the ancestors of Mrs. Pitman’s husband, who was part-Hawaiian, descendant of the Chief Hoolulu, who, in May, 1819, secretly took possession of the bones of Kamehameha the Great from the temple of Kamakahonu, at Kailua, Hawaii, and as secretly hid them, supposedly in a cave on the coast, a location never revealed again.” (Taylor)

The Pitman Tablet Commemorative of Captain James Cook reads, “Capt. James Cook Forerunner of Modern Civilization in the Pacific Ocean. In Hawaii 1778-1779. In Memory of the High Chief Hoolulu, High Chiefess Kinoole and her son Keola-O-Kalani (Benjamin Franklin Pitman). Presented by Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Pitman, Benjamin Pitman and Theodore Baldwin Pitman – Sculptor.”

“On August 1, Theodore Baldwin Pitman, an artist and sculptor of Boston, accompanied by his mother, Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Pitman, arrived on the steamer ‘Malolo,’ bringing a beautiful bronze memorial tablet to honor Captain Cook …”

“… and which was to be formally presented by them to the Territory of Hawaii through the Cook Commission, the tablet also serving to honor Hawaiian ancestors of the sculptor.” (Pitman)

“At this juncture a variation from the set speeches came when Colonel Iaukea announced that Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Pitman, widow of the late Benjamin Keola-o-kalani Pitman, born in Hilo, Hawaii, but raised in Boston, and her son, Mr. Theodore B. Pitman …”

“… would present a beautiful bronze tablet to the Territory of Hawaii to honor Captain Cook, and in memory of her husband’s and her son’s Hawaiian ancestors.”

“Mrs. Pitman, addressing herself to the Secretary of War, the Governor, the Chairman and ‘citizens of the Territory,’ said: ‘When it was my privilege, twelve years ago, to come to these beautiful Islands in company with my husband, Benjamin Franklin Keola-o-kalani Pitman …”

“… who, after an absence of over fifty years, was led, providentially I believe, to return to the land of his birth that he might realize, before he was called to his final home, the loving interest that, unknown to him, had followed him like a protecting spirit all his days …”

“… because he was the grandson of your great High Chief Hoolulu and the son of Kinoole, the beloved High Chiefess of Hilo – the wonderful hospitality and love extended to us not only by the Hoolulu family, but by all those who had become imbued with the spirit that pervades these Islands, filled our hearts with gratitude and a desire to manifest in some way our sincere appreciation.”

“‘On this great occasion, the Sesquicentennial of the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by the noted explorer, Captain James Cook, the way has been opened to us through the Chairman of this Commission, Colonel Curtis P Iaukea, not only to do honor to Captain Cook, but to make a permanent demonstration of our feelings.”

The Pitman Tablet was unveiled at Archives of Hawai‘i Building and officially accepted by Governor Lawrence McCully Judd on February 14, 1930.

“Master Theodore Pitman, Jr., son of the sculptor, who with his wife, all of Boston, were present, was accorded the honor of unveiling the tablet. He lifted the old Hawaiian Royal ensign from the tablet, and revealed its golden beauty to the assemblage.”

“The sculptor had achieved a marvelous result, and his inspiration was the moment Captain Cook, in the ‘Resolution,’ was skirting the shore of Kauai.”

“Out at sea was a Hawaiian outrigger canoe, and in it, a paddle in hand and standing, was an Hawaiian, his back to the beholder, looking toward the strange ship from abroad. In the background are the shores and mountains and valleys of Kauai.”

“Flanking this scene, for artistic embellishment, were two lofty cocoa- nuts. Between the branches of the trees is a medallion of Captain Cook, a startling likeness that seems to change and live as light rays travel over the surface. The unveiling met with a round of applause.” (Pitman)