Place Names | Page 116 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 17, 2017 by Peter T Young 6 Comments

Flagpole

Actually, this is a about a family that ended up in Kailua. We’ll get to the ‘flagpole’ portion of their adventures at the end of the summary. This is about Lloyd and Joanie Osborne; they married in 1938.

Lloyd was born in Newtonville, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1909; he graduated from Phillips-Exeter Academy and Yale University, where he was captain of the swimming team.

He led an all-star US swimming team on a Pacific and Japan tour in 1931, but passed up 1932 Olympic tryouts in order to enlist as a Naval Aviator, after earning his mechanical engineering degree.

Joan (Joanie) Dowsett Osborne, born July 26, 1916, was the daughter of Herbert and Laura Dowsett; she was a descendant of Gerrit Parmele Judd, a missionary physician in the Third Company of American Protestant missionaries to the Islands. Judd later resigned from the mission and became an advisor and translator to King Kamehameha III.

Joanie was a member of the Punahou School class of 1933, attended the Schools at Dobbs Ferry in Westchester, NY and Tufts University of Occupational Therapy.

Although Joanie was a swimmer from an early age, marriage and childrearing interrupted her swimming until her mid-fifties. It was as senior swimmers that inspired Joanie to join competitive swimming with Lloyd in the Masters Swim events.

In 1984, at the age of 75, Lloyd set two national records, the 200-meter butterfly in 4:51:77 and the 200-meter individual medley in 4:01:34. He has numerous other accolades in swimming (from the 1970s to 1990s.) His last, in 1992, was 1st Place in 400 freestyle (8:08:40;) he was 82.

He swam competitively, he told a reporter in 1985, because he wanted to stay healthy enough to make one particular financial transaction: “I’d like to write a check dated Jan. 2, 2000.” (He made it.)

During 14 years of competition, Joanie was listed in the US Masters National Top Ten Times in 174 events: ranking first in 53 events; second in 29; third in 20; and fourth in 22. She has held 28 pool event USMS National Records, one Long Distance National Record and four Master’s Age Group World Records.

Back to Lloyd’s aviation experience … After earning his wings in 1933 at Pensacola, Florida, Lloyd piloted landings and take offs from the world’s first aircraft carrier, the US Langley, a converted Navy oiler.

Following a stint in the engineering design department at Martin Aircraft, he joined Pan American Airways as a pilot, flying throughout the Caribbean and South America; one of his passengers was President Franklin D Roosevelt.

His WWII duty included command of an air control unit during amphibious operations at Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima, for which he earned two combat Bronze Star medals. He later served on the staff of Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet.

After WWII, a unique type of air service called ‘flight seeing’ came into being. On April 2, 1946, Osborne started Hawaiian Air Transport Service Ltd, “a deluxe charter and tour service.”

It provided non-scheduled service to all Territorial airports and provided special tourist sight-seeing flights to the Neighbor Islands, and charter services as required. (hawaii-gov)

After operating for about 4-years, Hans Mueller took over the certificate and expanded that operation into Hawaiian Air Tour Service (HATS,) a full-fledged flight-seeing operation. (Allen)

The accomplishment that Joanie is most proud of is not her swimming, but the role she played in establishing Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park in Kona. Joanie lived in Kailua-Kona in the 1950s. During this period, she served on the Governor’s commission to save historical sites. Through her efforts, and others, the park was eventually created.

On August 13, 1959, over a thousand people gathered near the Sears’ end for the grand opening of Ala Moana Center. Lloyd Osborne was there, he was the center’s first general manager.

OK, the flagpole …

The Osbornes had a house on Kailua Beach. Most folks who surf or walk the beach will recall a flagpole standing proud and tall near the edge of the beach. The surf spot “Flagpoles” is right off shore.

That was the home of Lloyd and Joanie Osborne and their family. On July 4, 1969, to honor both his nation and his state, and to salute other states and countries he had visited, Lloyd put up the 30-foot flagpole himself.

Lloyd died April 19, 2001 at the age of 92; Joanie, his wife of 63 years, died July 20, 2014, missing her 98th birthday by six days. (Lots of information here is from Advertiser, Star-Advertiser and Punahou.)

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USS Langley (CV 1)-1st Aircraft Carrier

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Long one-quarter front left side aerial view from above of two Hawaiian Air Tour Service (HATS) Cessna T-50 “Bamboo Bombers” in flight over Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii, circa 1955. In the foreground is the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, with the Waikiki Theater behind; at far right is the Matson Moana Hotel. Believed to be the cover of a Hawaiian Air Tour Service (HATS) brochure.

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November 15, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Huilua Fishpond

Aquacultural fishpond technology allowed the ancient Hawaiians to move beyond mere harvesting of fish and other marine products (i.e. crustaceans, shellfish, and seaweed) to intensive fish production and husbandry.

Reportedly, a total of 449 ponds that were constructed prior to A.D. 1830, most during the prehistoric period. They were built on all the major islands.

Broad shallow reef flats or natural embayments provided an environment where ponds could be constructed easily in sweeping semicircular arcs out from the shoreline.

Along the shoreline were ponds with (kuapa, or pa) and sluice gates (mākāhā). The distinctive feature of the kuapa ponds was the sluice gates.

The mākāhā was stationary with no moveable parts. This was the technological innovation, probably an adaptation from an earlier form used in irrigation agriculture (taro), that enabled the Hawaiians to progress from tide-dependent fishtraps to artificial fishponds which could be controlled at all times of the tide.

Ponds varied in form, construction, methods of operation, and in the species of fish raised. Ponds or loko, were divided into two major categories: shore and inland ponds.

Huilua Fishpond at Kahana Valley in Koʻolauloa on the Island of Oʻahu has been traditionally classified as a loko kuapa pond. It was a working fishpond (with modifications) until the late-1960s.

Huilua Fishpond is one of only six remaining fishponds out of an estimated ninety-seven such structures that once existed on
coastal Oahu and one of the few ancient Hawaiian fishponds that were still operational well into this century.

It is also one of only ten ponds left in the Hawaiian Islands which have not been denuded of their archeological sites during the course of historic coastal development. A large majority of ponds throughout the Islands have also been destroyed by natural agencies such as tsunamis (tidal waves) and sea storms.

Huilua is a shallow, brackish water enclosure of approximately 4 ½-acres that is roughly shaped as a right triangle with the right angle of the base forming the northwest or seaward corner of the pond.

The base or western wall abuts and partially deflects the effluent from the Kahana estuary as it discharges into Kahana Bay. This wall, approximately 500 feet in length.

At the extreme south end of the western wall are located two parallel mākāhā or sluice gates. The makai gate is longer by approximately 10 feet than the mauka gates.

Huilua Pond has been an important element in the long-term habitation of Kahana Valley and is expressive of that habitation. It was an important part of the valley’s cooperative subsistence economy from the late 19th Century until the late-1960s.

At that latter time, the konohiki fishing rights for Kahana Bay were condemned and acquired by the State of Hawaiʻʻi to allow public access to the bay.

Huilua Pond became a part of Kahana Valley Cultural Park, a ‘living park’ concept developed by the Hawaii Department of Lands and Natural Resources whereby approximately 150 persons, many of whom grew up there, reside in the Park.

The ancient Hawaiians believed that walled fishponds of the loko kuapa type were inhabited by moʻo (water spirits) who were also akua (gods) and kiaʻi (guardians) and relied upon them to protect the ponds in order to assure an abundance of fish.

Ritual pollution included the violation of kapu (taboos, i.e., women could not fish nor be involved in the work of the pond), neglect of ritual obligations associated with the pond, poaching, and so on.

Informants on the Kahana Valley oral history project related: ‘Huilua Fishpond has a moʻo that lives in a deep hole at the northwest corner of the fishpond where the western wall meets the northern.’

When the moʻo leaves the pond and then later returns ‘there are always dried leaves floating on the top of the water to indicate its presence’.

Oral history informants from Kahana Valley also related that their elders and grandparents propitiated the traditional fish god Kuʻula, otherwise the fish might disappear from the pond.

While the koʻa was not used within living memory, they reported that a fish stone (pohaku kuʻula) required prayers and proper care in order to keep the fish in the pond. The location of the sacred stone is not clear. (Lots of information from NPS and DLNR.)

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November 9, 2017 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Waiolama

Ke one ‘anapa o Waiolama
The sparkling sand of Waiolama

This is an expression much used in chants of Hilo, Hawai’i. Waiolama is a place between Waiakea and the town of Hilo. It was said to have sand that sparkled in the sunlight. (Pukui, #1773)

The Waiolama marsh was just inland from the Hilo shoreline. This river/marsh area was also developed into a fishpond and was used for a unique type of kalo cultivation (kipikipi).

“In flat swampy ground earth is heaped up into long mounds 3 or 4 feet high and about 3 feet broad on top, each mound surrounded by water left standing in the ditches created by digging out and heaping up the earth.”

“The taro is planted around the lower margins of the mounds near the water; sweet potatoes are planted on top. This method of swamp-land planting finds its counterpart in the old style of mounding”. (Handy)

The ali‘i Ruth Ke‘elikolani had a house near the bay at Waiolama, and spent time there during her well-known 1880-81 visit to Pele, at which it was said she successfully stopped an advancing lava flow just over a mile above Hilo Bay.

In 1889, a small canal was dredged to divert some of the water from the Waiolama Marsh into the Wailoa River. The drainage canal was enlarged and paved between 1915 and 1917.

Then, in the early 1900s, the Territory of Hawai‘i saw the opportunity to drain and fill the land that “was valueless” to be “available for the growth of the business district of the city” and attain “a valuation greatly in excess of the cost of the filling and draining.”

In Hilo, the Waiolama Reclamation Project included the draining and filling of approximately 40-acres in the area between the Hilo Railway tract, Wailoa River, and Baker and Front Streets. It included diversion of the Alenaio Stream. (1914-1919)

“One of the most important undertakings on Hawaii has been the Waiolama Reclamation Project. The Lord-Young Engineering Company, Ltd., was awarded the contract for the reclamation of about forty acres of swamp land in the district between the Hilo Railway tract, Waioloa River, and Baker and Front streets, Hilo.”

“(T)here was a total flow of 36,000,000 gallons of water into the swamp, exclusive of storm water from the Alenaio Stream, and that the estimated cost of diverting this flow before it enters the swamp would be $33,800.00.” (Superintendent of Public Works Report, 1916)

“Over 215,000 cubic yards (CY) of fill material were needed. Of this, 207,000 CY of black sand were obtained from the nearby Bayfront Beach. The remaining 8,000 CY or so of fill material were obtained from the dredging spoils of the Waiolama Canal which was also a part of the project.”

The nearby Ponahawai Reclamation Project required another 32,000 cubic yards of fill material, all of which was obtained from the Bayfront Beach.

“In all, about 247,000 CY of fill material were required for the two projects. Approximately 239,000 CY of this total came from the Bayfront Beach.”

“Apparently, sand mining along the ocean side was also occurring at about this period. This was accomplished by the railroad company by using a rail-mounted crane with a clamshell to load gondola cars. The sand was used for bedding and a variety of construction purposes in East Hawaii.”

“On 16 December 1921, high waves undermined the railway and deposited sand at various areas. All of Mo‘oheau Park was inundated except for the inland-most 100 feet. Opposition was raised by the Hilo Railroad Company over the dredging of sand from the beach for the Ponahawai Reclamation Project.”

“They claimed that the dredging of sand from the earlier Waiolama project had compounded the heavy surf and had contributed to the undermining of the tracks through the removal of beach frontage.”

“It was at about this time that the railroad company began dumping stone to form a crude revetment at the western portion of the bayfront shoreline. After some delay, the railroad relented their objections to further dredging of beach sand. Then on 3 February 1923, a tsunami (again damaged the railroad tracks along Hilo’s bayfront shoreline.” (Army Corps)

Later, the Army Corps implemented the Alenaio Stream Flood Control project here. Completed in 1997, the project consists of a levee; channel, floodwall structures and other improvements.

Today, what was once a river and marshland … and unique kalo cultivation area is now open space and soccer fields at Hilo’s Bayfront area.

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Hilo-Waiolama Marsh Area noted near shoreline-center

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November 1, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Liljestrand

Howard Liljestrand was born in Iowa in 1911. The child of medical missionaries, he was raised in Sichuan, China. He graduated from Harvard Medical School and met his wife, Helen Betty Horner, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Cape Cod.

In 1937, Betty and Howard Liljestrand arrived in Hawaii as honeymooners and medical missionaries en route to China – they came to Hawaii so Howard could complete his residency at Queens Hospital.

The two had planned to return to China, but the country’s growing political tensions of the coming Communist revolution delayed and, ultimately, diverted them and kept them in the Islands. He worked at a plantation hospital near Pearl Harbor, where the couple raised four kids. (Quill)

When Howard and Betty Liljestrand decided to move from their Plantation Style cottage in Aiea to a neighborhood closer to Honolulu.

Knowing that they wanted to build a house, the Liljestrands spent a decade looking for the ideal plot of land. It was on a hike in the rain forest on Tantalus that they decided that this was where they wanted to build their home.

While hiking they met George Coulter sitting on his porch watching the sunset. They struck up a casual conversation, telling George about their desire to move to the mountain. Realizing how much they loved it, George offered to sell them a portion of his land.

The Liljestrands purchased 2.5 acres from Coulter in 1946: a 2 acre square parcel on one side of Coulter’s house lot, and a half acre parcel on the other side that was just below a ridge-line overlooking the city. The half-acre parcel didn’t have the entire view they wanted, the other side of the ridge was conservation land owned by the Territory of Hawaii.

They made an even trade with the Territory; they would deed the 2 acre square parcel to the Territory for conservation land in exchange for the half acre parcel on the other side of the ridge-line from their own. This secured the view of the city that they wanted, and created the house lot for their new home. (NPS)

Given their lifestyle, they had an extensive list of programmatic needs. First and foremost, the wanted a home of unusual quality and livability. They firmly believed in the ‘emotional power of architecture to give meaning to life’ and pursued a ‘spirit lifting’ quality in their home. (Penick; Pace Setter Homes)

They wanted “morning sun in the kitchen, no morning sun in the bedroom (Howard was a late sleeper), a single loaded corridor, views from every room, no rooms as passageways, lots of storage, a front door easily and naturally accessible, places where work can be left out, and a circular drive.” (Liljestrand House)

They hired Vladimir Ossipoff to design their 6,700-square-foot dream house, with Betty, who was clearly ahead of her time, serving as general contractor. The Liljestrands moved into the house, which was nearly complete, in 1952. (Quill)

The house has an irregular H-shaped floor plan, with one wing set at a 45 degree angle, instead of perpendicular to the middle wing. The house is constructed of redwood which throughout has been managed with a variety of treatments to fit the feeling and flow of the floor plan. (NPS)

The house is set far off the street, down a private road with a security gate. The road services two residences, and divides after 50 yards or so, with the left driveway leading to the Liljestrand property.

Ossipoff designed the house to showcase the view from the ridge. The house was situated on the ridge to extend the view from Diamond Head in one direction to the airport in the other.

The natural beauty around the house was an important element incorporated into the design. The use of floor to ceiling windows and walls that slide away, entirely open the house to the outside world. The long driveway and forested area provide privacy.

Between 1946 and 1965, House Beautiful named 17 Pace Setter houses for the post–World War II years. The Liljestrand House was selected in 1958, commanding the cover and 53 pages of the magazine.

The Pace Setters were not designated to impress the fine-arts world but to translate high design for a postwar nuclear family. Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses could be too dark, and Le Corbusier’s roofs leaked, but the Pace Setters were livable. (Departures)

The Liljestrand House typifies a romantic vision of midcentury life, with a kitchen that includes work stations for flower arranging, sewing, typing and gift wrapping.

The living and dining rooms have an open plan for parties, with conversational seating areas for intimacy. Recreational activities are relegated to the downstairs – with billiards, Ping-Pong, movie screenings and a kidney-shaped pool outside.

The house builds on aspects of previous Hawaiian architecture, the low, simple front façade draws from earlier Craftsman and the vernacular Plantation Style of houses. Ossipoff’s vision embraces key concepts of life in Hawaii, such as the expansion of the living area to include the outdoors. (NPS)

Almost fifty years after its publication in House Beautiful, the Liljestrand House appeared in Western Interiors and Design, on the cover of Metropolis, and in the book, The Hawaiian House Now.

In 2007 and 2008, respectively, The Liljestrand House was listed on the Hawaii State and the United States National Registers of Historic Places.

In 2009, the Liljestrand House received a Preservation Award from the Historic Hawaii Foundation. In a letter to the Liljestrand Family the Historic Foundation called the house “one of the most, if not the most, intact historic structures in the state.”

They also recognized that the furniture, built-in interiors, and contents – all designed or selected by the architect – remain in original condition; the architectural source materials – notes, memos, letters, drawings, materials lists, invoices, and even the building permit – exist; and that film and photos of the construction exist.

The Liljestrand family has created the Liljestrand Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is to preserve the house and to make that preservation purposeful by opening the house to the public for tours and for charitable, cultural, and educational activities. (Liljestrand House)

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October 31, 2017 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Pohoiki

Early settlement patterns in the Islands put people on the windward sides of the islands, typically along the shoreline. However, in Puna, 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, 1826)

Dry land farming was practiced in coastal Puna during the late prehistoric and early historic period. Table-land areas aong the lower slopes of Hawaii Island were used for cultivation of un-irrigated taro, sweet potatoes, yams, bananas, breadfruit, olona, sugarcane and wauke (paper mulberry.) (Lantinis)

“The whole population of this section of the country was by the wayside, which gave me an opportunity of judging of their number; this is much larger than might be supposed from the condition of the country, for with the exception of the point at Kapoho, very little ground that can be cultivated is to be seen.”

“The country, however, is considered fruitful by those who are acquainted with it, notwithstanding its barren appearance on the road sides. The inhabitants seemed to have abundance of bread-fruit, bananas, sugar-cane, taro, and sweet-potatoes.”

“The latter, however, are seen to be growing literally among heaps of stones and pieces of lava, with scarcely soil enough to cover them; yet they are, I am informed, the finest on the island.”

“At Puna, there is a large church; but no appearance of a village, the houses being much scattered. The church, it is said, will contain two or three thousand persons.” (Wilkes, 1845)

“Our stopping place for the night was at Pohoiki (‘small depression’) … The natives bro’t us the Ki or Ti root baked. It is very sweet and juicy. There are fine groves of cocoa nut trees and the situation of a hamlet on an inlet of the sea is very pleasant.” (Chester Lyman, 1846)

In August of 1878, Robert Henry Rycroft stated that he made improvements to the Pohoiki landing and wanted to buy property here. The original landing was destroyed by a tsunami in August 1885. (DLNR)

The improvements to Pohoiki landing allowed the Puna Sugar Company to ship in their seed cane to Kapoho around 1898. The landing was the only means of transportation. The railroad and roads from Hilo came later. (Red Road CMP)

“This district presents some features which are well worth the exertion which the traveler will have to make in order to see them. The general appearance from the road is sterile, especially in the southern part, where there are considerable tracts covered with lava rock supporting the scantiest of vegetation.”

“Some eighteen miles from Hilo the country begins to improve, and away from the main road, upon the slopes of the mountain, there are many acres of excellent land, suitable for coffee and fruit growing.”

“The south-eastern part of Puna has some celebrity for its groves of coconuts, the trees being more abundant here than in any other part of the islands. The traces of volcanic action are extremely prominent in this district.”

“The tourist who plans to go through Puna, should obtain letters for either Kapoho or Pohoiki, where the first night would be spent … A number of coffee planters have located in this vicinity, and groves of coffee trees may be seen every few miles.” (Whitney, 1895)

In the Puna District in 1880, Hawaiians maintained small-scale traditional farms, and other settlers invested in commercial properties like coffee plantations on approximately three dozen land grants. (ORNL)

Rycroft constructed a coffee mill in 1891 to process the coffee then being planted in Puna. One serious difficulty of coffee growing was that it required a large work force only when the coffee was to be picked. Keeping men employed when not picking coffee was a serious economic drain on the fledgling industry. (Matsuoka, ORNL)

However, for some unknown reason, the coffee boom ended in 1899, leaving the mill basically without a product to process. Then, probably, the Rycrofts had to find an alternate crop to process in the new coffee mill.

Presumably, then, the Rycroft guava business in Puna was started in about 1900 to use the coffee mill, and possibly was abandoned after 1910.

Rycroft and his son, Walter, should be credited with the first commercial production of guava at Pohoiki in Puna; they produced guava jam and jelly in the ‘coffee mill.’ (Shigemura & Bulloock)

The Pohoiki area has remained mostly undeveloped except for the 23-year period of commercial development under Robert Rycroft. Rycroft’s ventures between 1877 and 1899 included ‘awa, cattle, sawmill, coffee and guava. The Pohoiki commercial activity appears to have ended when Rycroft moved to Honolulu in 1899. (DLNR)

This area was used as a whaling port and was always a fishing village. Many families in the area would contribute to the sharing of fish with other families. It has been said that if you even touched the canoe you would get some fish.

Old fishing practices included using the canoes. One practice that is documented in this area is opelu fishing. The families would take out the canoe and feed the opelu koʻa (house) with the ʻopae ula (red shrimp.) This was done to ensure that there was always fish and the fish were well taken care of. The families of these areas were subsistence fisherman.

Pohoiki is a small 1,000-foot long bay located approximately three miles south of Kapoho. During the thirties fewer canoes went out to catch opelu. Eventually a boat ramp was constructed at Pohoiki and the canoes were replaced by motorboats. (Matsuoka, ORNL)

By 1940, the wharf at Pohoiki had been abandoned as a commercial stop, but the bay was used as a canoe landing by local fishermen. (Clark)

World War II had a profound effect on Hawai’i. In Puna, those who remained behind were made to fear a Japanese invasion by sea. The coastline were watched and guarded by soldiers stationed, in the Kalapana area.

There were 100 to 150 soldiers stationed in Kalapana and they were rotated every three months. Some camped in tents on Kaimu beach and Kalapana beach, some lived in the school cafeteria, and others in the gym and the priest’s house at the Catholic Church.

Other forms of subsistence production continued after the war, such as pole-fishing from shore, gathering limu and opihi, and crab and raising stock. Hunting of wild pigs remained an important source of meat. Native plants were gathered for herbal teas and medicine. (Matsuoka, ORNL)

Here is the “Isaac Kepoʻokalani Hale Beach Park.” It was established in 1951 to honor Isaac Hale who was a soldier killed in the Korean War.

Traditional fishing practices started to dissipate in the 1950s with the introduction of fishing boats. Families began to start fishing with boats during these times. (Red Road CMP)

During the 1950s, boating traffic from outside the area began to increase substantially as commercial and recreational fishers began buying smaller boats that could be trailered to parts of the Island. (Clark)

Pohoiki Warm Spring is a natural hot pond in the jungle near a popular Pohoiki surfing beach. It’s a couple hundred yards from the Park to the pool, which is only about 20 yards from the ocean.

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August 7, 2014 – Pohoiki, Hawaii: A spectator watches Hurricane Iselle generated surf pound the Puna shoreline at Pohoiki this afternoon. Waves were ranging in 10-12 foot range and increasing.

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