Schools | Page 18 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

October 26, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Armstrong Appointment

“The Missionaries have been the fathers, the builders and the supporters of education in these Islands, and (William Lee) thought it proper that their wishes in reference to the appointment of a person to superintend Education should in some degree be consulted”. (William Lee)

“Mr Richards the Minister of Public Instruction is sick and has been given up to die, though he still lives. The Minister of the Interior has been appointed to act for him provisionally”. (Gerrit Judd)

“Mr. Wyllie rose and said a sense of duty to the King induced him to state that the appointment of a Minister of Public Instruction, in the peculiar circumstances of the Islands, was the most important under the Crown.”

“On public instruction was based the Security of His M’s Crown, and the progress of His subjects in civilization and christianity. That, therefore, an appointment so momentous for good or evil, ought not to be precipitately made.” (Two names were discussed, Lorrin Andrews and Richard Armstrong.)

“That the man of greatest talent, most moral worth, most devoted to the King and to His Subjects and best acquainted with the language should be selected and he believed that man to be Mr Armstrong.”

“He gave this opinion as if speaking in presence of his Maker and having to answer for it, at the great day of Judgement. But he
hoped that whoever might be appointed, the appointment should be considered provisional, so as to meet the case of the possible recovery of Mr Richards.” (Richard Wyllie)

Lee “Said it was his mind that this matter is the most important one that can come before the Privy Council. With the Minister of Public Instruction rested the weighty responsibility of moulding the mind and character of this Nation for generations to come.”

“How necessary then, that we select the best man the Kingdom affords. He had looked around him to see who this man was, and his mind and heart were fixed upon Richard Armstrong.”

“He was his first choice, and in his humble opinion the Man of all men best adopted to discharge the high duties of this Post. He gave his preference to Mr Armstrong because he was a good Man, a wise Man and an industrious Man.”

“He would say nothing in disparagement of Mr Andrews of Molokai, for he knew little or nothing about him. But he did know Mr Armstrong, and thought he should certainly have the first offer.”

“He was a tried and devoted to this Nation and one whom we could not mistake – A question of such vast importance required our most sober deliberations, and he trusted that in whatever we did, we might not move with precipitation.”

“He most heartily concurred with Mr Wyllie in his remarks, and would end as he began, in stating it as his firm conviction, that Richard Armstrong was the Man.” (Lee)

“Mr (John Papa) Ii spoke very eloquently in favor of both candidates – said that either of them do well, but that Mr Armstrong was a good fisher of Men and that his loss would be severely felt in the Church.” (Ii)

Richards died – “the oldest, the most devoted, faithful and tried servant of His Majesty. He had given all the best energies of his body, mind & soul to this Nation, and what was more, he had died in poverty”. (William Lee)

“Kekuanaoa states that in his opinion Mr Armstrong be appointed and so notified. In his opinion, Mr Armstrong was the best Man and that he ought to be appointed at once.” (Kekuanaoa)

“Mr Wyllie stated that notwithstanding all that had been said, he could not without violence to his conscience, do otherwise than support the views of Governor Kekuanaoa and John Ii. Their views were r that Mr Armstrong should be appointed subject to the approval of the Missionaries at their next General Meeting.”

“He (Mr Wyllie) supported those views, both because he considered Mr Armstrong the best man, & because the whole Missionary body thought him to be the best Man. …” (Wyllie)

“It was, therefore, due, no less in gratitude than in policy, for the Government, to act so as to cultivate the good opinion & continue the sympathy of the American Board of F. Missions in the U. S. and the good will of the Missionaries here.”

“Nothing would do that more effectually than the appointment of M. Armstrong, whom all the Missionaries considered the fittest Man for the Post, although from the value they attach to him, they did not like to part with him.”

“He believed and Mr Armstrong also believed that by waiting till the next General Meeting, the Missionaries would so far consent to his separation, as to enable him to take office with their approval.” (Wyllie)

“Mr Wyllie moved the following Resolution ‘Resolved that the Reverend Mr Armstrong’s offer to assist the Minister of the Interior until the next General Meeting of his brethren, be accepted; and that if he can then obtain the approval of his brethren, he be appointed to the Office of Minister of Public Instruction.’” (Wyllie)

“The Rev. Mr. Armstrong, having by letter to Judge Lee, dated May 1848, accepted the office of the Minister of Public Instruction, tendered him by Resolution of the 2nd of December 1847 – took the Oath of Allegiance.” (All from Privy Council Minutes)

Armstrong left the mission and became Minister of Public Instruction on June 7, 1848. Armstrong was to serve the government for the remainder of his life. He was a member of the Privy Council and the House of Nobles and acted as the royal chaplain.

He set up the Board of Education under the kingdom in 1855 and was its president until his death. Armstrong is known as the “the father of American education in Hawaiʻi.”

The government-sponsored education system in Hawaiʻi is the longest running public school system west of the Mississippi River. To this day, Hawaiʻi is the only state to have a completely-centralized State public school system.

Armstrong helped bring better textbooks, qualified teachers and better school buildings. Students were taught in Hawaiian how to read, write, math, geography, singing and to be “God-fearing” citizens. (By 1863, three years after Armstrong’s death, the missionaries stopped being a part of Hawaiʻi’s education system.)

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Richard_Armstrong,_c._1858

September 30, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hana High School

The journey to Hāna was made partly over unpaved wagon roads and horse trails, often rendered impassable by damage from frequent rains. The most common means of travel to Hana was by steamer ship. Writer Robert Wenkam states that:

“When Hana was without a road, and the coastal steamer arrived on a weekly schedule, Hana-bound travelers unwilling to wait for the boat drove their car to the road’s end … rode horseback … walked down the switchback into Honomanu Valley. …”

“By outrigger canoe it was a short ride beyond Wailua to Nahiku landing where they could borrow a car for the rest of the involved trip to Hana. Sometimes the itinerary could be completed in a day. Bad weather could make it last a week.” (Library of Congress)

In 1900, folks saw the need to extend a good wagon road through to Hāna, which would be part of the island’s “belt” (around-the-island) road system. That year, a rudimentary road was built from Ke’anae to Nahiku.

The 1905 Superintendent of Public Works report stated that “very rough country is encountered in these districts. On account of the great expenses of road construction, the road has been made as narrow as possible in order to construct, with the money available, the maximum length of road”. (LOC, Territory of Hawaiʻi 1905)

Overland travel continued by horse and many travelers followed the trails along the irrigation ditches. Steamers remained the preferred mode of transportation for travel along the Hāna Coast.

Beginning in 1908, in anticipation of road improvements, twenty-four solid-paneled, reinforced-concrete bridges were built by 1915; from 1916 to 1929, an additional thirty-one bridges were built with a reinforced-concrete. (NPS)

Hana High and Elementary School was established by the Department of Education in 1912. “The new school at Hana will be a four room one, and it is hoped that it will be finished soon.”

“The new Hana school will stand in grounds that cover four acres. The site is an ideal one for a school and the view from the place is a magnificent one.” (Maui News, October 19, 1912)

“‘The idea of putting up a high school in Hana is preposterous,’ Chairman Marques of the education committee remarked after the session. This looks bad for the Hana high school …”

However, Pashoal noted, “‘The Hana people are all related to everybody in Maui, and if we get a high school established in Hana
the children attending it will all find homes with relatives in that section of the country.’” (Hawaiian Gazette, March 16, 1917)

“The Hana school gardens are improving. The boys have made the gardens at the foot of Kauikl Hill. Mr. Alyward, one of the teachers, has charge of the garden boys.”

“Wednesday and Friday afternoon we have vocational work. The girls do some tatting and crotcheting. In the future the girls will also weave.” (Josephine Jacobs; Maui News, January 16, 1920)

“The vocational work of the Hana school is going on very smoothly. Some of the older boys work in the carpenter shop while others plant their gardens.”

“The carpenter shop boys recently made some flower stands on which ferns have been placed. They are growing nicely. They also made some picture frames for the pictures of the late Theo. Roosevelt, just received.” (Margaret Cabral; Maui News, January 16, 1920)

“An additional room for the Hana School was proposed by Supt. MacCaughey while visiting here. Also something for the children during recreation hours; such as a gymnasium or a cooking department.”

“Most of the children of Hana School have caught the ‘skipping rope fever.’ Ropes may be seen all over the school yard. The girls skip in double style, while some of the boys do It in single, not being so skilled in the art.” (Eleanor McKenzie; Maui News January 23, 1920)

“The cabbages that are growing in the garden are about ready for sale. Some carrots were also planted, but they do not seem to flourish here. The boys are going to plant some Irish potatoes during this week.” (Charles Jacobs; Maui News January 23, 1920)

“Miss Kapol who is teaching the girls how to weave and crochet has quite a large class, but Mrs. Haia who conducts the tatting class has more children. Both classes have already finished many articles.” (Helen Akana; Maui News January 23, 1920)

“The corn which we planted on Kau Iki Hill is growing splendidly. This will help to beautify the (school yard) hill when full grown.” (Hideo Ibara; Maui News January 23, 1920)

“We are raising chickens at home and they are all fine, large ones As for the little ones, we must always be on the watch; otherwise they will go into the cane and get lost.” (Hitoshi; Maui News January 23, 1920)

The former Hana School campus is now the Hana Community Center and District Complex and Ball Park. The present Hana High and Elementary School, built in 1977, is a Grade K to 12 school. Total design enrollment is 500 students. Today, the school serves approximately 350 students from kindergarten through high school.

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Hana Community Center

September 1, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pa‘upa‘u

Pa‘upa‘u (lit. drudgery (servants were weary of bringing water to bathe the chief’s child)) is a hill above Lahainaluna School on Maui.

As noted in Pukui’s ‘Place Names’ book, “Not many years ago Mary Kawena Pukui found a colleague, Ke=oho=kapu, hard at work.”

“Instead of the banal comment that a haole would make, she asked cryptically, ‘E ku‘o‘i a‘e ana i ke One=o=Luhi?’ (Are [you] limping along the Beach of Weariness?)”

“Ke=oho=kapu, quick as a flash, said resignedly. ‘He pi‘i-na ke-ia i mauna Pa‘u-pa‘u.’ ([I”m) just climbing up Drudgery Hill.)”

“Both were pleased, and as a result of this repartee, the work may have seemed less like drudgery. The core of these sayings is the double meaning – in the place names Luhi ‘weariness’ and Pa‘u-pa‘u ‘drudgery’ a device rarely used in English sayings.” (Pukui, Appendix 8.1)

Sheldon Dibble had a house on the hill … “…Mon. Dec 14. Dined with Mr. Baldwin whose domicile joins that of Mr. Forbes, & is equally pleasantly situated. Mr. B[aldwin] has a wife & 5 children, the eldest a lad of 12 or 13 apparently…”

“Tues Dec 15th 1846. Rose soon after daylight & with Messrs Alexander & Hunt took a delightful ride on horseback along the base of the hills back of the Seminary.”

“We first rode up the hill to the cottage formerly built & occupied by Mr. Dibble situated on the side of the mountain 1500 ft above the sea (900 above Lahainaluna).”

“This residence was doubtless the means of prolonging the life of Mr. D[ibble] while declining of pulmonary consumption. The great objection to the residence is the difficulty of procuring water which has to be brought from a distance up very steep precipices.”

“The hill which rises back of this cottage on the flank of which it stands is called Mt Ball. The top of it is 2100 ft above the ocean…” (Lyman)

Another missionary, Samuel Whitney, also used the house on the hill … he had “taken ill on the island of Kauai, on the 21st of September last (1845). His symptoms, from the first, indicated a disordered liver.”

“After trying a change of air at his summer retreat at Hanapepeluna and employing various remedies, he, with his family, sailed on the 21st of October for Honolulu, where he arrived in three days …”

“From this, however, he partially recovered, and he was induced, by an earnest invitation, to come to Maui, to try the effects of a residence at the cool and elevated retreat of Mount Ball, above Lahainaluna. … When he arrived, he was quite fatigued, and he was ever afterwards confined mostly to his bed.”

“He now rapidly wasted away under the influence of disease, though his friends generally hoped he would soon begin to mend. …” Whitney died December 15, 1845.

Though David Malo did not die at Pa‘upa‘u, he wanted to be (and was) buried there. “He said this land will fall into the possession of foreigners. Land in Lahaina would be valuable.”

“The graveyards, enriched by the remains of the natives, would be coveted, and the contents of the graves scattered abroad. He wished not his bones to be disturbed. Let him be buried on that summit where no white man will ever build his house.” (Honolulu Advertiser, January 7, 1918)

Pu‘u Pa‘upa‘u has a symbol from Malo’s school (he was one of the first students enrolled at Lahainaluna Seminary). A large ‘L’ (standing for Lahainaluna, reportedly put there in 1929) is visible from most parts below.

Today, Lahainaluna students continue to maintain the ‘L’ on Pa‘upa‘u (a 30-foot letter of the natural red of the hill, outlined with white lime) at about the 2,000-foot elevation. (The school’s colors are red and white.)

Twice a year, students in Lahainaluna’s boarding program lug sacks of lime up to the site to outline the red ‘L’ in white. Hash-marks on the long side of the ‘L’ indicate sports championships.

Students also make the trek to pay reverence to David Malo, who died October 21, 1853 and who is buried on its summit. The school has an annual ho‘olaulea, David Malo Day, that pays tribute to Malo.

Pu‘u Pa‘upa‘u is also referred to as Mount Ball. It is not clear why or when it was named such, but references back to the mid-1840s, at least, use that name.

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lahainaluna-L

The L Lahainaluna-MountBall

Lahainaluna High School L

Lahainaluna L in need of lime

Lahainaluna L-lazarohike

David Malo grave

Rainbow_over_Lahainaluna

Lahaina as seen from Lahainaluna (Maui) Miss Thurston, Attributed to possibly be Eliza Thurston (1807-1873)

August 1, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Slate

“Not long after the passing of Kamehameha I in 1819, the first Christian missionaries arrived at (Kawaihae), Hawaiʻi on March 30, 1820. (They finally anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.)”

“Their arrival here became the topic of much discussion as Liholiho, known as Kamehameha II, deliberated with his aliʻi council for 13 days on a plan allowing the missionaries to stay.”

“A key point in Liholiho’s plan required the missionaries to first teach the aliʻi to read and write. The missionaries agreed to the King’s terms and instruction began soon after.” (KSBE)

“There was a frankness and earnestness on the part of some, in commencing and prosecuting study, which agreeably surprised us, and greatly encouraged our first efforts.”

“On the Sabbath, very soon after our arrival, Pulunu came to attend our public worship, and brought two shy, but bright looking little daughters, and after the service, she desired us to take them under our instruction.”

“We readily consented; and both mother and daughters became interesting members of the school. In a few weeks the mother conquered the main difficulty in acquiring an ability to read and write, and the others before many months.” (Bingham)

“On the 1st of August (1820), the slate was introduced, and by the 4th, Pulunu wrote on her slate, from a Sabbath School card, the following sentence in English; ‘I cannot see God, but God can see me.’”

“She was delighted with the exercise, and with her success in writing and comprehending it. The rest of the pupils listened with admiration as she read it, and gave the sense in Hawaiian. Here was a demonstration that a slate could speak in a foreign tongue, and convey a grand thought in their own.” (Bingham)

Demand for slates skyrocketed … “Our house has been thronged with natives applying for books & slates – Our yard has sometime presented the appearance of a market stocked with goats, pigs, poultry, melons & bananas brought to be exchanged for the means of instruction.” (Levi Chamberlain, July 18, 1826)

“Sabbath Augt 27 (1826). At the close of the native service in the morning notice was given that some of the mission would meet in the afternoon those persons who might desire to write down the text.”

“After dinner from 50 to 75 persons assembled with their slates and wrote the text which was given out sentence by sentence. A few remarks were made and the exercise concluded by prayer.” (Levi Chamberlain, August 27, 1826)

Writing material (slates) were a medium of exchange … “A very busy week this has been to me. On Wendnesday the ship began to discharge our supplies – and more or less have been landed every day since. Most of the packages and barrels have been delivered and a little more than half the lumber.”

“I have employed from 8 to 12 natives a day and have paid them at the rate of about 50 cts. per day in books or slates.” (Levi Chamberlain, May 1, 1830)

Saturday May 29th 1830. Since the last date I have been very much engaged. Our yard and the premises have been a scene of labor. Mr. Clark has been superintending the erection of houses in the enclosure in which my house stands.”

“The frames of three native houses are now put up, one of which is designed for a dwelling for himself, another for a study and the last for the accommodation of the natives belonging to his family.”

“The two former buildings are separated from the other houses in the yard by a ti fence. A cook house is soon to be built for the accommodation of his family and ours and it will stand about mid way between our two dwelling houses.”

“A front gate has been put up which will serve for us both, without the necessity of passing out by the printing house.”

“I have also come to the conclusion of building a new store house to be connected with a dwelling for myself to be built of stones & carried up two stories.”

“The stones I am now collecting. I purchase them for Gospels & Slates, to be cut & left on the beach -1 to draw them up. For a Gospel 6 stones 2 feet sq. – for the smallest size slates 10 stones & for the next large -12 stones. More than 1000 have been cut. I shall need at least 3000.” (Levi Chamberlain, May 29, 1830)

“Monday (June) 21st (1830). To day a company of men with whom I have made a bargain to dig the cellar of the new Store & dwelling house for myself commenced their work. I am to pay them 2 ps. unbld. factory cotton & 10 middling size slates.”

But, it was not always positive … “(Lyman) says, ‘We have no calls for books not enough to get the common work done of mahi ai. We cannot even hire common work for slates.’”

“It is evident for this that the business of learning is becoming to the natives an irksome business. Piopio the head woman is thought to be an opposer to that which is good.”

“The course which she has taken with a teacher whom the brethren have favored, & whom she had been seeking an occasion against and unfortunately for him had found, evinced a great deal of hatred.”

“This young man she has sent to Lahaina and Mr. Lyman adds. ‘We do not expect that she will attempt to remove us, but want of power alone will prevent.’ Her influence is of no doubtful character.” (Levi Chamberlain, September 19, 1833)

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Writing Slate-1800

July 26, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

St Cross Seminary

“A College will shortly be opened for Hawaiian Girls, under the patronage of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Emma. Lady Superintendant, Mrs George Mason. Besides and ordinary English education, instruction will be given in Industrial work.”

“Application for the admission of Boarders and for terms, to be made to Mrs Mason, at the Parsonage, Kukui Street. Also, there will be opened shortly a Collegiate Grammar School, for Young Gentlemen (it started as St Albans, later, Iolani).”

“Instruction will be given in Latin, Greek, Euclid and Algebra, as well as in the usual branches of English education.” (Polynesian, November 8, 1862)

In January 1864, the Female Industrial Seminary was transferred to Lahaina; the Reverend Mother Lydia Sellon arrived in Hawai‘i in late-1864 and took charge of the school. By then, the school had 25-boarders and about 40-day girls; it was renamed St Cross school for girls (St Cross Seminary) (Kanahele).

The school was operated by three religious Sisters of the Society of the Most Holy Trinity, Devonport, England (the Devonport Sisters), the first of the Religious Orders re-founded in the Church of England after the Reformation.

“Lahaina was a great whaling port during the (eighteen) sixties, for as many as eighty or ninety whaleships were at one time anchored in the offing. Sailors crowded the streets of Lahaina, and people came from far and wide to see them.”

“Many even from Molokai were tempted to change their residences to Lahaina, just for the purpose of seeing the crowds of whaling men pass through the streets, and many of the young girls of those days, and many of the married women even, were parted from their parents and from their husbands just for the novelty of being in the company of seafaring men.”

“In 1860 the present Lahaina stone court house was built. It served the dual purposes of both court house and custom house, and the collector of customs did a thriving business during those whaling days. The Queen’s Hospital was started at Honolulu in the same year.”

“The St. Cross Hospital, built in 1865 by the Episcopal Mission, which was also used as an industrial girls’ school, flourished for some years at Lahaina, and the old stone building is still standing …” (Keola; Mid-Pacific Magazine, December 1915)

In 1873 Isabella Bird visited “the industrial training and boarding school for girls, taught and superintended by two English ladies of Miss Sellon’s sisterhood, Sisters Mary Clara and Phoebe”.

“She notes, “I found it buried under the shade of the finest candlenut trees I have yet seen. A rude wooden cross in front is a touching and fitting emblem of the Saviour, for whom these pious women have sacrificed friends, sympathy, and the social intercourse and amenities which are within daily reach of our workers at home.”

“The large house, which is either plastered stone or adobe, contains the dormitories, visitors’ room, and oratory, and three houses at the back; all densely shaded, are used as schoolroom, cook-house, laundry, and refectory.“

“There is a playground under some fine tamarind trees, and an adobe wall encloses, without secluding, the whole. The visitors’ room is about twelve feet by eight feet, very bare, with a deal table and three chairs in it, but it was vacant …”

“… and I crossed to the large, shady, airy, school-room, where I found the senior sister engaged in teaching, while the junior was busy in the cook-house.”

“These ladies in eight years have never left Lahaina. Other people may think it necessary to leave its broiling heat, and seek health and recreation on the mountains, but their work has left them no leisure, and their zeal no desire, for a holiday.”

“A very solid, careful English education is given here, as well as a thorough training in all housewifely arts, and in the more important matters of modest dress and deportment, and propriety in language.
“

“There are thirty-seven boarders, native and half-native, and mixed native and Chinese, between the ages of four and eighteen. They provide their own clothes, beds, and bedding, and I think pay forty dollars a year. The capitation grant from Government
for two years was $2325.”

“Sister Phoebe was my cicerone, and l owe her one of the pleasantest days I have spent on the islands. The elder sister is in middle life, but though fragile-looking, has a pure complexion and a lovely countenance …”

“… the younger is scarcely middle-aged, one of the brightest, bonniest, sweetest-looking women I ever saw, with fun dancing in her eyes and round the corners of her mouth …”

“… yet the regnant expression on both faces was serenity, as though they had attained to ‘the love which looketh kindly, and the wisdom which looketh soberly on all things.’”

“I never saw such a mirthful-looking set of girls. Some were cooking the dinner, some ironing, others reading English aloud; but each occupation seemed a pastime, and whenever they spoke to the Sisters they clung about them as if they were their mothers.”

“I heard them read the Bible and an historical lesson, as well as play on a piano and sing, and they wrote some very difficult passages from dictation without any errors, and in a flowing, legible handwriting that I am disposed to envy.”

“Their accent and intonation were pleasing, and there was a briskness and emulation about their style of answering questions, rarely found in country schools with us, significant of intelligence and good teaching. All but the younger girls spoke English as fluently as Hawaiian.”

“I cannot convey a notion of the blithesomeness and independence of manner of these children. To say that they were free and easy would be wrong; it was rather the manner of very frolicksome daughters to very indulgent mothers or aunts. It was a family manner rather than a school manner, and the rule is obviously one of love.”

“The Sisters are very wise in adapting their discipline to the native character and circumstances. The rigidity which is customary in similar institutions at home would be out of place, as well as fatal here, and would ultimately lead to a rebound of a most injurious description.”

“Strict obedience is of course required, but the rules are few and lenient, and there is no more pressure of discipline than in a well-ordered family.” (Bird)

St. Cross provided the opportunity for the establishment of an enduring educational work for girls by the Society of the Holy Trinity. This venture proving successful, the Sisterhood presently opened a similar school – St. Andrew’s Priory – for which a site on the Cathedral property in Honolulu was granted. (Anglican History)

Despite the dedication of the Sisters and the support of the queen, St Cross was forced to close its doors in 1884 for lack of students. (Kanahele)

It was thereupon proposed that the two Sisters in charge should return to England; but they were so devoted to their task that they begged to be allowed to remain in Honolulu, depending upon such support as they themselves could secure.

Their plea was heeded and they continued in charge of the Priory until the transfer of jurisdiction to the American Church. (Anglican History)

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St Cross Seminary-The Net-1877