Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kawaihae – First School?

When the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries first stopped at Kawaihae, an emissary was sent into the village to learn the whereabouts of the king. Lucy G. Thurston, wife of Reverend Asa Thurston, recounted the event …

“Approaching Kawaihae, Hopu went ashore to invite some of the highest chiefs of the nation. Kalanimōku was the first person of distinction that came. In dress and manner he appeared with the dignity of a man of culture.”

Obviously familiar with western customs, the chief gallantly bowed and shook the hands of the ladies. Mrs. Thurston continued, “The effects of that first warm appreciating clasp I feel even now. To be met by such a specimen of heathen humanity on the borders of their land, was to stay us with flagons, and comfort us with apples.”

After sending gifts of hogs and sweet potatoes, Kalanimōku appeared and Bingham comments on ‘his great civility.’ “His appearance was much more interesting than we expected. His dress was a neat dimity jacket, black silk vest, mankin pantaloons, white cotton stockings, and shoes, plaid cravat, and a neat English hat.” (Bingham)

After a brief stop at Kawaihae, where they learned of the death of Kamehameha and the abolition of the old religion, they proceeded down the coast to Kailua with the chiefs on board to meet with the new king and hopefully gain permission to remain in the islands to establish a mission. (Del Piano)

Kamehameha had granted Kawaihae Komohana ahupua‘a (present Kawaihae 1) to Kalanimōku, his ‘prime minister’:

“As his principal executive officer (his kalaimoku according to the traditional scheme of government), Kamehameha appointed a young chief named (in modern writings) Kalanimōku …”

“… in his own lifetime, this chief was usually called Karaimoku by the Hawaiians, sometimes Kalaimoku; foreigners rendered his name Crymoku or Crimoku or gave it some similar form …”

“… he himself adopted the name of his contemporary, the great English prime minister, William Pitt, and he was frequently referred to and addressed by foreigners as Mr. Pitt or Billy Pitt.”

“Kalanimōku was Kamehameha’s prime minister and treasurer, the advisor on whom the king leaned most heavily. He was a man of great natural ability, both in purely governmental and in business matters. He was liked and respected by foreigners, who learned from experience that they could rely on his word.” (Kuykendall)

Kalanimōku maintained a residence at Kawaihae and was there when the first company of Protestant missionaries reached the Hawaiian Islands in 1820. (Cultural Surveys)

At Kawaihae, the missionaries took aboard a number of chiefs who sailed with them south to Kailua, Kona where they anchored on April 4, 1820. (Cultural Surveys)

“Thus to facilitate the diffusion of light over these islands, we were quickly and widely scattered’. (Bingham) They quickly set about establishing mission stations.

Reverend Asa Thurston; Mrs. Lucy Goodale Thurston; Thomas Holman, MD; and Mrs. Lucia Holman, accompanied by Hawaiian converts Thomas Hopu and William Kanui, were sent to Kailua to minister to the people of that district — teaching them literature, the arts, and most importantly, Christianity (“training them for heaven”). (NPS)

“Arrangements were made by the 23d of July, for Messrs. W(hitney) and R(uggles). and their wives to take up their residence at Waimea, on Kauai.”

“On the eve of their departure from Honolulu, eleven of our number united in celebrating the dying love of our exalted Redeemer, for the first time on the shores of the Sandwich Islands, and found the season happy.” (Bingham)

Among their first pupils were the new king and his younger brother, two of his wives, and some other youths. The king was particularly interested in having Holman present to provide medical care for the royal family. (NPS)

“Mr. Loomis hastened to Kawaihae and engaged in teaching Kalanimōku and his wife, and a class of favorite youths whom he wished to have instructed.” (Bingham)

“The first resident missionary at Kawaihae was Elisha Loomis, a 21-year old printer, who was supported by Kalanimōku. In the summer of 1820, Loomis was given two buildings (a schoolhouse and a dwelling place) and 10 youths to educate”. (Marion Kelly)

Kawaihae was the site of one of the first mission stations in the Hawaiian Islands, although it was only briefly looked after by Elisha Loomis beginning in 1821. (NPS)

Though Loomis and his pupils were moved to Honolulu in November, the schoolhouse at Kawaihae may represent the first missionary-run school in the Hawaiian Islands. (Cultural Surveys)

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Kawaihae_Bay_in_1822

by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Keakealani School

Peter Lee, an enterprising pioneer with an eye to the future, tried to popularize the Punalu‘u-Pahala route to Kilauea Volcano, a noted attraction, then and now.

“The wonderful volcano of Kīlauea, on the island of Hawaii, is the great attractive of visitors. It is the only crater in the world that is constantly in action, and that can be safely approached at all times to the very edge of the precipice which encloses the boiling lava.”

“To reach Kīlauea necessitates a passage of thirty hours from Honolulu in a fine steamer to Hilo or Punalu‘u, then a ride of thirty
miles in coaches takes visitors to a fine hotel, which overlooks the molten lava lake. It is a sight that will repay the effort and expense incurred ten times over, and one that will never be forgotten.” (Whitney)

In 1891, Lee built a 24-mile wagon road from Pahala to Kilauea, following by seven years the construction of a hotel at Punalu‘u. (NPS) However, the construction of the Volcano Road from Hilo had also begun.

With the completion of the Hilo to Volcano Road in 1894, four-horse stagecoaches came into the picture, reducing the travel time from Hilo from two days to six and one-half hours, and Hilo became the principal departure point for Kilauea. (NPS)

Lee later sold to the new owners of the Volcano House and then managed both hotels for them. Lee would remain as manager of the Volcano House until 1898.

Lee established a home on land near the center of the ʻŌlaʻa Summer Lots 29-Mile subdivision, which later become Volcano Village.

Noting the need for a school there, in 1914, Peter Lee donated a one-acre site on Haunani Road (named for one of his daughters) to the Territory of Hawai‘i for a “school to teach the children of the region”.

In 1915 the first school building was constructed – a classic one-room structure, along with a teacher’s cottage, small garage, and water tank. The school was named “Keakealani School” in honor of another of Lee’s daughters. (VSAC DEA)

In 1934 the growing student population called for larger facilities and the present two-room building was constructed and the teachers’ cottage and garage demolished, which left the layout we see there today.

In the late 1930s the Kennedy Family, who owned the property abutting the school site to the Hilo side, donated 2.25 acres to the Territory to increase the site to its current 3.25 acres.

In addition to the two-room building, the property consists of a grassy field with a few open-sided, temporary shelters. (VSAC DEA)

By Executive Order No. 1040 dated November 27, 1943, control of the subject property was placed in the Territorial Department of Public Instruction, now the Department of Education (DOE).

“The Hawaii Visitors Bureau won’t admit it. Mainland tourists basking in the sun at Waikiki beach won’t believe it. But kerosene and electric heaters are used to warm the tootsies of some 100 youngsters who attend classes in several public schools here in this island paradise when the mercury takes a nose dive.”

“Mrs Antonio Short, principal of KeaKealani school in the volcano area on the island of Hawaii, explained that ‘some days during the winter we keep our heaters burning all day and have frosty windows, like real Christmas weather.’”

“‘Frost ‘fell’ on our school yard twice in five years, and the temperature sometimes gets as low as 32 degrees,’ Mrs Short said. ‘Most of the youngsters even have to wear sweaters and coats until 10 am on cold days. And if it gets much worse, the youngsters will have to wear shoes all the time.’” (The Times, Shreveport, December 16, 1956)

DOE operated a public school on the site until 1973, when the students were transferred to Mountain View Elementary School. Until 2010, DOE used the facility as an outdoor education center for elementary students on the island of Hawaii.

Budgetary constraints caused DOE to terminate this program, and the facility was subsequently licensed on a year-to-year basis to Volcano School of Arts and Sciences (Volcano School), a public charter school, commencing on July 1, 2010. (DLNR)

Volcano School used the facility as its middle school campus, and received a $618,000 grant-in-aid from the 2011 Legislature to expand the facility to better accommodate its middle school program.

DOE and Volcano School subsequently executed a Lease Agreement effective as of August 1, 2012 that specifies that the premises shall be used for a charter school (consistent with the purpose of the executive order). (DLNR)

This allows the school to consolidate its grades K-4 classes, which are currently located on Old Volcano Rd., with its grades 5-8 classes so the school’s students will be together on one campus. (KHON2)

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VSAS_rendering

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Aliʻi Letters John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 10, 1843

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

The letters, written between 1823 and 1887, are assembled from three different collections: the ABCFM Collection held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, the HEA Collection of the Hawaii Conference-United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

These letters provide insight into what the Ali‘i (Chiefs) were doing and thinking at the time, as well as demonstrate the close working relationship and collaboration between the aliʻi and the missionaries.

In this letter, John Papa ʻĪʻī writes to Amos and Juliette Cooke at the Chief’s Children’s School in Honolulu, informing them about things in Lahaina, where he and Dr. Judd are traveling with students from the school.

John Papa ʻĪʻī began his service in the royal court when he served as an attendant to Liholiho, Kamehameha II. Īʻī later became a trusted advisor and chief in the court of Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III and continued to serve the sovereigns of Hawaiʻi until his death in 1870. At the time of this letter, he is escorting the boys from the Chiefs’ Children’s School as they travel in Lahaina.

Mr. Amos Starr Cooke was a missionary with the eighth company. He and his wife, Juliette Montague Cooke, ran the Chiefs’ Children’s School. Sarai, the wife of John Papa ‘Ī‘ī at the time of this letter, assisted at the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

In part, the letter notes:

“Wainee, April 10, 1843”

“Greetings to you two, Mr. and Mrs. Cooke,”

“Because we are apart these days, unable to converse one mouth to another, it is necessary to clarify by letter the various aspects of our stay. Because of that, I am informing you about us and the boys of ours.”

“From the first day of our stay here until now, it has been as it is when we all stay together, either there or here. They do not resist, and they are not a burden; our stay here is pleasant.”

“The domicile is peaceful, staying here at the house and going to the ocean to swim last Saturday, horseback riding that evening, and going to church yesterday.”

“The boys went to English-language services twice, all of us in the morning and then just Dr. Judd and the four boys went again.”

“And that night we sailed to the ship, the four boys and the two of us. Dr. Judd took over Sunday School. We saw someone talking with Dr. Judd, possible help for all of us, however it was not clear. …”

“We miss you folks very much and pray to God on your behalf, to help you folks and us as well. Much affection to the two of you and the young girls”.

Here’s a link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation (scroll down):
https://hmha.missionhouses.org/files/original/77b4e4f2532453409fd570f4b9a498c5.pdf

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) They arrived in the Islands and anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries, who arrived in 1820, was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Mission Houses’ Strategic Plan themes note that the collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in the
• The introduction of Christianity;
• The development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
• The promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
• The combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine, and
• The evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing).

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Ii to Cooke April 10, 1843-1
Ii to Cooke April 10, 1843-1
Ii to Cooke April 10, 1843-2
Ii to Cooke April 10, 1843-2

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Aliʻi Letters John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

The letters, written between 1823 and 1887, are assembled from three different collections: the ABCFM Collection held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, the HEA Collection of the Hawaii Conference-United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

These letters provide insight into what the Ali‘i (Chiefs) were doing and thinking at the time, as well as demonstrate the close working relationship and collaboration between the aliʻi and the missionaries.

In this letter, John Papa ‘Ī‘ī writes to Mr. and Mrs. Amos Cooke to inform them of their arrival in Lahaina with the boys from the Chiefs’ Children’s School and tells of their activities there.

John Papa ʻĪʻī began his service in the royal court when he served as an attendant to Liholiho, Kamehameha II. Īʻī later became a trusted advisor and chief in the court of Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III and continued to serve the sovereigns of Hawaiʻi until his death in 1870. At the time of this letter, he is escorting the boys from the Chiefs’ Children’s School as they travel in Lahaina.

Mr. Amos Starr Cooke was a missionary with the eighth company. He and his wife, Juliette Montague Cooke, ran the Chiefs’ Children’s School. Sarai, the wife of John Papa ‘Ī‘ī at the time of this letter, assisted at the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

In part, the letter notes:

“Luaehu, April 6, 1843”

“Greetings to the two of you, Mr. and Mrs. Cooke, and to the girls and Sarai,”

“We landed here in Lahaina yesterday, Wednesday, at four in the afternoon. Because of the fair winds, the boys did not suffer; Lota was the only boy weak from vomiting, and recovery was quick upon reaching the shore.”

“The men’s strong paddling was one of the reasons for arriving quickly. From morning time on they paddled that day until we neared our anchorage. All the canoes were already at hand and took all of us, the boys, Dr. Judd and Kekūanāoʻa.”

“We saw Auhea and Kuakini, who both give their greetings to the two of you and all the girls. The king has not reached during these days; he is in Wailuku and may or may not arrive tomorrow. This Sabbath day is up to me, and the work begins.”

“We slept here in Luaehu last night along with Dr. Judd, and he and I talked with Auhea about how we should go inland, and for Judd to stay with her; and that seems to be what was decided. Auhea and I went up there this morning to put things in order and the boys came up too.”

“By 10 am, all of us, the boys and Dr. Judd, mounted horses, and we rode to Lahainaluna for the presentation. We returned in the evening before dinner. “

“Dr. Judd went to Mr. Baldwin’s place for the foreigner’s meeting to abolish liquor. At nine, he returned. At that meeting, there were twenty foreigners as well as the officer of the ship. They are liquor abolitionists. …”

“Many whaling ships are anchored here these days. There are perhaps thirty ships anchored, and the rest are coming, according to what we saw of the ships between yesterday and today.”

Here’s a link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation (scroll down):
https://hmha.missionhouses.org/files/original/9c5073d1f4378c8887d761505e16a8d7.pdf

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) They arrived in the Islands and anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries, who arrived in 1820, was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Mission Houses’ Strategic Plan themes note that the collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in the
• The introduction of Christianity;
• The development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
• The promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
• The combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine, and
• The evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing).

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John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-1
John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-1
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John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-2
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John Papa Ii to Amos Cooke April 6, 1843-cover

by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Japanese Language Schools

Japanese came to Hawai‘i to work on the plantations between 1885 and 1924, when limits were placed on the numbers permitted entry.

“The government contract workers who arrived in Hawaii in the 1880s did not have much time or energy to worry about their children’s education.”

“Their only aim was to make enough money to return to Japan. With mothers going to work from early in the morning the children were virtually left to themselves all day long.”

“Takie Okumura, posted in Hawaii as a minister after his graduation from Doshisha University, was astonished as he made his pastoral rounds at how little communication the immigrant children had with their parents.” (Duus)

“Christian missionary Reverend Takie Okumura, who started Honolulu’s first Japanese language school, was moved by a little girl’s peculiar Japanese: ‘Me mama hanahana yōkonai’ in response to his question ‘Are you with your mother?’[“

“He learned that ‘me mama’ was pidgin for ‘my mother’, ‘hanahana’ was the Hawaiian word for ‘work,’ and ‘yōkonai’ was a Japanese expression equivalent to ‘cannot come.’”

“Okumura credits this exchange for his strong urge to establish a school.”

“After several failed attempts to receive support from either the Japanese consul general in Honolulu or politicians in Japan, Reverend Okumura decided to establish a school independently.”

“On April 6, 1896, he opened the Nihonjin Shōgakkō (Japanese Elementary School) in a room of the Queen Emma Hall, originally used as Queen Emma’s residence, with 30 students. Okumura purchased desks and chairs from $15 in donations and was able to use the room for free.”

“The first Japanese language program at a public school was established at McKinley High School in Honolulu on October 1, 1924.

“The first instructor of Japanese language at the public school was University of Hawaii Japanese Professor Tasuku Harada, who had a close relationship with Reverend Okumura. Harada was a former president of Dōshisha University (Congregationalist).” (Asato)

“Both Harada and Okumura were on the Japanese committee of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association and members of the Textbook Revision Joint Committee.”

“This Japanese language program was arranged by the Committee for Oriental Language Studies, chaired by University of Hawaii President Arthur L. Dean, who also was an American member of the Joint Committee for Textbook Revision.”

“The minutes of the Japanese committee of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association, dated September 10, a month before the Japanese program at McKinley High School began, reveals who was involved with this movement.”

“During the meeting, Treasurer Theodore Richards expressed his concern about female high-school students who attended the Hongwanji School for advanced Japanese language study, saying that they ‘were getting led away from Christianity.’”

“Richards was discussing the Hongwanji Girls’ High School (Hawai Kōtō Jogakkō) established in 1910, the girls’ counterpart of Hongwanji’s junior high school, Hawai Chūgakkō, established three years earlier.”

“Okumura and Imamura had a long history of confrontation over creating their own high schools. Imamura invited Ryūsaku Tsunoda, who later established Japanese Studies at Columbia University, to be principal of the first Japanese junior high school, the Hawai Chūgakkō.”

“Okumura tried to compete by offering a junior-high-school-level class at his “secular” Honolulu Nihonjin Shōgakkō, although this advanced class was short-lived because of low enrollment.”

“Then, in 1910 the Hongwanji Girls’ High School opened, and Okumura again countered by expanding his Japanese school with both its junior high school and girls’ school, renaming it the Hawaii Chūō Gakuin or Central Institute.”

“So it was no surprise that in 1924, after discussion, the Evangelical Association appointed Harada and Okumura to ‘investigate the matter of organizing a Japanese high school.’”

“At their next meeting, on October 8, 1924, Reverend William D. Westervelt reported that Japanese instruction at McKinley High School was arranged by working with Superintendent Willard E. Givens, University of Hawaii President Dean, DPI supervisor of foreign language schools Henry B. Schwartz and McKinley High School Principal Miles E. Cary. “

“Westervelt also reported that the University of Hawaii agreed to recognize the credits students earned from the Japanese program at the high school as entrance credits for the university. Okumura stated that ‘this plan was satisfactory for the present taking care of the Japanese High School teaching’”.

“Although Japanese instruction began at public schools in 1924, it did not seem to prosper. Besides McKinley High School, only one other public school seems to have offered Japanese. Reverend Kikujiro C. Kondo of the Hawaiian Evangelical Association began teaching Japanese at Maui High School in 1925 while taking care of the Paia church on Maui.”

“Reverend Kondo later moved to Honolulu to take over the McKinley High School Japanese program from Mr. Kunimoto, Harada’s successor, in 1926.” (Asato)

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Japanese_Coming_Off_Ship-causeway on Sand Island-(HSA)-PP-46-4-005-00001