Schools | Page 27 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 13, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

He Aupuni Palapala Ko‘u

E nā ali‘i a me nā maka‘āinana,
he aupuni palapala ko‘u,
a ‘o ke kanaka pono a na‘auao,
‘o ia ko‘u kanaka.

To all ali‘i and commoners alike,
mine is a literate country,
and the just and intelligent man
is my countryman.
(Kauikeaouli – Kamehameha III;
Nūpepa Kū‘oko‘a (May 23, 1868;) Puette)

Hawaiian was a spoken language but not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through chants and songs. After western contact and attempts to write about Hawai‘i, early writers tried to spell words based on the sound of the words they heard. People heard words differently, so it was not uncommon for words to be spelled differently, depending on the writer.

The planning for the formal written Hawaiian language in the early part of the nineteenth century was started by the American Protestant missionaries who arrived in Hawaii, starting in 1820. A committee of some of these missionaries (Hiram Bingham, CS Stewart and Levi Chamberlain) worked on the development of the Hawaiian alphabet.

Initially, the missionaries worked out a Hawaiian alphabet of 17-English letters. “On the 7th of January, 1822, a year and eight months from the time of our receiving the governmental permission to enter the field and teach the people …”

“… we commenced printing the language in order to give them letters, libraries, and the living oracles in their own tongue, that the nation might read and understand the wonderful works of God.”

Then, on July 14, 1826, the missionaries established a 12-letter alphabet for the written Hawaiian language, using five vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) and seven consonants (h, k, l, m, n, p and w) in their “Report of the committee of health on the state of the Hawaiian language.” The report was signed by Bingham and Chamberlain. The alphabet continues in use today.

Early on, the Chiefs saw the opportunity and in collaboration with the missionaries, first the chiefs, then the makaʻāinana were taught the alphabet, and how to read and write.

Sybil Moseley Bingham, wife of Hiram Bingham, leader of the Pioneer Company of missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM,) is said to have started the first school in Hawaiʻi in May 1820. (“… Sybil Moseley Bingham, opened the first school in this city in May, 1820, surely an historic date.” (Hiram Bingham II)

Sybil’s June 20, 1820 journal entry notes, “After neglect of my journal for more than two months in a most interesting part of our history too … Very soon I gathered up 12 or 15 little native girls to come once a day to the house so that as early as possible the business of instruction might be commenced. That was an interesting day to me to lay the foundation of the first school ever assembled in this dark land.”

June 21st. “The most which has interested me to-day has been my little school. To see the little things so ready to learn, and so busy with their needles, is very pleasant. I long to know more of their language, that I might be pouring into their tender minds more instruction than ab.”

Learning to read and write had already been on Liholiho’s mind, well before he travelled to England. In 1820, missionary Lucy Thurston noted in her Journal, Liholiho’s desire to learn.

“The king (Liholiho, Kamehameha II) brought two young men to Mr. Thurston, and said: ‘Teach these, my favorites, (John Papa) Ii and (James) Kahuhu. It will be the same as teaching me. Through them I shall find out what learning is.’”

Betsey Stockton, a former slave and then missionary with the American mission, was on the 2nd Company of missionaries and was sent to Maui. “Mr. Richards and myself have an island with 20,000 inhabitants committed to our spiritual care – a solemn – a most responsible charge!” (Stewart)

“It was there, as (Betsey said,) that she opened a school for the common people which was certainly the first of the kind in Maui and probably the first in all Hawai‘i; for at the beginning the missionaries were chiefly engaged in the instructions of the chiefs and their families.” (Maui News, May 5, 1906)

Stockton has asked the mission to allow her “to create a school for the makaʻāinana (common people.) Stockton learned the Hawaiian Language and established a school in Maui where she taught English, Latin, History and Algebra. (Kealoha)

“It shows that a sincere desire to accomplish a good purpose need not be thwarted by other necessary engagements, however humble or exacting.” (Maui News, May 5, 1906)

Britain’s King George encouraged Hawaiians to read and write, and noted that the American preachers/teachers could help them. “If you wish to have me for your friend, you and your people must all read and write. If you do not attend to instruction, I shall not be your friend.” (King George of England to Boki, 1824)

Boki asked him whether preachers are good men, and the King said, “Yes, and they are men to make others good. I always have some of them by me; for chiefs are not wise like them.”

“We in England were once like the people in your islands; but this kind of teachers came and taught our fathers, and now you see what we are.”

“You and your people must take good heed to the missionaries; for they were sent to enlighten you and do you good. They came not for secular purposes, but by a divine command, to teach you the word of God. The people would therefore all do well to attend to instruction, and to forsake stealing, drunkenness, war, and every thing evil, and to live in peace.” (ABCFM Annual Report, 1826)

On June 6, 1825, Kauikeaouli was proclaimed king of Hawaiʻi. To the people he said, “‘Where are you, chiefs, guardians, commoners? I greet you. Hear what I say! My kingdom I give to God. The righteous chief shall be my chief, the children of the commoners who do you right shall be my people, my kingdom shall be one of letters.’ Kaʻahumanu and Kalanimōku encouraged this attitude of the king and declared to the people their trust in God.” (Ka Nupepa Kuʻokoʻa, February 22, 1868; Kamakau)

On August 23, 1836, 15-Chiefs (Kamehameha III, Nahiʻenaʻena, Hoapili, Na Malia Hoapili, Kuakini, Kīnaʻu, Kekāuluohi, Paki, Liliha, ʻAikanaka, Leleiōhoku, Kekūanāoʻa, Kanaʻina, Kekauōnohi and Keliʻiahonui) sent a letter to the American missionaries, asking that more American teachers be sent to the Islands.

“We hereby take the liberty to express our views as to what is necessary for the prosperity of these Sandwich Islands. Will you please send to us additional teachers to those you have already sent, of such character as you employ in your own country in America?”

“Should you send the above mentioned teachers, we promise to protect them, and afford them all the facilities for carrying on their work, which are in our power.”

Shortly after, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) sent the largest company of missionaries to the Islands, that included a large number of teachers. The Eighth Company left Boston December 14, 1836 and arrived at Honolulu, April 9, 1837 on the Mary Frasier from Boston.

The missionaries were asked by the King to teach and care for the next generation of the highest ranking chiefs’ children of the realm and secure their positions for Hawaiʻi’s Kingdom.

“We ask Mr. Cooke to be teacher for our royal children. He is the teacher of our royal children and Dr. Judd is the one to take care of the royal children because we two hold Dr. Judd as necessary for the children and also in certain difficulties between us and you all.” (signed by Kamehameha III, Hoapili Wahine and Kekāuluohi)

This resulted in the formation of O‘ahu’s first school, the Chiefs’ Children’s School (The Royal School.) Seven families were eligible under succession laws stated in the 1840 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i; Kamehameha III called on seven boys and seven girls to board in the Chiefs’ Children’s School.

By 1831, in just eleven years from the first arrival of the American missionaries, Hawaiians had built over 1,100-schoolhouses. This covered every district throughout the eight major islands and serviced an estimated 53,000-students. (Laimana)

The proliferation of schoolhouses was augmented by the missionaries printing of 140,000-copies of the pī¬ʻāpā (elementary Hawaiian spelling book) by 1829 and the staffing of the schools with 1,000-plus Hawaiian teachers. (Laimana)

Through the collaboration between the Hawaiian Chiefs and the American missionaries, by 1832, the literacy rate of Hawaiians (at the time was 78 percent) had surpassed that of Americans on the continent. The literacy rate of the adult Hawaiian population skyrocketed from near zero in 1820 to a conservative estimate of 91 percent – and perhaps as high as 95 percent – by 1834. (Laimana)

From 1820 to 1832, in which Hawaiian literacy grew by 91 percent, the literacy rate on the US continent grew by only 6 percent and did not exceed the 90 percent level until 1902 – three hundred years after the first settlers landed in Jamestown. By way of comparison, it is significant that overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not risen much above 50 percent. (Laimana)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Hawaiian Alphabet

October 29, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bingham’s Birthday

A week and almost 200 years ago … October 23, 1819 … the Pioneer Company of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (the ABCFM) set sail for the Sandwich Islands. They arrived in Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

There were seven couples aboard; their leader was Hiram Bingham – Sybil, his wife of 2-weeks, joined him. They are my great-great-great grandparents.

The Prudential Committee of the ABCFM in giving instructions to these pioneers said: “Your mission is a mission of mercy, and your work is to be wholly a labor of love. …”

“Your views are not to be limited to a low, narrow scale, but you are to open your hearts wide, and set your marks high. You are to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruitful fields, and pleasant dwellings and schools and churches, and of Christian civilization.” (The Friend)

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – what is generally referred to as the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the ABCFM.

227 years ago (October 30, 1789,) Hiram Bingham, the fifth of the seven sons (from a family of 13-children) was born at Bennington, Vermont – he came from a family of preachers (he descended from Deacon Thomas Bingham who had come to the American colonies in 1650 and settled in Connecticut, his father was Deacon Calvin Bingham and his mother was named Lydia.)

When Captain Cook first visited the Hawaiian Islands forty years prior to the arrival of the missionaries, Hawaiian was a spoken language, not a written language. Historical accounts were passed down orally, through chants and songs.

After western contact, early writers tried to spell words based on the sound of the words they heard. People heard words differently, so it was not uncommon for words to be spelled differently, depending on the writer.

Hiram and others took on the task of developing a Hawaiian alphabet; on July 14, 1826, Hiram Bingham and Levi Chamberlain signed the “Report of the committee of health on the state of the Hawaiian language” – and the Hawaiian alphabet and formulation of the written Hawaiian Language was adopted … it is still in use today.

Hiram and the others were preachers and teachers – in a short time, the missionaries learned the language and these early missionaries taught their lessons in Hawaiian, rather than English.

The chiefs became proponents for education and edicts were enacted by the King and the council of chiefs to stimulate the people to reading and writing. By 1832, the literacy rate of Hawaiians of about 78 percent had surpassed that of Americans on the continent. The literacy rate of the adult Hawaiian population skyrocketed from near zero in 1820 to an estimated of 91 percent by 1834.

As teaching expanded, the focus was educating the head, heart and hand. In addition to the rigorous academic drills (Head,) the schools provided religious and moral guidance (Heart,) and manual and vocational training (Hand.)

Soon after the first anniversary of the arrival of the Pioneer Company, Kaʻahumanu and Kalanimōku visited the mission and gave them supplies; this visit became important because during it Kaʻahumanu made her first request for prayer and showed her first interest in the teachings of the missionaries.

From that point on, Kaʻahumanu came into more constant contact with the mission. At a meeting of the chiefs and school teachers, Kaʻahumanu and Kalanimōku declared their determination to “adhere to the instructions of the missionaries, to attend to learning, observe the Sabbath, Worship God, and obey his law, and have all their people instructed.” Ka‘ahumanu was baptized on December 5, 1825.

Bingham found a friend in Kaʻahumanu, the favorite wife of Kamehameha and Queen regent during Liholiho’s and the early years of Kauikeaouli’s rule. She and other ali‘i worked collaboratively with the missionaries and visited often. Across the street, in the wood frame house at Missions Houses, you can correctly say, ‘Ka‘ahumanu slept here.’

A little side story on Kaʻahumanu … shortly after arriving in the Islands, with a piece of driftwood, Hiram managed to make a rocking chair for Sybil – in describing it she said, “A box or trunk has been our only seat. My husband, I believe, was never a chair-maker before, but happy for me and the Mission family, that he is everything.”

On Sundays, the rocker was taken to the old thatched Kawaiahaʻo church as a seat for Sybil, the pastor’s wife. Sybil’s wish was that when the last summons came, she might be found in that chair … and her wish was granted when she died in her rocking chair on February 27, 1848 in New Haven Connecticut.

The rocker had its admirers, including Kaʻahumanu. As Bingham notes, “On seeing and trying Mrs B’s chair, the first, probably, ever made (in the) islands, Ka‘ahumanu … wished me to make her one in every respect like it, for she said it exactly fit her.”

It wasn’t until 10-years later that he built Kaʻahumanu her rocker, one of the earliest known pieces of koa furniture in Hawaiʻi. Both are at Mission Houses and are occasionally put on display.

Kalanimōku served as chief councilor and prime minister to Kamehameha I, Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III. An 1826 letter written by Kalanimōku to Hiram Bingham (written at a time when missionaries were being criticized) states, “Greetings Mr Bingham. Here is my message to all of you, our missionary teachers.”

“I am telling you that I have not seen your wrong doing. If I had seen you to be wrong, I would tell you all. No, you must all be good.”

“Give us literacy and we will teach it. And, give us the word of God and we will heed it … for we have learned the word of God.”

“Then foreigners come, doing damage to our land. Foreigners of America and Britain. But don’t be angry, for we are to blame for you being faulted. And it is not you foreigners, (it’s) the other foreigners.”

“Here’s my message according to the words of Jehovah, I have given my heart to God and my body and my spirit. I have devoted myself to the church and Jesus Christ.”

“Have a look at this letter of mine, Mr Bingham and company. And if you see it and wish to send my message on to America to (your President,) that is up to you. Greetings to the chief of America. Regards to you all, Kalanimōku.”

Due to Sybil’s illness, after 21-years in the Islands, the Binghams left in 1840; Hiram never saw the completed church that he designed, Kawaiahaʻo. However, in this sanctuary, you will often sing a verse written by Hiram Bingham, what many call the Hawaiian Doxology.

Hoʻonani i ka Makua mau
Let us give praise to the eternal Father

Ke Keiki me ke ka ʻUhane nō
To the Son and to the Holy Ghost

Ke Akua mau, hoʻomaikaʻi pū
To God everlasting, let there ring praise

Ko kēia ao ko kēlā ao
Both in this world as well as the kingdom beyond

With collaboration with the Aliʻi, Hiram and the other missionaries
• Introduced Christianity to the Islands
• Created the written Hawaiian language and brought about widespread literacy
• Helped promulgate a constitutional government
• Made Western medicine available
• Introduced a distinctive musical tradition

Hiram died on November 11, 1869 at New Haven Connecticut at the age of 81.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

October 17, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kawānanakoa Experimental School

This flag that now waves o’er our school
Protecting weak and strong
Is the flag that vindicates the right
And punishes the wrong

The John Dewey Society grew out of a series of discussions held in 1934 and early 1935 among 60 or so educators who wanted to found a society to “encourage in every way possible and itself conduct scholarly and scientific investigations of the relations of school and society, with particular reference to the place and function of education in the process of social change.”

Originally called “The Association for the Study of Education in its Social Aspects,” the name was changed to the John Dewey Society in early 1936. The new society was named for John Dewey because the founders felt that in his life and work he represented the soundest and most hopeful approach to the study of the problems of education.

“For more than a generation he has proclaimed the social nature of the educative process and emphasized the close interdependence of school and society.”

“Presumably, without being bound by his philosophy, the John Dewey Society will work out of the tradition which John Dewey has done more than any other person to create. Such an organization is badly needed in America today.” (The Social Frontier, 1936; John Dewey Society)

Hawai‘i’s Department of Public Instruction launched its most ambitious venture in progressive education in the fall of 1927, when its Division of Research decided to create a ‘laboratory school’ to serve as an experimental model for the Territory. (Forbes)

The former Fort Street School was selected for the site for the laboratory school within the Territorial Department of Public Instruction, and renamed the Kawānanakoa Experimental School. (Legislature)

George E Axtelle was a philosopher of education who is best known as the first editor of the Collected Works of John Dewey and president of the executive committee of the John Dewey Society.

What is less known is that Axtelle served from 1927 as the principal of Kawānanakoa Experimental School in Hawai‘i, tasked with the job of implementing and promoting progressive teaching methods and curriculum.

The experiment had mixed results; yet, in spite of the challenges in encouraging teachers to embrace the demands placed on them by Dewey’s pedagogy the Kawānanakoa experiment did achieve results in moving teachers away from methods based on routine instruction and memorization drills. (UH)

The Kawānanakoa Experimental School was explicitly conceived as a proving-ground of Deweyite principles. According to the official DPI publication on the school, Kawānanakoa was dedicated to the only form of “education worthy of the name… character education.”

While asserting that “Kawānanakoa does not belittle the importance of subject matter,” school officials viewed traditional subjects merely as a “means to an end,” the end being the development of the three aspects of the students’ “social or character objectives, namely intelligence, democracy, and art.”

Moving away from methods based on routine instruction and memorization drills, teachers were expected to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of their work in promoting Health, Initiative, Responsibility, Whole Heartedness, Cooperation, and Open Mindedness. (Forbes)

“In the middle forties the anthropologist, John Embree, and (Bernard Hormann) expressed themselves on the subject of pidgin, advocating a more permissive approach to the local dialect in the teaching of standard English.”

“In reviewing acquaintances this summer with George Axtelle, who was principal of Kawananakoa Experimental School in the late 20’s I was reminded by him how the school had succeeded in overcoming the classroom diffidence of Hawai‘i’s youth which today still worries educators.”

“’When people asked me how I got pupils to talk freely, I explained that my teachers encouraged the children to talk when they had something interesting to say, and did not inhibit them by constantly calling attention to their errors.’” (Hormann)

“In 1928, a teacher from Oklahoma was deeply moved at his first assembly recitation as little Nisei boys seriously recalled our Pilgrim forefathers. Each morning’s flag-raising was conducted as an elaborate pageant involving a color guard, drummer, and four students who recited patriotic verses at various points in the ceremony.

The final speaker concluded with the following lines: “This flag that now waves o’er our school, Protecting weak and strong, Is the flag that vindicates the right, And punishes the wrong.”

Among the students who participated in such school ceremonies was Hiram Fong, later Hawaii’s first Senator. According to Fong s biographer, Michael Chou, “Patriotism as taught in the public school system made a profound and lasting effect upon Fong and his contemporaries.”

“Much of the change, from the plantation mentality and the overthrow of the rule of the Republican oligarchy can be traced back to the teaching of American civics and government in the schools of the Territory. Such patriotic ceremonies helped to instill a sense of self-worth in children, like Fong, often so poor that their clothes consisted of “hand-me-downs made from rice bags.” (Forbes)

Kawānanakoa School was built in 1927, in the ahupua’a of Honolulu. The ahupua‘a runs from the Nuʻuanu Pali to Honolulu Harbor and is flanked on the west by Alewa Heights with Pauoa to the east. KMS sits at the foot of the Pali Highway, just mauka of downtown Honolulu. (kilohanahonua)

In 1940, the school was officially changed to Kawānanakoa Intermediate School and served 1,050 students in grades 7 through 9. In 1998, the name changed to Kawānanakoa Middle School.

Currently, the school serves students from grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of approximately 800 students. (It was named for Prince David Laʻamea Kahalepouli Kinoiki Kawānanakoa, brother of Prince Kūhiō.)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Kawananakoa, David, 1868-1908-PP-97-17-004

Brothers David Kawananakoa (1868-1908) and Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole (1871-1922)-PP-97-2-023

Kawananakoa_logo

September 23, 2016 by Peter T Young 4 Comments

Riverside School

The Wailuku is the longest river in Hilo (twenty-six miles.) Its course runs from the mountains to the ocean along the divide between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Waiānuenue Avenue (rainbow (seen in) water) is named for the most famous waterfall, Ka Wailele ʻO Waiānuenue, Rainbow Falls on the Wailuku River.

For a while, other than church-related schools, if a Big Island youngster wanted to pursue his education beyond the eighth grade, he had to travel to O‘ahu. There he would board and go to school. (HHS)

Then, “One of the largest gatherings that ever attended a mass meeting in Hilo was present at Fireman’s Hall Thursday night to express to Superintendent of Public Instruction WH Babbitt their views regarding a high school site and other school matters.”

“The atmosphere of the hall was fairly charged with incipient trouble, which later broke into a storm of words and bitterness.”

“Chairman Mason called for expressions of opinion upon the subject under discussion. There was a dead silence for an interval, when LA Andrews started the ball rolling, by stating there were two things upon which there was a unanimity of sentiment in Hilo.”

“The first was the necessity for a high school in Hilo and the second the selection of the Riverside lot as the high school site. TJ Ryan offered a resolution, which passed without opposition …”

“… stating that it was the sense of the meeting that the high school should be erected on the Riverside lot.” (Hilo Tribune, December 12, 1905)

“After considering the various sites suggested, the committee practically determined on the lot on which now stands the Riverside School.”

“The present lot is not quite large enough to accommodate both the Riverside and the High Schools, which latter will be a nine-room building, and if a portion of the hospital grounds can be secured, the mauka portion of the Riverside lot will be used for High School purposes. (Hilo Tribune, June 29, 1905)

School authorities hesitated but finally agreed to start a high school at Hilo Union School in September, 1905; 25 ninth-grade students attended high school at Hilo Union School.

In 1907, the school moved to the Riverside School. It was then called Hilo Junior High School. By the time the first class graduated in 1909, only 7 of the original 25 were left.

Hilo High’s first graduating class consisted of seven students in 1909: Richard Kekoa, Amy Williams, Eliza Desha, Frank Arakawa, John Kennedy, Annie Napier and Herbert Westerbelt. (Mangiboyat)

With limitations for space, in 1911, “(t)he bandstand at Moʻoheau Park has been converted into a schoolroom by the county fathers, on account of the fact that the accommodations at the Riverside School are inadequate and the County has no funds at present with which to build an addition.” (Hawaiian Star, February 27, 1911)

“This class formerly occupied the basement of the Riverside building and it was so damp in the present weather that it was thought best to make the change.” (Hawaiian Star, February 27, 1911)

Finally in 1922, Hilo Junior High School moved up Waianuenue Avenue and renamed to the permanent and present Hilo High Campus. As years passed, the campus flourished with more buildings, students and educational experience. (Mangiboyat)

Hilo High Auditorium was built in 1928. It was donated to the school by the Alumni Association. It was designed by a former student (and part of the first graduates) of Hilo High School, Frank Arakawa.

Riverside got its school site. In the early 1920s, American-born parents called for the development of separate education for their children.

Consequently, the development of “English Standard” schools, sometimes called “Select Schools” since a level of proficiency in English language was required.

While most of the people who attended the schools were of American-born parents, anyone with the ability to speak proper English was allowed to attend. 1925 marked the beginning of segregating students by ability to speak and write English.

In 1927, a Parent-Teacher group in Hilo petitioned the legislature for funds to construct a new English Standard school which had an attendance of 169 children sharing facilities with Hilo Union School.

Just before its opening in 1929, the Hilo Tribune Herald reported: “It is a one-story frame building with Spanish type arched porches and when complete will be one of the most attractive school buildings on the island.”

By 1948, English Standard sections in various schools were replacing separate schools as the next generation of immigrant children became proficient in English. In 1955, two rooms were added to the original E-shaped structure.

In 1956, the porte cochère, or covered drive-through/passenger drop-off, was constructed. A garage driveway was also added in 1956. Riverside became the Hilo District Office for the Department of Education in 1959. (HHF)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

Riverside School-NPS

Riverside School-DOE District Annex

Riverside School-HHF

1st grade Riverside School-Hagar

Riverside School (future Hilo High class of 1960) – Hagar

September 14, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

McKinley Memorial Fund

William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his assassination on September 14, 1901. (He was standing in a receiving line at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition when he was shot; he died eight days later.)

Born in Niles, Ohio, in 1843, McKinley briefly attended Allegheny College, and was teaching in a country school when the Civil War broke out. Enlisting as a private in the Union Army, he was mustered out at the end of the war as a brevet major of volunteers. He studied law, opened an office in Canton, Ohio, and married Ida Saxton, daughter of a local banker.

At 34, McKinley won a seat in Congress. He spent 14 years in the House and in 1891 was elected Governor of Ohio, serving two terms. McKinley became US President in 1897. (White House) Following his assassination, “Steps were at once taken toward raising funds for the erection of a suitable memorial”.

In Ohio, “within a month from the date of its creation the committee was incorporated at Canton under the name The McKinley National Memorial Association.” Auxiliary associations were formed in nearly every State for the purpose of aiding the National body.

“The memorial is to be, in the highest sense, the sincere expression of all the people of the country of their love for President McKinley and of their admiration for the qualities expressed so eminently in his life and deeds.” (New York Tribune, September 14, 1902)

A fund was started in the Islands. “An engraved or lithographed memorial certificate will be furnished to each contributor. It is believed that the project of erecting a local memorial to Mr McKinley …”

“… if carried out by all classes of the Hawaiian population, and participated in by the school children, will tend to develop patriotism and go to strengthen the interest of our people in American Institutions and principles.”

“It is desirable that the names of all donors with their addresses and the amount of their contributions be accurately reported and recorded by the chairman of your committee, who will forward such record of contributions to the Treasurer, Mr. C. M. Cooke, and he will mail the above mentioned certificate to the donor.” (Dole; Hawaiian Star, November 22, 1901)

Ideas ranged as to the appropriate memorial, “The McKinley memorial fund (had) been started in Honolulu with four subscriptions of $1,000 each and half a dozen more aggregating $2,000, a total of $6,060 from ten subscribers. The money is to be used for the purchase of a large playground for children.” (San Francisco Call, March 6, 1902)

“A letter has been received by the executive committee from the Mothers and Teachers Club in reference to the McKinley Memorial. … Accompanying the letter was a petition to the effect that the McKinley Memorial take the form of a large park somewhere in Honolulu, to be known as McKinley Park.”

“Sculptor Rupert Schmidt is desirous of providing Honolulu with a McKinley monument. Other propositions in this line have been received and will be considered.” (Honolulu Republican, November 14, 1901)

“The committee in charge of the McKinley memorial fund In Hawaii has decided in favor of a public park and playground as the best form of memorial.” (San Francisco Call, January 7, 1902)

On Maui, where “few will refuse to contribute something … Naturally the people and the papers of Honolulu desire to see their town embellished with parks, pleasure grounds and public buildings, but the proposition to take advantage of the death of President McKinley to levy on all the Islands for that purpose smacks a little of selfish thrift.”

“However if the idea is to be practical, let it be so, but instead of a play garden in Honolulu, let the funds be devoted to the construction of a lighthouse for Kahului harbor, which would forever stand as a beacon and a memorial of the most practical and useful nature possible.” (Maui News, November 30, 1901)

Back on O‘ahu, “For making an actual beginning … of beautifying Honolulu, herewith something definite, practicable and not excessively costly is presented. It is the improvement of the presently disused public market building, including its transformation into a great assembly pavilion useful …”

“… and even much wanted for many purposes of the people at large the structure as remodeled to be perpetually dedicated to the memory of the martyred President William McKinley, under whose administration Hawai‘i was annexed to the great American Commonwealth.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, November 13, 1907) (Included was a memorial entrance arch.)

Rather, “The corner-stone of the new Honolulu High School which is to be the beneficiary of the McKinley Memorial fund and take the name of the McKinley High School was laid yesterday afternoon by the Alumni of the school assisted by a large assembly of friends and pupils of the Institution.”

“A very important incident of the function was the announcement by Judge Dole, who was one of the principal speakers, that the trustees of the McKinley Memorial Fund had voted to devote the memorial funds to the High School. The terms of the gift are contained in the following resolution, which Mr. Dole read:”

“‘Resolved, That the proposal of the Board of Education and the students of the Honolulu High School that the new building of the Honolulu High School be named the McKinley High School be accepted …’”

“‘… and in consideration thereof that a bronze statue of the late President McKinley, costing not more than $9,000 be erected on the grounds of such school and that the balance of the funds in the hands of this committee be assigned to three trustees …’”

“‘… $1,000 of such funds to be expended in books for the school library and the net Income of the balance of such trust funds to be devoted to the increase, and care of the library of such school and the care of the statue.’”(Evening Bulletin, March 6, 1908)

Later, “A very marked improvement has been attained in the architecture of buildings recently erected in Hawai‘i and the school-houses, constructed within the last few years, have kept pace with the movement. This is notably true of the imposing McKinley High School, a building which compares most favorably with any of its kind in the world.”

“The McKinley High School is located on Victoria street, occupying the grounds between Young and Beretania, and facing historical Thomas Square. The foyer entrance is very attractive and through either of two doors the visitor steps directly into the main hall.”

“A part of the McKinley Memorial Fund has been expended for an heroic size statue of President McKinley, which will stand in front of the building, a part in purchasing books for the library and the Trustees have invested the balance of the fund in bonds, the income to be utilized in acquiring additions to the school library from time to time.” (Thrum, 1908)

“The Bulletin extends its congratulations to those who have interested themselves in solving the problem of the memorial and the Territory, whose present and future citizenship will profit by the example of the man and the practical equipment for life’s, work which the community has given in his name.” (Evening Bulletin, March 6, 1908)

In September 1907, the McKinley Memorial in Canton, Ohio was finished; 9-states had contributed material for the memorial, a 50-foot wide, 77-foot tall domed structure. At the top of the dome is a red, white and blue skylight. The skylight has 45-stars in its design representing the 45-states in the Union at the time of his death.

President McKinley and his wife Ida rest in the monument on an altar in the center of the rotunda in a pair of marble sarcophagi. Their young daughters rest in the wall directly behind them. (McKinley Museum)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook

Follow Peter T Young on Google+

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger