“Hawaiians have a very attractive custom of decorating themselves with floral or other leis on any eventful occasion. The usage is readily noticed by all new comers, or passing strangers, and its predominance at the steamer dock, on departures, give a lasting favorable impression as parting friends are seen bedecked … as a ‘bon voyage’ decoration.”
“At least this is the principal feature into which this national custom has gradually drifted, the origin of which is to be accredited to King Kalakaua in the early part of his reign”. (Thrum 1922)
“Sometime during the mid-nineteenth century the demand for leis reached a point where it became profitable to make and sell leis. The demand came not only from the burgeoning non-Hawaiian population, but from natives as well.”
“By the turn of the century, the lei industry was well established in Honolulu. Hawaiian lei sellers–generally women–were visible on the sidewalks of Downtown Honolulu in the area of Hotel, Maunakea, and Kekaulike Streets.”
“They sat on mats with their flower baskets beside them and their leis hanging on nearby trees or buildings. Later, in the 1920s, they sat at small tables, making and selling their leis.”
“‘I was maybe about ten, eleven years old, when I was at Maunakea Street with [my grandmother] …. Most of the lei sellers did not have a name for their business. They were outside on the sidewalk in the front of [established] businesses …. We had tables. We had like a long board with nails on it . Then we just put our leis on [it], hanging down .’” (Sandra Santimer)
“The flower gardens at this time were mainly in Nu‘uanu and Palama. Lei sellers picked what they could from their own yards and neighborhoods. They rarely purchased flowers but when they did, it was from backyard growers, not commercial nurseries.”
“‘We have to get up five o’clock in the morning …. We used to pick [flowers] every morning before we go to school. We soak it down, keep it cool, then we come home and we string it up … . And we worked hard for so cheap.’” (Moana Umi)
“November 1927 marked the beginning of Matson Navigation Company’s luxury liner service between California and Honolulu, which increased tourism. Steamer days occurred more frequently and the lei-selling industry continued to grow.”
“On steamer days these Downtown lei sellers and others, who came from all parts of the island, went down to the waterfront. Customers bought leis to bedeck arriving or departing passengers. The most common leis were maile (made thick with multiple vines), white and yellow ginger, carnation, rose, and haku leis.”
“Also popularized at this time was the crepe paper lei, particularly the yellow, resembling the ‘ilima flower. Overseas passengers purchased them as souvenirs.” (UH Oral History)
“Since California authorities placed their ban on all plants and most products of Hawaii, excluding them from being brought in to the State for fear of insect pests, the floral profusion in the lei market and at steamer departures has been greatly modified …”
“… but the spirit and activities in the observance of the custom of decorating departing friends and guests finds its expression in paper leis. At first this was confined to the yellow ilima, and proved a very successful substitute of more durable quality.”
“This led to the adoption of other and variegated colors, for gayety rather than an imitation floral product; crepe paper furnishing the material.” (Thrum 1922)
“‘They were good sellers then, … the seeds [seed leis] and crepe paper leis. Because they always wanted to keep them and take ‘em back as souvenirs. That, we did quite a bit, although the work that was involved in it was quite a bit of work. But then, those days, money had a lot of value.’”
“‘So even if the leis were supposed to be sold as twenty-five cents, if you couldn’t sell it at twenty-five cents, you went down to two for twenty-five cents just so you made some money. You see, but your labor didn’t count.’” (Gail Burgess)
“According to Hawai’i Tourist Bureau estimates in 1931, there were 200 Hawaiian lei sellers in the territory. As large numbers of lei vendors gathered on steamer days, competition intensified. Pushing, shoving, and rushing customers were common.”
“In this environment, lei sellers became familiar with marketplace competition. As one seller shouted out the prices of her leis, others countered with similar or lower prices. At times arguments arose, but when the day’s selling ended, the lei sellers gathered and socialized as friends.” (UH Oral History)
“‘That’s where we opened, we opened [on] the waterfront. And was good. We all sit down, string our leis. My mother was there, too. And she’d make food and call everybody. Everybody eating raw fish …. Oh, and they used to enjoy that.’” (Sophia Ventura)
“By 1933, the number of lei sellers and the intensity of their competition necessitated regulation. Most agreed on the need, and a set of rules and regulations was adopted with the formation of the first lei sellers’ association.”
Police Chief WA Gabrielson called a meeting of the more than 100 Honolulu lei sellers, “The chief suggested that the lei sellers form an organization among themselves for their protection and to preserve the Hawaiian tradition of the lei as well as put a stop to public criticism of some lei sellers’ activities.” (SB, May 10, 1933)
As a result, “prices became stabilized and the old-time ‘mobbing’ of potential purchasers was virtually eliminated.” “Five dollar fines will be imposed upon members of the Hawaiian Lei Sellers association who violate the organization’s rule prohibiting mobbing of prospective customers”. (SB, Aug 8, 1933)
“[F]urther regulatory measures were suggested – and adopted” … “all male vendors” were barred from the waterfront. “At the same time a further regulation was voted which would bar minors below the age of [16].” (Adv, June 27, 1933)
That did not fully end peaceful interactions between the sellers … “Lady lei sellers indulged in fist fight on famous pier 11 and visited jail via emergency hospital route. One was lei-ed up, you know.” (Adv, Aug 13, 1933)
“As jobs grew scarce in the 1930s, the industry attracted more women seeking a livelihood for themselves and their families. Requiring no initial funding and no labor other than that provided by family, lei selling became a viable means of support.”
“During World War II, a majority of lei sellers acquired war jobs. … Some occasionally sold leis at nightclubs. Others, despite the diminishing tourist trade, retained their lei businesses on a full-time basis. They concentrated on the military clientele.”
During the WWII war years, leis were not the only thing these lei makers made – with growing demand for camouflage material, many of Hawai‘i’s lei makers supported the war effort by weaving camouflage netting.
“Camouflage workers included soldiers, lei makers, artists and fishing net weavers, each group with skills to contribute to the challenge of hiding military equipment from the enemy. Even Hawaiian language scholar Mary Kawena Pukui was hired to be a part of the camouflage work.” (Denby Fawcett, Civil Beat)
“No boats came in”, so a “lot of the lei sellers at that time didn’t have a job. You know, there was no more. And the lei sellers were all mostly elderly people. … [my mother] went get jobs for the lei sellers to come into work camouflage.”
“[M]y mother went and asked to have the lei sellers to work in the camouflage for the army. That’s how they had all the lei sellers go. … Majority of the lei sellers from the boat all worked camouflage.” (Martina Macalino, UH Oral History)
“The Army figured lei sellers with their nimble fingers and understanding of texture and shape already had the needed skills for weaving scraps of fabric into camouflage nets. Fish net makers joined in to make the netting on which the lei makers wove dyed burlap strips.” (Denby Fawcett, Civil Beat)
“As part of the war effort from 1941–1943, [Mary] Kawena [Pukui] served as forelady of a camouflage unit in Waikïkï, under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working with the lei ‘garland’ makers, whose job was to weave burlap strips into chicken wire for moveable covers for coast artillery, airplanes and trucks.” (Honolulu Rosies)
“The introduction of commercial aviation in 1945 drew some lei sellers to the airport. Lei selling continued in Waikiki and at nightclubs around town, but ceased on Downtown Honolulu streets when it was outlawed in the 1950s. As airplanes overtook ocean-going passenger lines as the mode of travel to the Islands, waterfront sales also dwindled.”
“The first location of the airport lei sellers was on Lagoon Drive near Nimitz Highway. Leis were hung in the back of old trucks converted into lei stands.”
“‘[We] had all these jalopies. No more electricity over there. Just a dark road and don’t even have street lights. What we have is gas lanterns. We hang it onto the stand. This is how it started. Just by experience, ‘Oh, let’s take a chance.’” (Harriet Kauwe)
“‘The navy used to have a boat [seaplane] by the name of the Mars. That boat used to bring in good, good business for us lei sellers at the airport …. That plane used to come in about two or three times a week. When they go out, oh, we used to make tremendous business.’” (Irene Sims)
“The site was a very prosperous one and news traveled quickly to other sellers. The group grew until there were about a dozen trucks along Lagoon Drive. (The line-up order was important, as it was on the waterfront, and as it is today. The first ones in line seem to attract more customers.) This closed group of lei vendors established themselves as the airport lei sellers.”
“In 1952 the Hawai‘i Aeronautics Commission invited fifteen lei sellers to move into territory-built thatched huts located on Lagoon Drive at the entrance to the airport. Lei sellers fondly recall the huts, described by some as a Hawaiian village.”
“‘The old folks were told, ‘We’ll take you off the road, build grass huts for you, and it’ll be pleasant surroundings to sell leis.’ … It was very nice. I liked the grass huts. … Lagoon Drive in the ‘50s was good business.’” (Maile Lee)
“‘Well, one had to sit in the back. And then, in the front where you sell, only one person could sit. … We had a small little … pune‘e in the back there, where you can sit or if you’re tired, you can lie down …. And a chair outside for whoever is working outside. It was not too much room. That’s why everybody had to stay in the house in the back to string [leis].’” (Bessie Watson)
“‘Everybody came. ‘Cause then, my brother and them would play music. They started to play in the back [of the thatched huts] …. So, that’ll get all the tourists. You know, they hear the music. From in the front, when the buses used to stop, [they] take pictures, they all go in the back …. Pretty soon, everybody’s dancing …. That was really nice over there.’” (Lillian Cameron)
“When a new airport was built in 1962, the lei sellers made another move. The thatched huts were replaced by a single wooden building constructed near the main terminal. In this decade, rapid economic growth due largely to tourism increased revenues and brought steady business.”
“In 1978, the lei sellers moved to their present airport location, a concrete structure housing twelve lei stands. While family members still provide help, many non-Hawaiians–primarily Filipinas–now work at the airport stands.”
“As the Islands’ visitor industry grew, so did the lei industry. The business acumen of the lei seller paralleled this growth. As the lei business developed from its humble, uncomplicated beginnings into a sophisticated one, the lei seller developed into the business person of today.” (Lots here is from a summary in a UH Oral History project on lei sellers.)
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