John and Eleanor Young had a family of five children: Annie Edith Young, Herbert Gray Young, William Edward Young, John Alexander ‘Jack’ Young, and Edgar Nelson Young. By 1896 both parents had died leaving minor children Jack, 12, and Edgar, 10. The older boys, Herb and Will had a business in the summers of 1898 and 1899 at Catalina Island (the Island was then owned by the Banning Brothers). They set up a concession to provide sightseeing excursion boats circling the Island and fishing for the tourists, as well as touring in glass-bottomed boats to view the fish and undersea creatures.
Then Herb and Will saw opportunity for business in Honolulu. Herb thought it looked good and persuaded Will to join him there in December. In January 1900, Herb and Will started Young Brothers. They were joined in October by their younger brother, Jack. From their first days in Honolulu, the Young brothers were fascinated by the big sharks that infested the waters just outside the harbor where the garbage was dumped.
This led to a small side-business in shark hunting that quickly earned William the nickname ‘Sharkey Bill.’ Fishing parties would he formed from among hotel guests, who were taken out on the Billy for a day of shark fishing. “Little by little we began to suspect that there might be profit in our old friend the shark. Passengers and visitors were very curious about the tigers of the sea … it was great sport to take a small party of fishermen out, and using a carcass for bait, attract sharks close enough to catch or kill.”
On March 19, 1904, the Waikiki Aquarium opened. “[William] applied for the position of manager, having previously caught and tended many fish with Herb for the Aquarium at Catalina. My application was accepted, and so for a year I herded fish. I not only nursed, fed and attended to their wants, but also, with the help of a native fisherman, caught all the specimens exhibited in the building.”
Herbert sold his interest in the Young Brothers business and went to the mainland to look for work as a diver. Jack Young and Will Young incorporated the business in 1913 as Young Bros. Ltd; Will no longer took an active part in the business. Will preferred to pursue his fascination with sharks and eventually left the islands for good in 1921 to become a well-known international shark hunter.
“Good-bye to Honolulu! A passenger at my elbow sighed and said, ‘I hate to go,’ which, I realized, summed up my case, but inadequately.” William left Young Brothers in the hands of Jack, the last founding member of the company to remain in Hawai‘i.
Prefab Construction in Hawaiʻi
The 1821 Frame House at Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives was one of Hawaiʻi’s early prefab houses. They precut the lumber on the continent, then delivered it to Hawaiʻi and erected the house. It’s still there. It wasn’t until the California Gold Rush (1848) that prefab housing started to really catch on, on the West coast of the continent and elsewhere.
At the height of the Gold Rush in 1849 port cities around the world were sending large numbers of buildings to San Francisco. Hawaiʻi – and especially Honolulu – was soon to share them. A century later, the Islands saw the proliferation of ‘pre-designed’ homes built by Harold Hicks. In 1949, Hicks brought his family to the Islands and started his own residential construction company in the laundry room of his house.
Seasons, Months … Times of Year
In ancient time, when families farmed for themselves they observed and adapted; products were produced based on need and season. Hawaiians divided the year into two seasons – Kau (Summer – when it was dry and hot; beginning in May when Makaliʻi (Pleiades) set at sunrise;) and Hoʻoilo (Winter season when it was rainy and chilly; beginning in October.)
The Makahiki celebrated the harvest and Lono, god of fertility and rain. It is similar in timing and purpose to Thanksgiving, Oktoberfest and other harvest celebrations (beginning in late-October or early-November when Makaliʻi is first observed rising above the horizon at sunset, the Makahiki period continued for four months.) Various areas around the islands had different names for the specific months (some of the same names applied, but they were not always attributed to the same months.) The succession of months begins with ʻIkuwa, the end of summer (Kau) and the beginning of Makahiki (harvest festival.)
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If you like these posts, please come back again. Posts are typically made daily.
These posts are part of a personal learning experience; I have been searching to learn more about the place I and my family were born, raised, and live (and love) – then, share what I have learned.
Because of my Planning work across the Islands, as well as previously serving as Director of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, State Historic Preservation Officer and Deputy Managing Director for Hawaiʻi County, I have had the opportunity to see some places and deal with some issues that many others have not had, nor will have, the same opportunity.
So, I am sharing some insights, events and places with others. These informal historic summaries are presented for personal, non-commercial and/or educational purposes. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks, Peter.
Read the Voyage of the Thaddeus
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