Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Unintended Consequences

We generally note that ‘stuff,’ including unwanted pests, make it to Hawaiʻi on Wind, Wings and Waves.

Some seeds, spores and insects arrived on the wind.  A few birds flew or were blown off course; in them or stuck to their feathers were more seeds.  Some seeds managed to float here on ocean currents or waves.  Ocean currents also carried larval forms of fish, invertebrates, algae and other species.

Today, the pathways to paradise are diverse, including: air & ship cargo; ship hulls & ballast water; hand-carry/luggage; mail & freight forwarders; forestry activities; horticulture trade; aquaculture; pet trade; botanical gardens and agriculture experiment stations (or simply on you and your clothing.)

It is estimated that in the last 230+ years, as many as 10,000 plants have been introduced: 343-new marine/brackish water species; Hawaiʻi went from 0 native land reptiles to 40; 0 amphibians to 6 (including coqui frogs) and there is a new insect in Hawaiʻi regularly showing up.

With these pests, Hawaiʻi has the dubious distinction of being called the endangered species capital of the world and unfortunately leads the nation in endangered species listings with over 350-federally listed threatened or endangered listed species.

With only 0.2% of the land area of the United States, nearly 75% of the nation’s historically-documented plant and bird extinctions are from Hawaiʻi.  We have more endangered species per square mile on these islands than any other place on Earth.

Impacts from invasive species are real and diverse: Quality of life that makes Hawaiʻi a special place; Forests’ ability to channel rainwater into our watersheds; Survival of native species found nowhere else; Health of residents and visitors; and Tourism and agriculture-based economy.

OK, other than negative impacts from the man in the mirror, there are a lot of nasty plants and animals that are wreaking havoc in Hawaiʻi.  Unfortunately, many were brought here on purpose; at times, without much thought about the unintended consequences.

Let’s look at a few dubious examples of ‘good ideas’ gone bad.

While the sugar producers saw a marked reduction in the pesky rats in their plantation following the importation of mongoose (starting with a few in 1883) to inflict this outcome, these rodents also harmed the native ecosystem.

In less than two years after the importation of the mongoose, the rats were so diminished that it was and is now a rare thing to see a stick of cane that is eaten, and the plantations have so extended their plantations that they now grind nearly all the year, giving employment to double and treble the number of hands with a corresponding benefit to the trade of Honolulu.  (Evening Bulletin, December 5, 1895)

“The drawback to the Mongoose is that he does not confine his menu to rats but varies it with all kinds of barnyard fowl and eggs and also ground-nesting game birds form a good part of his dietary. Another regrettable thing about him is that he is very fond of our field lizards or skinks which have an important part to play in the ‘balance of nature.’” (HA Baldwin – Maui News, August 5, 1921)

Unfortunately, the mongoose are targeting birds, including ground-nesters such albatross, petrels, boobies and shearwaters. They are considered to be the number one predator against the endangered Nene, eating the eggs and nesting females. They also eat the eggs and adults of many forest birds.

Another idea gone bad was the importation of fountain grass to be used as an ornamental plant around the house.  It joins a long list of other invasive plants that were first used to decorate a yard or home that have since dominated the landscape and devastated our native flora.

First collected in Hawaiʻi in 1914, fountain grass has been introduced to many parts of the world as an ornamental grass. It is a poor pasture grass and a serious weed in many dry habitats.

Over 200,000 acres of the original site of the plantings (the Kona-Kohala side of the Big Island) are now dominated by this invasive weed. It’s a fire threat and first survivor that expands its cover by rapidly reestablishing itself after burning.

We also have concerns in the ocean, too.

Roi, a grouper, is another plan gone wrong.  It was introduced to Hawaiian waters from Tahiti in 1956 to boost declining stocks for sport fishing, but never caught on as popular eating fish.

Added to that, roi is a high-risk fish for ciguatera poisoning.  Roi, which prey on juvenile parrotfish and surgeonfish, have become the dominant inshore predator in the main Hawaiian Islands.

Its partner, taape, a snapper, was introduced to Hawaiʻi from French Polynesia about the same time (1955) for the same reasons (to enhance fishing opportunities) and shares the same sad results (at least in the opinions of many fishers.)

Introducers first thought that since there is the lack of native, shallow-water snappers in Hawaiʻi, it seemed like a good idea to fill a “vacant niche” for the sport fishers.

Taape generally do not share the same depth and feeding habitat with most native species (the natives are deeper in the water column,) overlaps little in diet and is not a frequent predator or prey of the natives.  But some concerns remain (and the science differs from the negative attitudes from fishers.)

Unlike other Pacific Islands, many people in Hawaiʻi don’t like to eat taape. Largely due to the size, color and lower values in the market, taape is a not often fished and has thrived.

With the rapid and dramatic increase in numbers of taape, concern has been expressed that it may be producing negative effects on populations of native food fishes or otherwise disrupting the existing fisheries for native species.  (DLNR)

Finally, fortunately, we don’t have snakes … yet.  I had the chance to visit Guam on several occasions and was given a tour of that island’s ‘snaky’ areas – it looks just like anywhere in rural Hawaiʻi.

While living in Kailua, every time I rode home on Kalanianaʻole Highway above Enchanted Lake above Kailua, with the overhanging haole koa, I was reminded it took us only 15-minutes to find a snake in Guam in this identical habitat.  (In Guam, you unfortunately soon become aware of what it sounds like when there are no birds.)

There’s a long list of other ideas gone bad to our natural resources across the islands (I only mentioned a limited few, here,) in our forests, across the landscape, along our shores, in our streams and in the ocean.  Before we bring in the next thing in, let’s think beyond the goal and consider the unintended consequences.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kāne‘ohe Yacht Club

The Kāne‘ohe Yacht Club was organized on October 28, 1924, with the original Club site on the western side of Kāne‘ohe Bay. 
 
 
Opening ceremonies at the present site were held on December 17, 1955.  Reportedly, Kāne‘ohe Yacht Club is the oldest Yacht Club in Hawai‘i, in terms of continuous service.
 
When we were kids, KYC and the Bay were our back yard.
 
Our house was about a block away.  An entrance gate to the club was at the end of the street of the old neighborhood.
 
A significant milestone and rite of passage in life was turning 10-years of age – it was then that you could go down to the Yacht Club on your own, without adult supervision.
 
Lots of the club is pretty much the same.  (However, to add more mooring spaces, there is a new parallel dock on the right side of the image below (where the El Toros are sailing.)
 
The place was kid-friendly and accommodating to young adults.  Back in the day, the Long House was available for periodic teen dances (hundreds of us packed the place.)  (Does anybody else remember the Vaqueros?)
 
We’d keep the Boston Whaler down there, and on a moment’s notice could run down and hoist it into the water for running around the Bay.
 
Back then, the clover-leaf opening in the reefs on the Marine Base side of the Club was the “ski lanes.” 
 
Two rafts were anchored across each other to keep you high and dry, while others in the group skied around the loop.  (It’s now used for mooring of larger boats.)
 
The Whaler also took us to all other points of interest on the Bay, camping at Coral Island, Kapapa and Chinaman’s Hat (Mokoli‘i;) fishing and diving across the bay; and just general cruising around.
 
In addition to the ski/cruising outboard boat, we first had the Mokuone, then Na Ali‘i Kai, then Lanakila fishing boats and regularly entered the Club’s fishing tournaments.
 
In addition to mooring and dry storage areas, the Club has two tennis courts, a swimming pool and a kid-sized wading pool.
 
And, it has a bar.  As a kid, that was some mysterious place that you were forbidden to enter.  We’d gaze in to see what was up.
 
I swear, looking into the bar, now, it looks like the same people sitting there sipping their cocktails – they must be the kids of the adults we used to look at.
 
There are swimming and sailing classes for kids and young adults offered throughout the year and plenty to do for the adults, too.
 
The first image shows the Kāne‘ohe Yacht Club as we knew it as kids, in a pre-1966 postcard noted in “The History of Kaneohe Yacht Club” book.  (This is the way I remember the club from small-kid times.)
 

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

King of Handcuffs

Erik Weisz was born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. His family soon emigrated to the United States. His name was altered to Ehrich Weiss after his family emigrated from Hungary to Wisconsin when he was 4 years old.

He had several brothers and a sister. When he was only five or six years old he started doing card tricks and in his teens was performing magic for money.  He called himself Ehrich the Prince of Air when he was nine years old.

When he was 13, Weisz moved with his father to New York City, taking on odd jobs and living in a boarding house before the rest of the family joined them.

He won several competitive medals as a member of the Pastime Athletic Club track team in New York. Weiss worked hard to build up his physical stamina.

In 1894, Ehrich decided to start his career as a magician and changed his name to Harry Houdini.  The name pays homage to Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, the French performer widely considered the father of modern magic.

Adding the “i” followed tradition as well, as this was a common way that magicians invoked the name of the famous 18th century Italian conjurer Pinetti. “Harry,” on the other hand, was merely a pleasantly American twist on “Ehrie,” his boyhood nickname. (PBS)

He married Wilhelmina Beatrice “Bess” Rahner in 1894, and she became his constant companion, ardent supporter and talented co-star in many of his acts. (Pacific Coast Air Museum)

Ferenc Dezső Weisz, Houdini’s younger brother, had performed with his sibling earlier in his career. As the “King of Handcuffs” gained fame, he and his brother, then known as Hardeen, continued to work on illusions, maintaining the belief that the pair were vicious rivals to keep the interest in both of their acts.

As Hardeen once stated, “We made no secret of the fact that we were brothers… but we did keep secret not only the fact that we were good friends but that Harry had set me up in business!” (Ripley’s)

He made a name for himself escaping from handcuffs, securely chained boxes thrown into rivers, straight jackets (while suspended by his ankles), and any number of other incredible situations.

Some may not be aware that another of the passions of Houdini’s life was aviation.  He asked Orville and Wilbur Wright and Glenn Curtiss to sell him a plane but they wouldn’t.

Later in 1909 Houdini went to an air show in Berlin and approached the winner of one of the races. He offered to buy the plane and pay the pilot to teach him to fly. (Pacific Coast Air Museum)

Houdini’s airplane was a Voisin, named after its French designer/builder. It looked more like a box kite than a modern airplane and with good reason. Its design was based on principles worked out years before by an Australian named Lawrence Hargrave who had built the first controllable box kite. Houdini’s Voisin had a pusher engine and performed quite well for its time.

In 1910 the Australians made Houdini an offer he couldn’t refuse: they would pay him generously if he would spend six weeks there flying in public shows. He, his wife, and his ground crew packed up the Voisin, boarded an ocean liner, and set up operations at a place called Digger’s Rest, Victoria, near Melbourne.

Houdini went on the record books as the first person ever to fly an airplane in Australia … powered and sustained and controlled.  Houdini was presented with a trophy for his achievement and was lauded in the press. (Pacific Coast Air Museum)

Houdini flying over Australia:

It was on his way back from Australia that Houdini made a connection to Hawai‘i.  “Houdini, the handcuff king, was a through passenger on the steamship Manuka, fresh from Australia.”

“He was asked by local theatrical managers if he would stop off here, and he relied he would be glad to a series of entertainments – at $1500 per week.”

“The managers gasped and fell dead, metaphorically.  Mr Houdini, it is needless to say, passed on and will give exhibitions in Canada.” (Advertiser, May 26, 1910)

Fortunately John Cox of WildAboutHoudini-com was able to acquire an unpublished image of Houdini and Bess with lei, noted as “Honolulu 1910”.

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hui Panalāʻau

Part of the equatorial “Line Islands” and “Pacific Remote Islands,” Baker, Howland and Jarvis Islands were first formed as fringing reefs around islands formed by volcanoes (approximately 120-75 million years ago). As the volcanoes subsided, the coral reefs grew upward forming low coral islands.

Howland Island lies 1,650 sea miles to the southwest of Honolulu, and 48 miles north of the equator. It and Baker Island, which lies about 35 miles to the south and a little east, are located northwest of the Phoenix group, and are 1,000 miles west of Jarvis.

There is evidence to suggest that Howland Island was the site of prehistoric settlement, probably in the form of a single community utilizing several adjacent islands. Archaeological sites have been discovered on Manra and Orona, which suggest two distinct groups of settlers, one from eastern Polynesia and one from Micronesia.

US whaling ships first sighted the islands in 1822.  The islands are habitat for birds.  Alfred G Benson and Charles H Judd took formal possession of the islands (as well as Jarvis Island) in 1857 in the name of the American Guano Company of New York (consistent with the Guano Act of August 18, 1856.)

The Guano Act stated that “when any citizen of the United States discovers a guano deposit on any island, rock, or key, not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other government, and takes peaceable possession thereof, and occupies the same island, rock, or key, it appertains to the United States.”

“The Peruvian Government has monopolized the supply of Guano throughout the United States … on account of said monopoly, the Farmers of this country have hithertofore been obliged to pay for said article about $50 a ton … it is the duty of the American Government to assert its sovereignty over any and all barren and uninhabitable guano islands of the ocean which have been or hereafter may be discovered by citizens of the United States …” (American Guano Company Prospectus, 1856)

“This Company own(s) an island in the Pacific Ocean, covered with a deposit of more than two hundred million tons of ammoniated guano and have dispatched a ship, agent, and men, to maintain possession thereof.” (American Guano Company Prospectus, 1856)

Rich guano deposits were mined throughout the later part of the 19th century, however, the guano business gradually disappeared, just before the turn of the century.  Thoughts of and activities on the islands disappeared.

Then, in mid-1930s, the US Bureau of Air Commerce (later known as Department of Commerce) was looking for sites along the air route between Australia and California to support trans-Pacific flight operations (non-stop, trans-Pacific flying was not yet possible, so islands were looked to as potential sites for the construction of intermediate landing areas.)

The United States reasserted its claim to the islands in 1935 (followed by President Franklin D Roosevelt issuing Executive Order 7368 to clarify American sovereignty and jurisdiction over the islands, on May 13, 1936.)

To affirm a claim, international law required non-military occupation of all neutral islands for at least one year.  An American colony was established.

The US Bureau of Air Commerce believed that native Hawaiian men would be best suited for the role as colonizers and they turned to Kamehameha Schools graduates to fill the role.

“They looked for someone that had some Hawaiian background. And that’s why they came to Kamehameha Schools to see if they can get someone from the school to participate because of our descendance as part-Hawaiians, that we would be used to the South Pacific or wherever.”  (James Carroll, colonist)

School administration selected the participants based on various academic, citizenship and ROTC-related criteria, as well as their meeting specified requirements for the job: “The boys have to be grown-up, know how to fish in the native manner, swim excellently and handle a boat, that they be disciplined, friendly, and unattached, that they could stand the rigors of a South Seas existence.”

On March 30, 1935, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Itasca departed in secrecy from Honolulu Harbor with 6 young Hawaiians aboard (all recent graduates of Kamehameha Schools) and 12 furloughed army personnel, whose purpose was to occupy the barren islands of Baker, Howland and Jarvis for 3-months.

“Once you get there, you wish you never got there. You know, you’re on this island just all by yourself and it’s, you know, nothing there at all. Just birds, birds, millions and millions of birds. And you just don’t know what to do with yourself, you know. It takes you a while to adjust to that, but once you adjust to it, it’s fine.”  (Elvin Mattson, colonist)

The American colonists were landed from the Itasca, April 3, 1935. They have built a lighthouse, substantial dwellings and attempt to grow various plants.

Cruises by Coast Guard cutters made provisioning trips approximately every three months to refit and rotate the colonists stationed on each island. Soon plans were put into place to build airfields on the islands and permanent structures were built.

In addition to their basic duties of collecting meteorological data for the government, the colonists kept busy by building and improving their camps, clearing land, growing vegetables, attempting reforestation and collecting scientific data for the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.

In their free time, they would fish, dive, swim, surf/bodysurf, lift weights, box, play football, hunt rats, experiment with bird recipes, play music, sing and find other ways of occupying themselves.

Tragedy struck twice: Carl Kahalewai, a graduate of McKinley High School, died of appendicitis while he was being rushed home for an emergency operation; and on December 8, 1941, when the islands of Howland and Baker were bombed and shelled by the Japanese, Joseph Keliʻihananui and Richard “Dickie” Whaley were killed.

Howland Island played a role in the tragic disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred J Noonan during their around-the-world flight in 1937. They left Lae, New Guinea and headed for Howland Island; the Itasca was at Howland Island to guide Earhart to the island once she arrived in the vicinity – they didn’t arrive and were never seen again.  A lighthouse (later a day beacon) was built on Howland Island in Earhart’s honor.

The colonists were removed, following Japanese attacks on the islands in 1942. US military personnel occupied the islands during World War II. The islands have remained unoccupied since that time, but they are visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife personnel because the islands are a National Wildlife Refuge and later part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

During the 7 years of colonization (1936-1942,) more than 130 young men participated in the project, the majority of whom were Hawaiian; none of the islands were ever used for commercial aviation, but the islands eventually served military purposes.  (Pan American Airways used Canton (Kanton) Island for its trans-Pacific flight flying boat operations.)

As early as 1939, members of previous trips formed a club to “perpetuate the fellowship of Hawaiian youths who have served as colonists on American equatorial islands.” Initially they were called the “Hui Kupu ʻĀina,” which suggests the idea of sprouting, growing and increasing land.

By 1946 the group’s name had changed to “Hui Panalāʻau,” which has been variously translated as “club of settlers of the southern islands,” “holders of the land society” and “society of colonists.” (Lots of information and images here are from Bishop Museum.)  

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Arakawas

Established over 100 years ago, “old” Waipahu was once a vibrant, multi-ethnic sugar plantation town whose key corporate element was the Oʻahu Sugar Company.  For over 85 years, Waipahu served as a major commercial center outside of Honolulu.    (Waipahu Community Association)

“In the early days of Waipahu, the parking lot behind Bank of Hawaiʻi was a wetland next to Kapakahi stream.  People who lived near the stream grew rice and watercress and had truck gardens.  All of us kids used to swim in the stream and fish for dojo, funa and goby.”  (Goro Arakawa, Clark)

Another Waipahu institution (unfortunately, now gone) was Arakawas.

Zempan Arakawa, patriarch of the Arakawa (born on August 7, 1885,) came to Hawaiʻi from Okinawa in 1905.  First working at the Oʻahu Sugar Plantation, “Arakawa got to know all the workers and what they needed. He ran errands for them. This understanding proved useful when he went into retail a few years later. He knew his customers.” (Purcell; Sigall)

The real legacy of the Arakawa family began in 1909, when Zempan and Tsuru (Ruth) Arakawa, opened their first store, Arakawa Shoten on Waipahu Street. (Okinawa Association)

In 1912 he moved the store to Depot Road, where it was in the location later taken over by Big Way market.   (Then, in 1955, he opened the 1 1/2-level store.)  (Star-Bulletin)

From humble beginnings of selling kau-kau bags and sewn tabis to Waipahu plantation workers, they expanded their business and turned Arakawas into Hawaiʻi’s best known “everything” store. If you needed to find something – you would find it at Arakawas. (Okinawa Association)

Learning from his experience working on the plantation, where Zempan took orders for sewing and mending work that he did at night, he soon recognized that the sugar workers needed functional and sturdy work clothing, at a price they could afford.  (Kawakami)

By the 1920s, palaka (typically a white plaid pattern over a dark blue background) became very popular.  The Arakawa store specialized in selling palaka fabrics to plantation workers.  They referred to palaka as gobanji, the Japanese term for a plaid or check design.  Apparently, the early immigrants used palaka only as work jackets; they did not wear palaka shirts.  (Kawakami)

When Zempan retired in 1955 his children; sons Kazuo, Takemi, Shigemi and Goro; daughters Leatrice and Joan and their husbands (Sei Kaneshiro and Horace Taba) took over the running of the store.  (In 1959, Zempan Arakawa was recognized as Father of the Year by the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce.  (Sigall))

From the 1920s to the 1960s, Arakawas was the only clothing supply and general merchandise (including food, household goods, etc) store in the area, serving the general population and Waipahu Sugar Mill workforce.  (Environet)

Eighth child, daughter Joan (who attended Wolfe Fashion Design School,) was Arakawas’ Manager of apparel and accessories. She is known for the use of palaka material and apparel that became symbolic of Arakawa.

Fourth son, Shigemi, started out as the Manager/Buyer of the Import and Gift section of Arakawas, Shigemi was often described as a “creative merchandising genius” by his siblings and wholesalers and manufacturers throughout the Pacific Rim.   (Star Advertiser)

He developed the planned chaos concept of retailing that gave the store its special ambiance and was reflected in every Arakawas’ Sunday newspaper ad.  (Star Advertiser)

Every nook and cranny was crammed with merchandise, from clothing and jewelry to hardware, food and even sporting goods.  (Star-Bulletin)

Goro Arakawa, the youngest son of Zempan and Ruth, received a marketing degree from New York University and returned home to work in the family store.  There, he wrote advertising copy that incorporated the sights and sounds of Waipahu (such as the rooster crowing radio commercials.)  (Filipino Chronicle)

Ads ended with, “Arakawa’s – located on historic Depot Road, just below the Sugar mill.”    Goro also came up with catchy slogans like “If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’ll find it at Arakawa’s” and “Don’t say you can’t find it until you shop at Arakawa’s.”  (Filipino Chronicle)

The 1 1/2-level store was actually the third incarnation of the small plantation store first opened by Zempan. In fact, the reason for the 1 1/2 levels was the one-half level upstairs occupied by the sporting goods. Going to Arakawa’s was like stepping back in time, back to the old sugar plantation days when life in Hawaiʻi seemed simpler and more relaxed.  (Star-Bulletin)

On buying trips around the world, he displayed an uncanny eye for finding things that would catch people’s fancy and sold goods as varied as sculptor Noguchi lamps, tapa-themed dinnerware, mosquito coils, and plastic orchid leis.  (Star Advertiser)

With the gradual decline of the sugar industry, the community’s economic and social vitality slowly began to deteriorate.  The historic town core centered on Waipahu Depot Road was devastated by the closures of the sugar mill and Bigway Market in 1999.  (Waipahu Community Association)

Through the generosity to the communities they served – Arakawas became the symbol of an era in Hawaiʻi’s history that represented hard work, sincerity, honesty and generosity of spirit. (Okinawa Association)

It was a sad day when Arakawas in Waipahu (operating from 1909 to 1995) closed its doors.  Gone was the assortment of colors and sizes of palaka wear, as well as the myriad needs filled by the diversity and depth of the merchandise in the store.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC