Hawaii | Page 447 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

April 20, 2017 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Shunchoro

Shuichi and Taneyo Fujiwara, immigrants from Shikoku, Japan, were in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. They lost everything they owned in the earthquake and went back to Japan.

They were returning to San Francisco, stopped in Hawai‘i and decided to stay. (Ohira) They purchased a nearly 1-acre property on Alewa Heights from the McInerny family and opened Shunchoro Teahouse (Spring Tide Restaurant) in 1921. It was “the first building on the hill;” they had to build their own road and put up utility poles.

“A customer named Yoshikawa used to come here during the day for tea or beer.” (Fujiwara; Sigall) Takeo Yoshikawa, a Japanese spy, arrived in Honolulu on March 27, 1941, aboard the Japanese liner Nitta Maru.

His papers identified him as Tadashi Morimura, the name he was always referred to while in the Islands (and subsequent investigative records.) (He’ll be referred to here by his real name, Yoshikawa.)

“I was a spy in the field without that secret inside information. But I assumed my job was to help prepare for an attack on Pearl Harbor and I worked night and day getting necessary information.”

“The Americans were very foolish. As a diplomat I could move about the islands. No one bothered me. I often rented small planes at John Rodgers Airport (now Honolulu International Airport) in Honolulu and flew around US installations making observations. I kept everything in my head.”

“As a long distance swimmer I covered the harbor installations. Sometimes I stayed underwater for a long time breathing through a hollow reed.” (Yoshikawa; Palm Beach Post)

“And my favorite viewing place was a lovely Japanese teahouse overlooking the harbor. It was called ‘Shunchoro.’ I knew what ships were in, how heavily they were loaded, who their officers were, and what supplies were on board.”

“The trusting young officers who visited the teahouse told the girls there everything. And anything they didn’t reveal I found out by giving riders to hitchhiking American sailors and pumping them for information.” (Yoshikawa; Palm Beach Post)

“When he was tired, (he slept) in an upstairs room where we had a telescope. Unbeknownst to us, he was using it to watch the ship movements in Pearl Harbor.” (Fujiwara; Sigall)

Yoshikawa did not work alone. Later joining him in espionage was a ‘sleeper agent’ Bernard Otto Julius Kuehn and his family, Nazi spies sent to the Islands by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. (Washington Times)

At midafternoon on December 6, Yoshikawa made his final reconnaissance of Pearl Harbor from the Pearl City pier. Back at the consulate, he coordinated his report with Japanese Consul General Nagao Kita, and then saw that the encoded message was transmitted to Tokyo.

At 1:20 am on December 7, 1941, on the darkened bridge of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi, Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo was handed the following message:

“Vessels moored in harbor: 9 battleships; 3 class B cruisers; 3 seaplane tenders, 17 destroyers. Entering harbor are 4 class B cruisers; 3 destroyers. All aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers have departed harbor…. No indication of any changes in US Fleet or anything unusual.” (Savela)

The prearranged coded signal “East wind, rain,” part of the weather forecast broadcast over Radio Tokyo, alerted Kita in Honolulu, and others, that the attack on Pearl Harbor had begun.

The first wave of 183-planes (43-fighters, 49-high-level bombers, 51-dive bombers and 40-torpedo planes) struck its targets at 7:55 am. The second wave of 167-Japanese planes (35-fighters, 54-horizontal bombers and 78-dive bombers) struck Oʻahu beginning at 8:40 am. By 9:45 am, the Japanese attack on Oʻahu was over.

The government took over Shunchoro Teahouse during World War II and converted the building into an emergency fire and first-aid station. After the war, the elder Fujiwaras leased the teahouse to Mamoru Kobayashi, who ran it until the mid-1950s.

Lawrence Sr, youngest of Shuichi and Taneyo Fujiwara’s five children, had opened his own teahouse on School Street after the war. It was called Natsunoya (Summer House.) “They eventually tore it down for the H-1 freeway.”

Shunchoro had been closed for a couple of years when Lawrence Sr reopened the teahouse and changed its name to Natsunoya Tea House in 1958. (Fujiwara; Ohira)

Here’s a link to Google images of Natunoya Tea House: https://goo.gl/ZXhKdz

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Natsunoya Tea House

Natsunoya Tea-House

Natsunoya Tea_House

Natsunoya Tea-House

Takeo Yoshikawa

Japanese Consulate Staff-Honolulu-(NationalArchives)

April 19, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Junior Football Conference

It began in 1929 when the owner of a new factory in Northeast Philadelphia enlisted the aid of a young friend, Joseph J Tomlin, to solve a recurring problem – the factor’s ground-to-floor windows were constantly being shattered by teenagers hurling stones from a nearby vacant lot. Others faced similar vandalism.

Tomlin had a possible answer – he suggested that the building owners get together to fund an athletic program for the kids. They agreed, and asked Tomlin to set up a program.

Fall was approaching, so football seemed a logical choice to begin the new project. He set up a schedule for a four-team Junior Football Conference in time for the 1929 season.

The Junior Football Conference had expanded to 16 teams by 1933. Tomlin met ‘Pop’ Warner at a winter banquet and asked him to lecture at a spring clinic Tomlin was planning for his league teams.

Glenn Scobie “Pop” Warner, born April 5, 1871 in Springville, New York, was captain of the Cornell University football team’ he got the nickname ‘Pop’ because he was older than most of his teammates. He graduated with a law degree in 1894.

Warner served as the head coach at the University of Georgia (1895–1896,) Iowa State University (1895–1899,) Cornell University (1897–1898, 1904–1906,) the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1899–1903, 1907–1914,) the University of Pittsburgh (1915–1923,) Stanford University (1924–1932) and Temple University (1933–1938.) In his retirement, he was an advisor to the San Jose State football coach.

Warner completed his career with 300-plus wins, however his legacy has little to do with mere win totals. His innovations in equipment, practice methods and game strategy laid the groundwork for football as we recognize it today.

Warner devised light-weight uniforms designed for speed, and invented the blocking sleds and tackling dummies still in use. Pop was also responsible for the reverse, the double wing, the crouching start for backs, many modern blocking schemes, and the reverse handoff on kickoffs. (Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame)

On the evening of April 19, 1934, the temperature dropped to an unseasonable low, with high winds and torrential rain mixed with sleet. Of the dozen area college football coaches scheduled to speak at the clinic, only Pop Warner showed up.

The 800 excited young football players kept him talking and answering questions for two hours. By the end of the evening, by popular acclaim, the fledging youth program was renamed the Pop Warner Conference.

By 1938, there were 157 teams. Back then, it was not a ‘midget’ or ‘peewee’ league; in the beginning, most of the players were at least 15 years old and a few were even over 30.

Competition was organized along top weights only, except for the youngest kids. Teams represented neighborhoods in the city, while suburban teams represented towns.

When World War II came, the Pop Warner Conference lost most of its older players. Some squads folded, while others merged. Only 42 teams remained. (Pop Warner)

In 1946, Tomlin envisioned expanding the program across the country; he and members of a local Philadelphia team headed to Hawai‘i to play against the first team there. (Balthaser)

in the 1947 season, there was a shift in membership. Many of the returning service-men abandoned football. Increasingly, the teams were composed of 15-year-olds or younger. Rules were set up for their benefit, including minimum and maximum weights. The era of “midget football” had begun.

The first “kiddie” bowl game, called the Santa Claus Bowl, was played on December 27, 1947, in 6 inches of snow before 2000 freezing spectators. The Clickets midget team, sponsored by Palumbo’s, a Philadelphia supper club, competed against Frank Sinatra’s Cyclones, a New York team.

The conference quickly expanded in the early 1950s. The Hawai‘i Pop Warner conference formed in 1955, Hawai‘i football great Tom Kaulukukui was one of its founders and was initial head. (Krauss) In 1959, the first national season began.

Pop Warner Little Scholars was officially incorporated as a national non-profit organization in 1959. The name was selected to underscore the basic concept of Pop Warner – that the classroom is as important as the playing field.

Proof of satisfactory progress in school is required. Players, as well as cheerleaders, must maintain a “C” average (2.0/70% or the equivalent) to be eligible to participate.

Boys were typical players of football (however, some girls did play the game.) Pop Warner later introduced cheerleading to the program.

The first National Cheerleading Competition was held in 1988 and now shares the spotlight with the annual Pop Warner Super Bowl, held each year at Walt Disney World.

Today, Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc is a non-profit organization that provides youth football and cheer & dance programs for participants in 42 states and several countries around the world.

Consisting of approximately 400,000 young people ranging from ages 5 to 16 years old, Pop Warner is the largest youth football, cheer and dance program in the world.

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April 18, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Princess Lei Lokelani

At the corner of what is now Baker Street and Marina Boulevard in San Francisco’s Marina District was where the Hawaiian Pavilion stood during the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.

These Hawaiian shows had the highest attendance at the entire fair and launched a Hawaiian cultural craze that influenced everything from American music, to movies, to fashion. (Mushet)

“The hugely popular Hawaii pavilion … showcased Hawaiian music and hula dancing, and was the unofficial launching pad for ukulele-mania.” Hapa-haole songs were featured in the Hawaii exhibits and hula ‘auana, contemporary hula was born.

‘Princess Lei Lokelani’ performed traditional foot movements – ku‘i and ‘uwehe – to modern ‘ukulele and steel guitar songs – this also launched the hapa-haole hula phenomenon into broader markets. (Wianecki)

Today, hula has been divided into two main categories; hula ‘auana and hula kahiko, also known as modern hula and ancient hula.

Hula ‘auana are always accompanied by mele, and have soft and floating movements. The ‘auana is also inspired by the hula of the 20th century up until the late 1960s, including the hapa haole styled hula. (Torgersen)

The costumes of the hula ‘auana are different from the kahiko costumes, which usually involve a pā‘ū (hula skirt) and a top to match the pā‘ū for female dancers, and a malo (loincloth) for the male dancers, as well as anklets, wristlets and a headpiece made from traditional hula plants and flowers.

The ‘auana costumes often involve mu‘umu‘u (long dress or gown) for women and black pants, a shirt and sash for the men. The women often have large headpieces made from flowers and greens and may wear shoes as part of the costume.

The kahiko dances must always be danced barefoot, and the dancer is not allowed any jewelry or excessive makeup. (Torgersen)

By 1916, there were hundreds of Hapa Haole tunes written. That same year, reportedly more Hawaiian records were sold on the mainland than any other type of music.

And they came in all the popular styles of the day: in ragtime, blues, jazz, foxtrot and waltz tempos, as “shimmy” dances and–even–in traditional hula tempos, but jazzed up a bit.

In 1935, a radio program began, broadcasting live from the Banyan Court of the Moana Hotel on the beach at Waikīkī, and radios nationwide tuned in to hear “Hawaii Calls.” Not only did nearly every island entertainer cut his or her teeth on the program, many went on to become well known.

The ‘Princess’ was 15-year old Elizabeth Jonia Leilokelani Shaw; she and her family were a hit at the Exposition. “A native of Hawaii, Shaw went to Portland with her family, several of whose members are professionals, in 1906.”

“Her first professional appearance was at the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco, where she was featured for her beauty and talents as a dancer in the Hawaiian village on the zone.” (Variety, May 6, 1921) She was so popular that she was almost crowned ‘Queen of the Zone,’ missing the honor by just a few votes. (Wianecki)

For the next four years, she was doing vaudeville as ‘Jonia and Her Hawaiians,’ “in which she is assisted by her sister and a male Hawaiian orchestra of four pieces. Jonia’s efforts consist of two dances, one with her sister, who appears in male attire, and one as a solo.”

“The remainder is made up of work by the orchestra, one of the men handling a vocal solo with the others playing a duet with steel guitars.”

“The Jonia act is still suitable for vaudeville, notwithstanding the number of turns of this order that have been seen about during past season.” (Variety, May 11, 1917)

Elizabeth Jonia Leilokelani Shaw, aged 20, was stricken with pneumonia at Washington, DC. She was brought to Portland and died there April 18, 1921. (Variety, May 6, 1921)

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Elizabeth L. Jonia Leilokelani Shaw

Hawaii Band and Dancers-(Shaw)-1916

Jonia and Her Hawaiians

Princess Lei Lokelani Promotional

Aeroplane view main group of exhibit palaces Panama-Pacific International Exposition

April 16, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Happy Easter !

April 15, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Palmyra

“(T)ake possession in our name of Palmyra Island, the said Island being situated in longtitude 161° 53′ west and in latitude 6° 4′ north not having been taken possession of by any other government or any other people …”

“… by erecting thereon a short pole with the Hawaiian flag wrapped round it and interring at the foot thereof a bottle well corked containing a paper signed by (Zenas Bent) in the following form viz: …”

“… Visited and taken possession of by order of His Majesty King Kamehameha IV, for him and his successors on the Hawaiian throne by the undersigned in the Schooner Louisa this day of . . . . . . . . . . . . 186. . . . . . .” (Kamehameha IV and Kuhina Nui, March 1, 1862) (Bent did so on April 15, 1862.)

Lot Kamehameha, the Minister of the Interior, duly issued a proclamation on June 18, 1862 as follows: “Whereas, On the 15th day of April, 1862, Palmyra Island, in latitude 5° 50′ North, and longitude 161° 53′ West, was taken possession of, with the usual formalities …”

“… by Captain Zenas Bent, he being duly authorized to do so, in the name of Kamehameha IV, King of the Hawaiian Islands. Therefore, This is to give notice, that the said island, so taken possession of, is henceforth to be considered and respected as part of the Domain of the King of the Hawaiian Islands.” (Lot Kamehameha, Minister of Interior)

Later legal decisions note that ownership of Palmyra was held privately, initially in the name of Bent and Johnson B Wilkinson. Palmyra Atoll was a part of the Territory of Hawaii prior to Hawaii’s entering the Union on August 21, 1959. Congress expressly excluded Palmyra from the State of Hawaii by section 2 of the Hawaii Statehood Act. (DOI)

Palmyra Atoll is situated nine hundred sixty miles south by west of Honolulu and three hundred fifty-two miles north of the Equator. The atoll has an area of about one and one-half square miles with numerous islets in the shape of a horse shoe surrounding two lagoons.

The climate is wet and humid, as the dense vegetation evidences. Palmyra lies near the zone where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet. The contact between these bodies of air forces the warmer air to rise, to become cooled and to drop its moisture in the form of tropical rain.

“‘Don’t wait to get fresh milk from Honolulu. Use the cow of the Pacific.’ The coconut is known as the cow of the Pacific. Its milk is very nourishing. I said, ‘Get me two nuts and I’ll show you how to make both cream and milk.’” (Fullard-Leo)

Palmyra Atoll is the northernmost atoll in the Line Islands Archipelago halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa. The atoll received its name from the American vessel Palmyra under the command of Captain Sawle, who sought shelter there on November 7, 1802.

The Palmyra group is a coral covered atoll of about fifty islets, some with trees, and extends – reefs, intervening water and land – 5 2/3 sea miles in an easterly and westerly direction and 1 1/3 sea miles northwardly and southwardly. (US Supreme Court)

One prior owner, Judge Henry Cooper Sr made short visits to Palmyra in 1913 and 1914 for two to three weeks and built a house there in 1913. The judge’s house collapsed by 1938.

In 1920 and 1921 the Palmyra Copra Company was actively engaged on the island under a lease from Cooper. On August 19, 1922, the Leslie and Ellen Fullard-Leo bought all but two of the Palmyra islands.

As a militaristic Japan made inroads into China in the 1930s, concern heightened for the security of Wake, Midway, Johnston, and Palmyra Islands, the outposts protecting Hawaii, a vital staging area for a war in the Pacific.

In 1934, Palmyra Atoll was placed under the Department of the Navy. According to the November 3 issue of The Coast Defense Journal (courtesy of John Voss), “Rear Admiral Claude Bloch announced the establishment of Naval Air Station Palmyra Island on 8/15/41, officially opening the air station.”

“They used (the atoll) during the war as a base; constructed two hospitals there to bring the wounded from the west and southwest Pacific”. (Fullard-Leo)

On December 23, 1941, a little more than two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a Japanese submarine surfaced offshore at Palmyra Island, 1,000 miles south of Hawai‘i, and opened fire.

The enemy’s target that day: a new U.S. Naval Air Station that was still under construction. Specifically, enemy guns focused on the “Sacramento,” a US Corps of Engineers dredge anchored in the atoll’s central lagoon.

The Sacramento was hit, but only lightly, and when U.S. forces promptly returned fire, the Japanese vessel submerged, never to be seen again. That incident marked the only war-time attack on Palmyra. From then on, until the fighting ended in 1945, the atoll served as a strategic Pacific outpost for the U.S. military. (TNC)

Around the atoll’s periphery, pill boxes were built for defense while further inland a line of small coastal gun emplacements and command posts were installed. Roads, waterlines, warehouses, barracks, a mess hall, radio station, cold storage plant, ammunitions depot, hospital and other elements of a modern infrastructure were also constructed.

The primary mission of the Palmyra Naval Air Station was to serve as a troop transport and re-servicing and staging point for U.S. aircraft and small ships en-route to the south and southwest Pacific.

Palmyra’s growth in personnel, from 112 men on December 7, 1941, to the maximum of 2,410 men in August of 1943, and its subsequent reduction to 428 men in July of 1945, traces its importance in the early years of the war and its later decline. (TNC)

After several private transfers, title is now held by The Nature Conservancy. It is an incorporated Territory of the US. On January 18, 2001, the Secretary of the Interior signed Secretary’s Order No. 3224, which transferred all executive, legislative and judicial authority from the Office of Insular Affairs to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Palmyra is part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the Central Pacific Ocean that ranges from Wake Atoll in the northwest to Jarvis Island in the southeast. The seven atolls and islands included within the monument are farther from human population centers than any other US area. (Lots of information here is from TNC, DOI &US Supreme Court.)

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