Hilo | Page 12 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

July 9, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

St Martin de Tours Chapel

Some would suggest that Catholicism started in Hawaiʻi with the arrival of Don Francisco de Paula Marin (Manini) to the Hawaiian Islands in 1793 or 1794 (at about the age of 20.)

In 1819, Kalanimōku was the first Hawaiian Chief to be formally baptized a Catholic, aboard the French ship Uranie. Shortly thereafter, Boki, Kalanimōku’s brother (and Governor of Oʻahu) was baptized.

“The captain and the clergyman asked Young what Kalanimōku’s rank was, and upon being told that he was the chief counselor (kuhina nui) and a wise, kind, and careful man, they baptized him into the Catholic Church.” (Kamakau)

It wasn’t until July 7, 1827, however, when the pioneer French Catholic mission arrived in Honolulu. It consisted of three priests of the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; Father Alexis Bachelot, Abraham Armand and Patrick Short. They were supported by a half dozen other Frenchmen.

Their first mass was celebrated a week later on Bastille Day, July 14, and a baptism was given on November 30, to a child of Marin.

On April 17, 1837, two other Catholic priests arrived. However, the Hawaiian government forced them back onto a ship on April 30. American, British and French officials in Hawaii intervened and persuaded the king to allow the priests to return to shore.

Catholic Christian worship in Hilo was as early as 1839. The first chapel located on bay front was made from pili grass and was called Saint Martin de Tours. Father Charles Pouzot, SCC became the first pastor of the parish in 1845.

By 1848 the small grass chapel was replaced by a new wooden structure. The Tabernacle to preserve the Eucharist was placed in the sanctuary in 1849.

Gradually the worship space was adorned with statues and stations of the cross. A bell donated in 1850, was a gift from sailors serving on the American man-of-war Independence.

In 1852 the chapel was enlarged due to the generosity of sailors from another American warship whose spiritual needs had also been served in Hilo.

In 1862 the parish of St. Martin de Tours had once again outgrown its place of worship. A new larger church was built in the area of Kalākaua Park on Keawe and Waiānuenue Avenue.

On July 9, 1862 Bishop Louis Maigret, Bishop of Honolulu dedicated the new church to Saint Joseph. That same day 30 more people were baptized and about 300 more were confirmed to become full members of the Saint Joseph Catholic Community.

In the 1880s an increase in the number of Portuguese immigrants from the Madeira Islands more than doubled the Catholic Christian population in Hilo.

Father Puozot already fluent in English, French and Hawaiian, learned Portuguese and began to preach his sermons in Portuguese as well as in English and Hawaiian.

Fr. James C. Bessell, SSCC was assigned as pastor at Saint Joseph in 1909. Father’s zealous effort to reach many families resulted in increasing devotional opportunities and an increase in the numbers of parishioners.

By 1911, Hawaiʻi had 85 priests, 30 churches and 55 chapels. The Catholic population was 35,000; there were 4 academies, a college and 9 parochial schools established by the mission, and the total number of pupils was 2,200.

A new, larger church was needed in Hilo. Father Beissell purchased the property on the corner of Kapiʻolani and Haili Streets from the First Hawaiian Company in 1915.

The large community of active faithful including, among others, Hawaiian and Portuguese families worked together to build their new church.

The cornerstone was laid in 1917 and the church was dedicated at its present location in February 1919. (St Joseph)

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Waianuenue-St Joseph’s in background (left of center)-Bertram

Hilo-St Joseph’s at far right-Bertram

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May 18, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Camp POW

According to the Convention of 1929 relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 118 LNTS 343, entered into force June 19, 1931, prisoners of war were subject to “internment” and may “be interned in fenced camps.” The Geneva Convention of 1949 also used “internment” as the definition for incarcerating prisoners of war. (NPS)

On July 7, 1937, Japan invaded China to initiate the war in the Pacific; while the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, unleashed the European war.

World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War, was a global war that was underway by 1939. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and the US entered the conflict.

American entry into World War II necessitated a rapid expansion of facilities in dealing with enemy prisoners. Following the transfer of 50,000 German POWs from the British in September 1942, Civilian Conservation Corps camps were secured to house the first arrivals; more camps were constructed throughout the war.

By mid-1945, the American POW camp system consisted of 155 base camps in 44 states, Alaska, and Hawai‘i. At its height, the system held 371,683 German, 50,571 Italian, and 5,413 Japanese POWs. (Encyclopedia)

Of the 50,000 Italian captured soldiers and sailors, 5,000 Italian prisoners of war were sent to Hawaiʻi and held at Schofield, Kāneʻohe, Kalihi Valley and Sand Island.

Japanese Americans were also incarcerated in at least eight locations on Hawaiʻi. On December 8, 1941, the first detention camp was set up on Sand Island.

The Sand Island Detention Center held war captives as well as civilians of Japanese, German or Italian ancestry who were under investigation.

Another prisoner of war facility was in Hilo; it was simply known as Camp POW. It was in Ponahawai, up Kaumana Drive.

Land use in Ponahawai Ahupua‘a was used as homestead lands. The ahupua‘a of Ponahawai appears to have been given by Kamehameha to Keawe-a-Heulu, one of his trusted warriors.

At the start of the Māhele, Ponahawai was given up by Keawe-a-Heulu’s nephew Kinimaka. The ahupua‘a became Crown Lands during the Māhele and in the following years numerous, small Land Grants were awarded within the ahupua‘a.

Following the Māhele, the population of Hilo grew and scattered upland habitation gave way to other activities. Visits by ships representing foreign governments, whaling, the establishment and development of American Protestant missions in the Hilo area and the foreign sandalwood trade brought changes in long-established patterns of settlement and land-use patterns. (Escott)

Hilo became the center of population and settlements in outlying regions declined or disappeared. Sugar cane plantations dominated the uplands, displacing traditional farming, and processing and shipping facilities were established near the shore.

Commercial sugar production lasted in Ponahawai until the mid-twentieth century, at which time many of the fields were converted to pasturage associated with cattle ranching.

In 1894, the government opened the Ponahawai Homestead Lots. Road improvements over the next six years gave access to more lots and spurred development in the area. In 1901 Antone Carvalho bought 110 acres on the upland agricultural zone above Hilo. Carvalho sold the property to Charles Chong who subdivided it into house lots.

During WWII the Army’s 27th Infantry division was housed and trained on the property. Later, the Marines were stationed there and Japanese prisoners of war were confined there.

The camp became known as Camp POW.

After the war, Chong converted the camp buildings into rental properties. For safety reasons the buildings were eventually demolished in the 1980s.

In an archaeological survey of the area in 2012, two concrete foundations were identified – they are in close proximity to each other. It was determined these were from a modern (1940s to 1970s) structure, most recently used as a residential rental, based on household refuse that dates to that era.

An archaeologist concluded the site is likely part of the remains of the Camp POW buildings used by the military during WWII. (Lots of information is from Escott) Camp POW appears to have been in, or in the immediate vicinity of Kaumana Lani County Park.

Many of the photos in the album are from Raymond W McCracken’s son’s post on flickr. McCracken was with the 5th Marine Division spent time in three camps on Hawai‘i Island. The photos were taken during his stay between April 13, 1945 and August 25, 1945.

Camps Tarawa and Banyan were camps where they were trained for the attack on Iwo Jima and Camp POW was the camp they were at after Iwo Jima preparing for the invasion of Japan until the war ended.

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Pohohawai-Kaumana-USBS-UH_Manoa-1471-1954-portion-Camp POW site noted

Layout of concrete foundation

April 14, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Pu‘umaile Home

“The tubercle bacillus, the germ that causes tuberculosis, is responsible for the loss each year of millions of lives. The spitting, coughing and sneezing of people who have tuberculosis are the chief means of the spread of this disease to individuals, families and even to entire communities.”

“The Territory of Hawaii has a high death rate from this disease as compared with most mainland cities. … The County of Hawaii has the highest rate of the disease of any of the counties in the Territory. During the last five years an average of 67 people died each year on this Island.”

“(T)here are hundreds of people on this Island who have been exposed to tuberculosis and who are potential cases of the disease. There are many people on this Island who have the disease but who do not know that they have it.”

“If the problem is considered not as “cases,” but as individuals who are our neighbors, it becomes a more interesting problem. Who is my neighbor? Last year there were maids, bus drivers, dressmakers, plantation laborers, waiters, students and teachers who had tuberculosis.”

“More than half of the people who have tuberculosis are between the ages of 15 and 45. Think of these young people starting out in new jobs, establishing homes – struck down in the prime of life!”

“Too many people do not know about, nor heed, the warning signals that should send them to a doctor for a physical check-up. Ignorance as to the ways in which tuberculosis is spread oftentimes causes neglect of the early case. Ignorance of the seriousness of the situation keeps the public from taking sufficient action on this problem.” (Chandler, Director, Tuberculosis Society of Hawai‘i; The Friend, July 1, 1939)

“The control or prevention of the spread of the disease is chiefly dependent upon the various district nurses, who not only furnish the Bureau with correct data for reliable statistics, but who supervise cases requiring it, directing them how to avoid infecting others, and observing that all due precautions are maintained in each case.”

“These nurses devote their time to hunting up cases which have not been reported, supervising certain cases, and giving instructions to patients as to how to care for themselves so as not to infect others.”

“The treatment of those afflicted is carried out by seven institutions—three in Honolulu, namely, Pa Ola Day Camp, Free Dispensary, and Leahi Home; one on Hawaii—Pu‘umaile Home; two on Kauai—Lihue and Waimea Hospitals; and one on Maui—the Kula Sanitarium. (Board of Health, 1921)

“The benefits of hospital treatment may be shown by the figures from two of the institutions in the Territory. Out of 103 persons discharged 84 were able to return to work.”

“Pu‘umaile Home, in Hilo, was in charge of Miss Wilhelm and Miss Kate W. Sadler, district nurses for Hawaii, with Dr. L. L. Sexton as medical officer. … A total of 37 cases were handled at Pu‘umaile, some of the patients being Filipinos en route to Honolulu to take steamer for the Philippines. There were 7 deaths, 15 discharged at their own request, 6 for other reasons, and 2 as apparent cures. (Board of Health, 1915)

“Pu‘umaile Home is the only institution for the care of tuberculosis in the Territory that is maintained solely from Territorial funds. One hundred and twenty-two were admitted during the year, with 68 Patients remaining at the end of the period, just double the number as compared with the previous year.” (Report of Governor, 1924)

The original Pu‘umaile Home was built in about 1912 at a site that is now in the vicinity of the old terminal building at Hilo Airport. It took its name from a nearby cinder cone (approximately 50-feet high.) The Home served the entire island.

The Hilo Airport was dedicated in February 1928 and in April 1938 a new facility was constructed at the end of Kalanianaʻole Avenue (at what is now Lehia Park.) (Clark)

“A son of a former pastor of the Finnish National Lutheran church here has been appointed superintendent of a new hospital known as the Pu‘umaile home at Hilo, Hawaii.”

“Well known to most everyone to Hilo is Dr. Carl J. Wilen, superintendent of Pu‘umaile home, who has held that position since July, 1935, when he came to Hilo as the first full-time physician at the sanatorium.” (Ironwood Daily Globe, November 24, 1939)

Some incorrectly suggest that the hospital washed away by the 1946 tsunami; however, it was spared. “The (sea)wall itself was undamaged, and buildings sheltered by it were undisturbed except for minor damage by flooding.” (Wiegel)

“Observers said waves drove 40-feet high over the Hilo breakwater … Water reached 1,000-yards inland, flooded the first floor of the Pumaile Hospital, and wrecked outlying homes of hospital personnel.” (Albuquerque Journal, January 5, 1947)

The Army installed standby generators until power could be restored. Engineers laid 2-miles of emergency pipeline to restore water. Patients were temporarily evacuated by Navy personnel and cared for at the nearby naval air station (Hilo Airport.) (Muffler)

The hospital remained on the shoreline until 1951 when it was relocated into new facilities on the grounds of the Hilo Memorial Hospital, above Rainbow Falls. Shortly after (1955,) Pu‘umaile was combined with the Hilo Memorial Hospital to establish Hilo Hospital (now Hilo Medical Center.)

In 1955, new and more effective drugs were introduced in the treatment of tuberculosis and, as a result, by 1958 the average daily patient census significantly dropped. (Legislative Auditor, 1968) (Pu‘umaile was referred by several names, including Pumaile and Puumaile.)

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PuuMaile Home-tsunami

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April 8, 2017 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Haili Church

Three years after the arrival American Protestant missionaries of the Pioneer Company in 1820, Asa Thurston, Artemis Bishop, Joseph Goodrich and William Ellis toured the island of Hawaii to identify appropriate Mission Stations there.

The reported on six locations, with the priority given to Kailua in the Kona District and Waiakea in the Hilo District. At Waiakea, the missionaries erected two houses and a church within two months after their arrival.

The first church was of traditional pole and thatch construction. The dedication of the Waiakea Mission Station was on May 19,1824.

From 1820 until 1850, further development of Hilo proper was focused in this area around the mission. In addition to the church, there was the eventual Hilo Boarding School, as well as the missionary homes and government buildings including the royal cottages.

During the late 1830s, Reverend Titus Coan increased the size of his congregation scattered along the east coast of the Big Island to 7,000 people. Churches were constructed throughout the Hilo and Puna Districts to meet the needs of the people in those locations.

The needs of the home congregation also increased. A larger building was required as well as one that could weather the climate for a longer period of time. The first churches for the Waiakea Mission Station were of Hawaiian thatch construction and were replaced, as they deteriorated.

“When our first framed church building became old and dilapidated, we decided on replacing it with an edifice of stone and mortar. But after a years hard toil in bringing stones on men’s shoulders and after having dug a trench some six feet deep for the foundations without coming to bed-rock, we by amicable agreement dismissed our mason ….” (Coan, Life in Hawaii)

Haili, the name of the church, was derived from the forest, Haili Kulamanu (Paradise of the Birds) from which most of the ‘ōhi‘a wood was cut, located 6 to 8 miles southwest of the church. The Hawaiians hewed the wood in the forest, then hauled it to the mission with drag ropes. (NPS)

“When the materials were brought together, we employed a Chinese carpenter at a reasonable price, to frame and raise the building, all his pay to be in trade, for ‘the golden age’ had not yet dawned on Hawaii.”

“The natives, men and women, soon covered the rough frame with thatching. There was no floor but the earth, and the only windows were holes about three feet square left in the thatching on the sides and ends.”

“This was the first framed church edifice built in Hilo, and in this building, capable of seating about 2,000 people, we first welcomed Commodore Ap Catesby Jones, of the frigate United States, with his officers and brass band.”

“The courteous commodore and his chaplain consented to deliver each an address of congratulation and encouragement to the people for their ready acceptance of the Gospel, and for their progress in Christian civilization.”

“He alluded to a former visit of his to Honolulu by order of the United States Government, to investigate certain complaints made by a class of foreign residents against the American missionaries, stating that on a patient and careful hearing of the parties, the missionaries came out triumphantly, and their abusers were put to shame.”

“The cornerstone was laid November 14, 1857, and the building was dedicated on the 8th, of April, 1859. The material was good and the workmanship faithful and satisfactory. The whole cost was $13,000.00.” (Coan, Life in Hawaii)

Prior to this, the Hawaiian community development had centered one and one-half miles to the east, southeast in the Waiakea section of Hilo. Because of the missionary improvements, commercial and governmental in the district of Hilo located closer to Haili Church.

“In 1868, an awful earthquake tore in pieces stone walls and stone houses and rent the earth in various parts of Hilo, Puna and Kau. Had we built according to our original plan and agreement with the mason, ‘our holy and beautiful house’ would have become a heap of rubbish …”

“… and our hearts would have sunk within us with sorrow. How true that ‘a man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.’” (Coan, Life in Hawaii)

On July 15, 1979, fire destroyed the church tower, ceiling and some of the interior of the building. The restored church was rededicated on June 1, 1980. The church continues today. A notable modern recognition was the 2001 induction of the Haili Choir into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame.

The Haili Church Choir is one of the oldest and most widely acclaimed Hawaiian church choirs. Since the beginning of the 1900s, it has been the ‘training school’ for some of Hawai‘i’s foremost names in traditional Hawaiian music, both sacred and secular.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, church choirs were instrumental in the development of Hawaiian music. While they are not the oldest, nor was the choir officially named until 1909, the Haili Choir, because of its performance out reach, became the most prominent

The choir began in 1902 under Harry K. Naope, Sr., at the Kalepolepo Chapel, one of the seven branches of the Haili Church. Naope was a music teacher in the public schools, and received his training in music at Lahainaluna Seminary on the island of Maui. (HMHOF)

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Haili Award-Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame

March 23, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nikai Camp

A shortage of laborers to work in the growing (in size and number) sugar plantations became a challenge. The only answer was imported labor.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

The first to arrive were the Chinese (1852.) In March 1881, King Kalākaua visited Japan during which he discussed with Emperor Meiji Hawai‘i’s desire to encourage Japanese nationals to settle in Hawaiʻi.

Kalākaua’s meeting with Emperor Meiji improved the relationship of the Hawaiian Kingdom with the Japanese government, and an economic depression in Japan served as an impetus for agricultural workers to leave their homeland. (Nordyke/Matsumoto)

By 1884, Hawai‘i Island counted more than thirty plantations, many of them in the Hilo area. Immigrants were arriving by the thousands, mostly from Asia. They fulfilled labor contracts and afterward stayed on. (Olson)

“Upon their arrival in Honolulu those desiring help were permitted to select their labourers and take them to their plantations. Each man was allowed from twelve to fifteen dollars a month, and each woman thirteen, a house to live in, fuel, free water and medical attendance.”

“The labourer was allowed to return to his country at the end of three years, and while here he was not to be separated from his family. … Living largely upon rice raised by himself, and under the favourable condition of the climate, the labourer could lay by a modest sum each year if he chose.” (Browne)

The first ship of Japanese sugar workers, City of Tokyo, arrived with 944 emigrants on February 8, 1885. The second ship, Yamashiro Maru, brought 988 more Japanese (930-men, 34-women and 14-children, most of them from Hiroshima and Kumamoto. They arrived on June 17, 1885; their living quarters were called ‘Nikai-sen Camp’ (second ship camp.)

There used to be a Japanese plantation workers camp associated with Wainaku Mill known as Nikai Camp – for most, it was referred to as the Japanese Village.

It became an attraction. “A mile and a half from Hilo, above the Wainaku mill, there is to be found, in a green, fern-clad valley with a sparkling stream and a dashing waterfall, a complete Japanese village, with thatched roofs and bamboo walls for its houses.”

“Few strangers know of its existence, but it is, to my eye, the most picturesque and unique cluster of dwellings in the Hawaiian isles. Many of the doors of the cottages are shaded by luxuriant banana trees, bearing bunches weighing from sixty to seventy pounds.”

“The hamlet is swarming with rosy babes and smiling young mothers. All look healthy, contented and happy. Mr. Furneaux has some very artistic photographs of this Arcadian village, as well as other scenes in the environs of Hilo.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 17, 1892)

“One of the curious and interesting sights around Hilo is the Japanese village of bamboo huts on the Wainaku plantation. Every foot of space is utilized. Cucumbers and squashes covet the thatched roofs with luxuriant growth.”

“The Board of Health has had to interfere, however, with some of their curious and malodorous processes of utilizing fertilizing material.” (Daily Bulletin, January 20, 1892)

However, tragedy struck the village … “During Monday afternoon, the 15th (January 15, 1895,) the Japanese camp at Wainaku was completely destroyed by fire.”

“The village consisted of fifty or sixty thatched houses fashioned from bamboo and cane leaves which formerly had been often pointed out to tourists as one of the most picturesque sights in Hilo district.”

“It is stated that Manager Scott will immediately rebuild the camp but this time the dwellings will be constructed of prosaic northwest lumber.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, July 24, 1895)

Hilo wasn’t the only Japanese Village attraction … “By the way it would repay one to mount his horse and ride away to a little Japanese village nestling on the mountain side amid the corn lands of Haleakala Ranch.”

“Perhaps Fukuda who keeps a neat little store there would kill a chicken and entertain a well-dispised stranger most hospitably.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, September 25, 1893)

In 1971 Wainaku, Hakalau, Pepe‘ekeo and Pāpaʻikou sugar companies were consolidated in a processing cooperative that also included independent cane growers. Two years later, Pepe‘ekeo Sugar merged with Mauna Kea Sugar to form Mauna Kea Sugar Co., Inc., the state’s fourth largest sugar company with 18,000 acres of cane.

The mills at Wainaku and Hakalau were closed as the Pepeʻekeo mill was modernized to double its capacity by 1974. (HSPA) The Hilo Coast Processing Company and the Mauna Kea Sugar Company (at that point called Mauna Kea Agribusiness Company) mill shut down in 1994.