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September 8, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Queen Elizabeth II

On her first visit to the Islands, she had to ask for a ‘garland.’ (February 1, 1963)

“There were no flowers, hula girls or Hawaiian music waiting for the royal couple during a 1 hour and 7 minute visit. It had been thought the Queen and the Prince would remain in their chartered 707 jetliner during refueling.”

“The Honolulu stopover was in keeping with the royal flight that has been delayed and diverted because of bad weather. The British monarch originally was to fly to Vancouver, B.C., from London. Snow forced the plane to land at Edmonton, Alta.”

“The Queen got halfway across the Pacific last night to Hawaii but had to turn around because of heavy winds in Honolulu. Gusts were registered at 60 mph at Honolulu International Airport.”

“When the royal pair finally made it today, the plane had to wait 10 minutes while their arrival spot was vacated by a loading commercial jetliner. Then there was another delay until Burns showed up.  He had been Informed the Queen and Prince were due 30 minutes after they actually arrived. Smiling but tired, the Queen waved to a crowd of 400 on arrival.”

Elizabeth, however, “left the plane with her husband, chatted with Gov. John A. Burns and looked at Honolulu’s new airport terminal. As she reboarded the royal aircraft, she remarked that she’d like to have a lei.”

“The American security chief for British Overseas Airways Corporation John Buckley of New York, dashed 100 yards to a florist shop in the terminal, picked up a red carnation lei for the Queen and a pink carnation garland for the Prince. They were presented to the couple in the plane. A box of orchids also was taken aboard.” (Hawaii Times, Feb 2, 1963)

She came back a month later, on a refueling stop on her way back from Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand and Australia. 4,500 people were waiting to see her.

On this return, “Conch Shells blew”, “An eight-man honor guard from Kamehameha ROTC” greeted her and “Hawaii gave a radiant Queen Elizabeth of England a Royal Hawaiian welcome” – including “Governor Burns greeted Britain’s reigning monarch at planeside with a four-strand, golden-orange ilima lei.”

“Governor Burns presented Elizabeth with the Hawaiian Flag boxed in a koa chest.” ““Noting the Union Jack which is a part of the Hawaii state flag, Burns termed it a token of our ‘love and respect for the British people of whom you are the reigning monarch.’” (Advertiser, March 28, 1963)

On their next Island visit (March 3, 1970), “It was the voices of young Hawaii that enchanted three members of Britain’s royal family when they stopped for an hour at Honolulu International Airport”. They “slowed their pace when they heard 45 members of the Kamehameha Girls Concert Glee Club singing an old Hawaiian song, ‘Waialae.’”(Adv, Mar 4, 1970)

Then, in 1975, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip came to the Islands for a 2-day visit, “they were en route to Japan for a state visit after a Commonwealth meeting in Jamaica.”  “This was the first time the British monarch ever has stayed overnight in Hawaii.”

“Elizabeth and Philip originally had planned to rest on Guam but changed plans hastily after Guam became the site for housing thousands of South Vietnamese refugees.”  (SB, May 1, 1975)

They dined at Washington Place, “At the Queen’s request, the dinner guest list was limited to 24. …The songs of Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii’s last monarch who lived in Washington Place, were featured in the entertainment provided by Kawai Cockett and his Lei Kukui group and Noelani Mahoe’s Leo Nahinahi group.”  (SB, May 2, 1975)

“British Vice Consul John Houlton said the royal couple spent much of their vacation time relaxing in their suite at the Kahala Hilton.

“England’s Queen Mother Elizabeth came to Hawaii in 1966 and won admirers around the world as she wore a pikake lei and danced the hula with Duke Kahanamoku.  Queen Elizabeth II came to Hawaii on Lei Day and accepted a bouquet of flowers because, she explained the British Consul, a lei would be clumsy for the queen as she walked the receiving line” (Adv, May 2, 1975)

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21, 1926, the first child of Albert, Duke of York, second son of George V, and his duchess, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She was educated at home; despite not attending school, Elizabeth proved adept at languages and made a detailed study of constitutional history.

In 1939, the 13-year-old princess accompanied the King and Queen to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. Together with her sister Margaret, she was escorted by one of the cadets, her third cousin, Prince Philip of Greece.

She kept his picture in her room and they exchanged letters. By 1944, when she was 18, Elizabeth was clearly in love with him. On November 20, 1947 the couple married in Westminster Abbey.  Their first child, Charles, was born in 1948, followed by a sister, Anne, who arrived in 1950.

But her father King, having suffered considerable stress during the war years, was terminally ill with lung cancer, brought about by a lifetime of heavy smoking.

Elizabeth heard of the death of the King while staying at a game lodge in Kenya and the new Queen immediately returned to London.  Her Coronation in June 1953 was televised, despite the opposition of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

World War Two had served to hasten the end of the British Empire, and by the time the new Queen set off on a lengthy tour of the Commonwealth in November 1953, many former British possessions, including India, had gained independence.

Throughout the 1950s, more countries hauled down the union flag and the former colonies and dominions now came together as a voluntary family of nations.

Encouraged by her husband, notoriously impatient with the court’s stuffiness, the Queen began to adapt to the new order. The practice of receiving debutantes at court was abolished and the term “the Monarchy” was gradually replaced by “the Royal Family”.

On September 9, 2015 she became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. In typical style she refused to make any fuss saying the title was “not one to which I have ever aspired”.  Less than a year later, in April 2016, she celebrated her 90th birthday.

On the occasion of her Silver Jubilee, she recalled the pledge she had made on a visit to South Africa 30 years before.  “When I was 21, I pledged my life to the service of our people and I asked for God’s help to make good that vow. Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgement, I do not regret, or retract, one word of it.”

Officially known as ‘Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’ served as queen from February 6, 1952 until to her death on September 8, 2022. (BBC)

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Prominent People, General Tagged With: John Burns, George Ariyoshi, Queen Elizabeth II

March 25, 2023 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Morgan’s Corner

An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true.

As with all folklore and mythology, the designation suggests nothing about the story’s genuineness, but merely that it is in circulation, exhibits variation over time and carries some significance that motivates the community in preserving and propagating it.

For one, the scenarios are the same:
  •  A couple parks on a dark, isolated road (or a Lover’s Lane)
  •  The car won’t start
  •  The girlfriend gets spooked
  •  The boyfriend says he’ll go get help
  •  He tells her not to go out, no matter what
  •  He doesn’t return
  •  There’s a strange scratching or tapping sound on the car roof
  •  Finally, the Police help her out, but tells her not to look back
  •  The boy is hanging from the tree

Sound familiar?

It’s the basis for the “Morgan’s Corner” spooky story at the Pali.  It’s also the foundation for similar stories across the country.  It may have some basis of fact some place, but no records indicate this ever happening here in Hawaiʻi.

Having said that, reportedly, some UH folks went to the reputed Morgan’s Corner on the Windward side of Old Pali Road and “took photographs looking up into the tree, and when the film was developed, the seventh frame contained a large white object.”

“The photographer, 10 witnesses and the chemical laboratory that analyzed the image for processing errors vouched for the image’s authenticity. … it appeared to be a body hanging from the tree, photographed from below.”  (Burlingame)

Hmmm.

Wait … there really is a ‘Morgan’s Corner’ (well, sort of.)  And, a murder did happen there; and, it’s on the Old Pali Road (on the town side of the Pali.)

This story ended with a change in a significant law in the Islands.

It happened at the “S” turn on Nuʻuanu Pali Drive.  Dr Morgan lived on the mauka side of the road – but the story is not about him.

Across the street, at 3939 Pali Road (now known as Nuʻuanu Pali Drive – where a condo project now sits, just above the small waterfall) lived Mrs Therese Adele Wilder (widow of William Chauncey “Chan” Wilder.)  That’s where this story took place.

On March 11, 1948, inmates James Majors (21) and John Palakiko (19) escaped from a prison work crew.  They made their way to Nuʻuanu and, looking for food, they came across – and into – Wilder’s home.

Wilder, in her late-60s, was attacked – she died.

“Her hands were bound, she was gagged, and there were traces of what appeared to be dried blood about her nose and mouth. There was evidence of a blow on the head, but (her physician) said that she might have died from suffocation brought about by the gag which the intruders forced into her mouth.”  (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 16, 1948)

Majors and Palakiko were charged.  There was public hysteria, irate community leaders, newspaper calls for “swift justice” and, later, confessions from the two.

Both men were convicted and sentenced to hang.

So, what about the significant law change?

Between August 18, 1897 and September 16, 1943, 47 people were executed at Oʻahu Prison under Hawai‘i’s capital punishment law.  All were male.

They ranged in age from 19 to 61. One was Caucasian, 3 were Hawaiian, 24 were Filipino, 10 were Japanese, 6 were Korean and 3 were Puerto Rican.  (hawaii-edu)

The last recorded execution in Hawai‘i had occurred on January 7, 1944.

With respect to the Majors-Palakiko case, while Honolulu attorney Harriet Bouslog had not represented the men at trial she had followed it closely.

On the eve of the scheduled execution, she swiftly took up the death-row appeals after being challenged by a friend at a dinner party: “I’ll bet you can’t do anything about it.”

She convinced Territorial Governor, Oren E Long, to grant a brief stay of execution. Even after “the lengthiest hearing in the history” of the Territorial Supreme Court, Bouslog failed to obtain relief.

She immediately filed an appeal and requested a stay of execution. … It was 4 am. The prisoners were being given last rites.

Appeals to the federal Court of Appeals and to the United States Supreme Court followed without success.  (hawaii-edu)

However, the lengthy legal process enabled a groundswell of public support for the two to develop, especially when folks learned of claims of police brutality and forced confessions.

In 1954, new governor, Samuel W King, granted a commutation of both sentences to life in prison.

Following this, the legislature passed House Bill 706 on June 4, 1957.  It called for revising the law relating to capital punishment by providing “a sentence of imprisonment at hard labor for life not subject to parole.”

Governor King signed it the following day, thus abolishing the death penalty in Hawaiʻi.

Then, in 1962, Governor John Burns pardoned the men (after their executions had been stayed five times.)

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Place Names, Prominent People, General Tagged With: Oren Long, William Wilder, Hawaii, Oahu, Nuuanu, Harriet Bouslog, James Majors, Therese Wilder, Samuel King, John Palakiko, John Burns

January 15, 2020 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Look for the Mamo Hidden Under a Rock

Hawaiʻi’s capitol – the “Square Building” on Beretania, although it’s actually 360-feet x 270-feet – is full of symbolism.

In the words of Governor John A Burns, “The open sea, the open sky, the open doorway, open arms and open hearts – these are the symbols of our Hawaiian heritage … there are no doors at the grand entrances … there is no roof or dome to separate its vast inner court from the heavens … We welcome you! E Komo Mai! Come In! The house is yours!”

The perimeter pool represents the ocean surrounding the islands; the 40-concrete columns are shaped like coconut trees; the conical House and Senate chambers infer the volcanic origins of the Islands; and the open, airy central ground floor suggests the Islands’ open society and acceptance of our natural and cultural environment.

In 1959, an advisory committee was formed. They selected the Honolulu firm of Belt, Lemmon & Lo and the San Francisco firm of John Carl Warnecke & Associates to design the new state capitol.

Their design was approved by the Legislature in 1961; construction commenced in November 1965. The building opened on March 16, 1969, replacing the former statehouse, ʻIolani Palace.

A notable capitol feature central on the ground floor is the tiled mosaic “Aquarius.” The tile work is based on a painting of the same name by Tadashi Sato; the mosaic is circular (36-feet in diameter.)

Sato, the eldest of six children of Japanese immigrants who came to work on Maui’s pineapple plantations, was born (1923) and raised on Maui and attended King Kamehameha III School and graduated from Lahainaluna.

He perfected his artistic skills over the next several decades, studying in Japan and New York and eventually became recognized as a member of the abstract expressionist movement and known for his abstract and semi-abstract paintings, mosaics and murals.

He is described as “an artist with a tranquil spirit, at peace with his place in the world, who eloquently used his brush to speak about what is most true and enduring in that world”. (Maui Council)

Tadashi Sato was an artist of international stature whose work has hung in places such as New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and Whitney, and the Willard Gallery. Aquarius is still arguably his most famous work of art.

A lot of Sato’s work goes back to recollections of the reflection of sky, submerged rocks and sparkling colors in the tide pools and coastline where he fished near Nakalele Point in West Maui. (Keiko Sato, his sister)

Standing on the upper floors of the capitol, looking down on the Aquarius mosaic, gives a view much like what Sato saw from the coastal cliffs of West Maui looking down on the shoreline and tidepools below.

In 1965, Sato was honored by President Lyndon Johnson at the White House Festival of Arts, alongside Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock and other American artists. In 1984, he was named a Living Treasure of Hawai’i by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaiʻi.

Exposure to the elements in the open air of the capitol took its toll on the mosaic. It has been replaced twice since its initial installation.

In 1988, the mosaic was replaced because it was subject to ponding water and it lacked accommodation for expansion and contraction. These factors lead to cracking, heaving and failure of the tiles and mortar bed. (SFCA)

Again, in 2005, a new set of the approximate 600,000-tiles replaced the former and a new system of drains, expansion joints, mortar bed and thicker tiles increased the mosaic’s durability and improved it significantly. (SFCA)

Coincidental, but symbolic of the diversity of cultures in Hawaiʻi, in this most recent replacement/repair, a crew of six (Hawaiian, Filipino and Portuguese (from Hawaiʻi,) and German, Polish and Italian (from abroad)) set the new tiles in place.

Fifty-seven different colors of various shades of blue, green and white tiles make up the Aquarius mosaic.

However, it was at this time a new color was added; the Italian added a single red tile to the mosaic.

Several sources incorrectly suggest the tile is representative of the artist’s signature. These folks also note you should search the mosaic for the single red tile.

However, as noted in the title of this piece, and continuing the symbolism at the capitol, folks at the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts feel Sato would prefer you look for the Mamo hidden under a rock. (The Mamo is the Hawaiian Sergeant reef fish.)

Today is opening day of the legislature. Take the time to look at Tadashi Sato’s design … and see what you can find. (Tadashi Sato died in 2005.)

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© 2020 Hoʻokuleana LLC

  • State Capitol. Mosaic by Tadashi Sato. From The Top-The view from the top of the Capitol. Star-Bulletin photo by Warren R. Roll on March 19, 1970. Ran on Thursday, March 19, 1970.
  • 19990909 CTY Tadashi Sato. Photo by Gary Kubota

Filed Under: General, Buildings Tagged With: Hawaii, Iolani Palace, Capitol, John Burns, Tadashi Sato, Aquarius

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