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December 18, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Airports at South Kohala

Originally an Army camp named Camp Waimea, when the population in town was about 400, it became the largest Marine training facility in the Pacific following the battle of Tarawa. Camp Tarawa trained over 50,000 servicemen between 1942 and 1945 in the community of Waimea, South Kohala, Hawaiʻi.

There were three ways to get to Camp Tarawa – by narrow-gage sugarcane freight train; by hard-axle truck or on foot. The 3rd Marine Corps built a small airstrip near town, consisting of a graded and oiled airstrip 3,000-feet long on land belonging to Parker Ranch. This facility was known as Bordelon Field.

The field was named for William James Bordelon (December 25, 1920 – November 20, 1943), a US Marine who was killed in action while he led the assault on the enemy and rescued fellow Marines during the Battle of Tarawa. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Following the war, the field was renamed Kamuela Airport. In 1947, funds were appropriated for the development of this field to meet scheduled airline operations using DC-3 aircraft. The strip was successfully used by non-scheduled operators flying small planes and also, on several occasions, by DC-3s, but the strip was hazardous for DC-3 operations.

The community wanted a satisfactory airport in this area, not only for the convenience of the travelling public, but for the transportation of produce from this area to the Honolulu market.

Extensive studies were conducted with regard to the further development of lands for increased production of farm commodities and if the community were assured of prompt delivery of its goods to the local markets, the air freight carriers alone would be the major users of this field.

However, in 1950 Kamuela Airport was deemed unsuitable for development as a modern airport. Studies of terrain and weather were conducted to find a suitable site for a new Kamuela Airport.

In the meantime, the airport was served by daily (except Sunday) scheduled freight flights and non-scheduled passenger planes. (It did not meet the requirements for scheduled passenger service. )

On January 28, 1952, the construction of the new Kamuela Airport was awarded to Hawaiian Dredging Company; the new airport was just across the highway from the old one. The landing strip was to be 5,200 feet by 100 feet.

It was foreseen that the new airport would aid the development of the agricultural industry in Hawaii. Air freight traffic at the old Kamuela was sizeable. The field would be served by scheduled airlines, non-scheduled passenger airlines and freight air carriers.

The new Kamuela Airport runway was completed in April 1953; the old Kamuela Airport (Bordelon Field) was inactivated in August 1953.

In May 1953, Hawaiian Airlines began DC-3 cargo operations at the new airport and on July 1, 1953 it started scheduled passenger service, three times a week. The terminal featured a ranch house design and was the first of a combination passenger-freight structure in the island. This airport was completed entirely with Territorial funds without Federal Aid.

The Island of Hawaiʻi’s County Council adopted Waimea as the official name for the area in which the airport was located. A 1969 legislative resolution requested that the airport be designated as Waimea-Kohala Airport to prevent confusion with Waimea, Kauaʻi.

Shunichi Kimura, Mayor of Hawaiʻi County, hearing the desires of the County Council and residents around Kamuela, asked that the name of the airport be changed from Kamuela Airport to Waimea-Kohala Airport. This was approved by Governor John Burns.

On October 1, 1970 Waimea-Kohala Airport was placed under the control of a new position in the State Airports Division, the North Hawaii District Superintendent.

An innovative project in 1975 installed a wind-driven generator to power obstruction lights; previously, power had been provided by acetylene and later by storage batteries, all of which required continual maintenance. The wind-driven generator that powered the obstruction lights resulted in a substantial savings in operating costs.

By 1976 there was a 24 percent drop in passengers at the airport. This was due to the completion of the new highway connecting the airport to the visitor destinations in the vicinity of Waimea-Kohala Airport and the more frequent scheduling of flights into Keāhole Airport.

In 1978 the airport was designated as an eligible point to receive Essential Air Service (EAS) under the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. On October 1, 1979 the Civil Aeronautics Board Order 79-10-3, the Bureau of Domestic Aviation, defined essential air service for Kamuela as a minimum of two daily round trip flights to Honolulu or Hilo and Kahului providing a total of at least 62 seats in each direction per day.

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Filed Under: Economy, Place Names Tagged With: Kamuela, Kamuela Airport, MUE, Bordelon Field, Waimea-Kohala, Hawaii, Camp Tarawa

November 8, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

What’s in a name?

In ancient Hawaiʻi, there were no “towns,” “villages” or “cities,” in the modern context. Around the 1400-1500s, the land was broken down into ahupuaʻa, ʻili and other physical subdivisions.

All of the land was owned by the ruling chief. Each ahupuaʻa in turn was ruled by a lower chief, or aliʻi ʻai. He, in turn, appointed an overseer, or konohiki. (The common people never owned or ruled land.)

A typical ahupuaʻa (what we generally refer to as watersheds, today) was a long strip of land, narrow at its mountain summit top and becoming wider as it ran down a valley into the sea to the outer edge of the reef. If there was no reef then the sea boundary would be about one and a half miles from the shore.

Each ahupuaʻa had its own name and boundary lines. Often the markers were natural features such as a large rock or a line of trees or even the home of a certain bird. A valley ahupuaʻa usually used its ridges and peaks as boundaries.

An ahupuaʻa in South Kohala on the Island of Hawaiʻi is Waimea (reddish water (as from erosion of red soil.)) Over time, the growing community concentrated at a cross-road at the lower slopes of the Kohala Mountains – that town was referred to as Waimea.

The Territory, officially through the US Board of Geographic Names, in 1914, agreed to name the community “Waimea” (and further noted it as a “village.”) Later, in 1954, they revised the name to simply Waimea (and dropped the village reference.)

While there are several other “Waimea” communities in the islands, and folks don’t seem to get confused with the name, the naming of the Post Office in Waimea was different.

On July 16 1832, Missionary Lorenzo Lyons (Makua Laiana) replaced Reverend Dwight Baldwin as minister at Waimea, Hawai‘i. Lyons’ “Church Field” was centered in Waimea, at what is now the historic church ‘Imiola.

He was known in the town as the man who carried out many functions. In October, 1854 Father Lyons became the first official Postmaster of Waimea, a post he held until he was very old. The Honolulu Directory of 1884 listed him as pastor of ʻImiola Church, postmaster, school agent and government physician.

In the early 1830s it took one year or more for mail to reach Waimea from the continent, coming by way of Cape Horn. When the transcontinental railroad was built, it took about a month for mail to reach Waimea.

Prior to 1854 there was no regular mail service on the Islands. Letters were forwarded by chance opportunities. Father Lyons described the first official shipment of mail that he handled, a small bag, sealed with wax, and containing a few letters. This first mail shipment had been carried from Hilo to Waimea.

Over the years, the communities across the state grew. With that, some uncertainty over postal facility names apparently created some confusion. In addition to the Waimea postal station in South Kohala, there was another “Waimea” post office on Kauai.

At the time, Waimea, Kauai was a larger community. To avoid confusion, on November 8, 1900, the Waimea, Hawaii Island Post Office was changed to Kamuela Post Office. (USPS Daily Bulletin, January 9, 1901) The Postmaster was Elizabeth W. Lyons, daughter of Lorenzo Lyons.

There are a couple stories about where the “Kamuela” (Samuel) name came from.

Some incorrectly suggest it was named after Samuel M Spencer (suggesting he was a Postmaster for the facility – however, there are no records that indicate he ever held that position.)

Samuel Spencer was, however, a prominent member of the community and member of the Hawaii Island Board of Supervisors serving at its Chair (equivalent to the present position of Mayor, from 1924-1944; the island’s longest serving.)

The Spencer story was told that when mail sorters in Honolulu were dividing the mail, they would “send it to Kamuela” (calling him by name, suggesting he would receive and deliver it.) Since he apparently was never with the postal service, this story doesn’t seem plausible.

Spencer was politically prominent almost 25-years after the Post Office name change. Likewise, there are no known references to Sam Spencer using “Kamuela” as his moniker. And, acknowledgment to him was made in the naming of a coastal beach park – Samuel M Spencer Beach Park (with no Kamuela reference.) That park was renamed “Spencer Park at ʻŌhaiʻula Beach,” in 2003.

What seems plausible (and is supported by documentation within the records of the US Board of Geographic Names) is the story that the Kamuela Post Office was named for Samuel “Kamuela” Parker, grandson of John Parker (founder of the Parker Ranch.)

In 1868, when his grandfather died, Samuel (at the age of 15) inherited half the Parker Ranch, with his uncle John Palmer Parker II (1827–1891) inheriting the other half. Samuel was attending Punahou School on Oʻahu at the time.

In 1883, Parker took his first political role when he became a member of the Privy Council of King Kalākua. He was appointed to the House of Nobles in the legislature from 1886 to 1890.

In early-1891, Kalākaua died and Queen Liliʻuokalani became the new ruler; Parker was appointed to be her Minister of Foreign Affairs. (Samuel Parker was notably successful well before the Post Office name change.)

While I previously bought into the “send it to Kamuela” scenario, it’s clear to me now that Kamuela Post Office was named after Samuel Parker, grandson of John Parker and prominent Waimea and Hawaiʻi citizen.

A sad side story: Samuel’s daughters, Helen and Eva Parker, were friends of Princess Kaʻiulani, and, sadly, riding horseback in a rainstorm on Parker Ranch led to her illness and untimely death a few months later.

An interesting postal side story: Postal Service to Kamuela Post Office was discontinued on March 5, 1908 and mail was rerouted to Kukuihaele. (USPS Daily Bulletin, March 5, 1908)

On May 9, 1908, the order was modified and mail was rerouted to Kawaihae, instead of Kukuihaele. ((USPS Daily Bulletin, May 9, 1908) Post services were reestablished at Kamuela Post Office on June 9, 1909. (USPS Daily Bulletin, August 6, 1909)

It turns out a former postmaster and his nephew (Moses Koki and Joshua Koki, respectively) were charged with the embezzlement of post office funds from the Kamuela post office. (The Hawaiian Star, March 18, 1908)

Remember, it’s the Post Office that is called “Kamuela;” the region and town have long been and continue to be known as “Waimea.”

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Filed Under: Prominent People Tagged With: South Kohala, Samuel Parker, John Parker, Kamuela, Hawaii, Waimea, Parker Ranch

March 16, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Camp Tarawa

Camp Tarawa trained over 50,000 servicemen between 1942 and 1945.

Originally an Army camp named Camp Waimea, when the population in town was about 400, it became the largest Marine training facility in the Pacific following the battle of Tarawa.

There were three ways to get to Camp Tarawa – by narrow-gage sugarcane freight train; by hard-axle truck or on foot.

Many arrived to sleep outdoors on rough lava beds until Seabee construction could catch up with the surge – all were appreciative of the shelter and the respite from war.

Pyramid tent cities and streets of long convoys of jeeps, trucks, half-tracks, tanks, artillery, amphibious ducks made up the formidable, but top secret, Camp Tarawa.

The town warmly received the Marines who:
• Bought all the goods from the farmers and storekeepers
• Brought in Bob Crosby’s (Bing’s brother) Band
• Set up outdoor movie theaters
• Played baseball with the locals
• Ate Thanksgiving dinner in Kohala homes
• Conducted live fire training

Marines and Sailors trained for what has been referred to as the toughest marine offensive of WWII.

1300 miles northeast of Guadalcanal, the Japanese had constructed a centralized stronghold force in a 20-island group called Tarawa.

RADM Shibasaki, the Japanese commander there, proclaimed, “a million men cannot take Tarawa in a hundred years.” Ultimately, the objective took 9,000 marines only four days – but not without a staggering 37% casualties.

The victories at Tarawa, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands marked a turning point in the war. The Marines would reconstitute at the Camp Tarawa camp site.

At Iwo Jima, Lt General Kuribayashi, Japanese ground forces commander, concentrated his forces in the northern two-thirds of the island. The miles of interlocking caves, concrete blockhouses and pillboxes proved to be one of the most impenetrable defenses in the Pacific.

While the 4th Marine Division defeated heavy opposition to take a Japanese strong-point called the quarry, the 28th Marines of 5th Marine Division seized Mount Suribachi.

The 36-day assault on Iwo Jima cost America more than 26,000 casualties, including 6,800 dead. Of the 20,000 Japanese defenders, only 1,083 survived.

Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded to Marines and Sailors, many posthumously – more than for any other single operation during the war.

The camp closed in November 1945 as 5th Marine Division was transferred to Japan for occupation. The Army took over the camp and auctioned off the remaining assets.

Camp Tarawa memorial was erected on July 3rd 1984 – the large rock is symbolic of Mt Suribachi on Iwo Jima; the brass plaque is made from shell casings. The memorial has three panels.

The left panel is dedicated to 2nd Marine Division for the battle of Tarawa and their training here until they departed for Saipan and Tinian.

The center panel honors Richard Smart, Parker Ranch, the community of Waimea and the Big Island.

The right panel commemorates 5th Marine Division through the battle of Iwo Jima and occupation of Japan.

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Mt. Suribachi, the most prominent geological feature on the island of Iwo Jima
Mt. Suribachi, the most prominent geological feature on the island of Iwo Jima
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Marines and Navy Corpsman from Easy Company 2nd Battalion 28th Marines after raising the flags on Mt. Suribachi-Iwo Jima February 23, 1945
Marines and Navy Corpsman from Easy Company 2nd Battalion 28th Marines after raising the flags on Mt. Suribachi-Iwo Jima February 23, 1945
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Filed Under: Military Tagged With: Tarawa, Hawaii, Waimea, Camp Tarawa, Marines, Kamuela, Iwo Jima

February 2, 2013 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hanami – Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival

Hanami (Japanese, literally, hana = flower and mi = look … “flower viewing”) is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers; “flower” in this case almost always means cherry blossoms.

In Japan, the flowering cherry tree, or “Sakura,” is an exalted flowering plant.

On the continent, the plantings of cherry blossom trees originated in 1912, as a gift of friendship to the People of the United States from the People of Japan.

Over three-thousand cherry blossom trees were planted along the Tidal Basin of the reclaimed Potomac waterfront in Washington, DC.  Today, the National Cherry Blossom Festival is a DC spring celebration.

Cherry blossom trees are very temperamental. They grow in cold climates and require a lot of sunshine, space, rain and breeze. The flowers bloom when a cold spell is followed by a warm spell.

Waimea on the Big Island meets the criteria and today marks the 20th Annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival – with a bunch of activities and programs, focusing on the “Viewing of the Flowers in Springtime.”

The cherry trees in Waimea are in rows fronting Church Row Park. The first trees (there were initially only three) were planted in 1953 in honor of Fred Makino. These trees are the Formosan cherry trees from Taiwan, which produce flowers but no fruit.

In 1912, Fred Makino founded and edited the Japanese language newspaper Hawaii Hochi, which flourished through the Great Depression, two World Wars, dock strikes and political changes.  After Makino’s death in 1953, his wife decided to plant cherry trees in his memory.

From these, Parker Ranch gardener Isami Ishihara later propagated more trees.  Ishihara then approached Pachin Onodera of the Waimea Lions Club to suggest the trees be used to promote community beautification.

In 1972, led by President Frank Fuchino, the Waimea Lions Club started what was to become a cherry tree park at the County-owned Church Row by planting 20-trees donated by Ishihara.

In 1975, 50-more trees were added in a tree planting commemorating the visit of Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako to Hawaiʻi and to honor the first Japanese immigrants who settled in Waimea.

For two decades, Waimea’s free community festival has showcased the 60-year-old cherry trees planted at Waimea’s historic Church Row Park.  The event also celebrates this community’s rich Japanese cultural heritage and traditions at venues throughout town.

Look for pink banners identifying sites — from the Parker Ranch Historic Homes on Māmalahoa to the Hawaiian Homestead Farmer’s Market.

Everyone is invited to spend the day enjoying a lineup of Japanese and multi-cultural performing arts, plus hands-on demonstrations of bonsai, origami, traditional tea ceremony, mochi pounding and a host of colorful craft fairs and delicious foods.

Festivities begin at 9 am in the parking lot behind Parker Ranch Center with special guests, honorees and performances, including bon dancing.

Highlights this year will be an anniversary exhibit honoring some of the festival’s first performers and commemorating its founders – most notably the memory of the late Anne Field-Gomes, whose volunteerism benefited many Waimea organizations and events, including the festival.

Anne Field-Gomes died October 23, 2012 at the age of 84. She brought the AARP’s Tax Aid program to Waimea, served on the Waimea Community Association Board, and was treasurer for the Friends of Thelma Parker Library and the South Kohala Traffic Safety Committee. She was a member of the Waimea Outdoor Circle, St. James’ Church and Imiola Congregational Church and the Waimea Pupule Papale Red Hat Club.

The image is this year’s event poster.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Filed Under: General, Economy Tagged With: Hawaii, Waimea, Kamuela, Cherry Blossom, Church Row

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