Kauai | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 28, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Silva’s Stores

Reportedly, the first Portuguese in Hawai’i were sailors that came on the Eleanora in 1790. It is believed the first Portuguese nationals to live in the Hawaiian kingdom sailed through on whalers, as early as 1794, and jumped ship.

The first recorded Portuguese visitor was John Elliot de Castro, who sailed to Hawaiʻi in 1814. During his days in Hawaiʻi he became a retainer of King Kamehameha I, serving as his personal physician and as member of the royal court.

For 50 years after these early visitors arrived, Portuguese sailors came ashore alone or in small groups, jumping ship to enjoy Hawaiian life and turning their backs on the rough life aboard whalers and other vessels.

The reciprocity treaty in 1875 between the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the United States opened the US sugar market to Hawaiʻi and greatly increased the demand for workers.

Jacinto Pereira (also known as Jason Perry,) a Portuguese citizen and owner of a dry goods store in Honolulu, suggested in 1876 that Hawaiʻi’s government look for sugar labor from Madeira where farmers were succumbing to a severe economic depression fostered by a blight that decimated vineyards and the wine industry.

São Miguel in the eastern Azores was also chosen as a source of labor. In 1878, the first Portuguese immigrant laborers to Honolulu arrived on the German ship Priscilla. At least one hundred men, women and children arrived to work on the sugar plantations. That year marked the beginning of the mass migration of Portuguese to Hawaiiʻ, which continued until the end of the century.

John Ignacio Silva was born at Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal on October 15, 1868, son of Jose Ignacio and Angelica de Jesus (Gomes) Silva.

He reportedly came to the Islands in the early-1880s and began his business career as clerk in store of PA Dias, Kapaʻau, Kohala, 1885-86; clerk, A Enos & Co, Wailuku, Maui, 1887-90; salesman, Gonsalves & Co, on Island of Maui, 1890-93; travelling photographer, Gonsalves and Silva, Honolulu, 1893-94. (Siddall)

He moved to Kauai; the local paper noted, “Copartnership. The undersigned having bought out the general merchandise business of M. Gonsalves, jr., ʻEleʻele, Kauai, will carry on the business under the name of Frias & Silva. Jose De Frias, JI Silva” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, June 21, 1894) He bought out Frias in 1896; beginning in 1901, he was for many years the postmaster at ʻEleʻele.

He expanded; “JI Silva, the pioneer merchant of ʻEleʻele, has three flourishing establishments, the main, big store being at ʻEleʻele, with branches located at Homestead and at Hanapepe.”

“He formerly had branches at Koloa and Kalihiwai, but on account of the tremendous growth of his ʻEleʻele and other enterprises near home, found that he had not time to properly look after his distant establishments, so closed them up.”

“At ʻEleʻele Mr. Silva carries a very large and complete stock of general merchandise. He has his ‘drummers’ on the road and maintains a very complete auto truck delivery service to great distances.”

“Mr. Silva is general manager of his stores. AM Souza is manager of ʻEleʻele store, John G Abreu of Homestead store, and MR Jardin of the establishment in Hanapepe. Mrs Silva is postmistress at ʻEleʻele, while Mr. Silva is acting postmaster at Homestead.” (The Garden Island, December 22, 1914)

For a short while he was in politics; “Silva knows the political situation of Kauai so well that whatever he says in matters political, will be accepted as final.”

“Silva, while a member of the house of representatives, of the legislature of 1907, was called by his colleagues the ‘red salt’ representative from Kauai. This was due to his presentation to each member of the house of a small bag of red salt, brought from his place at ʻEleʻele.” (The Garden Island, September 8, 1914)

His operation was a success, “A little further on, ’round the corner, we discovered the ʻEleʻele Store, Kauai’s ‘Temple of Fashion,’ the largest private commercial house on Kauai, and which is owned by Hon JI Silva.”

“The nature of the proprietor of this very prosperous looking institution is evidence by the fact that he is the only manager to use the gasoline truck for delivery purposes on the island – having recently purchased a Buick from the Kauai Garage Co.”

“It required but a very short interview with the genial manager to acquaint us with the secret of his success. Up to date window dressing is a feature of this attractive store which enjoys a large patronage from the surrounding community.” (The Garden Island, July 25, 1911)

All seemed to go well; until, “Notice is hereby given that John I. Silva, doing a general merchandise business at ʻEleʻele, Island of Kauai, Territory of Hawaiʻi, under the name of ‘ʻEleʻele Store,’ has this day assigned all of his property – to the undersigned for the benefit of his creditors.”

“All creditors of the above named John I. Silva and all persons having claims against him will present same, duly authenticated and with proper vouchers, if any exist, to the undersigned, at said ʻEleʻele Store, within sixty (60) days from the date thereof, otherwise they will be forever barred. Dated March 17th, 1922. Theo H Davies & Company, Ltd, Assignee for the benefit of the creditors of John I. Silva. (The Garden Island, March 21, 1922)

J. I. Silva Homestead Store, Kauai-PPWD-14-3-003-(1900)

August 31, 2026 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

Sloggetts

Henry Charles Sloggett was a medical doctor. He first visited the Islands in 1875 while travelling on the Challenger Expedition (a British circumnavigation of the world, studying the deep sea and distribution of life at different depths.)

Following that (1883,) the family (wife, Annie Ellery (1850-1900;) son Henry Digby (1876-1938) and daughter Myra (1878-1944)) moved from England to the US and Canada.

Yearning to return and live in the Islands, the Sloggetts came to the Islands in about 1895. For a while, Digby remained on the continent, working in the salmon industry at Puget Sound, Washington.

In 1898, daughter Myra married Johann (John) Friedrich Humburg, a German merchant working for the Hackfeld Company (forerunner to AmFac.) He was later VP of operations in San Francisco.

Upon arriving in the Islands, Dr Sloggett opened an office on Beretania Street, specializing in eye and ear disorders. “A few years after beginning practice here, Dr. Sloggett was appointed by President Dole of the Republic a member of the Board of Health.”

“Then, when Dr Cooper resigned the presidency of that body on departing for the States to visit his old home and attend the grand council of the Elks, Dr Sloggett was appointed to succeed him (as President of the Board of Health.)” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, March 25, 1905)

Annie Sloggett died in 1900, “She had been in ill-health for some time but no fears that she would not recover had been felt by her family. Heart disease was the cause of Mrs Sloggett’s death. She was fifty one years of age.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, May 30, 1900)

“After the death of his wife … Dr Sloggett resigned from the Board of Health and went to Shanghai In the service of the Oriental Insurance Co.”

“He returned to Honolulu In 1903 and was immediately appointed Superintendent of the Insane Asylum.” (Evening bulletin., March 25, 1905) (Dr Sloggett died in 1905.)

Digby Sloggett came to the Islands in 1896. He first worked at BF Ehlers & Co in Honolulu (forerunner to Liberty House,) then took “the responsible post of assistant bookkeeper of Lihue plantation, on Kauai.”

“Mr Sloggett had been with Ehlers & Co. a year and a half, and the management was loth to see him depart, though he goes to a better position.” (Honolulu Republican, September 28, 1900)

He remained until 1900 when he left to join the staff of the Maui Agricultural Co at Paʻia, Maui. He, later, resigned that post to become assistant manager of GN Wilcox’s Grove Farm plantation in 1920.

Digby married Lucy Etta Wilcox. Etta was daughter of Samuel Whitney and Emma Washburn Lyman Wilcox, and granddaughter of missionaries Abner and Lucy Wilcox. Digby and Lucy had five children.

Over the years, Digby Sloggett was manager of the Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital for tubercular patients at Kealia, Kauai; director of the Lihue Soda Co., Ltd.; director and secretary of the Kauai Telephone Co.; director of the Garden Island Publishing Co.; treasurer of the Grove Farm Co., Ltd., and Lihuʻe Hospital, and a member of the advisory boards of Lihue Branch Bank of Hawaii, Ltd., and the Lihue branch of the Salvation Army.

A lasting legacy of Henry Digby and Lucy Etta Wilcox Sloggett is Camp Sloggett in Kokeʻe on Kauai. It started as a family mountain retreat for hiking, horseback riding and relaxation.

After the Digby and Etta’s deaths, the Sloggett children maintained the camp for their own use. They later transferred the Camp to the YWCA.

The YWCA had long associations with the Sloggett family. Elsie and Mabel Wilcox, sisters of Etta, started the YWCA on Kauai. Etta Wilcox Sloggett was also a former president of the Kauai YWCA. (nps)

In addition to Camp Sloggett, other Kokeʻe camp lots surveyed and staked by Charles S Judd in 1918 who was then Superintendent of Forestry.

He modeled these lots and their intended uses after recreation cabins and campsites that were being established on the continental United States in the US National Forests at that time. It grew to a total of 135-lots.

In addition to Sloggett, the Boy Scouts run the Camp Alan Faye and Hui O Laka controls the former Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camp. Numerous other individuals have family cabins leased from the state.

July 20, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Moku

Prior to European contact, each of the major islands or independent chiefdoms in the Hawaiian chain comprised a mokupuni (island.) Over the centuries, as the ancient Hawaiian population grew, land use and resource management also evolved.

The traditional land division of pre-contact Hawaiians was based on the sustainability and self-reliance within ahupuaʻa (community watershed areas) as well as within larger regions (moku) and lastly individual sovereign islands (mokupuni.)

The mokupuni were subdivided into land units of varying sizes, and the largest division was the moku (district – literally: interior island,) administered by high-ranking chiefs.

They were either relatives of the high chief of the island, trusted supporters or high ranking individuals who pledged their support to the high chief but were allowed to remain relatively independent.

Each island was divided into several moku or districts, of which there are six in the island of Hawaiʻi, and the same number in Oʻahu. There is a district called Kona on the lee side and one called Koʻolau on the windward side of almost every island. (Alexander)

It appears that the six districts on the islands of O‘ahu and Hawai‘i, and the system of developing smaller manageable units of land became formalized in the reigns of Māʻilikūkahi and ʻUmi-a-Līloa, respectively (about the time Columbus was sailing across the Atlantic.)

Māʻilikūkahi is noted for clearly marking and reorganizing land division palena (boundaries) on O‘ahu. Palena, or possibly an evolved term “palena ʻāina” are place boundaries. (Beamer)

Defined palena brought greater productivity to the lands; lessened conflict and was a means of settling disputes of future aliʻi who would be in control of the bounded lands; protected the commoners from the chiefs; and brought (for the most part) peace and prosperity.

Fornander writes, “He caused the island to be thoroughly surveyed, and boundaries between differing divisions and lands be definitely and permanently marked out, thus obviating future disputes between neighboring chiefs and landholders.”

Kamakau tells a similar story, “When the kingdom passed to Māʻilikūkahi, the land divisions were in a state of confusion; the ahupuaʻa, the ku, the ʻili ʻāina, the moʻo ʻāina, the pauku ʻāina, and the kihapai were not clearly defined.”

“Therefore, Māʻilikūkahi ordered the chiefs, aliʻi, the lesser chiefs, kaukau aliʻi, the warrior chiefs, puʻali aliʻi, and the overseers (luna) to divide all of Oʻahu into moku, ahupuaʻa, ʻili kupono, ʻili ʻāina, and moʻo ʻāina.”

Malo gives a detailed description of the kuleana that a kālaimoku aliʻi who divided lands for Mōʻī had to fulfill: “There are two important aspects in being a kālaimoku, to take care of the aliʻi, and to take care of the makaʻāinana, for these two reasons the kālaimoku guides the aliʻi at his side, with the careful attention to these two things, things were to be done properly.” (Malo, Beamer)

What is commonly referred to as the “ahupuaʻa system” is a result of the firm establishment of palena (boundaries.) This system of land divisions and boundaries enabled a konohiki (land/resource manager) to know the limits and productivity of the resources that they managed.

In the late-1400s, through warfare and alliances with other chiefs, ʻUmi gained control of the entire Island of Hawaiʻi. ʻUmi made himself the aliʻi nui, or high chief, for the whole island.

ʻUmi divided his island into separate moku, or districts. These moku were subdivided into smaller sections called ahupuaʻa.

In the time of ʻUmi, son of the great chief Līloa, the Hawaiian islands were divided into political regions. The four mokupuni (larger islands) of Kauai, Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi were divided into moku (districts).

The smaller islands of Molokai, Lānai and Kahoʻolawe became moku of Maui, and Niʻihau a moku of Kauai.

Traditionally, the Island of Kauai was divided into five moku (districts): Haleleʻa, Kona, Koʻolau, Nāpali and Puna. However, after the battle of Wahiawa in 1824, the land of Kauai was redistributed and district boundaries changed. The new district names became: Hanalei, Kawaihau, Līhuʻe, Kōloa and Waimea. (Cultural Surveys)

For ease in collecting annual tribute, the moku were subdivided into ahupuaʻa, land sections that usually extended from the mountain summits down through fertile valleys to the outer edge of the reef in the sea (or if there was not reef, one-mile from shore.)

The size of the ahupuaʻa depended on the resources of the area with poorer agricultural regions split into larger ahupuaʻa to compensate for the relative lack of natural abundance. Each ahupuaʻa was ruled by an aliʻi or local chief and administered by a konohiki.

These natural land divisions were the result of the flow of water over the land (streams or springs.)

From the earliest days, streams were among the most important natural resources sought after by native Hawaiians. Battles were fought and lives sacrificed for the right to use stream water.

The Hawaiians called freshwater wai, and considered it to be sacred. People using wai from streams took only what was absolutely necessary. They were expected to share the wai with others. This was done without greed or selfishness.

Such practices gave Hawaiians their word for law which is kanawai, or the “equal sharing of water.” Water was so valuable to Hawaiians that they used the word “wai” to indicate wealth. Thus to signify abundance and prosperity, Hawaiians would say waiwai.

In keeping with this concept of wealth being fresh water, the traditional land tenure system in ancient Hawaii had at its very core the presence of streams, or kahawai. Although of many shapes and sizes, each ahupua’a consisted of three area types: mountain, plain and sea.

June 3, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Manokalanipō

Poetically Kauai is reportedly called, “Manokalanipō”, or “Kauai a Mano” after the ancient chief who was largely responsible for elevating Kauai’s ancient society to sophisticated heights of advancement and productivity. (NativeKauai)

Independent chiefdoms were ruled by a supreme chief, or aliʻi ʻaimoku (chief possessing an island or district); at times referred to as aliʻi-nui (great chief) to distinguish him from lesser chiefs.

Typically this position was attained by inheritance, as holder of highest rank among the nobility; however it could also be gained by force by a relative, lesser chief or outside invader.

The aliʻi-nui had complete control over his lands and production, as well as the lives of his subjects. He derived these rights from his familial relationship with the Hawaiian gods.

Poʻipū, Kauai was a Royal Center for the southern shoreline of Kauai. Here resided high chiefs Kukona (7th aliʻi ʻaimoku) and Manokalanipō (8th) when on the south-side; and they were kept in paramount chiefly control until the last Prince Keliiahonui, son of Kaumualiʻi (23rd) in the 1830s.

Manokalanipō has the characteristic honor of having had his name as a nickname to the island over which he ruled, and in epical and diplomatic language it was ever after known as “Kauai-a-Manokalanipō.”

Manokalanipō was noted for the energy and wisdom with which he encouraged agriculture and industry, executed long and difficult works of irrigation, and thus brought fields of wilderness under cultivation. The wife of Manokalanipō was Naekapulani. He was son of Kukona.

Kukona (7th aliʻi ʻaimoku (high chief or king) of Kauai), whose name in Hawaiʻi became a symbol of the very highest ideals of chivalry in battle, was born in Kōloa and fought his defining battle at Poʻipū. His year of birth is estimated at around 1405.

In the first part of the 15th century, Kalaunuiohua, the ambitious chief of Hawaiʻi who had already conquered three other islands, tried to seize Kauai. He was accompanied into battle by the combined armies and chiefs of Maui, Molokai and Oʻahu. The war is known as the War of Ka-welewele.

When the armada of Kalaunuiohua, touched the shores of Kauai, they were met by an army of only 500 men who were the defenders of Kauai.

Kukona had not even bothered to attend; he sent Manokalanipō. A small and greatly outnumbered force of Kauai warriors had decisively beaten the combined armies of all of the other islands. (Fornander)

Kukona captured all four chiefs of Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and Molokai.

He had the opportunity to kill them all and assume leadership over the islands. However, he preferred peace and allowed them to return safely home with a promise that they never again make war on Kauai.

As noted by Fornander: “The war with the Hawaiʻi chief, and the terrible defeat and capture of the latter, as well as Kukona’s generous conduct towards the four chiefs who fell into his hands after the battle, brought Kauai back into the family circle of the other islands, and with an éclat and superiority which it maintained to the last of its independence.”

This peace lasted for four hundred years; the peace was called ka lai loa ia Kamaluohua (The Long Peace of Kamaluohua – named for the captured Maui chief who, while Kukona was sleeping, stated to the others, “Let us do no hurt to Kukona, because he has been kind to us. Here we are in his hands, but he has not put us to death. Let us then treat him kindly.” (Malo))

No foreign wars disturbed Kukona’s nor Manokalanipō’s reign, and it is remembered in the legends as the golden age of that island. (Fornander)

Today, people of Kauai proudly proclaim that their island was never conquered over the centuries, even when larger armies attempted to do so.

March 21, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Telling Time

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

The answer to both is Yes … and Kekaha on Kauai has the distinction of being one of only two official Time broadcast points in the United States (the other is in Fort Collins, Colorado.)

At first, I thought “Time” was a pretty simple thing. Oh yeah, every now and then we need to mentally add or subtract an extra hour between points on the continent for time zone changes – and most folks there need to adjust for “Daylight” or not – but in looking into the Kauai operation, I quickly learned that there are many variables of “Time.”

OK, let’s fast forward past the daylight-darkness, sundial, wind-up and quartz watch timing eras … nowadays, transportation, communication, financial transactions, manufacturing, electric power and many other technologies have become dependent on accurate clocks; folks need to be more accurate than being “about” a certain time.

In addition, some folks need time referenced to the Earth’s rotation for applications such as celestial navigation, satellite observations of the Earth and some types of surveying. For those folks, Time relative to the motion of the Earth is more important than the accuracy of the atomic clock (even though Earth time fluctuates by a few thousandths of a second a day.)

For the rest of us, highly accurate atomic clocks and the agreement in 1967 on what a “second” is (the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of the radiation associated with a specified transition of the cesium atom) led to a compromise time scale of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC.)

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST – an agency of the US Department of Commerce) laboratories in Boulder, Colorado does the computing for us and even broadcasts the UTC(NIST) via various means. (UTC(NIST) is the US national standard for measurements of time-of-day, time interval and frequency.

Here’s the official statement on what they do: “UTC(NIST) is the coordinated universal time scale maintained at NIST. The UTC(NIST) time scale comprises an ensemble of cesium beam and hydrogen maser atomic clocks, which are regularly calibrated by the NIST primary frequency standard. The number of clocks in the time scale varies, but is typically around ten.”

“The outputs of the clocks are combined into a single signal by using a weighted average. The most stable clocks are assigned the most weight. The clocks in the UTC(NIST) time scale also contribute to the International Atomic Time (TAI) and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).”

“UTC(NIST) serves as a national standard for frequency time interval, and time-of-day. It is distributed through the NIST time and frequency services and continuously compared to the time and frequency standards located around the world.”

Whoa, that’s waaay more information than I needed; … and, I think you are confusing me with someone who cares. (Short answer, those guys “keep” the time.) OK, let’s move on.

If you really want to know what Time it is, go to http://nist.time.gov, select your desired time zone in the US and the time will be displayed for you.

Or, call to hear the “Time” broadcasts by dialing (303) 499-7111 for WWV (Colorado) and (808) 335-4363 for WWVH (Hawaiʻi).

These are not toll-free numbers; callers outside the local calling area are charged for the call at regular long-distance rates. The telephone time-of-day service is used to synchronize clocks and watches and for the calibration of stopwatches and timers. It receives about 1,000 calls per day.

OK, back to Kauai.

At Kokole Point at Mānā, Kauai, the NIST radio station WWVH broadcasts time and frequency information 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to listeners worldwide. (These are the guys who “tell” the time.)

The information broadcast by WWVH includes time announcements, standard time intervals, standard frequencies, UT1 time corrections (time derived by astronomers who monitor the speed of the Earth’s rotation,) a BCD time code (time data is coded binary coded decimal (BCD) digits in the form HH:MM:SS:FF,) geophysical alerts, marine storm warnings and Global Positioning System (GPS) status reports.

Voice announcements are made from WWVH once every minute. The announced time is “Coordinated Universal Time” (UTC). Coordination with the international UTC time scale keeps NIST time signals in close agreement with signals from other time and frequency stations throughout the world.

UTC differs from local time by the number of time zones between your location and the zero meridian (which passes through Greenwich, England.) (In Hawaiʻi, it’s UTC – 10 (the online and telephone time broadcasts are calibrated for Hawaiʻi.))

UTC is a 24-hour clock system. When local time changes from Daylight Saving to Standard Time, or vice versa, UTC does not change. However, the difference between UTC and local time may change by 1-hour. UTC runs at an almost perfectly constant rate, since its rate is based on cesium atomic frequency standards.

In addition to the time-related data, NOAA uses WWVH to broadcast geophysical alert messages that provide information about solar terrestrial conditions. Marine storm warnings are broadcast for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service provides the storm warning information. (This information is broadcast at specific time intervals in each hour.)

Another critical function of the WWV system (especially for Hawaiʻi) is keeping the clocks on the GPS satellites in sync. GPS technology requires very accurate timekeeping as the difference in radio signal arrival is a big part of fixing your location. Without WWVH, the GPS system would drift off and lots of transportation and related functions would be affected (airplanes, ships, self-driving cars, etc.)

WWVH began operation on November 22, 1948 at Kihei on the island of Maui (the site now houses the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary offices.) In July 1971, the station moved to its current location, near Kekaha, Kauai.

For those wondering why these two facilities, that are west of the Mississippi River, have call signs that start with “W” (typically, station call signs west of the Mississippi start with “K” and those east start with “W,”) the time station’s early location was in Washington, DC (May 1920) – when it moved to Fort Collins (1966,) it kept the call sign. For consistency, Kauai followed the call sign pattern.