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March 17, 2017 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Kamehameha III Tablet

Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III
Son of Kamehameha I and Keōpūlani
Born March 17, 1814
Died December 15, 1854
Ka Moi Lokomaikai

“Under the auspices of the Daughters of Hawai‘i the centenary of Kauikeaouli Kamehameha III, was observed this year in an unusual manner …”

“… first in memorial services at Kawaiahaʻo church in this city (Honolulu,) March 17th, at the unveiling of the tablet prepared to mark his birthplace at Keauhou, Kona, Hawai‘i, and again at its erection on that historic spot August 15th …”

“… both of which occasions were made impressive with eulogies in Hawaiian and in English, and in song and recitation illustrative of ancient custom now rarely met with. Queen Liliuokalani and Mrs. E. K. Pratt, claiming lineal descent from Keawe, founder of the Kamehameha dynasty, participated in both commemorative services, which were largely attended.” (Thrum, 1914)

“The centenary of the birth of Kamehameha III was celebrated March 17, 1914, at Kawaiahaʻo church, this city, under the auspices of the Daughters of Hawai‘i, services commencing at 4 pm.”

“This historic church that has witnessed so many of the royal ceremonials of the Hawaiian people was taxed on the occasion to the utmost of its seating capacity, to view the unveiling of the memorial tablet which had been prepared by the Daughters of Hawai‘i to mark the birthplace of Kauikeaouli at Keauhou, Kona, Hawai‘i.”

“The tablet was hidden from view by the royal standard of Liliuokalani and a Hawaiian flag loaned by Hawai‘i’s venerable ex-queen for the sacred ceremonial.”

“The queen and high chiefess Elizabeth Kekaaniau Pratt, both of whom are lineal descendants of Keawe, the ancient king of Hawai‘i and founder of the Kamehameha dynasty, were seated on either side of the memorial stone in the nave of the church.”

“Back of the queen and Mrs. Pratt were high chiefs Beckley and Hoapili, clad in the ceremonial feather cloaks and helmets of the royal courtiers.”

“Fred Kahapule Beckley, the spear bearer, is a direct descendant on his father’s side from Kame‘eiamoku, which Albert Kalaninoanoa Hoapili, the kalihi bearer, is a lineal descendant of Kamanawa.”

“These two therefore represented the spear and kahili bearers who are shown on the Hawaiian coat of arms, and are descendants of the two chief court alii of Kamehameha I.”

“On either side of the royal court representatives were the kahili bearers in ordinary, sixteen young men from the Kamehameha school, robed in capes and the costumes of warriors of old. representative of the court attendants.”

“The chancel and pulpit platform were tastefully decorated with beautiful ferns and palms while above was the royal standard
and Hawaiian flag.”

“The services opened with the grand old hymn, ”How Firm a Foundation,” by the choir and congregation, after which Rev. HE Poepoe gave the invocation. Then the royal chanter, Mrs Naha Hakuole, chanted the koihonua or song of genealogy of the king.”

“After this the queen drew the cord releasing her royal standard or personal flag, while Mrs. E. Kekaaniau Pratt released the Hawaiian flag covering the tablet.”

“This tablet was a polished block of fine grain deep lava from the Moiliili quarries, surfaced some ten square feet on which the … inscription stood out in bold letters, within a neat border….” (Thrum 1914)

“Like impressive ceremonies attended the dedication of the memorial tablet at its placement, marking the king’s birthplace, August 15th, at Keauhou, for which purpose the queen and a large delegation of prominent lady representatives of the various
Hawaiian societies, and a number of others, journeyed from this city.”

“The tablet was conveyed to Kailua by steamer, where it was met by a royal double canoe, manned by paddlers clothed in semblance of feather cloaks and bedecked with brilliant colored leis.”

“This large canoe was accompanied by a flotilla of small ones filled with ancient costumed warriors. Upon the stone being lowered into the double canoe the fleet paddled down the coast to its destination, Keauhou.”

“At its landing twelve stalwart descendants of warrior chiefs, each clad in costume emblematic of the rank and station of his ancestors, conveyed it by a litter to its designed place where services were held before a large concourse of Hawaiians that had gathered to do homage to their alii.” (Thrum 1914)

“The unveiling of a handsome tablet of Hawaiian lava granite, to the accompaniment of sacred chants composed a century ago, marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kauikeaouli, the third of the Kamehamehas, which yesterday afternoon was observed at old Kawaiahao church by the Daughters of Hawai‘i.”

“It was a fitting memorial to that ruler who, known to his subjects as the beneficent king, gave to the inhabitants of these islands their first written constitution, and, to make the observance further complete, the tablet will be taken to Keauhou, Kona, where it will mark the birthplace of ka moi lokomaikai.” (Star Bulletin, March 18, 1914; Nupepa-Hawai‘i)

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Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-Melrose
Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-Melrose
Landing Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30063b
Landing Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30063b
Landing Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30064b
Landing Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30064b
Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30066b
Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30066b
Landing Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30065b
Landing Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30065b
Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30067b
Kamehameha III Memorial Tablet-HMCS-e30067b
Queen Liliuokalani at Keauhou-HMCS-e30068b
Queen Liliuokalani at Keauhou-HMCS-e30068b
Kamehamehas Birthplace-HMCS-e30061b
Kamehamehas Birthplace-HMCS-e30061b
Kamehamehas Birthplace-HMCS-e30062b
Kamehamehas Birthplace-HMCS-e30062b
Kamehameha III Tablet
Kamehameha III Tablet

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kona, Kauikeaouli, Kamehameha III, Keauhou

January 20, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Painted Church

O ke kea hemolele ko‘u malamalama
Hele oe pela i Satana
He poino kou mea i ninini mai ai
Aole o Satana ko’u alakai
Ua oki oe me kou mea pau wale
Nau no e inu kou poino

The Holy Cross be my light
Begone, Satan
You have poured forth trouble
Satan is not my guide
Stop with your perishable things
Drink your own misfortune

Mottoes of St Benedict’s medal in Hawaiian, painted on the ‘Painted Church’.

“He held the brush almost to the end of his life, until the day when his poor eyes refused their service. When he realized that, even with the strongest glasses, he could no longer command the brush as he wished …”

“… he understood that God demanded of him a huge sacrifice which he dreaded.” (Father John, Congregation of the Sacred Hearts at Rome; NPS)

This is a story about a Belgian Priest Father John Berchmans Velghe and a church he built, and painted, in Honaunau, South Kona on the Island of Hawai‘i.

The history of the Church began early in 1842. At that time, Father Joachim Marechal, SS.CC. was assigned to care for both South Kona and Ka‘u Districts.

He set his residence and first chapel on the border of the two Districts. Within a short time, due to Father Joachim’s zeal and zealous work and teaching of several lay catechists, the Church was firmly established in South Kona.

The first Catholic school in the area opened at Honaunau beach village under the care of Serapia, a catechist, and Clement Hoki, a school teacher, the missionary priests lived in South Kona only intermittently until about 1859.

The original chapel, located on the shore of Honaunau Bay near the Puʻuhonua o Honaunau (City of Refuge) was known as St Francis Regis Chapel.

Father Joachim died unexpectedly April 12, 1859. Father Aloys Lorteau, SS.CC., his successor, took up residence in Honaunau and served there for 37 years until 1898, when he died aboard the vessel, Maunaloa, on Easter Monday on his way to Honolulu for medical and hospital attention.

By the mid-1880s most of the Honaunau people had moved away from the beach area to more fertile soil about two miles up the slopes. Father John became resident priest who replaced Father Aloys in December, 1899.

Father John was born in Courtrai, Belgium, July 14, 1857. His baptismal name was Joseph Velghe. He attended the academy at Sarzeau in Brittany and became a novice at Mitanda de Ebro in Spain.

He studied at the Sacred Hearts’ Scholasticate in Louvain, where on June 29, 1888, he was ordained a priest. Velghe was a member of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Society, familiarly known as the Picpus Fathers; Father Damien was a member of this Society.

At the ordination Joseph Velghe took the name of Father Jean Berchmans Velghe after a sixteenth century Belgian who had been canonized a Saint.

Father John was sent to the Marquesas and remained there until a tropical fever forced him to leave in 1899. He was then instructed to go to South America.

However, a yellow fever epidemic blocked the sea lanes and he was re-assigned to the district of South Kona and put in charge of the Catholic Churches and parishes from Honaunau to Hoʻopuloa.

Then he began the task of building a new church; he moved what he could of St. Francis Regis Chapel to upper Honaunau. Saint Benedict’s Church was built between 1899 and 1902. It is a small rectangular structure with a vaulted interior ceiling.

Although the structure he built does not present anything innovative architecturally, its interior space is both artistically and architecturally important, for the artwork serves as an extension of the architecture. (NPS)

The structure is “a little masterpiece of imaginative functionalism, of unity between structure, adornment, and architectural purpose.”

The columns within the structure are the trunks of painted coconut palm trees, and the altar wall, with carefully illusionistic perspective, transfers the soaring reaches of the Burgos Cathedral in Europe to Honaunau. (NPS)

Father John had no formal training as an artist, natural talent shines through his work. It is even more remarkable that his materials were ordinary building wood and regular house paint. Even that was not easy to come by at the time of construction.

Designed, constructed and painted as a miniature European Gothic Cathedral by Father John, St. Benedict Church is now considered to be rather unique in the annals of American Art.

An excellent teacher and self-taught artist, Father John painted the interior walls of the church with some striking scenes of the Bible which depict various important religious truths. His biblical murals soon became famous, and St. Benedict Church came to be known as “The Painted Church.”

It has become a major tourist attraction of the Kona coast, and thousands of visitors come to see it every year. It is listed in the Hawaii State Register of Historical Places and the National Register of Historical Places.

Father John’s health deteriorated and he had to return to Belgium in 1904, he was never able to finish the church. He went to the scholasticate in his place of birth, Courtrai, for two years.

Then he lived for short periods in the monasteries of the Sacred Hearts, residing in a number of their establishments in the Low Countries.

Even throughout his last years he continued to paint. A few of his works are still preserved in Europe – such as his “Seven Sorrows of Mary”, copied from the like-named series of pictures by the noted Belgian painter Joseph Janssens, in the Church of Saint Anthony in Louvain. (NPS)

As a teacher, while teaching at the Sacred Hearts’ Apostolic School at Aarschot, Belgium, in around 1924 or 1926, he met the young student Matthias Gielen, who was to become Father Evarist of Hawai‘i, the artist who did the churches at Mountain View and Kalapana on the Island of Hawai‘i.

With advancing age, and unable to care for himself, Father John was placed in a Sanitarium at Lierre, Belgium in 1935; he died there on January 20, 1939, at the age of eighty-one. (Lots of information here is from NPS and Painted Church.)

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Inside_view_of_the_Painted_Church-WC
Inside_view_of_the_Painted_Church-WC
Temptation of Jesus. The devil is being cast down along with a crown, a sceptre and bags of money
Temptation of Jesus. The devil is being cast down along with a crown, a sceptre and bags of money
St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata
St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata
Cain and Abel-with great anguish and violence
Cain and Abel-with great anguish and violence
The Hardwriting on the Wall at the Feast of King Belshazzar
The Hardwriting on the Wall at the Feast of King Belshazzar
Hell
Hell
Detail_of_palm
Detail_of_palm
A Good Death-notice the rays of hope
A Good Death-notice the rays of hope
St_Benedict's_Painted_Church_-_Exterior-WC
St_Benedict’s_Painted_Church_-_Exterior-WC

Filed Under: Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings Tagged With: St Benedict's Church, Father John Berchmans Velghe, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kona, Honaunau, Painted Church

September 28, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kona’s Royal Centers

The ‘Peopling of the Pacific’ began about 40,000 years ago with movement from Asia; by BC 1250, people were settling in the eastern Pacific. (Kirch) By BC 800, Polynesians settled in Samoa. (PVS)

Using stratigraphic archaeology and refinements in radiocarbon dating, studies suggest it was about 900-1000 AD that “Polynesian explorers first made their remarkable voyage from central Eastern Polynesia Islands, across the doldrums and into the North Pacific, to discover Hawai‘i.” (Kirch)

“(I)n the earliest times all the people were alii … it was only after the lapse of several generations that a division was made into commoners and chiefs”. (Malo)

Kamakau noted, in early Hawaiʻi “The parents were masters over their own family group … No man was made chief over another.” Essentially, the extended family was the socio, biological, economic and political unit.

Because each ʻohana (family) was served by a parental haku (master, overseer) and each family was self-sufficient and capable of satisfying its own needs, there was no need for a hierarchal structure.

As the population increased and wants and needs increased in variety and complexity (and it became too difficult to satisfy them with finite resources,) the need for chiefly rule became apparent.

As chiefdoms developed, the simple pecking order of titles and status likely evolved into a more complex and stratified structure.

Eventually, a highly stratified society evolved consisting of the aliʻi (ruling class,) kahuna (priestly and expert class of craftsmen, fishers and professionals) and makaʻainana (commoner class.)

Most of the makaʻainana were farmers, a few were fishermen. Tenants cultivated smaller crops for family consumption, to supply the needs of chiefs and provide tributes.

The aliʻi attained high social rank in several ways: by heredity, by appointment to political office, by marriage or by right of conquest. The first was determined at birth, the others by the outcomes of war and political process.

Power and prestige, and thus class divisions, were defined in terms of mana. Although the gods were the full embodiment of this sacredness, the royalty possessed it to a high degree because of their close genealogical ties to those deities.

The kahuna ratified this relationship by conducting ceremonies of appeasement and dedication on behalf of the chiefs, which also provided ideological security for the commoners who believed the gods were the power behind natural forces.

With the stratified social system, it was important to retain the division between aliʻi and makaʻainana. This was done through a physical separation, such as the Royal Centers that were restricted to only the aliʻi and kahuna.

Royal Centers were where the aliʻi resided; aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

When working on a planning project in Kona, we came across references to “Royal Centers.” In the centuries prior to 1778, seven large and densely-populated Royal Centers were located along the shoreline between Kailua and Hōnaunau.

The compounds were areas selected by the ali‘i for their residences; ali‘i often moved between several residences throughout the year. The Royal Centers were selected for their abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites being favored.

The Hawaiian court was mobile within the districts the aliʻi controlled. A Chief’s attendants might consist of as many as 700 to 1000-followers, made of kahuna and political advisors; servants which included craftsmen, guards, stewards; relatives and others. (NPS)

Aliʻi often moved between several residences throughout the year. There was no regular schedule for movement between Royal Centers. In part, periodic moves served to ensure that district chiefs did not remain isolated, or unsupervised long enough to gather support for a revolt. (NPS)

When working on a planning project in Kona, we came across references to “Royal Centers.” In the centuries prior to 1778, seven large and densely-populated Royal Centers were located along the shoreline between Kailua and Honaunau:

  1. Kamakahonu – At Kailua Bay, this was occupied by Kamehameha I between 1813 and 1819.  This was Kamehameha’s compound after unifying the islands under single rule.  The first missionaries landed here, just after the death of Kamehameha I.
  2. Hōlualoa – Three major occupation sequences: Keolonāhihi, A.D. 1300; Keakamahana (mother) and Keakealaniwahine (daughter,) A.D. 1600; and Kamehameha I, A.D. 1780.  It was split into two complexes when Ali‘i Drive was constructed in the 1800s: makai (seaward and west) designated Keolonāhihi State Historical Park; mauka (inland and east) is referred to as Keakealaniwahine’s Residence.
  3. Kahaluʻu – Complex of Lonoikamakahiki ca. 1640-1660, and the oral histories specifically note its use by Alapa‘inui, Kalani‘ōpu‘u and Kamehameha — successive rulers from mid-1740s.  The focus of this center was Kahalu‘u Bay, a sand fringed bay, with a complex of multiple heiau (many recently restored.)
  4. Keauhou – Noted for the largest hōlua slide in Hawai‘i (the volume of stone used in its construction dwarfs that of the largest known temple platforms, making it the largest surviving structure from ancient Hawai‘i.)  This is also the birthplace of Kauikeaouli; stillborn, revived and went on to become Kamehameha III (ca. 1814-1854), last son of Kamehameha I to rule Hawai‘i.
  5. Kaʻawaloa – Home of Kalani‘ōpu‘u, ruling chief in power when Captain Cook sailed into Kealakekua Bay.  Between Ka‘awaloa and Napo‘opo‘o is Pali Kapu O Keōua, a 600′ pali (cliff).  Named for the ali‘i Keōua, who ruled in the mid-1700s, the pali was kapu (off limits) as a sacred burial area.
  6. Kealakekua – Hikiʻau Heiau was dedicated to Lono (god of agriculture and prosperity.)  Kamehameha rededicated Hikiau, “the most important heiau in the district of Kona.” This is where Opukahaʻia had trained to be a kahuna after being orphaned in Kamehameha’s wars. Opukahaʻia fled Hawaiʻi, spent nine years in New England and inspired the first missionaries to come to Hawaiʻi (he died before being able to return with the missionaries to Hawaiʻi.)  When Captain James Cook landed in Kealakekua, he was received by the Hawaiians and honored as the returning god Lono.
  7. Honaunau – Early in the area’s prehistory, a portion of land on the southwest side of the bay was declared a pu‘uhonua (sanctuary protected by the gods – almost every district in the islands had at least one pu‘uhonua in it.)  There kapu breakers, defeated warriors and criminals could find safety when their lives were threatened if they could reach the enclosure before their pursuers caught them.  This way of life began disappearing with Cook’s arrival in 1778 and, ultimately, Liholiho (Kamehameha II) abolished the kapu system in 1819.

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Kamakahonu map by Rockwood based on Ii-Rechtman
Kamakahonu map by Rockwood based on Ii-Rechtman
Keauhou_to_Kailua-Aerial
Keauhou_to_Kailua-Aerial
Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-HerbKane
Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-HerbKane
Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-Choris-1816
Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-Choris-1816
Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-Landing-Map-Wall-Reg2560 (1913)-Kamakahonu_site_on_left
Kamakahonu-Kailua_Bay-Landing-Map-Wall-Reg2560 (1913)-Kamakahonu_site_on_left
Holualoa_Bay-Looking_At_Keolohahihi-1890
Holualoa_Bay-Looking_At_Keolohahihi-1890
Holualoa Royal Center
Holualoa Royal Center
Holualoa_Royal_Center-Kekahuna_Map-Bishop_Museum
Holualoa_Royal_Center-Kekahuna_Map-Bishop_Museum
Kahaluu-Hapaialii-Keeku-Heiau
Kahaluu-Hapaialii-Keeku-Heiau
Kahaluu-Makolea_Heiau
Kahaluu-Makolea_Heiau
Kahaluu_Royal_Center-Kekahuna-map
Kahaluu_Royal_Center-Kekahuna-map
Keauhou-Holua_Slide-(KeauhouResort)
Keauhou-Holua_Slide-(KeauhouResort)
Keauhou-Heeia-Historical_Notes-HenryEPKekahuna-SP_201865
Keauhou-Heeia-Historical_Notes-HenryEPKekahuna-SP_201865
Kealakekua Bay from the village of Kaʻawaloa in the 1820s, from Hiram Bingham I's book
Kealakekua Bay from the village of Kaʻawaloa in the 1820s, from Hiram Bingham I’s book
Kealakekua-John Webber art-1779
Kealakekua-John Webber art-1779
Kaawaloa, Kealakekua Bay. A copperplate engraving from a drawing by Lucy or Persis Thurston about 1835
Kaawaloa, Kealakekua Bay. A copperplate engraving from a drawing by Lucy or Persis Thurston about 1835
Kaawaloa_(KonaHistoricalSociety)
Kaawaloa_(KonaHistoricalSociety)
Kaawaloa-Kalakaua_at_Kealakekua_Bay
Kaawaloa-Kalakaua_at_Kealakekua_Bay
Honaunau, engraving by J. Archer after Rev. William Ellis, 1822-1823. Built by Keaweikekahialiʻiokamoku.
Honaunau, engraving by J. Archer after Rev. William Ellis, 1822-1823. Built by Keaweikekahialiʻiokamoku.
Honaunau_Sunset-(HerbKane)
Honaunau_Sunset-(HerbKane)
Honaunau-Puuhonua_o_Honaunau-Keokea-Map-1750
Honaunau-Puuhonua_o_Honaunau-Keokea-Map-1750

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions, Economy, Place Names Tagged With: Kamakahonu, Holualoa, Kahaluu, Hawaii, Kona, Royal Center, Honaunau, Kealakekua, Keauhou, Kaawaloa

August 19, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Puna Plantation Hawai‘i, Ltd

He bought Puna Plantation Hawai‘i, a papaya farm, around the time of the eruption in the Kapoho area of Puna in 1959. Puna Plantation Hawai‘i Ltd became the parent company name for various entities; the most prominent dba bears his name.

Financial records note the company services include: management consulting services; eating place; grocery store Food and beverage industries, Beverage processing, Meat and poultry and seafood processing …

… Fruits and vegetables processing, Dairy and eggs processing, Grains and sugar and oils and fat processing, New business startup consultation services, Corporate mergers consultation services.

Of the 16 officers of parent company Puna Plantation Hawai‘i Ltd., three bear the family surname, but others also are family members.

The company “is held by the family. However, in our organization we do have … nonfamily executives who have been with our organization for a long time have been with (us) so long that we consider them family.” (Company President; Star Advertiser)

Back when the initial company was formed, he and a competitor had identical initials for their company names; merchandise for the competitor, K Tahara store, were marked ‘KT’ at Hilo harbor.

To avoid confusion of deliveries of the goods, his shipments were marked ‘KTA,’ to distinguish them (the ‘A’ has no other apparent significance.) The initials carried on as the company’s name.

Let’s look back …

Koichi, at the age of 17, left his home in Hiroshima, Japan, seeking the opportunities American offered. With the intention to get to San Francisco, he landed first in Hawai‘i on January 14, 1907. He stayed, and found work at Heʻeia Sugar Plantation at Kāne’ohe.

Taniyo, a woman he knew from Japan, arrived in the Islands a few years later; they were married July 7, 1913. A couple years later they moved to Hilo, where Koichi attended a school to learn English and bookkeeping. S Hata, a wholesaling company, hired Koichi as a bookkeeper after he finished his courses.

Their first son, Yukiwo, was born in 1916. That year also marked the founding of K Taniguchi Shoten (store) – a grocery and dry goods store Koichi and Taniyo started to support their son.

They bought a two-story building on Lihiwai Street in Waiākea along the banks of the Wailoa River. The Taniguchis lived upstairs and ran their store downstairs in approximately 500-square feet of space. (Kimura; HRGM)

In the beginning, Taniyo minded the store while watching the couple’s first-born son, Yukiwo. Koichi Taniguchi would deliver orders to Hilo families by bicycle, or customers could come pick up their orders.

Over time, the store’s name changed to K Taniguchi Store, K. Taniguchi Supermarket and, finally, KTA Super Stores. KTA employs about 800 people companywide, making it one of the largest private-sector employers on the island.

The first expansion was in 1939 when the Keawe street store opened in downtown Hilo. Eventually, the company expanded to its present size being a six-store, island wide supermarket chain.

The initial store in Waiākea was lost during the 1946 tsunami. After that operations were consolidated in the downtown Hilo store.

KTA opened in Kailua-Kona in 1959, under the banyan tree, just mauka of the Kailua pier. The Pū‘āinakō store, now its flagship store, on the southern outskirts of Hilo opened in 1966.

In response to the decline in sugar, and anticipating that sugar workers at closing plantations might stay in agriculture, KTA initiated the Mountain Apple Brand of grown-in-Hawai`i foods.

KTA has established many firsts in Hawaii’s grocery industry over the years, claiming to have been the state’s first supermarket to have an in-store bakery, at the Pū‘āinakō store; the first to install UPC bar code scanners at all checkouts; and the first to install and operate energy-saving photovoltaic systems, at its Waimea and Kailua-Kona stores.

Five of the company’s six stores are KTA Super Stores, while the sixth location is a sister-store called Waikoloa Village Market. (Lots of information here is from KTA Super Stores, Engle (Star Advertiser) and Kimura (HRGM.))

KTA now is led by third-generation chairman and CEO Barry Taniguchi and fourth-generation President and COO Toby Taniguchi. Along with third- and fourth-generation family members Lon Taniguchi, Maryan Miyada, Andrew Chun and Derek Taniguchi, they ensure the legacy of Koichi and Taniyo Taniguchi will continue.

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Original_K_Taniguchi_Shoten-1921
Original_K_Taniguchi_Shoten-1921
Waiakea_Makai-DAGS_Reg3032-1937
Waiakea_Makai-DAGS_Reg3032-1937
KTA-Keawe Opening-1939
KTA-Keawe Opening-1939
KTA-Puainako Ground Breaking-1965
KTA-Puainako Ground Breaking-1965
KTA-Puainako-1966
KTA-Puainako-1966
KTA-Taniguchi
KTA-Taniguchi
KTA-Taniyo and Koichi Taniguchi with their grandchildren. L-R-Lon, Maryan, and Barry-HRGM
KTA-Taniyo and Koichi Taniguchi with their grandchildren. L-R-Lon, Maryan, and Barry-HRGM
KTA-dry goods
KTA-dry goods

Filed Under: General, Economy Tagged With: Taniguchi, Hawaii, Hilo, Kona, KTA, Puna Plantation Hawaii, Ltd

August 2, 2016 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘My Heart Went Pitty-Pat’

She was born January 2, 1905 in Cleveland, the daughter of an Australian opera singer and an American vaudevillian. She spent most of her youth in Cincinnati, where she was enrolled in the city’s music conservatory.

Her family had been theatrical players and, as a result, she had been to Australia, Mexico, Canada, Europe and even Hawai‘i while growing up. She followed her family into the entertainment industry making a career as a dancer; her stage name was Norma Allen.

Just out of high school, she had eloped with a graduate of the Harvard dental school who was also a musician and moved to London, England. After a few years of traveling around Europe and competing in ballroom dancing competitions, the couple broke up.

Needing to support herself, she decided to continue dancing and to learn to teach as well. By marrying she had given away her opportunities to go to college. As she recalled, “they wouldn’t take married girls at Wellesley.”

While working at Arthur Murray’s dance studio in New York City, she had the opportunity to come to Hawai‘i to teach dance at “the Boleyn-Anderson studio at the Royal Hawaiian hotel.”

While in high school, she claimed to have seen a photograph of a man in a movie magazine posing with Douglas Fairbanks Sr and Mary Pickford; impressed by the “handsome, athletic young Hawaiian” whom the couple had “discovered,” she saw this was a chance to meet him.

She arrived on the Lurline just after Christmas in 1938. Several months later, she asked for an introduction to the man she had dreamed about as a teen-ager.

When she finally met the man (the most eligible bachelor in the islands, fifteen years older than she) “my heart went pitty-pat.”

While she claims it to be “love at first sight,” he took the relationship more cautiously. They dated for a year.

He almost lost her toward the end of 1939. While spending Christmas on the Big Island with friends she mulled over a marriage proposal from one of her “dancing pupils” who “was much younger than (him) and very wealthy.”

This young man “begged her to marry him and move to the mainland.” She called her earlier suitor to wish him a Merry Christmas. During the conversation she also told him about the proposal and he simply told her, “Baby, come home.” She did.

On August 2, 1940, the couple slipped out of Honolulu on an interisland flight.

Duke Paoa Kahanamoku and Nadine Alexander were married in Mokuʻaikaua Church in Kailua-Kona. A small intimate ceremony ensued with the Reverend Stephen Desha presiding.

“(O)ur attendants were Francis I‘i Brown, Duke’s best friend, and Francis’s lady companion, Winona Love, a fine hula dancer and movie star, and Bernice Kahanamoku.” Also in attendance were Kahanamoku’s brother Sam, Bernice’s fiancée Gilbert Lee, and Doris Duke, who had come with Sam.

They stayed at Francis Brown’s vacation home on the waterfront on the Kona-Kohala Coast. Nadine recalled it was “a charming place. Isolated. No Telephone. They had one of those generators as there was no electricity, which was lovely for Duke, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.”

Duke thoroughly enjoyed his honeymoon as “every morning, before the sun would come up, Francis would throw stones on the roof to wake Duke.” Nadine reflected, “he’d jump up, have a cup of coffee, and the two of them would go out fishing. All day, every day.”

They became Honolulu’s unofficial ‘first couple,’ frequently entertaining dignitaries and celebrities at their Black Point home. “They were a striking couple. They were awful good looking together.”

“Duke was always very well groomed and she looked very dainty next to him. She was a very pretty woman and kept getting prettier as she got older. Her features became very delicate and she became rather fragile.”

“She always dressed well and looked very elegant. She took pains with her appearance. I admired the fact that she was always vivacious and interested in everything, and a good sport.” (Aileen Riggin Soule, Olympic gold medalist (diving, 1920) Duke’s teammate on the 1920 and 1924 Olympic swimming and diving teams)

Duke died January 22, 1968; upon Nadine’s death on July 17, 1997, their estate was donated to the John A Burns School of Medicine to be used for scholarships awarded to medical students of Hawaiian ancestry. (UH) (All information here is from Nendel and Luis & Bigold.)

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Duke and Nadine Kahanamoku-Married-Mokuaikaua-August 2, 1940-BM
Duke and Nadine Kahanamoku-Married-Mokuaikaua-August 2, 1940-BM

Filed Under: Prominent People Tagged With: Duke Kahanamoku, Mokuaikaua, Nadine Kahanamoku, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Kona, Kailua-Kona

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