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June 12, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pālolo Hill

“And they gathered their friends together and journeyed up into the hill country, and when they did not return others followed, saying unto them – ‘Why, therefore, do ye choose to dwell in the hill country?’“

“And they answered, ‘For it is here we obtain the freedom of the air, with all its freshness and purity; it is here we get strength for the mind and body, and it is here we enjoy the breath of life.’“  (Evening Bulletin, October 21, 1911)

So went the marketing for the Pālolo Hill development – the Homeland of Health – above Kaimuki.

The announcement of the project a year before carried the same positive enthusiasm, “Pālolo Hill may not only be destined to blossom as the rose, but it will be dotted with a thousand homes, the place of residence of delighted sojourners who seek the many incomparable advantages offered by climatic conditions only to be found in the Paradise of the Pacific, but Honolulu in particular.”

“The Kaimuki Land Company has completed all arrangements for setting a large force of men at work in the grading of fifty foot streets and plotting some twelve hundred lots in this sightly tract of land located at the terminus of the Hotel street and Waiʻalae car-line.”

“Pālolo Hill, commanding a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean, the frowning slopes of Diamond Head, and the bald prominence of Koko Head, will be transformed into a place of much activity before the close of the old year.”

“The plans as outlined by the land company are elaborate in the extreme. The first of the week will find teams and graders at work on the roads. … (The central) avenue will serve as a feeder for the curved and winding highways that weave their way in and around the brow of this eminence.”

“It is claimed, that there is not a lot in the entire twelve hundred that is of lower elevation than three hundred feet. The highest elevation recorded in the tract is eleven hundred feet. A visit to the tract, where grading operations have already begun, would show that there is no portion of the district that has an unobstructed marine view. (Evening Bulletin, December 9, 1910)

Some background … William Lunalilo ended up with most of the area known as Kaimuki through the Great Māhele (1848.)  Lunalilo was born on January 31, 1835 to High Chiefess Miriam ‘Auhea Kekauluohi (Kuhina Nui, or Premier of the Hawaiian Kingdom and niece of Kamehameha I) and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina.

When Kamehameha V died on December 11, 1872 he had not named a successor to the throne.   The Islands’ first election to determine who would be King was held – Lunalilo defeated Prince David Kalākaua (the Legislature met, as required by law, in the Courthouse to cast their official ballots of election of the next King.  Lunalilo received all thirty-seven votes.)

Lunalilo was the first of the large landholding aliʻi to create a charitable trust for the benefit of his people.  He was to reign for one year and twenty-five days, succumbing to pulmonary tuberculosis on February 3, 1874.

His estate included large landholdings on the five major islands, consisting of 33-ahupuaʻa, nine ʻili and more than a dozen home lots. His will, written in 1871, established a perpetual trust under the administration of three trustees to be appointed by the justices of the Hawaiian Supreme Court.

His will instructed his trustees to build a home to accommodate the poor, destitute and infirm people of Hawaiian (aboriginal) blood or extraction, with preference given to older people. The will instructed the Trustees to sell all of the estate’s land to build and maintain the home.    (Supreme Court Records)

In 1884, the Kaimuki land was auctioned off. The rocky terrain held little value to its new owner, Dr. Trousseau, who was a “physician to the court of King Kalākaua”.  Trousseau ended up giving his land to Senator Paul Isenberg.  Theodore Lansing and AV Gear later bought the Kaimuki land (in 1898.) (Lee)

Gear, Lansing & Co, one of Honolulu’s first real estate firms, envisioned Kaimuki becoming a high-class residential area, but was stymied by buyers’ lack of interest.

Later Charlie Stanton, FE Steere and Frank E Thompson formed the Kaimuki Land Company and took over the Kaimuki tracts. Eventually, they turned it over to Waterhouse Trust Company who sold the land for eight cents a square foot and nine cents for corner lots. (Takasaki)

(There appear to be some interchangeable names of the development  entity: Kaimuki Land Company, Pālolo Land Company and Pālolo Land and Improvement Co.)

The Pālolo Land Company is an organization composed of several gentlemen who own upper Pālolo Valley and the scenic portion of Pālolo Hill it overlooks Kaimuki, and from Upper Pālolo Hill half of Oʻahu Island may be seen. Splendid roads have recently been constructed.  (Mid-Pacific Magazine)

Not familiar with the Pālolo Hill subdivision name?

It’s not clear if any official name change took place, but we now typically refer to this area as “Wilhelmina Rise” and Maunalani Heights.  (Some incorrectly say it was developed by Matson in the 1930s; the above notes it was built 20-years before and by local real estate developers.)

However, “The streets are … named after the steamers that make regular calls at the port of Honolulu.  Wilhelmina Rise is a broad and absolutely straight thoroughfare extending for a mile and a half up the slope of Pālolo Hill.”  (Evening Bulletin, December 9, 1910)

Up Pālolo Hill (Wilhelmina Rise,) you’ll find Lurline, Matsonia, Maunalani, Mana, Sierra, Wilhelmina, and Claudine, Matson liners and freighters.

© 2024 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Economy, Place Names Tagged With: Palolo Hill, Hawaii, Oahu, Kaimuki, Maunalani Heights, Wilhelmina Drive, Matson

April 14, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Funeral Flower

Ralph Solecki theorizes that the Neanderthals intentionally buried their dead, as evidenced by having flowers at the burial location in the Shanidar Cave in Kurdistan.

It was at the ‘Shanidar IV’ site, the famous ‘flower burial’, so-called because clumps of pollen grains from adjacent sediments were interpreted as evidence for the intentional placement of flowers with the corpse.

“Analysis of soil samples from the Shanidar IV burial in the Shanidar cave, revealed the same pollens throughout the sequence, with variations in frequency. However, samples 313 and 314 contained, in addition, several pollen clusters of as many as 100 pollen grains, evidence that complete flowers were introduced into the burial cave.” (Science Magazine)

Solecki “has argued that ‘Neither birds, nor animals could have carried flowers in such a manner in the first place, and the second, they could not have deposited them with a burial’.” (This theory is questioned by some – Sommer believes the flowers were brought by rodents.)

“Leroi-Gourhan interprets the pollen evidence as indicating that between May and July, in a year more than 50,000 years ago, the body of Shanidar IV was laid on a bed of woody branches {Ephedra) and flowers. (Sommer, Cambridge Archaeological Journal)

In modern times, flowers originally served a very practical purpose in funerals. They were used for odor control as the body decomposed.

Back before embalming became an integral part of the funeral process and before refrigerated storage was common in funeral homes, bodies decomposed naturally very quickly. Funeral home directors used flowers draped around the casket – which is still traditional today – to mask the smell, which could be quite noxious.

Reportedly, one of the most famous examples of this was the funeral of President Andrew Jackson in 1874. He was not embalmed; so by the day of his funeral, his corpse was in terrible shape. Funeral Director Lazarus C Shepard closed his casket and piled fragrant flowers around and on top of it to mask the odor long enough for the funeral to be completed.

As embalming and other preservation techniques improved, the need for flowers to serve a practical purpose in the funeral process disappeared. However, flowers were seen as an visible expression of sympathy, care, respect and love for the deceased and the deceased’s family. (JacobsFuneralHomes)

One such ‘Funeral Flower’ was the carnation.  The original birthplace of the carnation is on the coast of the Mediterranean. The popularity of the flower goes back many centuries; the Romans were already making wreathes and fresh eau de toilette out of carnations. (Flower Council)

Later, Americans began to like the carnation … “So when (a florist) finds it necessary to his business to introduce a new ‘fashionable flower’ he takes care that it shall be very expensive and that his customers shall believe it to be very rare.”

“Such a flower is the carnation. It first leaped into prominence as a ‘florists’ flower’ nearly thirty years ago and its vogue at the time was greater even than that of the chrysanthemum in its best days.”

“One day everybody was wearing a rosebud, ten or Bon Selene, (the carnation craze succeeded the ‘Boston bud’ craze); the next day everybody was wearing a carnation.”

“And with a great many people it has remained in favor ever since. This is not only because of its beauty of form and color and its spicy fragrance. The carnation seems to have been especially designed by nature for a boutonniere.”

“It sets closely and neatly to the coat lapel, it keeps fresh and unfaded for a long time, it requires no pinning in place, and it never breaks from its stem”. (Democrat and Chronicle, New York, December 4, 1894)

The carnation can be regularly seen in religious paintings, as a symbol of the Virgin Mary and as a symbol for the suffering of Christ. The Latin name for the carnation is Dianthus, derived from Dios (God) and anthos (flower) – divine flower. (Flower Council)

According to legend, the carnation flower appeared after the Crucifixion of Christ. When mother Mary wept at the death of her son, her tears fell to the earth. Carnations sprang forth from each spot where Mary’s tears stained the earth. This legend lends credence to the theory that the carnation earned its name from incarnation.  (FlowerMeaning)

On the continent, the start of the 1900s was also an era of huge funeral flower displays. These were designs such as wreaths, pillows, crosses, lyres, Holy Bibles, armchairs, broken columns, broken wheels, gates … The influenza epidemic during World War I stimulated the demand for flowers, and greenhouse construction increased after the conflict.

American Protestant missionary wives are credited with bringing the first carnations to the Islands in the mid-1800s.  The first variety was a white, scented flower and it soon became the favorite for lei makers. Red carnations were introduced later.  (Bird)  In 1900, gardens in Pauoa supplied lei sellers at the piers with carnations and other lei flowers.

The carnation, one of the most important commercial field-grown floricultural crops in the Islands, has been under cultivation for many about a century. It initially was grown primarily for the lei trade; however, later, interest in cut-flower production increased considerably due to the introduction of Mainland commercial varieties.

The main production areas for lei carnations shifted from Waialae to Maunalani Heights.  These regions are suitable for lei flower production, but not for cut-flower production due to the relatively warm night temperatures. The cut-flower varieties are known to require cool night temperatures for optimum growth and production.

Carnations “used to cover portions of Maunalani Heights”. (Star Bulletin)  There is even a Carnation Place up the hill, there.

The ‘Pink’ is one of these varieties; it has been under continuous cultivation since around 1900. It produces throughout the year relatively small but highly fragrant flowers on short stems.

The major emphasis in the past has been on the production of carnations for lei flowers, and qualities demanded of cut flowers were generally ignored. Consequently, the types grown had small flowers, short stems, and bushy growths.  (CTAHR)

Carnations were also cultivated in the Koko Crater area on O‘ahu especially to meet the demands of the fast growing tourist industry. 

Japanese and Korean farmers leased small parcels of land along Lunalilo Home Road and soon their ‘carnation plantations’ were familiar sights, likewise in Kaimuki and Palolo.

The white carnation lei is usually given to women and the red to the men: white being femininely pure and withdrawn – red representing masculine boldness, strength and power. (Ka Lei, Marie McDonald)  Depending on the style and flower size, 50 to 100 flowers may be used.

Back in the 1950s-1970s, the fat, fragrant carnation lei was popular.  Friends bestowed thick carnation lei at the airport gate, politicians regularly wore them and nightclub entertainers typically had a carnation lei.

© 2023 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Economy, General Tagged With: Maunalani Heights, Carnation, Funeral Flower

March 13, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Convalescent-Nursing Home

Its name has also evolved from Convalescent Nursing Home … to Maunalani Hospital … to, finally, the present Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (as of March 1998).

It started as the home of Hattie Ethelwyn Alfred Castle. She “was born in this city (Honolulu) on December 21, 1872, in the days of King Lunalilo …”

“… one of the two daughters of Charles Alfred Castle and Claire Eloise Coleman, his wife, and a grand-daughter of Samuel Northrup Castle, one of the founders and pioneers of the Hawaiian Mission from New England.” (Hawaiian Church Chronicle, January, 1941)

“After her father’s early death on April 30, 1874, which occurred in the fourth year of his married life and when Miss Castle was less than a year old, her mother took her and her sister, Eloise – now Mrs. BL Marx of this city, east to Canada …”

“… the birthplace of their maternal grandmother, where they spent thirteen years of their girlhood and young womanhood in what is locally known as the ‘Eastern Townships’, or English-speaking section of the Province of Quebec.”

“In her later years, Miss Castle’s recollection of this period of her life, with its ice and snow and jingling sleigh-bells, its rustic simplicity and kind-hearted neighborliness …”

“… was as keen and vivid as though its events had happened but yesterday; and one of her delights was to converse of that country with those who also know it.” (Hawaiian Church Chronicle, January, 1941)

She bought nine and a half acres of land atop Maunalani Heights and built her home. She died November 2, 1940.

In her will, she made provisions that, subject to the life tenures of several relatives, her home would become a residence for seniors in need of comfort and care.

The home was incorporated in 1945 as a non-profit, non-discriminatory organization.

The matter didn’t sit well with everyone … “As a result of petitions received from residents of Maunalani Heights a public hearing will be held …”

“… to air their objections to the proposed location of the Convalescent Nursing home in that area.” (Star Bulletin, September 3, 1947)

In January 6, 1950, with the diligence of prominent Honolulu community leaders, Maunalani opened its doors and welcomed its first residents.

“‘We had a hard row to hoe this first year,’ admits Mrs. Elaine P. Johnson, administrator of the home, adding that it has taken time to educate the public and build up clientele. ‘But we have gained the confidence of the public,’ she adds.” (Practical Nursing Scrapbook)

“The home started out with five patients. ‘We wanted to see what our capabilities were before we went too far,’ said Mrs Johnson.” After the first year it grew to 22. With 8 more scheduled to enter. (Practical Nursing Scrapbook)

Over the years, Maunalani has experienced a series of additions and renovations to the original Castle family residence. A part of her home still exists as part of the facility.

Today, Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center offers 24-hour nursing support to residents with varied levels of need on a long-term or temporary care basis.

Because residents vary in age and need, individualized rehabilitation therapy programs are provided based on physician recommendation.

Maunalani’s physical, occupational and speech therapists offer restorative and maintenance therapy to residents who need to practice, strengthen and sustain daily living skills. (MNRC)

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© 2018 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Convalescent-Nursing Home
Convalescent-Nursing Home
Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Hawaii, Oahu, Maunalani Heights, Maunalani Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Maunalani Hospital, Convalescent Nursing Home, Hattie Ethelwyn Alfred Castle

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People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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