Molokai | Page 3 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

June 27, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kaunakahakai

“Morotoi is only two leagues and a half from Mowee to the West North West. The South Western coast, which was the only part near which we approached, is very low; but the land rises backward to considerable height; and, at the distance from which we saw it, appeared to be entirely without wood.”

“Its produce, we were told, consists chiefly of yams. It may, probably, have fresh water, and, on the South and West sides, the coast forms several bays that promise good shelter from the tradewinds. (King, Voyages of Cook, 1784)

Subsistence farming likely focused on coastal resources, as the region is too dry for wetland agriculture. Dryland agriculture, focusing on sweet potato cultivation, was likely practiced on the slopes. Cultivation of crops occurred in spring-fed areas.

The country … rises from the sea by an ascent, uninterrupted with chasms, hills or vallies, this uniform surface, on advancing to the westward, exhibited a gradual decrease in population; it discovered an uncultivated barren soil, and a tract of land that gave residence only to a few of the lower orders of the islanders, who resort to the shores for the purpose of taking fish, with which they abound.”

“Those so employed are obliged to fetch their fresh water from a great distance; none but which is brackish being attainable on the western parts of Morotoi (Molokai.) This information I had before gained from several chiefs at Mowee …”

“(Heading to the west end) …The country had the same dreary and barren appearance as that noticed on the south side, and I was informed it was equally destitute of water.”

“(We) proceeded to the bay at the west end of the island, for the purpose of seeing if, contrary to my former observations, it was commodious for the refitting of vessels, as it had been reported.” (Vancouver, 1798)

Vancouver must have seen Kaunakahakai (“resting (on) the beach” or “beach landing” (other explanations of the name include “to go along in the company of four” and “current of the sea”) – it’s an earlier name of what we now call ‘Kaunakakai,’) as it was a landing place for the fishing canoes which were attracted by the multitude of fish in the area. (McElroy)

When Kamehameha became a man he sailed with a great many people on one hundred canoes; the kind of sails used was mats braided round and flat. They landed at Kaunakahakai and lived there. The reason for this coming was because the king was fond of maika, that is, rolling a stone which was made round with flat sides. (Fornander)

He sent a friend to get stones from Kahekili (reportedly Kamehameha’s father) who was living on Oʻahu. Kahekili inquired: “What does the chief desire that he sent you to me?” Kikane answered: “I came to get the stone for a plaything for your child; we came together and he is now residing at Kaunakahakai, Molokai; he sent me to come to you.” (Fornander)

Kahekili again inquired: “What stone does he desire?” He replied: “The stone at the flap of the malo.” The meaning of this is that it was a peerless stone, and was carefully guarded.

Kahekili handed over the stones saying: “This, the stone called Hiupa, is not to be cast on the windy side, lest it be struck by the force of the wind and be unsteady in its rolling, for it is a light stone; it is to be cast on the calm side; but this, Kaikimakua, is to be cast on the windward side for it is a heavy stone. The names of these stones are Hiupa and Kaikimakua.” (Fornander)

As part of Kamehameha’s later conquest of the Islands, Kamehameha defeated (but did not kill) Kahekili’s son, Kalanikūpule, at the battle known as Kepaniwai (in ʻĪao Valley, Maui.) Kalanikūpule fled to Oʻahu; Kamehameha and his four “Kona Uncles” (Keʻeaumoku, Keaweaheulu, Kameʻeiamoku and Kamanawa) followed Kalola (Kahekili’s sister) to Molokai and landed at Kaunakakai.

Kalola, who was dying, agreed to give Kamehameha Keōpūolani and her mother Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha, if he would allow the girls to stay at her death bed until she passed. Kamehameha camped on Moloka’i until Kalola died, and returned to Kona with his high queen Keōpūolani (and later mother to Kings Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III.)

At Kalola’s death, “They wailed and chanted dirges, and some were put to sleep with the dead, and the chiefs tattooed themselves and knocked out their teeth. Kamehameha was also tattooed and had his eyeteeth knocked out, and the chiefs and commoners acted like madmen.” (Kamakau)

Kamehameha then formally took charge of and returned to Hawaiʻi with her daughter and granddaughter, not only as a sacred legacy from Kalola, but as a token of reconciliation and alliance between himself and the elder branch of the Keawe dynasty. (Kalākaua)

Back to Kaunakakai …

King Kamehameha V (Lot Kapuāiwa) sometimes spent his summers on Molokai at a home in Kaunakakai. The main street of Kaunakakai, Ala Mālama Avenue, was named after the king’s summer home.

“West of the approach to the Kaunakakai wharf is a built-up platform, the name of which is Ka Lae O Ka Manu, the point of the birds. On this site King Kamehameha V had a home, ‘Mālama’ which was still standing in 1908. “ (Cooke; Hart)

George P Cooke also noted a large bathing pool of King Kamehameha V (filled with dirt now) and a spring near that pool. Reservoirs were dug and the water was well suited for the growing crops; they pumped thousand gallons of water every 24 hours. (Nupepa-Hawaii, Hoku O Hawaii, April 6, 1922)

“The Reverend Isaac D. Iaea told me that there was a spit of sand beyond this platform where the plover used to settle in the evenings, hence the name, Ka Lae O Ka Manu.” (Cooke; Hart)

The beach in front of this site was used exclusively by the aliʻi for sun bathing. (McElroy) Kamehameha V’s property passed to Princess Ruth and later became part of Bishop Estate.

Historic use of Kaunakakai focused on agricultural interests: cattle, sugar and pineapple. In 1897, a group of Honolulu businessmen (including Judge Alfred S Hartwell, Alfred W Carter, and AD McClellan) purchased 70,000-acres from the trustees of the Bishop Estate and leased another 30,000-acres from the Hawaiian government. At that time, American Sugar Company began sugar cane production on the lands.

About 10 years later, the land was bought out by Charles M Cooke and under his son, George P Cooke, they raised cattle, planted sweet potato and wheat crops and produced honey. It became the second largest cattle ranch in Hawaiʻi and a major producer of beef.

In 1898, the American Sugar Company, a subsidiary of Moloka‘i Ranch, was formed and the coastal area was used extensively. The need to transport sugar and cattle prompted the construction of a wharf at Kaunakakai.

Construction of Kaunakakai Harbor began in 1899 with construction of a pier that extended about 1,300-feet seaward from the shore. At that time, a small landing on the end of the mole could accommodate two boats.

In 1921, this mole was extended another 700-feet from the shore. A narrow gauge railroad track, extending from the interior plantation lands ran to the end of the pier.

Soon after, sugar cane cultivation was abandoned when well water pumped upslope to the plantations was too saline and killed the cane. Between 1923 and 1985, several thousand acres were leased to Libby and Del Monte for pineapple cultivation.

During those years, pineapple was an economic mainstay for Molokaʻi; pineapples were shipped to their Honolulu cannery from Kaunakakai.

The town was made famous by R Alex Anderson’s song “The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai”, beginning an ongoing tradition of designating an honorary mayor for the town.

The 1935 song was in honor of actor Warner Baxter, the first honorary Mayor of Kaunakakai (also winner of the 2nd Academy Award for best actor for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona, and later honorary Mayor of Malibu, CA;) he was followed by boxer Jim Balukevich as the wartime Cockeyed Mayor. (Congressional Record)

Kaunakakai is an ahupuaʻa in the Kona Moku (district) on the Island of Molokai. Kaunakakai is also the largest town and commercial center on the island of Molokai.

December 15, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pelekunu

“The glimpses of Molokai which one obtains from a steamer’s deck while passing to Honolulu from San Francisco or in passing to and from Maui (along its south shore,) give the impression that the island is bleak, mountainous and desolate.”

“Skirting its (north) shores on the Hālawa, Wailua and Pelekunu sides on Wilder’s fine steamer Likelike, gives a far different picture. For miles sheer precipices rise from the sea and tower 1,500 feet into the air.”

“Now and then, and sometimes in groups, beautiful waterfalls are seen on the face of the cliff, now falling in clear view for a couple of hundred feet, now hidden under denses masses of foliage, only to reappear further down, another silvery link In the watery thread which ends In a splash and scintillating mist in the breakers below.” (Hawaiian Gazette, March 31, 1905)

The large windward valleys – Pelekunu, Wailau and Halawa – and Papalaua, along with all of Kalaupapa comprise the old Hawaiian Koʻolau Moku (district) of Molokai.

Literally defined, the word Pelekunu means “smelly for lack of sunshine.” (Pukui) Being that it is such a tall and narrow valley, the sun is out for only about seven hours a day. Short days, coupled with the windward tendency for rain, creates a generally damp condition in Pelekunu.

Marion Kelly gives an alternate possibility suggesting the name Pelekunu relates to Pele, the goddess of the volcano. The area is said to be sensitive to very light earthquakes that are felt by the folks in the area, thus the name, Pelekunu, “coughing” or “grumbling” Pele.

Archaeological evidence suggests this area of Molokai was traditionally the home of the majority of early Hawaiians. The water supply was ample; ʻauwai (irrigation ditches,) loʻi kalo (wetland taro ponds) and habitation sites were found here.

“Every possible square yard was utilized for growing taro as the patches go nearly to the beach and even up the small ravines which cut the sides of the valleys. … In the matter of food, the emphasis which has been placed upon taro should not obscure the importance of fish whether from deep water or from other places and of fruits and other plant products.”

“The depth of the sea off this region prohibited the development of fish-ponds … but fishing with hook and line or with nets found rich opportunities.” (Phelps, NPS)

The “narrowness of the gulches and their steep slopes result in the patches being no more than 12-feet on a side and the down-slope retaining wall may have to be seven-feet high. The stream flows on one side of the gulch and is tapped at the highest placed patch, the water running successively into the lower ones.” (Phelps (1937,) NPS)

Pelekunu is an unusual ahupua‘a for several reasons. Within the Pelekunu ahupua‘a are three lele (disconnected portions of associated land) that belong to ahupua‘a on the other side of the island in the Kona District. Another unusual feature is that the ahupua‘a of Kawela actually extends up and over the mountains at the back of Pelekunu and runs into the valley.

Additionally, the ahupua‘a of Pelekunu includes not only most of the valley itself (less the extension of Kawela at the back and the lele within), but also the land of Honokaʻupu to the west as well as the small valley of Waiahoʻokalo just beyond. (Eminger/McElroy)

The windward valleys developed into areas of intensive irrigated taro cultivation and seasonal migrations took place to stock up on fish and precious salt for the rest of the year. Kalaupapa was well known for its bountiful ʻuala (sewwt potato) crops and its fine-grained, white salt which was preferred over that from the salt ponds of Kawela and Kaunakakai. (Strazar)

Emory (1916) describes Pelekunu Valley as the “most densely populated area of the ahupuaʻa … where we found miles and miles of huge stone terraces, witnesses of a once thriving population that must have run into the thousands.” Taro was grown on the flat land and in the steep ravines of the valley. (NPS)

The earliest recorded population figures we have for Molokai are those of visiting missionaries in 1823. A loose estimate of three to four thousand inhabitants in 1823 was published by Claudius S. Stewart in 1830. The Reverend Harvey Rexford Hitchcock who established the first permanent Mission Station at Kaluaʻaha in 1832, gave a census figure of 6,000 for the island. (Strazar)

These early counts were generally taken in the field by both native school teachers and missionaries. During this period, the Reverends Hitchcock and Smith preached once a week at seven different stations from Kamaloʻo to Hālawa, and in 1833 they estimated the population of the entire island to be about 3,300. (Strazar)

During the years around 1854, taro was raised extensively in the windward valleys and shipped as far away as Maui. Everywhere the inhabitants (of Pelekunu) were busy making baskets of ki (ti) leaves …., which they used to pack and transport … the product of their oasis, taro reduced to paʻiʻai (dry poi.) (Strazar)

In 1898, Johnny Wilson (later Mayor of Honolulu) looked into living in Pelekunu and farming there. Wilson’s parents’ friends included John and Lydia Dominus (Queen Liliʻuokalani) and King Kalākaua.

“We had known Mr. Wilson quite well as a young man when he was courting his wife. My husband and myself had warmly favored his suit; and, with his wife, he naturally became a retainer of the household, and from time to time they took up their residence with us.” (Liliʻuokalani)

During her imprisonment, Queen Liliʻuokalani was denied any visitors other than one lady in waiting (Mrs. Eveline Wilson – Johnny’s mother.) Johnny would bring newspapers hidden in flowers from the Queen’s garden; reportedly, Liliʻuokalani’s famous song Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani (written while imprisoned,) was dedicated to him (it speaks of the flowers at her Waikiki home, Paoakalani.)

Johnny Wilson brought his wife Jennie Kini Kapahu to Pelekunu to live in 1902. The entry in Johnny’s diary for Tuesday, April 8, 1902, reads, “Arrived Pelekunu & occupied Koehana’s house” According to Bob Krauss, Kini was “one of Hawai‘i’s premier hula dancers” and not used to country life; the Hawaiians in the valley wondered how long Kini would stick it out.

In the beginning Johnny and Kini lived at the shore, but sometime after the 1903 tsunami Johnny built Kini a house farther back in the valley. Later, Johnny bought Kini a piano, the only one in Pelekunu. (Krauss)

Kini did stick it out for quite a while. She helped teach the children in Pelekunu and ran their taro operation while Johnny was away. Eventually, however, Kini did leave the valley; in the summer of 1914, Kini finally got tired of the rain. She staged a one-woman mutiny and moved to a drier place on Molokai at Kamalō, where Johnny had a cattle ranch.

Wilson tried to aid the small native Hawaiian farmers by arranging for a steamer schedule to remote taro- and rice-producing areas. When his plans for a commercial line fell through Wilson convinced the federal administration to place a post office in Pelekunu, guaranteeing regular steamer visits to deliver the mail. (Cook)

However, when his wife left (she was postmistress,) no one filled the post and the post office closed. The steamships tried to keep regular schedules to Pelekunu to support the valley’s residents. However, they were not regular enough and eventually others abandoned Pelekunu valley, deeming it as too isolated to remain viable in a cash economy. (Cook)

(Johnny Wilson served three times as mayor of Honolulu: from 1920 to 1927, 1929 to 1931 and from 1946 to 1954.)

In 1986, The Nature Conservancy purchased nearly 5,800-acres of Pelekunu Valley from Molokai Ranch to create a preserve to protect its natural and cultural resources. (It contains nearly all the native Hawaiian aquatic fish, crustacean and mollusk species; in addition, 27-rare plant, 5-endemic forest bird and 2-endemic land snail species have been reported in the area.) (TNC)

The Pelekunu Preserve is managed in partnership with the State Department of Land & Natural Resources through the Natural Area Partnership Program; due to its remote, rugged location, Pelekunu Preserve is not open to the public.

Pelekunu Preserve is bordered by four other managed natural resource areas: state-owned Pu‘u Ali‘i and Oloku‘i Natural Reserve Areas (NARs), Kalaupapa National Historic Park and the Conservancy’s Kamakou Preserve.

It is a part of the East Molokai Watershed Partnership (EMoWP); (a public-private partnership that protects more than 30,000 acres of contiguous ecosystems that range from sea level to 4,970 feet in elevation.)

May 8, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Molokai Waterfalls

There is something about falling water that fascinates a human being.

“The glimpses of Molokai which one obtains from a steamer’s deck while passing to Honolulu from San Francisco or in passing to and from Maul (along its south shore,) give the impression that the island is bleak, mountainous and desolate.”

In the eastern half of Kamalō is the large, amphitheater-headed Kamalō Gulch. Along the steep back wall of the gulch are a series of waterfalls that are known locally as “The Seven Sisters.”

Three of the waterfalls are named on USGS maps (Hina Falls, Moʻoloa Falls, and Haha Falls) and are mentioned in the song Wahine ʻIlikea, by Dennis Kamakahi (1975.) (McElroy)

Nani wale nō nā wailele ‘uka
‘O Hina ‘o Haha ‘o Moʻoloa
Nā wai ‘ekolu i ka uluwehiwehi
‘O Kamalō i ka mālie.

Beautiful waterfalls of the upland
Hina, Haha and Moʻoloa
The three waters in the verdant overgrowth
Of Kamalō, in the calm.

The fourth-highest waterfall in the world, Oloʻupena Falls is located on this isolated north shore of the Island. At 2,953 feet, Olo’upena Falls is a tiered, ribbon-thin stream plunging over the side of one of the world’s tallest seaside cliffs, Haloku Cliffs.

Surrounded by huge mountains on either side, the waterfall is so remote that there are no access trails to reach it; it is only accessible by air or sea. If you can get there, the best time to view the falls is during the rainy season – November through March.

These are not the only waterfalls on Molokai – unfortunately, all listed here are relatively hard to get to. Rather than words – look through the album at the images of the falls.

Haha Falls
About a 700-foot tall fall, one of seven tall waterfalls at the upper rim of Kamalo Canyon.

Haloku Falls
About 2,100-feet high seasonal waterfall, falling directly into Pacific Ocean.

Hina Falls
About a 1,200-foot tall fall, one of seven tall waterfalls at the upper rim of Kamalo Canyon.

Hipuapua Falls
Approximately 450-foot tall horsetail falls with a single drop.

Kahiwa Falls
About 1,900-foot high waterfall with 6 drops, falling almost directly into Pacific Ocean. Strong winds can rise the waterfall up in the air.

Moaʻula Falls
Picturesque horsetail fall with at least 7 drops.

Moʻoloa Falls
1,300-foot tall fall, one of seven tall waterfalls at the upper rim of Kamalo Canyon.

Oloʻupena Falls
About 2,953-feet high seasonal waterfall, falls directly into Pacific ocean. One the highest known waterfalls in the world.

Papalaua Falls
1,500-foot high waterfall with 5 drops. Located at the far end of the deep valley.

Puʻukaʻoku Falls
About 2,756-feet high seasonal waterfall, falling directly into Pacific Ocean.

Wailele Falls
About 1,700-foot high seasonal waterfall, falling almost directly into Pacific Ocean.

Waimanu Falls
Approximately 1,700-foot high waterfall.

March 15, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ka Iwi

The winds will turn before you and find you,
You’ll be overwhelmed, O deaf aliʻi,
The winds will gather,
The naʻenaʻe leaves will bend,
You’ll be swept ashore at Awāwamalu.
Caught in the fishing net of the head fisherman,
Your thigh bone and upper-arm bone
Will be made into fishhooks,
To catch the paoʻo and the ʻopakapaka,
Your flesh will be without bones,
The black crab, the shearwater will eat your remains,
The life from the parents will be broken off.
Here I am, the ʻaumakua kanaka,
Listen to my life-giving words,
Keawenuiaʻumi, come ashore, a storm is coming,
When you sailed yesterday, it was calm.
(Excerpt from The Wind Gourd of Laʻamaomao – (hawaii-edu))

Wāwāmalu or Awāwamalu (“Shady Gulch or Valley” – referenced above,) was on the Waimānalo side of the Ka Iwi Coastline, (known today as “Sandy Beach.”) Corpses of fisherman and sailors who drowned in the Kaiwi channel were swept ashore by the currents there and at other spots along the southeast coast of Oʻahu, like Hanauma Bay. (Ka Poʻe Kahiko 76; hawaii-edu)

The meanings of the two core words are: ka (the) and iwi (bone.) This is the literal meaning of the word iwi, but we can be sure that there is also a deeper meaning, for bones of ancestors were very sacred; it was in the bones that mana (supernatural power) was believed to have been stored and that it remained in the bones even after death. (Marion Kelly)

This coastline is called Ka Iwi; it fronts Ka Iwi Channel. It may have been named for the bones of lost travelers who failed to make the crossing between Molokai and Oʻahu.

Others suggest it may be because the raw, wild, volcanic landscape of the area, rising from the sea, reminded the ancients of the exposed bones of the earth.

The ancient Hawaiians paddled the channel waters in their canoes for food, recreation, trade, communication and military purposes. The rich history of the islands is full of accounts of mythical demigods and real-life heroes testing their skills on the oceans. Control of Hawaiʻi’s channel waterways was an important part of Hawaiian society. This importance is reflected today in modern Hawaiʻi’s claim to state ownership of interisland waters (Hawaiʻi State Constitution, Article XV). (NOAA)

Control of the interisland waterways was an extension of domination of the land by the aliʻi. The “nature of the dominion exercised over a channel lying between two portions of a multi-island unit was based on Polynesian rather than Western concepts.” The Polynesians view the surrounding waters as part of the land. Control of the ocean by Hawaiians was implicit in the control of the islands themselves. (NOAA)

Kaiwi is known for the Kualau or Kuakualau – the strong wind and the rain out in the ocean. It is customary for it to blow in the evening and in the morning but sometimes blow at all times. “Where are you, O Kualau, Your rain goes about at sea.” (McGregor)

Wind speeds decrease in the lee of each island; whereas winds in the channel increase in strength. The area out in the channel is subject to heavy, gusty trade winds.

These winds had an effect on the waters in the channel; “… the ship turned toward Lae-o-ka-laau. As we went on the Kualau breeze of Kaiwi blew wildly, and many people were bent over with seasickness”. (Ku Okoa, 1922; Maly)

In Hawaiian tradition, Lāʻau Point on Molokai represents a point of no return. For those traveling by canoe from Oʻahu to Molokai across the Kaiwi Channel, once Lāʻau Point is sighted, there is no turning back to Oʻahu.

More commonly known today as the Molokai Channel, the Kaiwi Channel separates the islands of Molokai and Oʻahu; it has the reputation as one of the world’s most treacherous bodies of water.

The channel is about the length of a marathon (26.2-miles) but it’s a body of water; annually, swimmers, paddlers and others seek to cross its span as an individual achievement, or the glory of participating/winning a race.

In 1939, William K Pai is reportedly the first person to swim the Kaiwi Channel, from ʻIlio Point on Molokai to the Blowhole near Oʻahu’s Sandy Beach (because he first paddled a little offshore before swimming, it was ‘uncertified.’) Since then, several others have tried and succeeded.

On October 12, 1952, three Koa outrigger canoes launched from Molokai’s west side; nearly nine hours later, Kukui O Lanikaula landed on the beach at Waikīkī in front of the Moana Hotel. Thus began the world’s most prestigious outrigger canoe race, the Molokaʻi Hoe. Two years later, the women’s Na Wahine O Ke Kai, Molokai to Oʻahu Canoe Race, was inaugurated.

We are reminded of the hazards and risks crossing Kaiwi Channel, when on March 16, 1978, Hokuleʻa left Ala Wai Harbor in Honolulu on a voyage to Tahiti. According to the Coast Guard report, the canoe left O‘ahu in 30-knot trade winds, with clear skies, 6-8 foot seas from the NNE, and 8-10 foot swells from the NE. (PVS)

“Swells were high, but the canoe had ridden out such seas before. However, this time it was heavily laden with food and supplies for a month’s journey. The added weight put unusual stress on the canoe, making it difficult to handle.”

“Turning off-wind eased the strain but it also caused the sea to wash in over the gunwales, filling the starboard compartments and depressing the lee hull. Winds pushing on the sails rotated the lighter windward hull around the submerged lee hull, now dead in the water.”

“Five hours after leaving Ala Wai Harbor, Hokule‘a was upside-down in the sea between O‘ahu and Molokai.” (Will Kyselka, An Ocean in Mind; PVS)

“All that night (sixteen crew members) clung to the hulls of the stricken vessel, huddling to protect themselves as best they could from wind and wave. Daylight came. Airplanes flew overhead but no one saw Hokuleʻa. …. Most alarming, though, was the fact that the canoe was drifting away from airline routes, decreasing its chance of being spotted.” (Will Kyselka, An Ocean in Mind; PVS)

“Eddie Aikau wanted to go for help.”

“An expert waterman, he had saved the lives of many swimmers in trouble in the powerful surf of Waimea Bay on the north shore of O‘ahu. … Eddie would go alone.”

“The crew, clinging to the overturned hulls, watch(ed) in silence as he rode the waves into a fate not unknown to many of the people of old who sailed toward distant lands.” (Will Kyselka, An Ocean in Mind; PVS)

In the early morning of March 18, 1978, the Coast Guard arrived to assist the Hokuleʻa; later that day, they sighted Aikau’s surfboard. Eddie was never seen again.

December 26, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Sisters of Charity

Appropriately, we read a lot about the good work of Father Damien and Mother Marianne (both, now Saints.) But we don’t seem to hear of the many others who worked with them in ministering to those in need.

Here, we look at only a few (some of the earliest Sisters that worked with Mother Marianne,) and the hard work and hardship they endured.

The first shipment of lepers landed at Kalawao (Kalaupapa) January 6, 1866, the beginning of segregation and banishment of lepers to the leper settlement.

Receiving and detention centers were established on Oʻahu. Kalihi Hospital was the first hospital for leprosy patients in Hawaiʻi opening in 1865. Kapiʻolani Home opened in Kalihi Kai in 1891 adjacent to the Kalihi Hospital and Receiving Station; Kalihi Plague Camp (1900-1912) and Meyers Street, Kalihi Uka (1912-1938.) (NPS)

In January 1883, Walter Gibson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and president of the Board of Health, appealed to Hermann Koeckemann, Bishop of Olba, head of the Catholic Mission in Hawai’i, to obtain Sisters of Charity from one of the many sisterhoods in the US to come and help care for leprous women and girls in the Islands.

Father Leonor Fouesnel, with a royal commission from King Kalākaua, was designated as agent to go on this mission. Landing in San Francisco and traveling East, Father Leonor petitioned more than fifty different sisterhoods before a favorable reply was obtained, from the Franciscan Convent of St Anthony at Syracuse, New York.

The reply to the King’s emissary was not made lightly, but only after a long, serious debate among the sisterhood. One of the prime supporters of this action was the Mother Superior, Mother Marianne Cope. (Greene; NPS)

“I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen Ones, whose privilege it will be, to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders… I am not afraid of any disease, hence it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned ‘lepers.’” (Mother Marianne; NPS)

Mother Marianne consulted with all the sisters and, to her credit they felt free to voice their concerns. Responded one: “I am very honest with you. I am afraid. I have heard too much about these poor people. I heard also that there are no rules and regulations. That everyone does as he pleases.”

Another stated: “If it is not a suitable place for any woman how can it be for the Sisters.” (NPS) With calmness, good sense, firmness, and a kind heart she was able to get cooperation from all around her. Her religious life was a series of administrative appointments, culminating in her being placed in charge of missions in Hawai’i.

Only six sisters could be spared to go with Mother Marianne, who insisted that as superior of the convent it was her duty to go with the first group of sisters and help them get established. It was not the intent of the convent that she stay in Hawai’i permanently. (Greene; NPS)

On October 23, 1883, Mother Marianne and her companions set off for Hawai’i, arriving on November 9. These were: Sister M Bonaventure Caraher, Sister Crescentia Eilers, Sister Ludovica Gibbons, Sister M Rosalia McLaughlin, Sister Renata Nash and Sister Mary Antonella Murphy.

Three of the sisters and Mother Marianne went to work at the branch hospital for leprosy victims at Kaka’ako in Honolulu on January 11, 1884, and spent almost five years there. Three others were put in charge of the new hospital at Wailuku on the island of Maui.

“For us it is happiness to be able to comfort, in a measure, the poor exiles, and we rejoice that we are unworthy agents of our heavenly Father through whom He deigns to show His great love and mercy to the sufferers.” (Mother Marianne, 1884)

Queen Kapi‘olani had visited Kalaupapa in 1884 to learn how she could assist those who were diagnosed with leprosy and exiled there, and she raised the funds to build the Kapiʻolani Home for Girls. (KCC) She and others also recognized the need for a home for the non-infected children of the leprosy patients.

On November 9, 1885, the healthy girls living in Kalawao moved into Kapiʻolani Home on the grounds of the sisters’ convent at the Kaka’ako Branch Hospital. (Hawaii Catholic Herald)

On April 22, 1885, a second group of sisters arrived from Syracuse as reinforcements. This included Sister Leopoldina Burns, Sister Carolina Hoffmann, Sister Martha Kaiser and Sister Benedicta Rodenmacher. Shortly after, Sister Antonia Brown, Sister M. Vincentia McCormick, Sister M. Irena Schorp and Sister Ephrem Schillinger. (More came later.)

News continually filtered back to Kaka’ako about conditions at the Moloka’i settlement. The children on the island were in desperate need of care and the venerable Father Damien himself had been diagnosed as having leprosy and obviously had few years left in which to continue his work.

Mother Marianne, however, was being kept busy in Honolulu all this time. At one point she had suggested to Walter Gibson that a home for children of leprous parents be built near the sisters’ residence in Honolulu. This establishment opened in November 1885 as the Kapiʻolani Home for Girls. (Green; NPS)

Then, Mother Marianne Cope and Sisters Leopoldina Burns and Vincentia McCormick of the Third Order of St. Francis, Sisters of Charity arrived on November 14, 1888. They managed the Charles R Bishop Home for Unprotected Leper Girls and Women, which opened at Kalaupapa in 1888. (NPS)

Sister Leopoldina describes the place: “One could never imagine what a lonely barren place it was. Not a tree nor a shrub in the whole Settlement only in the churchyard there were a few poor little trees that were so bent and yellow by the continued sweep of the birning wind it would make one sad to look at them.” (Voices of Kaulapapa; SanDiego-gov)

While there was no cure for the residents of Molokai, the sisters tried to bring dignity to their lives. Before the sisters arrived, patients dressed in rags. The sisters gave the girls proper clothes and taught them embroidery, sewing and gardening. They also gave them music lessons.

Father Damien himself succumbed to leprosy on April 15, 1889. Upon the death of Damien, Mother Marianne agreed to also head the Boys Home at Kalawao. The Board of Health had quickly chosen her as Saint Damien’s successor and she was thus enabled to keep her promise to him to look after his boys.

A traveler on a steamer that later (May, 1889) brought Sisters Crescentia and Irene to Kalaupapa noted, “When I was pulled ashore one early morning there sat with me in the boat two sisters bidding farewell (in humble imitation of Damien) to the lights and joys of human life. One wept silently and I could not withhold myself from joining her.” (The Messenger)

The workload was extremely heavy in that Bishop Home alone provided shelter for 103 girls in 1893. There were times when the burden seemed overwhelming. In a moment of despair, Sister Leopoldina reflected, “How long Oh Lord must I see only those that are sick and covered with leprosy?” (Sister Leopoldina: NPS)

The Baldwin Home, which opened in May of 1894, replaced the Boys’ home built by Father Damien. Mother Marianne Cope and the Sisters of Saint Francis managed the Baldwin home until they turned over jurisdiction to Joseph Dutton and the Sacred Hearts Brothers in 1895.

While at Kalaupapa, Mother Marianne predicted that no Franciscan Sister would ever contract leprosy. Additionally she required her sisters use stringent hand washing and other sanitary procedures. No sister has ever contracted the disease. Mother Marianne died in the summer of 1918 at the age of 80.

Mother Marianne was canonized on Oct. 21, 2012, making her the first Franciscan woman to be canonized from North America and only the 11th American saint. Forevermore, she will be known as St Marianne Cope, with the title “beloved mother of outcasts.” (Lots of information here is from NPS and Hawaii Catholic Herald.)