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April 24, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Keakealani School

Peter Lee, an enterprising pioneer with an eye to the future, tried to popularize the Punalu‘u-Pahala route to Kilauea Volcano, a noted attraction, then and now.

“The wonderful volcano of Kīlauea, on the island of Hawaii, is the great attractive of visitors. It is the only crater in the world that is constantly in action, and that can be safely approached at all times to the very edge of the precipice which encloses the boiling lava.”

“To reach Kīlauea necessitates a passage of thirty hours from Honolulu in a fine steamer to Hilo or Punalu‘u, then a ride of thirty
miles in coaches takes visitors to a fine hotel, which overlooks the molten lava lake. It is a sight that will repay the effort and expense incurred ten times over, and one that will never be forgotten.” (Whitney)

In 1891, Lee built a 24-mile wagon road from Pahala to Kilauea, following by seven years the construction of a hotel at Punalu‘u. (NPS) However, the construction of the Volcano Road from Hilo had also begun.

With the completion of the Hilo to Volcano Road in 1894, four-horse stagecoaches came into the picture, reducing the travel time from Hilo from two days to six and one-half hours, and Hilo became the principal departure point for Kilauea. (NPS)

Lee later sold to the new owners of the Volcano House and then managed both hotels for them. Lee would remain as manager of the Volcano House until 1898.

Lee established a home on land near the center of the ʻŌlaʻa Summer Lots 29-Mile subdivision, which later become Volcano Village.

Noting the need for a school there, in 1914, Peter Lee donated a one-acre site on Haunani Road (named for one of his daughters) to the Territory of Hawai‘i for a “school to teach the children of the region”.

In 1915 the first school building was constructed – a classic one-room structure, along with a teacher’s cottage, small garage, and water tank. The school was named “Keakealani School” in honor of another of Lee’s daughters. (VSAC DEA)

In 1934 the growing student population called for larger facilities and the present two-room building was constructed and the teachers’ cottage and garage demolished, which left the layout we see there today.

In the late 1930s the Kennedy Family, who owned the property abutting the school site to the Hilo side, donated 2.25 acres to the Territory to increase the site to its current 3.25 acres.

In addition to the two-room building, the property consists of a grassy field with a few open-sided, temporary shelters. (VSAC DEA)

By Executive Order No. 1040 dated November 27, 1943, control of the subject property was placed in the Territorial Department of Public Instruction, now the Department of Education (DOE).

“The Hawaii Visitors Bureau won’t admit it. Mainland tourists basking in the sun at Waikiki beach won’t believe it. But kerosene and electric heaters are used to warm the tootsies of some 100 youngsters who attend classes in several public schools here in this island paradise when the mercury takes a nose dive.”

“Mrs Antonio Short, principal of KeaKealani school in the volcano area on the island of Hawaii, explained that ‘some days during the winter we keep our heaters burning all day and have frosty windows, like real Christmas weather.’”

“‘Frost ‘fell’ on our school yard twice in five years, and the temperature sometimes gets as low as 32 degrees,’ Mrs Short said. ‘Most of the youngsters even have to wear sweaters and coats until 10 am on cold days. And if it gets much worse, the youngsters will have to wear shoes all the time.’” (The Times, Shreveport, December 16, 1956)

DOE operated a public school on the site until 1973, when the students were transferred to Mountain View Elementary School. Until 2010, DOE used the facility as an outdoor education center for elementary students on the island of Hawaii.

Budgetary constraints caused DOE to terminate this program, and the facility was subsequently licensed on a year-to-year basis to Volcano School of Arts and Sciences (Volcano School), a public charter school, commencing on July 1, 2010. (DLNR)

Volcano School used the facility as its middle school campus, and received a $618,000 grant-in-aid from the 2011 Legislature to expand the facility to better accommodate its middle school program.

DOE and Volcano School subsequently executed a Lease Agreement effective as of August 1, 2012 that specifies that the premises shall be used for a charter school (consistent with the purpose of the executive order). (DLNR)

This allows the school to consolidate its grades K-4 classes, which are currently located on Old Volcano Rd., with its grades 5-8 classes so the school’s students will be together on one campus. (KHON2)

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keakealani-school-BINow
keakealani-school-BINow
the-volcano-school-of-art-sciences-KHON2
the-volcano-school-of-art-sciences-KHON2
Keakealani_School rendering
Keakealani_School rendering
VSAS_rendering
VSAS_rendering
VSAS_rendering
VSAS_rendering

Filed Under: Schools Tagged With: Volcano, Peter Lee, Haunani, Keakealani, Keakealani School, Volcano School, Hawaii, Hawaii Island

January 10, 2018 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

‘Āinahou

Hawai’i Island was the birthplace and stronghold of Hawai’i’s ranching industry and paniolo (cowboy) culture. The first cattle were brought by Captain George Vancouver in 1793 and 1794 as a gift to Kamehameha I who turned them loose and placed a kapu (taboo) on their slaughter until 1830.

By that time, a dozen cattle had proliferated into a numerous and feral population, which was wreaking havoc on native ecosystems and seemed impossible to control.

Kamehameha III then sent an ambassador to Mexico to bring back some vaqueros (Mexican cowboys) to teach local people to ride horses, rope cattle, and tame wild cattle.

Between 1850 and 1900 many different breeds of cattle were imported throughout the Hawaiian Islands and large-scale ranching operations emerged, particularly on Hawai‘i Island – the chief industries elsewhere in the state were sugarcane and pineapple.

The entire ahupua‘a of Keauhou (at Volcano) was awarded to Victoria Kamāmalu, a granddaughter of Kamehameha I. Between 1866 and 1884, the ownership of Keauhou was successively inherited by members of the Kamehameha lineage upon the deaths of previous heirs until the death of Princess Bernice Pauahi.

At that time, her husband Charles Bishop established BP Bishop Estate to administer Keauhou and other properties in Pauahi’s inheritance. Congress purchased the lower portion of Keauhou from BP Bishop Estate and established Hawai‘i National Park in 1916.

In 1921, Bishop Estate leased other portions of Keauhou to May K and Arthur W Brown and they established Keauhou Ranch. In August 1937, the lease was transferred to the Brown heirs. In November 1937, William H Shipman, Ltd purchased the Brown heirs’ Keauhou Ranch lease as well as all animals, structures and land improvements on the property.

Herbert Cornelius Shipman sought the property as a safe retreat in case of a Japanese invasion for himself, his sisters and his father. He renamed it ‘Āinahou (new land) Ranch.

Herbert C Shipman was the only son of William Herbert Shipman, one of East Hawai‘i’s best known ranchers and businessmen. (Herbert Shipman took over the business after his father’s death in 1943.)

Herbert C Shipman was a locally renowned businessman, cattle rancher, wildlife conservationist, philanthropist, and descendant of one of the oldest missionary families in Hawai’i.

The ‘Āinahou Ranch is located within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, approximately four miles south and down slope from Kilauea Caldera, the world’s most active volcano.

Construction of the ‘Āinahou Ranch House began in 1940 and ended in July of the following year, just before the World War II broke out.

During and after the war, the ranch house was also used as a base of operations for ‘Āinahou Ranch, which supplied beef to military and domestic outlets. After World War II, the ranch supplied meat to Hilo outlets for approximately 20 years.

After the war, ‘Āinahou was used as his personal retreat and a place to entertain friends. An ‘Āinahou guest book contains the signatures of several hundreds of people who were invited by Shipman between 1945-1965.

Among his guest were actresses Joan Crawford and Janet Gaynor, Sir Peter Buck and well known Pacific archaeologists Kenneth Emory and Marian Kelly.

Over the years, elaborate gardens surrounded the ranch house. Shipman moved a surviving flock of nene (Hawaiian goose and State bird) from his coastal residence in Kea‘au to ‘Āinahou Ranch after a tsunami hit the Island of Hawai’i on April 1, 1946, devastating the local nene population. The ranch was used as a nene sanctuary.

Shipman is credited with the saving of the nene from the brink of extinction by initiating a controlled breeding program. At that
time, the total population of the species had been reduced to a few dozen birds.

In 1969, when Kilauea Volcano became active, threatening Shipman’s property, Shipman decided to evacuate all personnel, but left the nene.

In 1971-72, as the lava approached the property within 2/3 of a mile, an agreement was reached where Shipman received payment from the Park Service for the improvements, Bishop Estate terminated Shipman’s lease due to an imminent danger clause and sold the land fee simple to the National Park Service.

The property was purchased by the National Park Service under the authority of the Endangered Species Act, requiring that part of the land be set aside for activities related to preserving endangered species and a portion is currently being used to care for the nene.

Since the National Park Service acquired the property, the house has been used intermittently as a retreat, hostel for visiting work crews and overnight lodging for social groups.

Herbert, who never married, died childless in 1976. In accordance with his will, most of his assets went to establish a philanthropic foundation.

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Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-NPS-1949
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-NPS-1949
Ainahou Ranch House under construction
Ainahou Ranch House under construction
Ainahou Ranch House and_Gardens-NPS-1949
Ainahou Ranch House and_Gardens-NPS-1949
Ainahou Ranch House-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House_and Gardens-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House_and Gardens-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-nene-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-nene-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-contemporary-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-contemporary-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-Vegetation-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-Vegetation-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-Site Plan-NPS
Ainahou Ranch House and Gardens-Site Plan-NPS
Ainahou Ranch and National Park-NPS
Ainahou Ranch and National Park-NPS
Ainahou Ranch location map-NPS
Ainahou Ranch location map-NPS

Filed Under: Economy, Buildings, Place Names, Prominent People Tagged With: Hawaii National Park, Bishop Estate, Ainahou, William Herbert Shipman, Herbert Cornelius Shipman, Hawaii, Keauhou Ranch, Hawaii Island, Arthur Brown, Volcano, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

November 28, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Halemaʻumaʻu

“Astonishment and awe for some moments rendered us mute, and like statues, we stood fixed to the spot, with our eyes riveted on the abyss below. Immediately before us yawned an immense gulf, in the form of a crescent, about two miles in length, from north-east to south-west, nearly a mile in width, and apparently eight-hundred feet deep.”

“The bottom was covered with lava, and the south-west and northern parts of it were one vast flood of burning matter, in a state of terrific ebullition, rolling to and fro its ‘fiery surge’ and flaming billows.” (Ellis, 1823)

In 1823, Reverend William Ellis visited Kīlauea caldera on his journey around the island of Hawaiʻi. He was the first foreigner to be shown the home of Pele.

By the time Ellis arrived, more than 300-years after the summit collapses of the late 1400s, the caldera had begun to refill. He measured the chasm from the highest rim to its depths; it was over 1,000-feet deep, with a series of terraces that stepped down to a vast inner crater that occupied nearly half the caldera’s floor. (NPS)

“Sometimes I have seen what is called Halemaʻumaʻu, or South Lake, enlarged to a circuit of three miles, and raging as if filled with infernal demons”. (Halemaʻumaʻu is lit., fern house.)

“On another occasion I found the great South Lake filled to the brim, and pouring out in two deep and broad canals at nearly opposite points of the lake.”

“The lava followed these crescent fissures of fifty or more feet deep and wide until they came within half a mile of meeting under the northern wall of the crater, thus nearly enclosing an area of about two miles in length and a mile and a half in breadth.”
(Coan)

According to Hawaiian oral tradition, the Kīlauea caldera formed during an epic battle between Pele, the Hawaiian volcano deity, and her younger sister, Hiʻiakaikapoliopele (Hiʻiaka.)

Pele had sent Hiʻiaka to fetch her lover, Lohiʻau, from Kauai. Upon returning, Hiʻiaka discovered that Kawahine‘aihonua (Pele, the woman who eats the land) had broken her promise and set fire to Hiʻiaka’s beloved ‘ʻōhiʻa forests.

To avenge this transgression, Hiʻiaka made love to Lohiʻau at the summit of the volcano, in full view of her sister. Pele lashed out in anger and buried Lohiʻau beneath a flood of lava.

Driven by remorse, Hiʻiaka dug furiously to recover the body. Rocks flew as she dug the great pit. Their brother stopped Hiʻiaka from digging deeper, for doing so would surely have let in water and put out the fires of Pele. Thus the great caldera of Kīlauea was formed. (NPS)

Within the heart of Kīlauea, a great reservoir swells with magma prior to an eruption. In the late 1400s, however, large volumes of magma erupted or moved elsewhere in the volcano, emptying the magma reservoir.

Its internal support withdrawn, the top of the mountain collapsed, accompanied by explosive eruptions. Great blocks of the old summit slumped inward. The gaping depression that formed was ringed with stepped terraces descending to its floor. (NPS)

The summit caldera (‘crater’) of Kilauea is 2-1/2 miles long and 2 miles wide and its floor has an area of approximately 2,600-acres. Near its southwestern edge the caldera floor is indented by the depression Halemaʻumaʻu, the ‘Fire Pit,’ a collapsed crater about 3,200-feet wide. (NPS)

Geologic evidence suggests that the modern caldera of Kīlauea formed shortly before 1500 AD. Repeated small collapses may have affected parts of the caldera floor, possibly as late as 1790. For over 300-400 years, the caldera was below the water table.

Kīlauea is an explosive volcano; several phreatic eruptions have occurred in the past 1,200 years. (Phreatic eruptions, also called phreatic explosions, occur when magma heats ground or surface water.)

The extreme temperature of the magma (from 932 to 2,138 °F) causes near-instantaneous evaporation to steam, resulting in an explosion of steam, water, ash and rock – the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens was a phreatic eruption. (NPS)

There were explosions in 1790, the most lethal known eruption of any volcano in the present US. The 1790 explosions, however, simply culminated (or at least occurred near the end of) a 300-year period of frequent explosions, some quite powerful. (USGS)

Keonehelelei is the name given by Hawaiians to the explosive eruption of Kilauea in 1790. It is probably so named “the falling sands” because the eruption involved an explosion of hot gas, ash and sand that rained down across the Kaʻū Desert. The character of the eruption was likely distinct enough to warrant a special name. (Moniz-Nakamura)

The 1790 explosion led to the death of one-third of the warrior party of Kaʻū Chief Keōuakūʻahuʻula (Keōua.) At the time Keōua was the only remaining rival of Kamehameha the Great for control of the Island of Hawaiʻi; Keōua ruled half of Hāmākua and all of Puna and Kaʻū Districts. They were passing through the Kīlauea area at the time of the eruption. (Moniz-Nakamura)

Estimates of the number of fatalities range from “about 80 warriors” (William Ellis) to about “400 people” or “800 warriors” (Stephen Desha) to “5,405 countrymen” (David Douglas, quoting an eyewitness, a Priest of Pele, in 1834.) The lower numbers are probably most realistic. The dead were warriors and family members of Keōua’s army bound for Kaʻū. (NPS)

The next subsidence of the caldera floor occurred in 1868, when large earthquakes shook the southern part of Hawaii and simultaneous eruptions occurred from Mauna Loa and Kilauea. An area about 6,200-ft wide on the central caldera floor sagged about 330-ft, and a deeper conical pit about 900 m wide and about 3,000-ft developed at its southwest end at Halemaʻumaʻu. (USGS)

The pit again filled, and by 1874 a lava shield at Halemaʻumaʻu had once again grown to about the elevation of the southern caldera rim. Minor subsidences in and around Halemaʻumaʻu occurred again in 1879, 1886, 1891, and 1894.

The subsidence of 1894 was followed by 13-years of dormancy and very subdued, episodic activity within the pit of Halemaʻumaʻu. (USGS)

Lava returned to Halemaʻumaʻu shortly after the 1924 explosions ceased, but instead of being sustained the activity was now episodic. A series of seven brief eruptions in the next 10-years reduced the depth of Halemaʻumaʻu from 390 to 150 m, and then no eruptions occurred for 18 years, from 1934 to 1952.

Sustained eruption from June to November of 1952 filled Halemaʻumaʻu with another 120 m of lava. A brief eruption in May-June 1954 added 6 m of lava in Halemaʻumaʻu and a thin lava flow on the caldera floor to the east (Macdonald, 1955) (USGS)

The eruption of Kīlauea volcano continues at two locations. In the park, the vent within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater is easily viewed from the overlook at the Jaggar Museum. The second location is the Pu’u ‘Ō’ō vent located 10 miles east of the summit, on the remote east rift zone of Kīlauea. This area is not accessible to the public.

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Overlook at Jaggar Museum-Shiinoki
Overlook at Jaggar Museum-Shiinoki
Kilauea's summit caldera-Dzurisin-1980
Kilauea’s summit caldera-Dzurisin-1980
Kilauea Aerial
Kilauea Aerial
'Kilauea_Volcano',_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_William_Pinkney_Toler,_c._1860s
‘Kilauea_Volcano’,_oil_on_canvas_painting_by_William_Pinkney_Toler,_c._1860s
Kilauea_Summit-Halemaumau-Klemetti
Kilauea_Summit-Halemaumau-Klemetti
Kapiolani_Defying_Pele-(HerbKane)
Kapiolani_Defying_Pele-(HerbKane)
Halemaumau-1930
Halemaumau-1930
Eruption column from Halemaumau. Photo by Tai Sing Loo at 1500 on May 23, 1924 from near Volcano house or HVO-(USGS)
0820. cloud is now over 3.7 km high-three lightning bolts observed in the column-(USGS)-1924
0820. cloud is now over 3.7 km high-three lightning bolts observed in the column-(USGS)-1924

Filed Under: General, Hawaiian Traditions, Place Names Tagged With: Volcano, Kilauea, Halemaumau, Hawaii

October 10, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Peter Lee Road

“The wonderful volcano of Kīlauea, on the island of Hawaii, is the great attractive of visitors. It is the only crater in the world that is constantly in action, and that can be safely approached at all times to the very edge of the precipice which encloses the boiling lava.”

“To reach Kīlauea necessitates a passage of thirty hours from Honolulu in a fine steamer to Hilo or Punalu‘u, then a ride of thirty miles in coaches takes visitors to a fine hotel, which overlooks the molten lava lake. It is a sight that will repay the effort and expense incurred ten times over, and one that will never be forgotten.” (Whitney)

“The Interisland steamer W G Hall, 380 tons burthen, leaves Honolulu alternate Tuesdays and Fridays, at 10 A. M. She is one of the best sea boats plying in our waters, and tourists will find her accomodations and table equal to any, while her officers and stewards are ever on the alert to supply all their wants.”

“(T)he steamer at once proceeds to Punalu‘u, the terminus of the sea route. This is usually reached about 6 P. M. The passengers are landed in boats and will proceed to the Punalu‘u hotel, where they will find themselves comfortably taken care of.” (Whitney)

Lee set upon this venture with the idea of popularizing the Punalu‘u-Pahala route to Kilauea. In 1891, Peter Lee, an enterprising pioneer with an eye to the future, built a 24-mile wagon road from Pahala to Kilauea, following by seven years the construction of a hotel at Punalu‘u, which then became a third takeoff point. (NPS)

“The hotel is clean, the table good, and the proprietor will be found very obliging and ready to afford any information required.” (Whitney)

“Early in the morning the start for the Volcano is made. The first five miles are done by rail to Pahala, where the Hawaiian Agricultural Company have a large plantation and a fine mill. The fields extend far up the hillside and the constant moving of wagons, riders and gangs of men makes a busy scene.” (Whitney)

“At Pahala a coach will be found ready to convey the tourists to the Volcano. The road passes through a pleasant grassy country with the tree-clad slopes of Mauna Loa lying to the left, while to the right glimpses of the sea and the lower land are occasionally caught.” Whitney)

“The Half-way House is reached in about three hours. Here a lunch is prepared for the travelers, and a short rest is given to the animals. The air becomes cooler as the coach advances, and a pleasant ride of seven hours through a country abounding in pretty scenery brings the party to the vicinity of the Volcano House.”

“The smoke which forever overhangs this wonder of nature will have been pointed out by the guide, long before the crater is reached. About a mile from the Volcano House, a first view into the crater is obtained. By daylight the sight is by no means so striking as at night, but enough can be seen to excite wonder in the beholder.” (Whitney)

“For a number of years the Government road from Pahala in Kā‘u, to the Volcano has been practically abandoned, and a private road built and owned by Mr. Lee has been generally traveled.” (Minister of the Interior Report, 1894)

The best estimate for the date of completion of Peter Lee’s Road comes from a Volcano House register entry dated October 1888 by a guest who claimed to be the first visitor to travel by means of a wheeled conveyance the entire way from an ocean port to the volcano.

It is possible that the road was finished earlier, or that the segment that finally connected the two roads was completed before the entire road was fit for travel. (NPS)

In correspondence from Lee to Thurston, Lee notes, “I am just now making a carriage road to the Volcano on the Kā‘u side, which road will be completed in a few weeks, Several competent people have overlooked this road and are highly recommending it.”

“As I have been employed for several years in road building in Peru and California, I am thoroughly familiar with this kind of work, and am confident that I can make this road as good and cheap, and in as short a time as anybody in the country.” (Lee to Thurston, September 22, 1888; Maly)

However, the construction of the Volcano Road from Hilo had begun. With the completion of the Hilo to Volcano Road in 1894, four-horse stagecoaches came into the picture, reducing the travel time from Hilo from two days to six and one-half hours, and Hilo became the principal departure point for Kilauea. (NPS)

Back to Peter Lee’s road … “The Legislature of 1892 passed an appropriation for the purchase of this road, and practically it was turned over to the Government in December, 1892; but the formal transfer was only completed in January, 1894. The purchase price being $4,500.” (Minister of the Interior Report, 1894)

“This is the main road for travel between the districts of Hilo and Kau, and until last October was the only road by which carriages could go to the Volcano.”

“Nothing has been done on the road by way of repairs for a long time, and it is now a very uncomfortable carriage road. The Kau Road Board should be instructed to put it in order, and in addition, certain portions crossing the lava flows should be regraded and reconstructed, and finished with the traction engine now in use on the Volcano road.” (Minister of the Interior Report, 1894)

Peter Lee sold the Punalu‘u Hotel to the new buyers of the Volcano House; he managed both hotels for them.

From the early 1900s, prisoners at Namakanipaio worked on rebuilding the “Peter Lee Road” into Kaʻū, and on roads and trails around the Kilauea, and towards Puna. The prison site was closed shortly after 1915. (Maly)

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Fern Forest Road to the volcano from Punaluu, Hawaii Island-PP-28-13-008
Fern Forest Road to the volcano from Punaluu, Hawaii Island-PP-28-13-008
Punaluu-S00084-1880
Punaluu-S00084-1880
Suspected Peter Lee Road Marker noting completion-Aug 1887-NPS
Suspected Peter Lee Road Marker noting completion-Aug 1887-NPS
KilaueaCrater_USGS_Quadrangle-KilaueaCrater-1922-portion-Peter Lee Road
KilaueaCrater_USGS_Quadrangle-KilaueaCrater-1922-portion-Peter Lee Road

Filed Under: Economy, General, Place Names Tagged With: Punaluu, Pahala, Peter Lee Road, Volcano Road, Peter Lee, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Hilo, Volcano

August 11, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ford Tough

“When this earth was created, Nature, it seems, was more concerned with things other than road making, as witness the (attached) illustration.”

“The pictures shown herewith were taken during one of Professor T. A. Jaggar’s daily trips along one of the stretches which Nature forgot to pave with crushed stone and asphalt.”

“Professor Jaggar, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a noted volcano specialist, and most of his work is done around the craters of the smouldering mountains he studies.”

“As director of the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, he has devoted nearly all of his attention to the famous Mauna Loa and Kilauea craters, living right at the scene of his activities and experiments for the past twelve years.”

“Although hazardous, Professor Jaggar makes it his business to get as close as possible to the scenes of eruption and volcanic action in order to obtain first-hand photographs, lava samples, temperature readings, and other valuable scientific data.”

“In this field of work one needs a ‘business car’ just as much as in any other calling, and so the scientist got himself a car that would be not only easy of operation but would stand the terrible strain of volcano climbing as well.”

“The professor bought a Ford and made a few alterations to suit his particular needs, with the result that the machine became more efficient than beautiful.”

“If you will refer to the picture, you will note that the fenders and doors are stripped, and that dual wheels are installed on the rear axle, which enable the car to travel over boulders 10 and 12 inches high with little difficulty, and also to go through deep sand and “aa,” which is the Hawaiian for clinker lava.”

“After having seen about half a dozen years of the most strenuous service imaginable, the car is still ‘going strong.’”

“Mauna Loa is the largest, although not the highest, volcano in the world, being 13,760 feet above sea level ; Kilauea crater is an immense cavity three miles long by two miles wide on the east slope of Mauna Loa.”

“These immense caldrons are reached by means of a very steep, rough trail, which more than proves the marvelous durability of the only car that has ascended it.”

“At the present time nothing but a pack trail leads to the summit of Mauna Loa, and so the Ford cannot be driven to the top, but it has plenty to do in the vicinity of Kilauea and also on the vast flanks of Mauna Loa, where various eruptions have taken place.”

“About a mile distant from Kilauea is a smaller, extinct crater known as ‘Little Kilauea.’ While it is no longer a sea of molten lava, like its near-by active brothers, nevertheless its surface is hot enough in places to be detrimental to the rubber tires on Professor Jaggar’s Ford, and uncomfortable for the feet of his dog.”

“The machine is often ‘cruised’ over freshly flowed lava that is not yet cool in order to make scientific investigations.”

“Professor Jaggar has set up a drilling rig here for the purpose of getting down into the hot lava bed directly beneath the surface to determine the subterranean temperatures and to take samples of gases.”

“The Ford car has been of indispensable assistance in transporting the equipment to and across the terribly rough crater floor; also in carrying the large quantity of water needed when drilling into the hot lava.”

“Heavy photographic equipment is easily taken care of by the car, and specimens are often gathered which have to be taken back to the observatory for study.”

“Because of these and numerous other services rendered by the car, no limit can be placed upon its value to the expedition.”

“At times, the lava in the crater rises rapidly and overflows, spreading destruction on its path. Occurrences like this have been the occasion for several intensive and hazardous expeditions by Professor Jaggar and his party.”

“Professor Jaggar has discovered many facts of scientific importance, and is working on plans for utilizing the heat of the volcano for commercial purposes. He believes that ways can be found to generate a large amount of electricity.”

“First, he hopes that a near-by hotel can be supplied with all the current needed; and eventually, if practical ways are found for harnessing the energy, the entire island will get its power from the volcano.” (This entire post is from Ford News, July 22, 1923.)

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Jaggar-Ford Tough-FordNews-July 22, 1923
Jaggar-Ford Tough-FordNews-July 22, 1923

Filed Under: Economy, General, Place Names, Prominent People Tagged With: Volcano, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Ford, Ford Tough, Hawaii, Hawaii Island, Thomas Jaggar

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Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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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Recent Posts

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Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

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