Podmore Fire Control

Most folks call the Podmore Fire Control bunker the Lanikai Pillboxes; a misnomer.  The bunkers were built as an observation and command center for Battery Wailea and observation for Bellows Field.  Part of the defense of the facility was Battery Wailea, located at Wailea Point (at the dividing line between Waimanalo and Lanikai.)

Podmore, completed February 28, 1943 - named for a nearby triangulation station, observed for Battery Wailea. Initially armed with two mobile 155-mm guns (about 6-inches, that could send 96-lb projectiles 17,400-yds,) it was later replaced with two 5-inch guns (58-lb projectile, 10,000-yd range) (later supplemented with two 3-inch guns (15-lb projectile, 11,100-yd range.))

Click HERE for the full post and images.

Postcards, Sails, Sheets, Lights, Ads, Fires and Radio Signals

The attack on the US military installation at Pearl Harbor and other parts of Oʻahu by Japan’s Imperial military was one of the most successful surprise attacks in military history.

But an often overlooked component of the successful attack is that the Japanese Empire had contracted with Bernard Otto Julius Kuehn, a German Nazi, to spy on the American military operations at Pearl Harbor from 1935 (an early ‘sleeper agent’ in espionage.)

The family had been contracted as agents of the Japanese government with the assistance of the Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. The arrangement was promoted and negotiated by Goebbels as a byproduct of his relationship with Kuehn’s attractive 17-year old daughter, Susie Ruth.  (Washington Times)

The execution of the plan was reminiscent of “one, if by land, and two, if by sea,” the phrase coined by American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem, Paul Revere’s Ride.

It references the secret signal during Revere’s ride from Boston to Concord on the verge of American Revolutionary War alerting patriots about the route the British troops would take to Concord (two lanterns were shown, the British rowed over to Cambridge.)

The Kuehns arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1935; they started their spying then.  They blended in, and waited.

No one seriously suspected that Caucasians would carry on espionage for the Empire of Japan, so Kuehn, his wife Friedel, their daughter and son, Hans Joachim, were virtually inconspicuous as a white family on the windward side.

Kuehn had houses in Hawaiʻi, lots of money, but no real job. Investigations by the Bureau and the Army, though, never turned up definite proof of spying.  (FBI)

However, every member of the family contributed towards collecting and documenting military activities at Pearl Harbor from 1935 right up to the day the bombs fell from Japanese aircraft.

Paid for his services, in three years he banked more than $70,000; one payment was $14,000 in $100 bills. They had houses in Lanikai and Kailua; these later served as the means of their intricate, yet simple, signaling system.  (Pearl Harbor Board)

The Kuehn family took various means to gather information.

Kuehn would scout the ships at Pearl Harbor.  Daughter Susie Ruth set up a beauty parlor and used it to gather gossip and random information from wives and girlfriends of the military men stationed at Pearl Harbor.  Mother Friedel kept track of all the notes.

Ten-year-old Hans was dressed in a sailor suit and with his father would walk down near the docks.  Many of the sailors thought the little guy was quite cute and some gave him unofficial “tours” of their ships.

Coached by his father, he would ask specific questions and observe everything he saw. Later he would be systematically debriefed by his parents.

The Kuehn family was not working alone; they worked with other Japanese spies attached to the Japanese consulate.

If the Consulate wanted to contact Kuehn, they would send a postcard signed “Jimmie” to his Post Office Box 1476 in Honolulu.  (Pearl Harbor Board)

On December 2, days before the attack, he provided specific - and highly accurate - details on the fleet in writing. That same day, he gave the consulate the set of signals that could be picked up by nearby Japanese submarines.  (FBI)

The set of signals contained eight combinations, each signal represented a number and each number represented the status of the naval fleet at Pearl Harbor.

No. 1 – battle fleet prepared to leave
No. 2 – scouting force prepared to leave
No. 3 – battle fleet left 1 to 3 days ago
No. 4 – scouting fleet left 1 to 3 days ago
No. 5 – air craft carriers left 1 to 3 days ago
No. 6 – battle fleet left 4 to 6 days ago
No. 7 – scout force left 4 to 6 days ago
No. 8 – aircraft carriers left 4 to 6 days ago

Signals were given that represented these respective code numbers.  Part of how they did this was to shine lights out windows and hang sheets on the laundry line.  These were done from their homes in Lanikai and Kailua (using lights in a dormer window.)

One light shining from the window between 7 and 8 pm meant No. 1; one light from 8 to 9 pm meant No. 2 and so forth for Nos. 3 and 4.  Two lights shining from the window from 7 to 8 meant No. 5, etc.  Hanging sheets on the laundry line carried the similar code.

An alternative display of the code used different patterns in the sail of Kuehn’s boat off Lanikai; a sail with/without a star and numbers at different hours represented corresponding references back to the code.

They also arranged the signal through KGMB Want Ads – different advertised items represented different numbers (ie Chinese rug, chicken farm, beauty parlor operator wanted, etc.)

Two other signaling means included garbage fires on a friend’s property on the side of Haleakala on Maui between certain times, representing different code numbers.  Signals were also sent via shortwave radio.  (Pearl Harbor Board)

Following the fateful attack of December 7, 1941, Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Robert Shivers immediately began coordinating homeland security in Hawaiʻi and tasked local police with guarding the Japanese consulate. They found its officials trying to burn reams of paper. These documents - once decoded - included a set of signals for US fleet movements.  (FBI)

All fingers pointed at Kuehn. He had the dormer window, the sailboat and big bank accounts. Kuehn was arrested the next day and confessed, though he denied ever sending coded signals. (FBI)

On February 21, 1942, just 76 days after the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor, a military court in Honolulu found Bernard Otto Julius Kuehn guilty of spying and sentenced to be shot "by musketry" in Honolulu.  His sentence was later commuted to 50 years of hard labor.

He served time in Leavenworth Penitentiary from December 1, 1942 to June 6, 1946 (when his sentence was commuted in order to deport him.)  On December 3, 1948, he was deported to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  (FBI)

Kuehn was one of 91-people convicted of spying against the United States from 1938 to 1945.  (FBI)

The image shows the Kuehn home on Kainalu Drive in Kailua (star-bulletin.)  I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Kainalu Elementary (my alma mater, grades K-2) recently held a community session where Dr Paul Brennan spoke of the history of Kailua, Oʻahu.

I taped the presentation and posted it on YouTube – Click HERE to seen the video.

He includes several old photos and maps to help tell the Kailua story.

Kaiakeakua

Royal Centers were where the aliʻi resided.

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)

For centuries, Kaiakeakua (also spelled Kaiakekua) was a favored place for royalty.

“Perhaps … because it was a place celebrated for the constant appearance of fishes. Sometimes kule, fish that burrow in the sand … for there is sand (at) Kaiakekua …” (John Papa ʻIʻi)

"This sandy stretch, called Kaiakekua was a canoe landing, with some houses mauka of it. ... Its fresh water came up from the pāhoehoe and mixed with the water of the sea."

"It was a gathering place for those who went swimming and a place where the surf rolled in and dashed on land when it was rough. ... just makai was a patch of sand facing north, where canoes landed".  (John Papa ʻIʻi)

"There were chiefs and families of chiefs ...(and) ... The sands of Kaiakeakua were worn down like a dromedary's (camel's) back by the many feet of chiefs and chiefesses tramping over them, and ... could be seen at night the sparkle of lights reflected in the sea like diamonds, from the homes of the chiefs.... The number of chiefs and lesser chiefs reached into the thousands".  (Kamakau)

At about the same time of Christopher Columbus crossing the Atlantic to America (he was looking for an alternate trade route to the East Indies,) ʻUmi-a-Līloa (ʻUmi) moved his Royal Center there.

ʻUmi was famous for his battle with the gods. His wife Piʻikea, had supernatural grandmothers, who were Hapuʻu and Kalaihauola, and who desired to have a grandchild that they might take to Oʻahu to bring up, because the mother of Piʻikea, Laieloheloheikawai, belonged to Oahu.

Laieloheloheikawai sent the supernatural grandmothers to Hawaiʻi to obtain one of Piʻikea's children. When they arrived in Hawaiʻi ʻUmi refused to permit a child to be taken.  ʻUmi offered to fight the deities at the sandy plains.

However, human beings battle with their hands, clubs and stones, but the gods without hands, and when the battle was fought the gods were victorious over the battle of men. The place is called Kaiakeakua - sea of the god - to this day.  (Fornander)

Lonoikamakahiki ca. 1640-1660 was tested at Kaiakeakua by Kanaloakuaʻana. “I want to be positive of your great skill, hence I have brought you here for that test and to satisfy myself that you are indeed a master.”

“There were about thirty spearmen to throw at the same time. After the men were ready and the spears thrown it was seen that Lonoikamakahiki was not hit by a single one of them.”  The test was continued from 30 spears to 80 spears, and Lonoikamakahiki was not hit.  (Fornander)

Some early writers called this place “Kayakakoua.” Joseph Paul Gaimard, zoologist on a French scientific expedition commanded by Louis de Freycinet during the years 1817-20, speaks of Kayakakoua.

"It is located on the beach and appears to consist of about four hundred houses, if you can apply this term to the smallest of huts which are not more than two or three feet high."

"There are no streets and the habitations are scattered without any order.  In addition there are three buildings for storing powder and a large storeroom built of stone covered with lime."

"The dock yards, storehouses and the principal nautical workshops of the king are also located there.  At each end of the town stands a morai (heiau) a simple elevation surrounded by a stake fence and filled with gigantic wooden idols."

Oh, the name Kaiakeakua has gone out of use ... today we simply call this place Kailua (in Kona on the Island of Hawaiʻi.)  The remnant of the once sandy beach of Kaiakeakua sits adjacent to the Kailua Pier - it's where the Ironman Triathlon World Championship starts each year.

Ironman takes place there, today.  For 13-years, I was Ironman's Director of Aid Stations (1990-2002.)  We had about 4,000-volunteers and over 30-bike and run aid stations for the approximate 1,200-contestants.  Volunteering for Ironman was a great experience; I miss it.

The image shows Kaiakeakua, Kailua Bay.  (1935) In addition, I have included other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Alāla

Alāla (lit., awakening) is a point at the south end of Kailua Beach that separates Kailua Beach and Kaʻōhao (an ʻili in the Kailua ahupuaʻa - the area is now more commonly called Lanikai) on Oʻahu.

The point takes its name from the fishing shrine, a natural stone formation, on the ridge above. Wailea, a companion fishing shrine (and point,) is located at the south end of Lanikai.  (Ulukau)

In 1920, a bridge was constructed across Kaʻelepulu Stream, giving better access to the area.

Shortly after, Harold Kainalu Long Castle sold land to developer Charles Russell Frazier (the head of Town and Country Homes, Ltd., which was the real estate division of the Trent Trust Co) to create what Frazier and Trent called Lanikai (a name they made up.)

They laid out the subdivision and the first permanent homes in the area were constructed in 1924. Development began at the northern end of the neighborhood and moved further south along the beach.

The area was initially considered a remote country location for weekend getaways or vacations at the beach for swimming, fishing, boating and hiking.

The construction of the Lanikai streets was completed by October 1925. Included in the deeds for the Lanikai subdivision were restrictions that remained in effect until 1950, against building within 18-feet of the property boundary line along the street or using the property for anything other than residences.

At about the same time, Frazier leased a couple-hundred acres of neighboring land from Bishop Estate.  He persuaded sixty-five men, many of whom were purchasing his lots and cottages at Lanikai, to commit to a country club project (Kailua Country Club; the name quickly changed to Mid-Pacific Country Club.)

In 1926, the development doubled in size and Frazier added the now-iconic monument at the entrance to the development.

It was designed by the famed local architect Hart Wood.  (Wood, known for residential and commercial structures (including Alexander & Baldwin Building and Honolulu Hale,) designed the also-iconic "Hawaiian" double-hipped roof pattern and "lanai" or broad roofed-in patio with open sides.)

The Lanikai Monument's use of rough concrete and stone is in keeping with Wood's experiments with natural stone indigenous to the structure's site, an example of which is his Makiki Christian Science Church.

The Lanikai Monument is a simple pillar located on a narrow strip of land that is a high point next to the road; it's there to mark the boundary and entry point of the subdivision and golf course. It is still in its original location and its original design remains almost intact.

The tapered concrete base structure is 40-feet in circumference and 56 inches high. The pillar is made of concrete and stone.

The 16 foot tall pillar has a gentle taper from its 5-foot-diameter lower portion to a slightly narrower and rounded concrete top that is capped with a conical concrete cap. Two curved metal plates near the top bear the name, "Lanikai."  (NPS)

For decades, beach houses in Lanikai were mainly used as a retreat from Honolulu; however, in the 1950s, the area began to develop into a more suburban residential area.  (The Pali Highway and its tunnels opened in 1959; that helped spark the change.)

Lanikai Beach had a white sandy beach approximately one mile long (about half of this has disappeared over the years due to erosion and seawalls along the shore.)

During cleaning of the monument in 2001, it lost its pointed metal spear at the top, as well as the heavy chain that surrounded the monument and draped from four metal rings.

The image shows the Lanikai Monument in 1925.  (gokailuamagazine)  In addition, I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Campos Dairy

During the mid-1800s, Queen Kalama, wife of Kamehameha III, and Judge CC Harris attempted to establish a sugar plantation on the majority of lands in Kāneʻohe and Kailua. When this venture failed in 1871, Judge Harris obtained title to the lands, which he transferred to his daughter Nannie R Rice.

JP Mendonca leased the lands from her and, on November 1, 1894, incorporated Kāneʻohe Ranch, for the purpose of raising cattle. A foundation herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle formed the basis for a commercial herd of between two and three thousand head.

The “wet-lands” on the property were leased to Chinese for rice cultivation. In 1907, James B Castle acquired the capital stock of Kāneʻohe Ranch Company Limited, and in 1917 his son Harold KL Castle eventually purchased the lands from Mrs Rice.

The cattle industry remained an integral part of the ranch’s operations until World War II, with the herds in the early days being driven by cowboys over the Pali to be butchered in Honolulu. Military operations on the ranch lands became so extensive during World War II that the cattle industry was discontinued.

The 12,000-acre ranch, when it came under the direction of Mr Castle, also engaged in the cultivation of pineapple. However, because of the extensive rainfall on this side of the island, pineapples proved uneconomical and in the 1920s were discontinued. Likewise, because of competition from California, rice farming declined in the 1930s.  (NPS)

Parts of the area became used by dairy farms … that leads us to the Campos clan.

One of the biggest dairies on the Island was Campos Dairy in Kailua (it was also called LW Campos Ranch and Eagle Rock Dairy - because there was a large lava outcrop in the middle of a flat field shaped like an eagle.)  (Miranda)

Rafael Campos Marfil was born in Velez, Malaga, Spain on June 30, 1860 to Antonio Gonzales Campos and Ana Robles Marfil.  Campos married Maria Gallardo Claros de Macharaviaya, they had 22-children.  He came to Hawaiʻi in about 1910.

1912 newspaper reports show Campos was farming in Kapahulu (near where the Honolulu Zoo is situated.)  Campos "is an expert farmer who arrived here from Spain in the immigrant steamer Heliopolis …”

The newspaper was reporting on losses he suffered on his vegetable and fruit farm due to fruit flies attacking his Chile pepper.  He noted, “If something is not done in regard to the fruit fly, our islands will be ruined as far as vegetables and fruits are concerned.”  (Hawaiian Star, June 6, 1912)  That same year, recorded transactions note he also sold cows.

During the 1920s and 1930s several dairymen moved from Kapahulu to the windward side because large tracts of land had been abandoned by Libby, McNeill & Libby, following the closing of their pineapple cannery in Kahaluʻu.

Campos Dairy farm appeared in 1925 along the mauka side of Kailua Road (reportedly, one of the first to make the move to the Windward side.)

Leasing land from Kāneʻohe Ranch, Campos also bought land around Kaʻelepulu Stream.  A 1994 MidWeek cover story said the Campos land included 800 to 1,000-acres, where a herd of 1,000 to 1,200-cattle roamed.  (Star-Bulletin)

In the late-1930s, his son, Lawrence, purchased the dairy from his father (another son, George, also was involved with management of the dairy.)

Campos sold milk to the Dairymen's Association (a cooperative formed in June 1897 when seven O'ahu dairy farms joined forces (Waiʻalae Ranch dairy, Kaipu Dairy, Mānoa Dairy, Honolulu Dairy, Nuʻuanu Valley Dairy, Woodlawn Dairy (Mānoa) and Kapahulu Dairy.)) (In 1959, the Dairymen’s Association, Ltd name changed to Meadow Gold Dairies Hawai‘i.)

Due to disagreement in a new policy, Campos was ready to go out on his own.  “The decision to go into his own milk and dairy products business was made, according to Mr Campos, when Dairymen’s refused him the renewal of the flat-rate contract … he was asked to join the pool to which most of the milk producers now belong”.  (Honolulu Record, September 7, 1950)

Lawrence Campos of the Eagle Rock Dairy planned to go into distributing milk in competition with the Dairymen’s Association.  This brought speculation of a “milk price war.”

“Campos is working closely with owners of the Hygienic Dairy in his plans to organize a million dollar company … Hygienic has also had disagreement on a contract renewal with Dairymen’s.” (Honolulu Record, September 14, 1950)

By 1952, Campos is noted as “processing and selling milk;” that year, Foremost bought Campos Dairy Products, Ltd, as well as several other dairies and made its entrance into the Honolulu milk market.  Operations were later transferred to Waimanalo.  (FTC)

In the late-1960s, negotiation were underway by respective parties to acquire the Campos lease on the Castle/Kāneʻohe Ranch lands – the plan was to develop the pasture into apartments, condominium and commercial uses (one party offered $1,370,000 to purchase the Campos Ranch leases with Castle.)

In the 1960s, the state had about 50 dairies; now, there are 15-farms with dairy cows and two commercial dairies licensed to sell milk — Island Dairy on the Big Island, which sells under the label Hawaii’s Fresh Milk, and Meadow Gold Dairies of Honolulu, according to a 2009 USDA report. (PBN)  Mauna Moo is moving ahead with a planned dairy and cheesery.

Most of our milk is now imported.  Returning Hawaii to a 100% local milk supply would require an estimated 10,000 cows.

The image shows Campos Dairy lands, and other uses in Kailua in the 1940s.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Maunawili

While the valley is known as Maunawili, the word itself is a contraction of "twisted mountain."

Archaeologists tell us that inland migration in the eleventh and twelfth centuries generally followed Maunawili and Kahanaʻiki streams into Maunawili valley with population concentrated at Kukanono (around the Castle Hospital area) and Maunawili, where fresh water was plentiful in both places.

In ancient times, the natural springs of Maunawili fed a network of streams that laced the valley: Makawao, furthest back in the valley; Ainoi, Maunawili, Omao and Palapu, all of which flowed into a common tributary to Kawainui.  A separate branch further toward the Pali, Kahana'iki, also fed the marsh.

Irrigated loʻi – interspersed with ti and popolo (black nightshade herb) plantings – stretched to Kawainui's fishponds. There the streams fed nutrient-rich water into the ponds to nurture limu (algae) for the fish as well as to sustain lepo'ai'ai, edible mud the color of poi and the texture of haupia.

James Boyd, a British seaman (and Kamehameha confidant) is believed to be the first white landowner in the Kailua area. He and his descendants operated the Maunawili Ranch until it was acquired by William G. Irwin, a sugar factor. The ranch was one of the largest cattle operations on Windward Oahu in the 19th century.  Irwin bought up the valley in the early-1890s as watershed to irrigate a Waimanalo sugar plantation.

In addition, he and others experimented with other crops.  At first, rice paddies replaced the taro lo'i (starting in about the 1860s.)  In 1894, Irwin's Maunawili ranch manager, George Gibb, began planting coffee.

He expanded his planting each year thereafter until 1900, by which time over 110-acres were planted in Liberian beans (a coffee mill was later added.)  Gibb's records show he planted "300 Carica papaya" in December of 1902, suggesting he was the first to plant solo papayas in Hawai'i.

Avocado and cacao were planted the following year.  In 1904, Kona oranges were attempted along with 210 Eucalyptus Robusta; more Kona oranges and mangosteen, possibly for the first time in Hawaii, were tried in 1905. Koa and Chinese banyan were planted in 1906 and Kola nut in 1910.

Some of these early plantings took decades to mature. In April of 1939, the ranch manager reported fruits on trees dating back to 1905. But by then he had lost hope for Brazilian Cherries dating to 1903, an Apple variety of approximately the same time, and several other trees going back as far as 1900.

All this experimentation was a sideline to Maunawili's value as the only promising water source for the perpetually-parched Waimanalo plantation. In 1900, to explore that promise Irwin retained M. M. O'Shaughnessy, a civil engineer celebrated for building early dams and tunnels in California and Hawaii.

O'Shaughnessy learned that, in addition to 43 inches of average annual rainfall, the plantation was irrigated by Maunawili spring "and all springs and streams east of it to the Ranch boundary, amounting in all to 1.5 million (gallons) in ordinary times and in dry seasons to one million gallons."

If Maunawili could be tapped for another four million gallons during a four-month dry season, plantation manager George Chalmers forecast another 1,000 tons in annual sugar production.

C Brewer acquired a stake in the valley in 1910 when the sugar factor acquired Irwin's business when he retired.  In a June 27, 1924 report, the ranch was described as "sparsely forested foothills close to the mountain wall" with indigenous Hawaiian trees: koa, kukui and some lehua. The remaining area was largely "overrun with staghorn fern, and lower portions have a substantial growth of low guava."

The report continued: "Here and there Java plum, waiawi, a few eucalyptus, iron wood, coffee and rubber trees are apparently thriving."

A forest reserve line was proposed that would take in ranch land then used for pasturage, "a large portion of which . . . suitable for pineapple cultivation." But the benefits of a reforestation program to stabilize water flow for the summer months at Waimanalo out-weighed this consideration.

Under Brewer, from 1924 through 1926, there was a massive cultivation effort with nearly 80,000 trees in the three year period. Juniper, Mahogany, Australian cedar and tropical ash were among them.

From 1927 through 1932 a total of 45 different varieties of fruit trees were introduced to the valley by Brewer ranging from Allspice to water apple. By 1931, a large number of solo papaya trees and many varieties of banana were growing plus a total of nearly 11,000-cashew trees.

The cashew plantings had resulted in "excellent growth" but a serious blight affected the blossom "if the blossom season occurs during wet weather;" the cashew nut crops had been poor.  Australian Macadamia plantings were placed between the solo papaya trees in 1936; at that time, avocados, limes, banyan and coconut trees also were carried on the ranch's rolls.

In the summer of 1939 the UH College of Agriculture advised Brewer to embark on the cultivation of papaya at Maunawili on a large scale and the ranch manager was instructed to give the proposal serious evaluation.

That fall, the Territorial Board of Agriculture & Forestry asked for Hayden mango tree branches for propagation and permission to release pheasants in the valley. The ranch manager was against introducing any further pheasants because they damaged young growing plants, especially papaya, and suggested doves as a better choice because they fed on weed seeds rather than plants.

Lili‘uokalani used to visit friends at the Boyd estate in Maunawili.  She and her brother King David Kalākaua were regular guests and attended parties or simply came there to rest.  Guests would walk between two parallel rows of royal palms, farewells would be exchanged; then they would ride away on horseback or in their carriages.

On one trip, when leaving, she witnessed a particularly affectionate farewell between a gentleman in her party and a lovely young girl from Maunawili.  As they rode up the Pali and into the swirling winds, she started to hum a melody weaving words into a romantic song.  The Queen continued to hum and completed her song as they rode the winding trail down the valley back to Honolulu.

She put her words to music and as a result of that 1878 visit she wrote “Aloha ‘Oe.”  (Lots of info here from Maunawili Community Association.)

The image shows 'Maunawili Peaks (Olomana) from Kailua' by D Howard Hitchcock (1910s.)   In addition, I have included other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility

American and English heritage found those members of society who either cannot care for themselves or who do not fit societal expectations have been the subject of 'parens patriae' (parent of the nation,) whereby the state acts as the parent of any child or individual who is in need of protection (i.e., destitute widows, orphans, abused and neglected children and law violators of minority age.)

In 1850, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi passed its first legislation towards the care and training of Hawaiʻi's delinquent youth.

Then, the legislature, on December 30, 1864, approved “An act authorizing the board of education to establish an industrial and reformatory school for the care and education of helpless and neglected children, as also for the reformation of juvenile offenders".

“The only object of the said industrial and reformatory schools shall be the detention, management, education, employment, reformation, and maintenance of such children as shall be committed thereto as orphans, vagrants, truants, living an idle or dissolute life, who shall be duly convicted of any crime or misdemeanor”.  (Hawaiian Commission, Annexation Report, 1898)

In 1864, Kamehameha V created, and placed administratively under the Kingdom's Board of Education, the Keoneʻula Reformatory School, an industrial and reformatory school for boys and girls in Kapālama.  The first juvenile facility of its kind in the Islands. (The site is now home to the Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani Elementary School on King Street.)

The Board had authority to establish other industrial schools across the Islands. (Jurisdiction shifted from the Board of Education to the Board of Industrial Schools in 1915, then to the Territorial Department of Institutions in 1939.)

The Industrial School model was in response to the belief that segregation in an institutional setting was the most effective way to address the needs of neglected and delinquent youth. Major characteristics of this congregate-care facility included strict regimentation, harsh punishment, unequal treatment for boys and girls, a poor education system and an emphasis on work.

Initially, the board leased nine-acres in Kapālama, initially for 15-boys and 2-girls, and had them grow taro, vegetables and bananas.  In 1903, with the growing population, 75-boys were relocated from Keoneʻula to farmland in Waialeʻe on the North Shore, where wards could learn "habits of industry."

Farming activities were intended as much to make this facility self-supporting as to provide therapy and training for the wards. Reports about the Waialeʻe institution refer to conditions as always overcrowded.

Meanwhile, female wards moved from Kapālama to Mōʻiliʻili, then in the 1920s to the Maunawili Training School on the mauka side of Kalanianaʻole Highway in Kailua, Koʻolaupoko.

The girls' Maunawili complex included five major buildings sited on approximately 430-acres on the slopes of Olomana.  All the buildings (primarily designed by CW Dickey) were constructed between 1927 and the opening of the school in February 1929, with the exception of the gymnasium which was built in 1938.

According to an early Honolulu Star-Bulletin report, "the buildings are scattered about over the hillside, each different from the other in architectural detail. The effect is pleasing; there is no air of the reform school about the place."  (NPS)

In 1931, the boys' facility underwent a name change from Waialeʻe Industrial School to the Waialeʻe Training School for Boys; that year, the girls' Maunawili complex became known as the Kawailoa Training School.

These were Territorial institutions, in rural Oʻahu, formerly under the Department of Public Instruction but from 1915 were under a Board of Industrial Schools.  (Report of Governor's Advisory Committee on Crime, 1931)

Delinquent or dependent children under 18 years of age may be committed to these schools by the juvenile courts in proceedings not to be deemed criminal in nature; no child under 14 may be confined in any jail or police station either before, during or after trial, and no child under 18 may be confined with any adult who shall be under arrest, confinement or conviction for any offense.  (Report of Governor's Advisory Committee on Crime, 1931)

Then, in succeeding decades, various types of facilities and locales were used to house, train and educate the youths.

In 1950, three “cottages” for boys (named, Olomana, Kaʻala and Maunawili) were built on the makai side of Kalanianaʻole Highway from the girls' Kawailoa Training School in Kailua.  Then, all operations at the Waialeʻe Training School for Boys (111-boys and 45-staff members - the entire population from Waialeʻe) transferred to the new facility and the name changed to the Koʻolau Boys Home.

In 1961, all operations came under a combined administrative unit (including housing both male and female youths) with a new name, the Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF,) a branch of the Corrections Division of the reorganized Department of Social Services and Housing.

HYCF is the state’s sole juvenile facility. It's comprised of two separate facilities with three housing units: two boys’ housing units and a girls’ housing unit (with certain exceptions, HYCF houses boys confined for long terms at the main secure custody facility (“SCF.”)

The SCF is comprised of a central courtyard surrounded by three housing modules, with ten cells and a common area in each module, a school, a gymnasium, kitchen facilities, offices for administrative and medical staff, and two isolation cells.

The Olomana School, Olomana Hale Hoʻomalu and Olomana Youth Center were established since 1985 and provide support services to alienated students throughout the State of Hawaiʻi.

Olomana School (operated by the DOE) offers three main educational programs:  incarcerated youth are served at HYCF; the Olomana Hale Hoʻomalu program is to provide educational and support services to students who are temporarily confined to the juvenile detention facility; and The Olomana Youth Center serves at-risk students from Windward Oahu’s secondary schools and also HYCF students who are in transit.

Due to the pending litigation in 1991 against the State regarding conditions of confinement for women, the temporary Women’s Community Correctional Center (in what was the Koʻolau Boys Home on the makai side of the highway) was remodeled and completed in 1994 as the State’s primary women’s all-custody facility.

Women's Community Correctional Center (WCCC) is the only women’s prison in Hawaii. It also serves the needs of pre-trial and sentenced female offenders. The facility houses female offenders who are of maximum, medium and minimum custody levels.

The facility is comprised of four (4) structures; Olomana, Kaala, Maunawili and Ahiki Cottages. Every cottage operates in accordance with specific programs and classification levels.  WCCC also offers a 50-bed gender responsive, substance abuse therapeutic community called Ke Alaula.  (Lots of information here from reports from the Auditor, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, Office of Youth Services and NPS.)

The image shows the Hawaiʻi Youth Correctional Facility and Women’s Community Correctional Facility buildings labeled in Google Earth.  I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Kaʻōhao

Kaʻōhao (the tying) is an ʻili in the Kailua ahupuaʻa in the Koʻolaupoko Moku on windward Oʻahu.  Its name relates to when two women were tied together here with a loincloth after being beaten in a kōnane game.  (Ulukau)  The place where this act took place was given the name of Kaʻōhao and it so remains to this day.  (Fornander)

Hāuna, kahu to high chief Lonoikamakahiki of Hawai‘i Island, saw that two women were beating their husbands in a game of kōnane.  He offered to play the women and wagered a bet.  The women said to Hāuna: "We have nothing to offer on our side excepting ourselves. If you beat us in this present unfinished game you can take us as your property."

Hāuna then said: "I have two double canoes filled with things that are valuable; the chief articles of value on the canoes, however, are a large number of feather cloaks. If you two beat me, you two shall have the goods in the canoes together with the men on board." The women replied: "It is a bet."

After the women were beaten at the game, he tied them together and led them to his canoes where he said to one of them:
"This canoe shall be yours with everything in it from stem to stem, including the men.  The men shall be your servants; they are not for you to sleep with. And as he had spoken to her, so in like manner he spoke to the second woman. He then left the women and proceeded to meet Lonoikamakahiki.  (Fornander)

The Hawaiians used the mountain tops between Alāla Point and Wailea Point to scan the sea for fish.  Some maps and other references note the area as Alaʻapapa and Mokulua.

In 1920, a bridge was constructed across Kaʻelepulu Stream, giving better access to the area.  Before this time, the Windward side was relatively remote.  However, in 1921, the Old Pali Road was widened and paved; this helped to initiate the suburban commute across the Koʻolau.

Shortly after (1924,) Harold Kainalu Long Castle sold land to developer Charles Russell Frazier (the head of Town and Country Homes, Ltd., which was the real estate division of the Trent Trust Co.)  Frazier (primarily a marketing man, but was also developer and chief promoter,) planned the place as a resort community of summer and vacation homes.

In the 1920s, reference to the area changed, when Frazier and Richard H Trent made up the name “Lanikai” as a marketing ploy to entice wealthy buyers looking for a vacation home at the development that was references as the "Crescent of Content".

In naming it Lanikai they believed it translated ‘heavenly sea;’ however, they used the English word order.  In Hawaiian the qualifier commonly follows the noun, hence Lani-kai means 'sea heaven,’ ‘marine heavenʻ.  (Ulukau)

They laid out the subdivision and the first permanent homes in the area were constructed in 1924. Development began at the northern end of the neighborhood and moved further south along the beach.

The original lots along Mokulua Drive were numbered #1 through #39, from north to south with lots approximately 75-feet in width by 250-feet in depth, and about 18,000-square feet in area.

Beachfront properties were originally sold at an extremely low price, 20-cents per square foot, because of the lack of a windbreak.

The area was initially considered a remote country location for weekend getaways or vacations at the beach for swimming, fishing, boating and hiking.

The company’s many newspaper advertisements, which encouraged Honolulu residents to escape from the city to enjoy the recreational opportunities offered by a beach home.

These ads promoted Lanikai as a tranquil place in the country, where a “beach, protected by a reef and favored by landward breezes, is always safe for bathing.” A full-page ad, titled “Lanikai Futuregraph,” placed by Trent Trust featured their vision of the future Lanikai.

There was a row of rectangular-shaped beach-front lots, bordered by the ocean on one end and the road on the other, with homes sited near the ocean and large lawns fronting the road. The first lots sold were those along the beach and the inland lots were sold later.

The construction of the Lanikai streets was completed by October 1925. Included in the deeds for the Lanikai subdivision were restrictions that remained in effect until 1950, against building within 18-feet of the property boundary line along the street or using the property for anything other than residences.

At about the same time, Frazier leased a couple-hundred acres of neighboring land from Bishop Estate.  He persuaded sixty-five men, many of whom were purchasing his lots and cottages at Lanikai, to commit to a country club project.

Before the golf course or clubhouse was even built, the Kailua Country Club (the name quickly changed to Mid-Pacific Country Club - MPCC) was heralded in the local newspaper as a “Mecca (for) tired businessmen who seek surcease from worldly cares in the surroundings of nature.” When MPCC was founded, only two eighteen-hole courses existed on the island of Oʻahu.  (mpcchi)

In 1926, the development doubled in size and Frazier added the now-iconic monument at the entrance to the development.

It was designed by the famed local architect Hart Wood.  (Wood, known for residential and commercial structures (including Alexander & Baldwin Building and Honolulu Hale,) designed the also-iconic "Hawaiian" double-hipped roof pattern and "lanai" or broad roofed-in patio with open sides.)

For decades, beach houses in Lanikai were mainly used as a retreat from Honolulu; however, in the 1950s, the area began to develop into a more suburban residential area. Many beach houses and beach retreats were replaced by houses more suited for daily living.  (The Pali Highway and its tunnels opened in 1959; that helped spark the change.)

Lanikai Beach had a white sandy beach approximately one mile long (about half of this has disappeared over the years due to erosion and seawalls along the shore.)

The image shows Kaʻōhao (Lanikai) in the early years.   In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Billy Weaver

December 13, 1958 – 8-months before Hawaiʻi became a state ... it was described as a typical trade wind, Windward Oʻahu day; the sky was clear; the water was a little rough with whitecaps and there were good-sized waves.

Six friends, ages 9 to 15, were doing what kids do, then and now; they had paddled and rowed out to the Mokulua Islands to surf and play in the water.

Along with an 8-foot boat, they had three surfboards and three air mattresses.  The boys kept together; never was one more than 75 - 100-feet from the others.

Then, disaster struck.

Billy, 15-year old son of Spencecliff restaurants partner Clifton Weaver, was on an air mattress and missed catching a wave.  Then, the rest of the boys noticed he was clinging to the mat, apparently in difficulty.

They heard a cry for help.

Seeing blood in the water, they swam over and tried to rescue Billy – they saw he had lost a leg.

Then, one of the boys cried out ‘Shark,’ seeing it surface 30-feet away.

Fearing their small boat would swamp in the surf, they rowed to shore to get help.

About an hour-and-a-half after the attack, the Fire rescue squad was on the scene.  Other boats joined in the search.  Finally a helicopter crew from the Marine Base spotted the body on the reef.

A local resident dove down and recovered the body.  Efforts to revive him failed; Billy died from loss of blood, drowning, shock or a combination of the three.

The shark was estimated to be over 15-feet long; they believe it was a tiger shark.  It was seen still cruising in the area.

The next day, the Territory and local residents set out to capture the shark.  Bounties were offered.  Lines of hooks were set in the water where the attack occurred.  Overhead pilots spotted two schools of sharks in nearby Kailua Bay.

Over the next couple of days, more hooks were set and three tiger sharks and two sand sharks were caught.

In response to the fatal attack, the Billy Weaver Shark Research and Control Program was initiated.  Starting April 1, 1959, 595-sharks were caught off Oʻahu during the remainder of the year; 71 were tiger sharks.

Kenny Young, my father, was the fund drive chairman for the Billy Weaver Shark Control Fund (Hawaiʻi's first shark control program.)  They accepted donations, and to raise additional money teeth from the hunted sharks were put on chains and sold as necklaces.

In the old days, folks used to catch and kill sharks.  The accepted attitude was, “the only good shark is a dead shark.”

In an attempt to relieve public fears and to reduce the risk of shark attack, the state government of Hawaiʻi spent over $300,000 on shark control programs between 1959 and 1976. Six control programs of various intensity resulted in the killing of 4,668-sharks.

Subsequent evaluation of the 1959-1976 efforts noted, “Shark control programs do not appear to have had measurable effects on the rate of shark attacks in Hawaiian waters.  Implementation of large-scale control programs in the future in Hawaiʻi may not be appropriate.”  (Wetherbee, 1994)

At the turn of the century, my grandfather and his brothers (Young Brothers) used to have various jobs in Honolulu Harbor; one was taking paying customers out to harpoon sharks off-shore.  My great-uncle, William, wrote books about his adventures shark hunting.

I remember Kohala shark “hunts” on the Big Island where a donated steer carcass was tied between points in a cove and “hunters,” on surrounding cliffs using high-powered rifles, shot at sharks feeding off the carcass.

Times have changed.

We have learned that tiger sharks (the ones most implicated in attacks on humans) don’t simply dwell in small coastal territories, but are instead extremely wide-ranging.

They are opportunistic predators and typically move on soon after arriving in an area, because the element of surprise is quickly lost and potential prey become wary and difficult to catch.

We know more now and recognize that sharks are an important part of the marine ecosystem.  Sharks are often the “apex” or top of the food chain predators in their ecosystems because they have few natural predators.

As top predators, sharks help to manage healthy ocean ecosystems.  Sharks feed on the animals below them in the food chain, helping to regulate and maintain the balance of marine ecosystems; limiting the populations of their prey, in turn affects the prey species of those animals, and so on.

To some, sharks are ʻaumakua (ancestral spirits that take possession of living creatures) that make appearances to express parental concern for the living, bringing warnings of impending danger, comfort in times of stress or sorrow or in other ways being helpful.  (Kane)

Sad and Tragic, yes - we continue to have shark attacks.  However, many believe it is typically mistaken identity – the sharks mistake surfers and floaters as turtles or seals.   (Remember, we are visitors to their realm in the ocean.)

I still vividly recall Halloween morning, 2003, when DLNR’s shark expert came to my office to brief me on the shark attack on Bethany Hamilton on Kaua‘i.  It was a somber day at DLNR.  Unlike the old days, there was no “hunt” called for.   Other incidents and attacks continue to occur.

"The number of shark attacks has nothing to do with how many sharks are in the water and everything to do with how many people are in the water," said Kim Holland, University of Hawaiʻi shark researcher and Shark Task Force member. (Honolulu Advertiser, following the Hamilton attack)

John Naughton, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist, said previous efforts to remove large predatory sharks saw the proliferation of smaller ones, which harassed fishermen and their catches.

"It's an archaic way to manage the resource.  It's like the turn of the century, when they shot wolves. It doesn't make sense anymore."  (Honolulu Advertiser, November, 2003)  (Lots of information here is from Tester.)

The image shows the Mokulua Islands, looking back into Lanikai and Kailua.  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Palikū

In 1837, Samuel Northrup Castle arrived in Honolulu as a missionary.  He left Hawaiʻi for a short time, then returned as a businessman for the mission.

With Amos Cooke, he founded Castle & Cooke Company, in 1851 – it grew into being one of Hawaiʻi’s “Big Five” companies.

One of his ten children would surpass him as a businessman; James Bicknell Castle was born November 27, 1855 in Honolulu to Samuel and Mary (Tenney) Castle.

Harold Kainalu Long Castle was born July 3, 1886 in Honolulu, son of wealthy landowner James Bicknell Castle and Julia White, and grandson of Castle & Cooke founder Samuel Northrop Castle.

In 1917, Harold Castle purchased about 9,500-acres of land on the windward side of Oʻahu, in what became Kāneʻohe Ranch.  Later acquisitions added several thousand acres of land, with holdings from Heʻeia to Waimanalo.  The Castle fortune was built on ranching and dairying.

The family had land in Waikīkī, as well; it was formerly called Kalehuawehe. The surf break ‘Castles’ is named after the Castle family's three-story beachfront home; they called it Kainalu.  They later sold it to the Elks Club, who now use part of the site and lease the rest to the Outrigger Canoe Club.

With the widening and paving of Old Pali Road in 1921 (which helped to initiate the suburban commute across the Koʻolau,) the Castles realized that the Windward side of the island of Oʻahu was a beautiful place to live and could become a vibrant community.  (The Pali Highway and its tunnels opened in 1959.)

In 1927, Harold and his wife Alice Hedemann Castle built a home for themselves that overlooked much of their land holdings.  It was just below the hairpin turn, below the Pali.

They called the home Palikū (Lit., vertical cliff.)

Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue designed it (Goodhue’s other work included Los Angeles Central Public Library, the Nebraska State Capitol and Saint Thomas Church, New York City;) there were 27 rooms with ornamental ironwork, redwood beams, plumbing and electricity - one of the first buildings on the windward side of the island to have those amenities. (Brennan, Honolulu Advertiser)

In 1946, the Castles sold the 22-acre Palikū to the Catholic Church for the Saint Stephen Seminary (the seminary closed in 1970; it’s now the St. Stephen’s Diocesan Center (the driveway is makai, just below the scenic lookout at the hairpin turn.))

St. Stephen's Seminary was shut down for a time after a mysterious occurrence in October 1946.

Some suggest the seminary was haunted; when one night there were methodical clicking and tapping sounds; invisible pressure on a person in bed; dishes, pots and pans strewn all over – they suggest it was "diabolical obsession."  Later, "I understand there was some kind of a blessing done," said Bishop Joseph Ferrario, the retired bishop of Honolulu. (honoluluadvertiser)

After the seminary's ultimate closure, the facility was transformed into a diocesan center housing various offices of the diocesan curia (a diocesan center (chancery) is the branch of administration which handles all written documents used in the official government of a Roman Catholic diocese.)

The former Castle home also serves as the residence of the Bishop of Honolulu, Clarence Richard Silva, popularly known as Larry Silva (born August 6, 1949), bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the fifth Bishop of Honolulu, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on May 17, 2005.

In 1962, Castle founded the Harold KL Castle Foundation. On his death in 1967, he bequeathed a sizeable portion of his real estate assets to the Foundation.

Throughout his life, Castle donated land for churches of all different denominations because he felt that churches would bring congregations, congregations would bring stability, and that would benefit the community that was growing around them.

Mr. Castle also donated land and money to Hawaii Loa College, Castle Hospital, ʻIolani School, Castle High School, Kainalu Elementary School and the Mōkapu peninsula land, which would become the Kāneʻohe Marine Corps Base.

His foundation has annually provided millions of dollars in support to worthy causes, a good chunk of it going to the windward side of Oʻahu.

It looks like we are coming to an end of an era; recent reporting notes the core of the commercial property of Kāneʻohe Ranch and Harold KL Castle Foundation will soon be sold.

The image shows Palikū (gokailuamagazine.)  In addition, I have added other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Olomana

A story has it that Olomana was a giant and imposing warrior that ruled the area between Makapuʻu and Kualoa, in Windward Oʻahu.

Olomana was famous for his great strength and his enormous height. ʻAhuapau, the king of Oʻahu, was in fear of this man and because of this he never traveled to Koʻolau. From the Makapuʻu point to the Kaʻoio point, at Kualoa, was kapued and sacred to Olomana. (Fornander)

“Olomana was twelve yards, or six fathoms in height, if standing and measured from the head to the feet.“

When Palila arrived at the top of the Nuʻuanu cliff he laid down his club and sped on till he reached Kaʻelepulu, the place where Olomana was standing.

In this flight of the club, Palila seized hold of the end and was carried by it until he lit on the shoulder of Olomana, whereupon Olomana asked Palila: “Where are you from, you most conceited boy? for my shoulder has never been stepped on by anybody, and here you have gone and done it.” (Fornander)

Palila replied: “I am from the kapued temple; from Alanapo in Humuula, Kauai. My name is Palila and I am a soldier.” When Olomana heard this he was afraid and begged of Palila that he be saved.  (Fornander)

Palila, however, refused saying: “You shall not live.”

Palila slayed Olomana by cutting him in half.

Mount Olomana was formed as a result of a sensational battle between Olomana and Palila, a warrior sent by ʻAhuapau, the King of Oʻahu, to slay Olomana.  (KIS)

Part of Olomana became Mount Olomana; the other part of Olomana ended up on the far side of Kawainui as Mahinui, the ridge separating Kāneʻohe from Kawainui, where Kalaheo High School is located.

Olomana (“forked hill”) is actually three peaks; the tallest peak, 1,643-feet high, is named after the legendary giant, Olomana.

The second flat-topped peak is Pakuʻi at 1,520-feet named after the konohiki for the adjacent fishponds of Ka’elepulu (at what is now generally referred to as  Enchanted Lake)  and the third knife-edged peak is Ahiki at 1,480-feet (nearest Waimānalo) named after the warrior Olomana’s konohiki or overseer responsible for the wetlands of Kawainui.

Geologists note Olomana is a residual ridge, a remnant of the old Koʻolau volcano.   (Other remnants of that volcano include Keolu Hills and the Mokulua Islands.)  (SOEST)

Olomana seems to be a favorite for hikers.  They say it’s for intermediate to expert level hikers.  The trail is approximately 2.5-miles long. The terrain is rugged with many areas only passable with the aid of ropes.

From our house, we can see silhouettes of folks on Olomana’s peak.  Likewise, we regularly see helicopters hovering over the area, rescuing another of these hikers.

The image shows Olomana with hikers from the Trail and Mountain Club (Baker, Saga) in the early-1930s.  In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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In The Beginning They Called It Wireless

Since previous communication had been by means of wires, "wireless" seemed like the logical name and it served until 1906.

In that year, an international conference meeting in Berlin, Germany, decided that, instead, the word "radio" should be used to describe the new means of communication.  (Coe)

In the 1920s, there were four communications organizations in the US: the American Telephone and Telegraph Co, Western Union Telegraph Co, International Telephone and Telegraph Co, and Radio Corporation of America.

Two of them operated international radiotelegraph circuits - the ITT and the RCA. The ITT had a radio-telegraph subsidiary known as Mackay Radio and Telegraph Co, which operated radio circuits to a few foreign countries, in addition to its radio service to and from ships at sea.

Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company was founded by Clarence H Mackay, son of John W Mackay.  Clarence Mackay was the father-in-law of composer Irving Berlin.

John Mackay initially made his fortune in Comstock silver, but he later (1883) moved into telegraphic communications.  Mackay formed several telegraph communications companies to compete with Western Union.

When John Mackay died in 1902, Clarence inherited the businesses.

Clarence Mackay saw to the completion of the transpacific cable. Radio was added to the business end of things in 1925 to provide "radiogram" service to every area of the world.

In May, 1928, the Federal Mackay Radio Company opened a new station at Kailua, Oʻahu. Intended to take overflow cable traffic, the station operated on the then new high frequency radio system for transpacific communication and developed into an important transpacific station.  (Thrum 1929)

Mackay Radio was mainly interested in maritime communications which went along with the maritime radio-telegraph business.  By 1928, ITT had merged with most of Mackay's business interests but the Mackay name continued on for several decades.

The Mackay Radio and Telegraph Co radio tower was located on the Kāneʻohe side of Kailua Road just before you get to the bridge that marks the entrance to Kailua town (the wooden bridge was replaced by a concrete one in 1940.)

The tower was an inescapable landmark overshadowing the community.  It's gone now; and so is Mackay's company from the community.

But Mackay Radio and Telegraph has left a lasting legacy in corporate operations.

By the mid-1930s, Mackay Radio’s principal West Coast office was in San Francisco, and it had other sending facilities in several cities. These facilities transmitted and received both telegraph and radio messages.  From the San Francisco facility, the company maintained point-to-point radio circuits with Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Hawaiʻi, Tokyo and Shanghai, among other locations.

However, the Mackay system had long been in weak financial condition and, by the mid-1930s, its corporate parent stood under considerable strain.  Disturbed by cutbacks in their working conditions and changes in employment policies, the Mackay workers began a union-organizing effort in the early part of 1934.

They then sought to negotiate with the Company. No agreement was reached, and a strike began at 12:01 am on October 5, 1935.  A later National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finding led to a lawsuit and subsequent US Supreme Court decision.

In a landmark 7-0 ruling (NLRB v. Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co (1938)) the Supreme Court made two significant decisions: (1) an employer may hire strikebreakers and is not bound to discharge any of them if or when a strike ends and (2) workers who strike remain employees for the purposes of the National Labor Relations Act and an employer may not discriminate on the basis of union activity in reinstating employees at the end of a strike.

The "Mackay Doctrine," as the striker replacement portion of the ruling is known, is one of the most significant Supreme Court rulings in American labor law, and has defined collective bargaining in the United States since its publication.

The rule forbids employers to discharge workers who engage in a legal strike. At the same time, it allows employers to hire other workers to take their jobs.

Mackay was more than a decision that provided an instrumental method for a firm to replace economic strikers and to resist their return to employment after a strike. It was also a decision that established important practices that constituted the conduct of union-management bargaining.

The ruling is highly controversial, even over 70-years later. It is strongly and uniformly condemned by labor unions, and resolutely defended by employers. In the legal community, however, "the doctrine continues to provoke the notice and the nearly universal condemnation of scholars."  (Getman & Kohler)

The lawsuit that initiated this decision was based on the economic conditions of the larger company, not its Kailua presence; however, Mackay was here at the time of the decision and, as such, Kailua and Hawaiʻi are a part of that legacy.

The image shows the Mackay Radio and Telegraph tower in an aerial image of Kailua in 1949 (UH-Manoa.)  In addition, I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Sport of Kings, the King of Sports

Most horse races last about two minutes.

An average racehorse's stride length is 20-21 feet long, while an elite racehorse may have a stride length of 24 feet. Racehorses will take up to 150 strides per minute and their stride frequency is synchronized with breathing frequency. (Kansas State University)

The heart is one of the horse's strengths in racing. The size of a volleyball, or basketball in elite horses, the average horse's heart weighs approximately 10 pounds. An elite racehorse's heart may weigh more than 20 pounds and pump more than 75 gallons of blood per minute during a race.  (Kansas State University)

It’s not clear when the first horse race took place – some suggest racing dates back to 4500 BC.  On the continent, following the lead from our friends in the UK, horse racing dates back to 1665, with the establishment of the Newmarket course in Salisbury Plains section of the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York.

By the turn of the last century, horse racing surpassed all other spectator sports in popularity.  And it grew, as noted in the headline of the April 30, 1953 New York Times, “Racing Now Virtual King of Sports, Topping Baseball in Gate Appeal; Horse Racing Tops Baseball At Gate”.

Horse racing, which used to be called the sport of kings, was threatening to become the king of sports.  (NY Times, 1953)  It is suggested it is nicknamed the ‘Sport of Kings’ because the original patrons of the sport in Europe were members of monarchies, or were closely related to those who were.

So, what about horse racing in the Islands?  It had a kingly start here, as well.

June 21, 1803 marked an important day in Hawaiʻi horse history when the Lelia Byrd, an American ship under Captain William Shaler, arrived at Kealakekua Bay with two mares and a stallion on board – they were gifts for King Kamehameha I.

The captain left one of the mares with John Young (a trusted advisor of the King, who begged for one of the animals) then left for Lāhainā, Maui to give the mare and stallion to Kamehameha.

It’s not clear when the first horse race occurred in Hawaiʻi.  An early account of a race occurred in the Polynesian on March 6, 1858, “… a horse race came off on the Waikiki race ground between Mr. MM Webster's bay horse "Eclipse" and Mr. Kaikainahaole's sorrel horse name unknown, for $350 aside. The outside betting was very spirited … (t)he crowd of spectators of all degrees and classes could not have been short of a thousand”. (The judges declared a “no race” and all bets were off.)

Later, King Kamehameha V, held a celebration on his birthday, December 11, 1871, to honor Kamehameha I; “a public celebration was held with horse-riding and other sports.”  The date later moved to June 11, because of the better weather, and celebrated chiefly by horse races in Kapiʻolani Park, but the races eventually gave way to today’s parades of floats and pāʻū riders (that date became Kamehameha Day.)

Later, King Kalākaua dedicated Kapiʻolani Park to allow "families, children, and quiet people" to find "refreshment and recreation" in the "kindly influences of nature," and to be a "place of innocent refreshment."

An important part of the initial park was its oval horse race track.  King Kalākaua reportedly liked gambling on horse racing and in 1872 he helped form The Hawaiian Jockey Club (this organized the sport according to the rules that governed races elsewhere.)  (Kapiʻolani Park's racetrack closed in 1926.)

This wasn’t Hawaiʻi’s only horse race track.

In the late-1800s and early-1900s there was a horse racing track (Koko O Na Moku Horse Racing Track) at Kāʻanapali Beach that stretched from the present day Kāʻanapali Beach Hotel to the present day Westin Maui Resort. Races, there, ended in 1918.

The Maui County Fair & Horse Racing Association developed the old permanent Fairgrounds on Puʻunene Avenue in Kahului; the Fairgrounds included a horse-racing track. The first County Fair was held in 1918.

In 1939, the Oʻahu Jockey Club built the Kailua Race Track, on the Windward side.  In a day and age when Seabiscuit and War Admiral were stealing Mainland sports headlines, more than 6,000 fans turned out for 10 races at the brand new Kailua Race Track.  (Hogue, MidWeek)  Races there reportedly continued to 1952.

Colonel Zephaniah Spalding built a race track at Waipouli on Kauaʻi in about 1880.  His polo playing son, James Spalding, built the polo field inside the race track about 1915. A June 1920 The Garden Island noted: “HORSE PLAY - Saturday, July 3rd will be a big day at Waipouli race track. The morning will be devoted to horse races, of which a splendid program has been arranged.  In the afternoon there will be a polo game between the Reds and the Blues.”

Hilo had a track at the Hoʻolulu Park; it was started in 1900 as a horse track, with a circular half-mile loop, and used for other events such as baseball.  A grandstand was built in 1925 and nighttime baseball games started in 1928.  (Narimatsu) After the 1946 tsunami, it was used as an evacuation center where folks impacted by the tsunami who were tended by the Red Cross workers.

Later, the Honolulu Record noted (June 19, 1958,) “The first horse races in several years were held at the Hoolulu Park race track on Kamehameha Day. The Hawaii Paniola Club sponsored the program. A crowd of some 1,600 fans saw the 19 races run off. Proceeds from the show went to the Big Isle chapter of the Hawaii Cancer Fund.”

Finally, we cannot overlook the track and rodeo facility at Parker Ranch in Waimea on the Big Island.  Parker was “importing horses from the finest Mainland and English racing lines to develop the thoroughbred breed in Hawaii … as a result, the thoroughbreds racing today in Hawaii are of the same top blood lines as the prize horses in the United States and England.”

The ranch opened its race track in about 1947; over the years, races consisted of a series of races (relays, quarter mile grade, three-eighths and three-quarter mile thoroughbred.)

Every 4th of July and Labor Day, Parker Ranch continues to host its races and rodeo for thousands of participants, as well as other events throughout the year.

The image shows the track at Kapiʻolani Park.  I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Kailua, Oʻahu

About 6,000 years ago and before the arrival of the Hawaiians, Kawainui (the large [flow of] fresh water) and Ka‘elepulu (the moist blackness) were bays connected to the ocean and extended a mile inland of the present coastline (as indicated by inland deposits of sand and coral.)

A sand bar began forming across Kawainui Bay around 2,500 years ago creating Kawainui Lagoon filled with coral, fish and shellfish.  The Hawaiians probably first settled along the fringes of this lagoon.   Gradually, erosion of the hillsides surrounding Kawainui began to fill in the lagoon with sediments.

About 500 years ago, early Hawaiians maintained a freshwater fishpond in Kawainui; the fishpond was surrounded on all sides by a system of ʻauwai (canals) bringing water from Maunawili Stream (winding/twisted mountain) and springs to walled taro lo‘i (irrigated fields.)

In 1750, Kailua (two seas (probably two currents)) was the Royal Center of power for the district of Koʻolaupoko and a favored place of the O‘ahu chiefs for its abundance of fish and good canoe landings (and probably enjoyed the surf, as well.)  Kawainui was once the largest cultivated freshwater fishpond on Oʻahu.

Farmers grew kalo (taro) in the irrigated lo‘i along the streams from Maunawili and along the edges of the fishponds.  Crops of dryland kalo, banana, sweet potato and sugarcane marked the fringes of the marsh. Fishermen harvested fish from the fishponds and the sea.

In 1845 the first road was built over the Nuʻuanu Pali (cool height – cliff) to connect Windward Oʻahu with Honolulu.  It was jointly financed by the government and sugar planters who wanted easy access to the fertile lands on the windward side of Oʻahu.  Kamehameha III and two of his attendants were the first to cross on horseback.

(In 1898 this road was developed into a highway and was later replaced by the Pali Highway.  When the current Pali Highway and its tunnels opened (1959,) the original roadway was closed and is now used by hikers.)

Lili‘uokalani wrote “Aloha ‘Oe” (farewell to thee) after an 1878 visit to an estate in Maunawili.  She and her brother King David Kalākaua were regular guests and attended parties or simply came there to rest.  Guests would walk between two parallel rows of royal palms, farewells would be exchanged; then, they would ride away on horseback or in their carriages.

In the 1880s, Chinese farmers converted the Kawainui taro fields to rice; they later abandoned their farms by 1920. Cattle grazed throughout much of Kawainui.  The marsh drains into the ocean at the north end of Kailua Beach through Kawainui Canal (Oneawa Channel – built in the late-1940s.)

In 1923, planning began for the Coconut Grove subdivision.  That year, Elsie’s Store, the site of the existing Kalapawai Market (the rippling water or the shining water,) opened for business. Lanikai Store (heavenly sea,) currently Kailua Beach Center, was across the street.  (Kāneʻohe Ranch)

Shortly after that, Kailua’s first real estate subdivision was built, called Lanikai Crescent.  In 1926, Kailua Country Club opened; it was later named Mid-Pacific Country Club.  (Kāneʻohe Ranch)

In 1939, the Oʻahu Jockey Club built the Kailua Race Track – the place was nicknamed the ‘Pineapple Derby.’  In a day and age when Seabiscuit and War Admiral were stealing continental sports headlines, more than 6,000 fans turned out for 10 races at the brand new Kailua Race Track.  (Hogue, MidWeek)  Races reportedly continued there into 1952.

It’s not clear when it opened, but in the 1940s and ‘50s, there is clear evidence of the “Kailua Airport” (apparently, gravel/grass runway) – where ʻAikahi Park is situated today (reportedly, privately-owned and operated by Bob Whittinghill.)  (When work was started in 1948 on the new airport in Kailua, Kona, to avoid confusion with the Kailua Airport on Oʻahu, the Big Island’s airport was named “Kona Airport.”)

The 1950s saw expanded development and growing population in Kailua.  Kāneʻohe Ranch Company, Paul Trousdale and Hawaiian Housing Corporation joined together with several housing developments, including developments in ʻAikahi (to eat all,) Kaimalino (calm or peaceful sea,) Kalāheo (the proud day,) Mōkapu (sacred district,) Olomana (forked hill) and Pōhakupu (growing rock.)  (Kāneʻohe Ranch)  Kailua's population growth took a giant leap from 1,540 (in 1940,) to 7,740 (in 1950) - then another giant leap to over 25,600 people in 1960.

Homes were generally priced from $9,250 to $13,500.  The first increment of homes in the Kalāheo subdivision, built by QC Lum, was selling for $9,250 on lots of 7,500-square feet. The annual land lease was $125, regardless of size. Later developments in Olomana, Pōhakupu and Kūkanono (stand strike) were priced at about $17,000.  (Windward Rotary)  The Pali Golf Course opened in 1953.

The first traffic signal in Kailua was installed at the intersection of Kuʻulei and Kailua Roads in 1954. That year, Foodland opened Windward Oʻahu’s first modern supermarket across from Kailua Beach Park.  A couple years later (1957,) Times Supermarket opened in the new Kailua Shopping Center.  (Kāneʻohe Ranch)

In 1956, the YMCA moved from its log cabin in Coconut Groove to the present site on Kailua Road. In 1957, Kailua High School graduated its first class.  Prior to this time, mail delivery was directed to ‘Lanikai;’ at the end of the decade, the post office name was changed to Kailua.

Other subdivisions were developed at ʻAikahi Park, Keolu Hills (pleasant,) Olomana and Maunawili Estates.   Homes in ʻAikahi Park sold for about $25,000. Shopping centers sprouted in ʻAikahi Park and Enchanted Lake to serve the incoming residents.  (Windward Rotary)

Harold KL Castle donated land and Hawaiʻi Loa College (now known as Hawaiʻi Pacific University) opened in 1962.  The SH Kress building was built near Liberty House (now Macy’s) in 1962, then closed its doors after a few years, and Long's Drug later occupied the building.

In 1963, after another Castle land donation, Castle Hospital opened its doors.  That year, Kailua High School moved into its own campus (its present site,) having separated from what is now only Kailua Intermediate School.

In 1964, Kailua Professional Center erected the first “high-rise” (six-story) building in Kailua. It was followed shortly by the 10-story Meridian East apartment building across the street.  Campos Dairy farms gave way to apartment complexes and Holiday Mart (soon to be Target) in the late-1960s.

By the end of the 1970s, Kailua opened its community center with tennis courts and a swimming pool.  Thaliana Hotel, later Pali Palms Hotel (1957-1980) gave way to the Pali Palms Professional Plaza.

From 1960 to 1970, Kailua's population grew from 25,600 to almost 33,800.  After that, growth was comparatively slow; the 2010 Census estimate Kailua's population at just over 38,600.

Today is Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle’s “I Love Kailua” Town Party held in the center of town.  All of the proceeds from the "I Love Kailua" Town Party pay for major plantings in Kailua and their upkeep.  (Come see how the town has changed … and stayed the same.)

The image shows Kailua in 1937 – Kailua-Kuʻulei-Oneawa intersection (note small banyan tree in island where Kailua Road turns to the right (Machado.))   (Lots of information here from Kāneʻohe Ranch and Windward Rotary historical summaries.)  In addition, I have included other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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Nā Pōhaku O Hauwahine

The place name “Kailua” means “two seas,” according to Pukui et al, which may refer to the presence of two currents, although some have suggested that use of this Oʻahu place name refers to the two inland ponds, Kawainui and Kaʻelepulu.

The earliest settlement of the Kailua area may date back to between 1,000 and 1,500 years ago; by the 15th and 16th centuries, the makai portion of Kailua had become a favorite settlement locale of chiefs.

Traditional history describes Kailua as the residence of many prominent O‘ahu ruling chiefs. There is ‘Olopana, “who with his brother Kahiki‘ula came to O‘ahu from Kahiki … He is said to have established several heiau in Kāne‘ohe and Kailua”.

One of the earliest great chiefs to reside in Kailua was the 16th-century ruler Kakuhihewa, who built himself a great house at ‘Ālele in Kailua.

At approximately the same time, another prominent chief, Kuali‘i, born at Kalapawai, Kailua and raised in Kualoa and Kailua, had his navel-cutting ceremony at the heiau of Alāla (present-day Lanikai Point); and, after heroically succeeding in many battles, became the high chief of O‘ahu.

In early historic times, the conquering chief Kahekili, followed by Kamehameha I, resided in Kailua for a time.

There are legendary accounts of the prominent Mount Olomana, which is named after a great mythological giant and/or chief.

Tradition also says Kawainui was inhabited by a mo‘o called Hauwahine, whose name literally means “female ruler.” Her residency at Kawainui follows Haumea’s, the earth-mother goddess whose name literally means “red ruler.”

She ensured that all the people of the ahupua‘a shared in the pond’s wealth but punished those who were greedy.

Oral history notes that the stones overlooking Kawainui on Pu‘u o ‘Ehu are sacred to Hauwahine and her companion.

This interpretation is connected to the ancient Hawaiian notion that the channel/canal beneath Pu‘u o ‘Ehu connects Kawainui and Ka‘elepulu.

Kawainui Marsh was considered male, and Ka‘elepulu Pond, female. They mated at Kawailoa, according to Hawaiian tradition.

Mele and oli about Kailua frequently mention the two fishponds, which were famous for their ‘ama‘ama (mullet) and awa (milkfish). They also praise the taro gardens of the area. A few of these chants and legends are those of Hi‘iaka, Kahinihini‘ula, the Mākālei Tree and Ka‘ulu.

The famous mythological tree, Mākālei, had the power of attracting fish. Moʻo purportedly lived in her grove of awa by the Mākālei tree near where the waters drain from Kawainui Marsh to Hāmākua.

Hauwahine’s companion moʻo, named Kilioe, lived at the opposite end of Hāmākua near where Kawainui Stream enters Ka'elepulu Stream.

Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine is the given name of a 12-acre piece of state property under the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of State Parks and part of the Kawainui State Park Reserve.

The parcel is located along Kapa‘a Quarry Road in Kailua (O‘ahu) overlooking Kawainui Marsh.

‘Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi is the curator for this sacred site.

Over the years, the group has been planting the 12-acres with native plants to recreate a dryland forest ecosystem.  Brush removal and trail construction has revealed ancient Hawaiian terraces that align the massive rock outcrops.

They are also working in the marsh, to restore a wetland bird habitat. Check out their website for service project information, as well as educational programs: www.ahahui.net

Image shows Doc Burrows at Nā Pōhaku o Hauwahine, overlooking Kawainui Marsh.  (Much of the information here is from reporting by Cultural Surveys Hawaiʻi.)  I have added more images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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