Images of Old Hawaiʻi

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Kamehameha Schools

Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani inherited all of the substantial landholdings of the Kamehameha dynasty from her brother, Lot Kapuāiwa; she became the largest landowner in the islands.

At her death, Keʻelikōlani’s will stated that she “give and bequeath forever to my beloved younger sister (cousin), Bernice Pauahi Bishop, all of my property, the real property and personal property from Hawaiʻi to Kauaʻi, all of said property to be hers.” (about 353,000 acres)

Bernice Pauahi was the birth daughter of Abner Pākī and his wife Laura Kōnia (Pauahi was the great-granddaughter and direct royal descendant of Kamehameha the Great.)

She was reared with her parent’s hānai child, Lydia Liliʻu Kamakaʻeha (birth daughter of High Chiefess Analeʻa Keohokālole and High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea, who later became Queen Liliʻuokalani.) The two girls developed a close, loving relationship. They attended the Chief’s Children’s School, a boarding school, together, and were known for their studious demeanor.

Pauahi’s will formed and funded the Kamehameha Schools; “Thirteenth.  I give, devise and bequeath all of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate real and personal, wherever situated unto the trustees below named, their heirs and assigns forever, to hold upon the following trusts, namely: to erect and maintain in the Hawaiian Islands two schools, each for boarding and day scholars, one for boys and one for girls, to be known as, and called the Kamehameha Schools.”  (KSBE)

Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s will (Clause 13) states her desire that her trustees “provide first and chiefly a good education in the common English branches, and also instruction in morals and in such useful knowledge as may tend to make good and industrious men and women”.

She directed “that the teachers of said schools shall forever be persons of the Protestant religion, but I do not intend that the choice should be restricted to persons of any particular sect of Protestants.”

On November 4, 1887, three years after her death, the Kamehameha School for Boys, originally established as an all-boys school on the grounds of the current Bishop Museum, opened with 37 students and four teachers.  A year later the Preparatory Department, for boys 6 to 12 years of age, opened in adjacent facilities.

In 1894 the Kamehameha School for Girls opened on its own campus nearby.  Between 1930 and 1955, all three schools moved to its present location – Kapālama Heights – less than a mile mauka of the old Bishop Museum campus. In 1965 the boy’s and girl’s campuses became co-ed and the curriculum was increasingly geared to college preparation.

Prior to 1897, Kamehameha students attended Sunday services at Kaumakapili Church, then located about a mile from campus at the corner of Nuʻuanu and King Streets. It took about 20 minutes to cover the distance on foot – with the boys wearing their heavy West Point-style uniforms designed for “long lasting quality, not comfort.”

On December 19, 1897, a new campus chapel dedication took place on the sixty-sixth anniversary of Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s birth. KS scholars, teachers, administrators and community representatives filled the whole building.

Reverend William Brewster Oleson (1851–1915), former principal of the Hilo boarding school (founded by David Belden Lyman in 1836,) helped organize the schools on a similar model.

At the first Founder’s Day ceremony in December, 1889, Charles Reed Bishop, Pauahi’s husband and a member of Kamehameha’s first Board of Trustees, elaborated on her intentions.

“Bernice Pauahi Bishop, by founding the Kamehameha Schools, intended to establish institutions which should be of lasting benefit to her country…The founder of these schools was a true Hawaiian. She knew the advantages of education and well directed industry. Industrious and skillful herself, she respected those qualities in others.”  (KSBE)

“The hope that there would come a turning point, when, through enlightenment, the adoption of regular habits and Christian ways of living, the natives would not only hold their numbers, but would increase again …”

“And so, in order that her own people might have the opportunity for fitting themselves for such competition, and be able to hold their own in a manly and friendly way, without asking any favors which they were not likely to receive, these schools were provided for, in which Hawaiians have the preference, and which she hoped they would value and take the advantages of as fully as possible.” (KSBE)

In 1996 two new campuses were established on the neighbor islands of Maui and Hawai‘i, and they now serve students in grades K-12.  Kamehameha subsidizes a significant portion of the cost to educate every student.

In addition to three campuses, Kamehameha operates a number of preschool sites enrolling children statewide; and serves thousands more students through community outreach and scholarship programs, and collaborations with educational and community organizations.  (Lots of info and images from KSBE.)

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Kona Lagoon

“Originally called the ‘Kona Hawaiian Resort,’ the new hotel’s developers renamed it ‘to better reflect its environment and because operations will be under management of Hawaiian Pacific Resorts, operators of Hilo Lagoon.’” (HTH, Nov 9, 1972)

“Located next to the Keauhou Beach Hote on Alii Drive, the new Lagoon is a joint venture between Hawaiian Pacific Management Resorts and Mitsubishi of Japan.” (HTH, May 30, 1973)  The 462-room hotel opened April 6, 1973

“A prime feature of the resort will be a 600 person capacity convention hall in Polynesian longhouse design.” (HTH, May 30, 1973) “With the completion of the Kona Lagoon hotel recently my list of impressive buildings on this island is up not one, but two!”

“Portions of this new hotel are the equivalent of an artistic museum of Hawaiian history. The main lobby is a bifurcated sort of a structure with an ‘island’ in the middle on which there is a pictorial history that really amounts to an art gallery.”

“The presentation is vital and the art good, and with enough variations in style to denigrate any possibility of the boredom that can sometimes come with historic subjects.” (Von Garske, HTH, Agu 4, 1974)

“The Kona Lagoon is the third large-scale resort hotel in Keauhou, joining the 314-room Keauhou Beach Hotel operated by Amfac and the 550-room Kona Surf operated by Interisland Resorts. The Bishop development south of Kailua Village now has nearly 1,500 guest rooms in a project that has cost more than $40 million to date.”

“The Lagoon features a 700-seat convention building known as the Polynesian Long House, a highly decorative structure in front of the hotel along AIii Drive. … The resort has two dining facilities – the Tonga Dining Room and the Wharf Gourmet Restaurant – two bars and a specialty Japanese steak house.”

“Another feature is a salt water lagoon surrounding the hotel with first floor guests encouraged to leap immediately from their rooms into the water.” (HnlAdv, March 21, 1974)

“When the Kona Lagoon Hotel opened its doors, guests and staff reported a wide variety of unexplained phenomena – shadowy figures roaming the hallways, disembodied screams piercing the night, and lights flickering without cause. Such events led to whispers of a curse, a belief that the hotel was built upon land that the living were never meant to inhabit.” (AmericanGhostWalks)

“The property was sold in May 1986 through a foreclosure auction … to Otaka Inc.” (Hnl Adv, May 7, 1988) In 1987, Azabu USA, a subsidiary of Azabu-Jidosha, a foreign car bought the Kona Lagoon from Otaka. (SB, April 17, 1987) About a year later, they announced the hotel would close for a 17-month reconstruction to turn it into an all-suites resort. (SB, April 15, 1988)

“When the hotel closed in 1988, the official reason was because the Japanese owners ran out of money and were unable to obtain additional financing.” (Harry Helms)

“Some people think the Kona Lagoon Hotel was cursed from the start. Surrounded by ancient temples and archaeological sites, it was built on the dwelling place of supernatural twin sisters, ‘aumakua who took the form of lizards, according to Hawaiian legend.”

“Security guards hired to watch the property when the 462-room hotel closed in 1988 were frightened at night, said Joe Castelli, who lives at the neighboring Keauhou Kona Tennis and Racquet Club.”

“They told me that they would see lights up there and hear Hawaiians singing and talking,” Castelli said. “…But when they got there, they didn’t find anything. So they said they just didn’t go anymore.”  (HnlAdv, Oct 14, 2002)

“Construction of the hotel obliterated the legendary Keawehala Pond, once thought to be inhabited by twin sisters who wielded extraordinary powers. These superwomen were the fierce protectors of local fresh water, who could transform themselves into formidable 30-foot lizards known as mo‘o.”

“The giant edifice of concrete and glass also infringed on nearby heiaus, sacred Hawaiian temples. … One of these sacred Hawaiian temples, called a luakini, was specifically dedicated to human sacrifice.”

“This ancient walled structure, built from native volcanic rocks, was 7-feet high. Providing a platform for carved wooden idols called ki‘i, which represent Hawaiian gods, the fortress-like enclosure protected thatched huts that held drums and offerings. This luakini was named Ke‘eku Heiau.” (AmericanGhostWalks)

“Whether or not the property is cursed, it’s true that attempts by landowner Kamehameha Schools and its for-profit subsidiary, Kamehameha Investment Corp., have failed to find a lessee.” (HnlAdv, Oct 14, 2002)  The Kona Lagoon was demolished in 2004.

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Kokokahi

Dr Theodore Richards’ first position in Hawaiʻi was teacher of the first class to graduate from the Kamehameha Schools and also as an instructor of music and athletic coach.

He served as principal of the Kamehameha Schools for five years (replacing William Oleson, Kamehameha’s 1st principal.) Richards married Mary C Atherton in Honolulu, June 29, 1892. They had four children, Ruth (Mrs Frank E Midkiff,) Joseph Atherton, Herbert M and Mary Theodora Richards.

In 1927, Richards envisioned a community center and camp ground where people of all races could come together as “one blood” or “kokokahi”.

Initially, the Richards’ camp started on Moku O Loʻe (Coconut Island.)  Chris Holmes, Fleishman Yeast heir, offered to buy the Bishop Estate lease from the camp and to take over the island as a private residence.

With the money from selling the lease, Richards established a multi-racial community by setting out houselots for weekend cabins across the Bay; it had mountains for hiking and the bay for swimming and the land between for the camp itself.  (Taylor)

He established a garden there (now the independent Friendship Garden;) later, the Dudley Talbott Trail was added (about half-mile loop through lower Kokokahi Valley mauka of Kāneʻohe Bay Drive. )

Camp Halekipa was established and later merged with Theodore Richards’ combined conference, camp and vacation home area for all Christians, and called Kokokahi as part of the YWCA.

In a time when it was the custom for communities to be segregated by race, Kokokahi was an unprecedented effort to breakdown racial barriers.  The YWCA national commitment to eliminating racism is in close harmony with Dr Richard’s.

The new camp offered conferences and camp outings for such diverse organizations as church groups, the University of Hawaiʻi sororities, the Salvation Army and Home Demonstration Clubs.

In 1936, the Juliette Atherton Trust built Atherton Hall on the YWCA property.  It overlooks Kāneʻohe Bay, with floor to ceiling glass doors and a lanai that wraps around the building.

Today, Atherton Hall is used for group retreats or meetings, as well as a site for weddings; it has a full catering kitchen.   Hale Nanea Lodge and nearby island-style cottages provide sleeping quarters for overflow.

Hale Nanea Lodge is a modern style lodge that can accommodate up to 60-guests in five dorm style rooms (with 12-camp-style single bunk beds per room.)  Hale Nanea is equipped with its own kitchen, meeting space and men’s and women’s restrooms.

Originally built in 1933, nearby cottages have camp-style single beds and bunk beds and share a common area restroom with showers.  The cottages have electricity and an outdoor picnic area with barbeque grills and sink.

During WWII, Kokokahi was used as a rest camp by the military.  In 1968, renovations were begun to include a physical education building for indoor classes, an arts and crafts facility, a large multipurpose building and a marina.

Fully renovated in 2001, Midkiff Gymnasium is a modern multi-purpose gym.  The unique sliding doors create an open air area, allowing ocean and mountain views.  The gym has a sports floor covering and a college regulation size basketball court.

Today, Kokokahi offers YWCA members a place to participate in cultural, educational and recreational activities together.

Located on Kāne’ohe Bay, member families have access to over 11-acres of waterfront property which includes a full-size gymnasium, a functional kitchen and dining area, a pool with locker rooms, overnight cabins and multiple classrooms and meeting spaces.  (Information here is from YWCA, Kokokahi.)

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Hui Panalāʻau

Part of the equatorial “Line Islands” and “Pacific Remote Islands,” Baker, Howland and Jarvis Islands were first formed as fringing reefs around islands formed by volcanoes (approximately 120-75 million years ago). As the volcanoes subsided, the coral reefs grew upward forming low coral islands.

Howland Island lies 1,650 sea miles to the southwest of Honolulu, and 48 miles north of the equator. It and Baker Island, which lies about 35 miles to the south and a little east, are located northwest of the Phoenix group, and are 1,000 miles west of Jarvis.

There is evidence to suggest that Howland Island was the site of prehistoric settlement, probably in the form of a single community utilizing several adjacent islands. Archaeological sites have been discovered on Manra and Orona, which suggest two distinct groups of settlers, one from eastern Polynesia and one from Micronesia.

US whaling ships first sighted the islands in 1822.  The islands are habitat for birds.  Alfred G Benson and Charles H Judd took formal possession of the islands (as well as Jarvis Island) in 1857 in the name of the American Guano Company of New York (consistent with the Guano Act of August 18, 1856.)

The Guano Act stated that “when any citizen of the United States discovers a guano deposit on any island, rock, or key, not within the lawful jurisdiction of any other government, and takes peaceable possession thereof, and occupies the same island, rock, or key, it appertains to the United States.”

“The Peruvian Government has monopolized the supply of Guano throughout the United States … on account of said monopoly, the Farmers of this country have hithertofore been obliged to pay for said article about $50 a ton … it is the duty of the American Government to assert its sovereignty over any and all barren and uninhabitable guano islands of the ocean which have been or hereafter may be discovered by citizens of the United States …” (American Guano Company Prospectus, 1856)

“This Company own(s) an island in the Pacific Ocean, covered with a deposit of more than two hundred million tons of ammoniated guano and have dispatched a ship, agent, and men, to maintain possession thereof.” (American Guano Company Prospectus, 1856)

Rich guano deposits were mined throughout the later part of the 19th century, however, the guano business gradually disappeared, just before the turn of the century.  Thoughts of and activities on the islands disappeared.

Then, in mid-1930s, the US Bureau of Air Commerce (later known as Department of Commerce) was looking for sites along the air route between Australia and California to support trans-Pacific flight operations (non-stop, trans-Pacific flying was not yet possible, so islands were looked to as potential sites for the construction of intermediate landing areas.)

The United States reasserted its claim to the islands in 1935 (followed by President Franklin D Roosevelt issuing Executive Order 7368 to clarify American sovereignty and jurisdiction over the islands, on May 13, 1936.)

To affirm a claim, international law required non-military occupation of all neutral islands for at least one year.  An American colony was established.

The US Bureau of Air Commerce believed that native Hawaiian men would be best suited for the role as colonizers and they turned to Kamehameha Schools graduates to fill the role.

“They looked for someone that had some Hawaiian background. And that’s why they came to Kamehameha Schools to see if they can get someone from the school to participate because of our descendance as part-Hawaiians, that we would be used to the South Pacific or wherever.”  (James Carroll, colonist)

School administration selected the participants based on various academic, citizenship and ROTC-related criteria, as well as their meeting specified requirements for the job: “The boys have to be grown-up, know how to fish in the native manner, swim excellently and handle a boat, that they be disciplined, friendly, and unattached, that they could stand the rigors of a South Seas existence.”

On March 30, 1935, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Itasca departed in secrecy from Honolulu Harbor with 6 young Hawaiians aboard (all recent graduates of Kamehameha Schools) and 12 furloughed army personnel, whose purpose was to occupy the barren islands of Baker, Howland and Jarvis for 3-months.

“Once you get there, you wish you never got there. You know, you’re on this island just all by yourself and it’s, you know, nothing there at all. Just birds, birds, millions and millions of birds. And you just don’t know what to do with yourself, you know. It takes you a while to adjust to that, but once you adjust to it, it’s fine.”  (Elvin Mattson, colonist)

The American colonists were landed from the Itasca, April 3, 1935. They have built a lighthouse, substantial dwellings and attempt to grow various plants.

Cruises by Coast Guard cutters made provisioning trips approximately every three months to refit and rotate the colonists stationed on each island. Soon plans were put into place to build airfields on the islands and permanent structures were built.

In addition to their basic duties of collecting meteorological data for the government, the colonists kept busy by building and improving their camps, clearing land, growing vegetables, attempting reforestation and collecting scientific data for the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum.

In their free time, they would fish, dive, swim, surf/bodysurf, lift weights, box, play football, hunt rats, experiment with bird recipes, play music, sing and find other ways of occupying themselves.

Tragedy struck twice: Carl Kahalewai, a graduate of McKinley High School, died of appendicitis while he was being rushed home for an emergency operation; and on December 8, 1941, when the islands of Howland and Baker were bombed and shelled by the Japanese, Joseph Keliʻihananui and Richard “Dickie” Whaley were killed.

Howland Island played a role in the tragic disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred J Noonan during their around-the-world flight in 1937. They left Lae, New Guinea and headed for Howland Island; the Itasca was at Howland Island to guide Earhart to the island once she arrived in the vicinity – they didn’t arrive and were never seen again.  A lighthouse (later a day beacon) was built on Howland Island in Earhart’s honor.

The colonists were removed, following Japanese attacks on the islands in 1942. US military personnel occupied the islands during World War II. The islands have remained unoccupied since that time, but they are visited annually by US Fish and Wildlife personnel because the islands are a National Wildlife Refuge and later part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

During the 7 years of colonization (1936-1942,) more than 130 young men participated in the project, the majority of whom were Hawaiian; none of the islands were ever used for commercial aviation, but the islands eventually served military purposes.  (Pan American Airways used Canton (Kanton) Island for its trans-Pacific flight flying boat operations.)

As early as 1939, members of previous trips formed a club to “perpetuate the fellowship of Hawaiian youths who have served as colonists on American equatorial islands.” Initially they were called the “Hui Kupu ʻĀina,” which suggests the idea of sprouting, growing and increasing land.

By 1946 the group’s name had changed to “Hui Panalāʻau,” which has been variously translated as “club of settlers of the southern islands,” “holders of the land society” and “society of colonists.” (Lots of information and images here are from Bishop Museum.)  

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John Henry Wise

On a cold Saturday afternoon November 19, 1892, Oberlin’s Yeomen football team took the field in Ann Arbor against the heavily favored Michigan Wolverines (which had trounced them handily the year before.)  Oberlin’s new coach, Johann Wilhelm Heisman, brought an undefeated team with him to Ann Arbor.

(After several successful years of coaching, Heisman became director of the Downtown Athletic Club in Manhattan, New York.  The club awarded a trophy to the best football player east of the Mississippi River.)

(On December 10, 1936, just two months after Heisman’s death, the trophy was renamed the Heisman Memorial Trophy; it’s now given to the season’s most outstanding collegiate football player.)

OK, back to Oberlin and their fateful game.

One of Oberlin’s players was from Hawaiʻi, theology student John Henry Wise, half-Hawaiian and half-German; he came to Oberlin after graduating from Kamehameha Schools (he was part of the KS inaugural class in 1887.)

It is believed Wise was the first Hawaiian to participate in college football.  He was considered their best lineman.

Newspapers noted Wise’s immense strength, reporting that he was “able to run with three men on his back without noticing the extra weight,” and referred to Wise and his fellow lineman ‘Jumbo’ Teeters as “two of the biggest men ever seen on a football field.”

Football was quickly becoming a dominant pastime on college campuses across the country, and this young Hawaiian was one of its rising stars.  (Williams)

It’s not clear what the ‘official’ outcome of the game was.  The team captains agreed on a shortened second half, to end at 4:50 pm, so Oberlin could catch the last train home.  With less than a minute to go it was Oberlin 24, Michigan 22. As Michigan launched its last drive, the referee (from Oberlin) announced time had expired, and the Oberlin squad left the field to catch the train.

Next the umpire (from Michigan) ruled that four minutes remained, owing to timeouts that Oberlin’s timekeeper had not recorded. Michigan then walked the ball over the goal line for an uncontested touchdown and was declared the winner, 26 to 24. By that time the Oberlinians were headed home clutching their own victory, 24 to 22. (oberlin-edu)

(The scoring values in 1892 were five points for a field goal, four points for a touchdown, and two points each for a PAT (point after try) and safety.)

Who really won that game in 1892? The Michigan Daily and Detroit Tribune reported that Michigan had won the game, while The Oberlin News and The Oberlin Review reported that Oberlin had won.  Both schools continue to claim victory.  (oberlin-edu)

But being the first Hawaiian to play college football is only part of Wise’s legacy.

When Wise returned home in 1893, the Islands were in turmoil – Queen Liliʻuokalani was overthrown and a Provisional Government had been formed.  Wise became a key member of the resistance, helping plan a January 1895 counter-revolution to restore Queen Lili‘uokalani to the throne by force.

From January 6 to January 9, 1895, patriots of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the forces that had overthrown the constitutional Hawaiian monarchy were engaged in a war that consisted of battles on the island of Oʻahu.

It has also been called the Second Wilcox Rebellion of 1895, the Revolution of 1895, the Hawaiian Counter-revolution of 1895, the 1895 Uprising in Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian Civil War, the 1895 Uprising Against the Provisional Government or the Uprising of 1895.

In their attempt to return Queen Liliʻuokalani to the throne, it was the last major military operation by royalists who opposed the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.  The goal of the rebellion failed; Wise and over three hundred royalists (including Prince Kūhiō) were arrested.

On February 5, 1895, Wise was tried under martial law, but refused to testify against his compatriots and pleaded guilty to “misprision of treason” (knowing of a treasonous plot and failing to inform the government.)

He was sentenced to three years’ hard labor.  Wise, though sentenced to a shorter term than many who were freed, remained behind bars. He was part of a final group of eight prisoners released on New Year’s Day 1896. (Williams)

In 1907, Prince Kūhiō, along with other prominent Hawaiian men including Wise, reorganized and restored to public light, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. In 1917, Prince Kūhiō, along with four other prominent Hawaiian men (John C. Lane, John H. Wise, Noah Aluli and Jesse Ulihi,) established the Hawaiian Civic Clubs.  (ROOK)

Wise got into politics, serving in leadership positions for all three of the major political parties of the era: Independent Home Rule, Democratic and Republican, always as an advocate fighting for the rights of native people. (Williams)

On November 13, 1914, 200-Hawaiians (including Wise) attended a meeting at the Waikīkī residence of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole and agreed to form the Ahahui Puʻuhonua O Na Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Protective Association), an organization which would work to uplift the Hawaiian people. US Delegate to Congress Prince Kūhiō, together with others, including Wise, were selected to draft the constitution and by-laws of the organization.  (McGregor)

In December 1918, the association’s legislative committee finalized the draft of a “rehabilitation” resolution.  Wise (who was serving as Territorial Representative (and later as Senator)) introduced it when the Territorial legislature opened in January 1919 – this set the foundation for the legislative effort to have the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act passed by Congress.

By April 25, 1919, the Territorial House of Representatives passed the resolution, and Wise was appointed to a Territorial Legislative Committee responsible for carrying the Territory’s legislative package to Congress.

In testimony before Congress, Wise stated, “The Hawaiian people are a farming people and fishermen, out-of-door people, and when they were frozen out of their lands and driven into the cities they had to live in the cheapest places, tenements. That is one of the big reasons why the Hawaiian people are dying. Now, the only way to save them, I contend, is to take them back to the lands and give them the mode of living that their ancestors were accustomed to and in that way rehabilitate them.”

“We are not only asking for justice in the matter of division of the lands, but we are asking that the great people of the United States should pause for one moment and, instead of giving all your help to Europe, give some help to the Hawaiians and see if you can not rehabilitate this noble people.”  (Congressional Record, 1920)

The effort to pass the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act took from December 1918 to July 1921; on July 9, 1921, the bill passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law.  The US Congress set aside close to 200,000-acres of former Crown and Kingdom lands for exclusive homesteading by Hawaiians of at least half Hawaiian ancestry.

It called for the formation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission to administer the homesteading program and noted that lands would be parceled out for homesteading under 99-year leases at a charge of $1 per year.

Wise retired from politics in 1925 and took up the quiet life of a farmer on Moloka‘i, where he raised pigs and grew taro. But he soon returned to Honolulu – there, he helped restore Hawaiian language instruction at his alma mater, Kamehameha Schools.

Frank Midkiff, KS president and later trustee, reminisced: “I thought it would be good to help our young people learn Hawaiian. So we got the trustees to make Hawaiian language a required course. The students were very interested in it and happy. But soon several parents came in and objected. ‘Why do you teach our children Hawaiian? … Before, here, our children were punished if they spoke Hawaiian. They were required to speak English. That is what they need.’”  (Eyre)

Midkiff continued: “I hated to give up what I knew was good for them. I took it to the trustees. … The trustees said, ‘Well, let’s make it elective. Maybe that will be acceptable.’ But before long, after it was made elective, several gave it up and before long the courses had to be withdrawn. All followed the parents’ inclination and the teaching of Hawaiian language and culture was given up for that time being.” (Eyre)

But Midkiff, a speaker of Hawaiian, did not give up. Later that year, he and Wise wrote and published a Hawaiian language textbook, “A First Course in Hawaiian Language.” (Eyre)

One year later, and two years after the first Hawaiian language course was dropped, John Wise was hired and Hawaiian was reinstated in the curriculum, using the Midkiff/Wise textbook.  (Eyre)  In the same year, Wise was also hired by the University of Hawai‘i as its second-ever professor of Hawaiian language. (Williams)

John Henry Wise was born on July 19, 1869 in Kapaʻau, North Kohala; he died of pneumonia on August 12, 1937, at the age of 68.  At a meeting soon after his death, the University of Hawai‘i, which he helped found by sponsoring the bill that created it in 1919, named the school’s athletic field Wise Field (it was torn up and relocated long ago.) (Williams)

Staying on the football theme … we used to have UH football season tickets; now we have Colorado State football season tickets. Today, UH plays CSU in Colorado – we’ll be there. Go RamBows!

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