I was fortunate to sit at the same table as Gov. David Ige at the Downtown Exchange Club last month. One of the things that I learned about him is that he plays the ukulele.
I mentioned to him that another elected official I knew of (I’m sure there are many more) also was a musician and one of the most famous baritones in the territorial Legislature. His name was Paul Isenberg Jr. (1866-1919).
Paul Jr., or Paulo Li‘ili‘i, as some called him, owned Waialae Ranch (now Waialae Country Club). King David Kalakaua was a frequent guest and wrote a song titled “Waialae” for him.
He served in the territorial Legislature from 1898 to 1915. At his campaign rallies, spectators often cut off his speech and demanded he sing “Waialae.”
If you can think of other musical politicians, let me know.
Major anniversaries
Alvin Yee wrote to tell me that the Harlem Globetrotters will be playing in Hawaii in mid-October (Oct. 14-15 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena). Did I know that at one time several Hawaii people were involved in the act?
“Coralie Chun Matayoshi’s late father, Peter Chun, played on the team that always lost to the Globetrotters back in the late 1940s,” Yee said. Matayoshi is CEO of the American Red Cross Pacific Islands Region, which includes Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.
I know of a few Hawaii all-star teams that played games across the mainland 60 to 100 years ago. One team won most of its games despite having only two guys over 6 feet in height.
Do any of my readers know of other local guys who played with the Globetrotters or their stories? If so, drop me a line.
The Harlem Globetrotters are celebrating their 90th anniversary this year. Matayoshi tells me that the Hawaii Red Cross is marking its 100th anniversary.
One part of its story I find interesting is that Duke Kahanamoku and his mother were Red Cross volunteers. Duke’s wife, Nadine, was later a Red Cross volunteer.
“When the 1916 Olympics were canceled due to World War I, Duke and other Olympians traveled across the U.S. doing swimming exhibitions to raise money for the Red Cross war relief effort,” Matayoshi told me. They swam in 45 different meets at Army and Navy bases as well as YMCAs.
“In his spare time on the tour, Duke knitted sweaters for the Red Cross effort,” Matayoshi said. I had no idea Duke could knit.
Red Cross has royal ties
The Iolani Palace Throne Room was used to prepare thousands of surgical dressings, gauze, bandages and other supplies to be sent off to the Red Cross war relief effort in France and later Russia.
Queen Lili‘uokalani was a Red Cross volunteer. She and her assistants crafted a large Red Cross flag at Washington Place.
The flag was presented to the Red Cross on the steps of Iolani Palace. At the queen’s suggestion, the flag flew over the palace and later hung in the Throne Room during World War I.
The flag now hangs on the wall of a large conference room at the Hawaii Red Cross headquarters on Diamond Head Road. Beside it is a brass plaque with a personal note written by the queen:
“The flag is an expression of my warm and hearty sympathy with the cause of humanity and an abiding faith in the work of the patriotic women in Hawaii.
“In presenting this emblem of the Red Cross, may I suggest that it first be displayed over the executive building so that those who see it may be reminded of their patriotic duty and know that beneath its folds, in the Throne Room of Iolani Palace, sit a group of silent workers giving of their time and untiring efforts in the work of alleviation and mercy.”
“Most people think of the Red Cross only during hurricanes,” Matayoshi said, “but don’t realize that we also deal with the emotional trauma of disasters like the Xerox shootings, the Ehime Maru tragedy, the Sacred Falls landslide, plane and helicopter crashes, fires and floods, and the Kaloko Dam burst.”
Silent spring
One of my favorite books is Kinau Wilder’s “Wilders at Waikiki.” In it I found a description of the lake that today is part of the Willows restaurant.
A natural artesian spring once occupied the property and was called Kapaakea. Kamehameha III and other royals would picnic there.
I remember when the pond at the Willows was still part of that artesian system. Wilder said it was 400 feet across and 700 feet long – making it about a mile in circumference. I had no idea it was that big.
Much of it was filled in and developed into homes in the 10 years before 1948, she wrote.
No one likes leaks
Miriam Likelike was the sister of King Kalakaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani. So it was not unusual that a boat was named “Likelike” after her. It was owned by the Interisland Steam Navigation Co.
It sounded right to local ears, but mainlanders were dumbfounded. To them it sounded like “Leaky Leaky.”
Theatrical history
Ray Sakamoto wrote to me last year regarding the Cinerama Theater. “Before it became the Cinerama Theater, it was called the New Pawaa Theater,” he said.
“The old Pawaa Theater was originally built where the Bank of Hawaii is located today on the fourteen hundred block of So. King Street.
“I remember, in the 1930s, the girls used to go roller skating on the concrete slab that remained after the theater was demolished.”
Bustle, not rustle
My former neighbor in Kalihi Valley, Jimmy Chong, told me that when he was younger, he would ride his horse out of the valley, to the OR&L train station near King and Kalihi streets. Jimmy was born in 1925 and passed away about 10 years ago.
He’d tie his horse up in the bushes where KFC is today and take the train into town. He’d return in the afternoon, find his horse still there where he left it and ride back home into the valley.
I am developing a program called the Rearview Mirror Insider. Readers can sign up for a midweek email preview of Friday’s column as well as stories I am working on and questions I am pursuing. I’ll have more information on that soon.
Also, my “The Companies We Keep 5” book will arrive next week. At the same time, “The Companies We Keep 1 and 2” will be back in print after a two-year absence. You can find more information about them at CompaniesWeKeep.com.
Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@yahoo.com.
