How Hawaii organizations and places got their names

How Hawaii companies arrived at their names is often interesting in and of itself. I thought I’d focus on that this week.

Let’s start with a quiz. Which two Hawaii companies were named for dairies that preceded them? Which restaurant is named for what farmers thought of the lights of Kaimuki? Which park is named for a tree planted in Bernice Pauahi’s honor? What now occupies the former site of the Territorial Fair Grounds?

Hygienic Store

The Hygienic Store got its name from the Hygienic Dairy of Kahuluu.

There were, at one time, dozens of dairies on Oahu. The store has been there since about 1905.

L&L Drive-Inn

Like the Hygienic Store, L&L also was originally a dairy. Robert Lee Sr., who owned it from 1952-59, said it was named for him and son Robert Lee Jr., who owned Pizza Bob’s, Rosie’s Cantina and Steamers.

Big City Diner

Lane and Murphy Muraoka picked this name because Kaimuki used to be the end of the the city of Honolulu. Past that, Honolulu turned into sparsely populated farms. The farmers referred to all the lights and traffic in Kaimuki as the “Big City.”

Ala Wai Golf Course

Originally there was a Territorial Fair Grounds on the site. A couple of people created a single golf hole in 1923. Over time, it expanded to become the most played 18-hole golf course in the state, completely displacing the fair grounds.

Punahou School

Punahou means “new spring” in Hawaiian and refers to an artesian spring that created a pond on the property.

Aloha Airlines

Formerly Trans-Pacific Airlines, The Aloha Airline, and affectionately referred to as The People’s Airline. The name was changed to reflect the spirit of the islands, when Hawaii tourism started to prosper.

Eki Cyclery

Founded by Tochi Eki in 1911, it is Hawaii’s oldest bicycle shop.

Leahi Hospital

Established in 1900 as the “Honolulu Home for the Incurables,” its initial focus was the treatment of tuberculosis. After moving from Chinatown to Kaimuki in 1902, it was renamed Leahi Home in 1906, not because it had a bad name, but because people began leaving cured.

Aloha Stadium

Few people recall that when it opened it was called Halawa Stadium. A contest changed the name a year or so later.

Patti’s Chinese Kitchen and Lyn’s Delicatessen

These former Ala Moana Center restaurants were named for founder Calvin Chun’s daughters, Lyn and Patti.

Hanahauoli School

Hanahauoli means “joyous work” in Hawaiian and was founded in 1918 by Sophie and George Cooke in Makiki.

Highway Inn

Seiichi Toguchi named his restaurant for its original location on Farrington Highway. It was on Depot Road where the Bank of Hawaii and Mid-Town Radio are now. Street widening forced them to move. Recently, they opened a second location on Ala Moana Boulevard in Kakaako.

Malolo Beverages and Supplies

Malolo means “flying fish” in Hawaiian. Founder Chow Chang started this company in 1927 as Malolo Soda Works and was inspired by Matson’s first White Ship, the Malolo.

Foster Botanical Garden

This beautiful site was started by William Hillebrand, who lived there in the 1850s. He sold it to Thomas and Mary Foster, who deeded it to the city in the 1930s.

Liberty House

Heinrich Hackfeld began a dry goods business downtown in 1849. In World War I, German assets were seized and the new directors named the store Liberty House to give it a patriotic ring.

Pohai Nani

Pohai Nani opened in 1964 and is operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, the largest nonprofit operator of senior communities in the United States. They have over 240 facilities in 25 states. In Hawaiian, Pohai Nani means “surrounded by beauty.”

Ronnie’s Kitchen

This Sand Island restaurant honors Ronnie Hope by her children, Ed, Jamie, Andy and Clint. Ronnie was the first female to own a radio station in Hawaii (KINE) and helped launch the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Servco Pacific

Servco had its humble beginnings as a two-car service station that Peter Fukunaga opened in Waialua in 1919. When he moved his Waialua Garage company to Wahiawa in the 1920s, he offered $25 to whomever came up with the best new company name. An Army Air Corps sergeant suggested Service Motor Company because “service was the heart of the company policy.”

Tamarind Park

This acre on the corner of King and Bishop Streets is named for the tamarind tree that Bernice Pauahi Paki’s parents, Abner and Konia, planted outside their home on the site the day she was born, Dec. 19, 1831. Her husband, Charles Reed Bishop, cut the tree down after she died of breast cancer in 1884. The stump is preserved in the Kamehameha School Chapel. One tamarind tree still can be found in the park today.

Moose McGillycuddy’s

Bullwinkle’s opened in Waikiki in 1980 but soon was challenged by the owners of the cartoon character. In 1983, they kept the moose logo but changed the name. You can find them today in Waikiki and Kihei.

Tori Richard

Mortimer Feldman founded this company in 1955 and named it for two of his children, Victoria and Richard.

Consolidated Theatres

Which theaters were consolidated in this chain? They were the Hawaii, Liberty, Palama, Empire and Bijou, 100 years ago in 1917.

Bob Sigall’s latest “The Companies We Keep 5” book has arrived, with stories from the last three years of Rearview Mirror. Email Sigall at Sigall@yahoo.com.