Spam is still a mainstay in Hawaii after 7 decades

What’s in a name? Everything, apparently, when it comes to Spam.

What we call Spam began in 1936 with a generic name: Spiced Ham. Competitors were quick to copy and outsell it. Jay Hormel, the son of founder George Hormel, realized he needed a name that could be trademarked.

At a New Year’s Eve party in 1936, Hormel asked guests to come up with names for the luncheon meat. The incentive: They won a free drink for every name they suggested, and the winner received $100.

"Along about the fourth or fifth drink, they began showing some imagination," Hormel said. Kenneth Daigneau, an actor, came up with the winner: Spam.

While some say Spam was a portmanteau (combination) of "spiced ham," and others say it came from "shoulder of pork and ham," Daigneau said neither of those were his inspiration. And a 1940s Hormel newsletter says the original Spam did not contain ham. Jay Hormel added ham later because the name caused people to expect it.

Spam was trademarked 75 years ago last week and hit store shelves on July 5, 1937.

The 1930s were an economically challenging time for the country; Spam, at 10 ounces, was designed to feed a family of five and still have leftovers. Time Magazine called it the best new development of that year.

In 1941, Spam went to war. Hormel shipped more than 100 million pounds of it and other luncheon meats to Allied troops during WWII.

A lot of GIs had enough Spam and luncheon meat during WWII to last a lifetime, and it was the butt of many jokes. But in Hawaii it’s remained on our plates and in our hearts. Why is that?

Goro Arakawa, whose father’s Wai­pahu store made Depot Road historic, said his wife, Mary, was relocated to the Manzanar camp in California where Japa­nese were interned during the war. "Spam was a tasty staple at the relocation camps," Arakawa, 90, said.

"We met in New York in 1949 after the war when I was attending college. I looked forward to Spam on weekends with eggs and either rice or toast. After we married and had kids, Spam, rice and eggs was a favorite breakfast for the family."

Some think Spam is still popular here because Hawaii is a rice-based culture and the mainland isn’t. Maybe the saltiness of the Spam pairs well with rice or noodles and vegetables.

Hawaii, Guam and Saipan are the only places in the world where Spam is on the menu at McDonald’s.

Author Muriel Miura ("Hawai‘i cooks with SPAM") pointed out that in Hawaii we consume six cans per person per year. More than 16,000 cans a day or 6 million cans a year. That’s four times the U.S. average. Of course, we also consume a lot of Vienna sausage and canned corned beef, too.

Frank De Lima recorded a song about Spam musubi, to the tune of "Y.M.C.A.":

Hungry, and I want something quick

Yes, I’m hungry for something 2 inches thick

Yes, I’m hungry for something shaped like a brick

I wanna eat a Spam musubi

I wanna grind one Spam musubi

"Each place in the world seems to have its signature food festival," said Barbara Campbell of Outrigger Hotels. For 10 years Hawaii has held a Waikiki Spam Jam that attracts about 25,000 visitors and locals. The next one is on April 27.

"Kalakaua Avenue is closed to car traffic for the event, and two entertainment stages are set up on the street. Several of Hono­lulu’s finest restaurants serve products made with Spam so you can experience the enormous variety of its applications."

Spam is not mystery meat. It is chopped pork-shoulder meat, ham, salt, water, potato starch as a binder, and sodium nitrite as a preservative.

In the last decade, Spam has come to have a different meaning. Unwanted bulk email is called spam, due to a Monty Python comedy sketch in which it is portrayed as ubiquitous and inescapable.

Bob Sigall, author of the "Companies We Keep" books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at sigall@yahoo.com.