Chung Kun Ai, the founder of City Mill, came to Hawaii with his father in 1879. The 14-year-old went to Iolani College for two years — the only formal education he would receive.

At Iolani, Ai formed a lasting friendship with Sun Yat Sen, who would later become president of China. It was there that Sun Yat Sen converted to Christianity, with the influence of Ai.

In the 1890s, C.K., as he came to be called, applied for a job with well-known businessman James I. Dowsett. “Come see me at 10 on Wednesday,” he told him. When he did, Dowsett said, “Come back a week from now.” C.K. did as he was asked.

“Because my grandfather persevered,” Carol Ai May says, “Dowsett hired him.” C.K. was devoted to Dowsett and the training he gave him. To honor him, City Mill’s Nimitz building is named for him.

“That’s the legacy he left us, the hard-work ethic, the never-give-up perseverance, to change with the times and to remember the sources of your success — where you came from,” Carol Ai May continues.

C.K. wrote a book, “My 79 years in Hawaii,” and according to Carol, it’s a story of perseverance. “I did this. It failed. I tried this. It failed.” The lesson is to keep going but to change with the times.

City Mill had to overcome a lot of hardships to survive the past 113 years, according to grandson Steven Ai.

“Six months after opening in 1899, there was a bubonic plague in Hawaii. A fire got out of control and burned down most of Chinatown, including City Mill, in 1900.”

C.K. Ai, who had borrowed money from friends to start City Mill, had no insurance. He had to go back to his friends for money a second time, and because of his spotless, honorable reputation, was able to borrow more money. “He had a ‘never give up’ attitude,” Carol Ai May says.

“It took him through many crises. Twenty years later, City Mill burned down a second time, but fortunately, this time he was insured.”

Not many companies overcame such obstacles, but times were different then. City Mill built its own ship, the Vigilant, in 1920 to bring lumber to its store in Hawaii. It was the largest five-masted schooner in the Pacific. It carried 2 million board feet of lumber. Each board had to be loaded by hand.

During the Depression, City Mill owed $750,000, and the banks considered foreclosing. In today’s dollars that is equivalent to about $17 million. C.K. was 65, the average life-span age at the time, but he persevered. In 1940, at age 75, the debt was paid off.

The City Mill name comes from the fact that it began as a rice mill and was the largest mill in Hawaii before World War II. One of the original coral millstones is embedded in the parking lot next to Nimitz Highway.

In 1950, when they moved from Chinatown, Nimitz Highway was closed for the grand opening ceremonies. Nimitz Highway was a relatively new road then, and not very busy. Even the governor attended the opening.

Since then City Mill has added eight retail stores and has about 500 employees.

“We want to be a professionally run organization, yet with a family-friendly environment for both our employees and our customers,” Steven Ai concludes. That’s a good model for every Hawaii company.