Rearview Mirror: 2 beavers, a bay horse and a bank robbery

I spoke at the Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies banquet two weeks ago. Afterward a number of them asked me questions or shared interesting stories. I thought I’d write about some of them this week.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who’s from Hilo, asked me if I could name three Hilo companies that have moved to Oahu. The ones I could think of are Tamashiro Market, Y. Hata and King’s Bakery. There may be more.

Chogen and Iris Tama­shiro founded a mom-and-pop grocery store on the Big Island, but the 1946 tsunami wiped it out. Undeterred by the natural disaster, the Tamashiros moved to Oahu. In 1954 Chogen’s son, Walter, took over the business and shifted the focus to fresh seafood.

Naeko and Yoichi Hata, immigrants from Hiroshima, founded Y. Hata in 1913. It supplied local restaurants and also sold candy in front of their home. It expanded to Honolulu around 1938, moving into warehousing and distribution, and today it’s the largest food distributor in the state.

Robert Taira founded Robert’s Bakery in Hilo in 1950. After a decade of growth, he moved to Honolulu and opened at 1936 S. King St. (and later Eaton Square and Kaimuki) as King’s Bakery. The public adored it.

But Honolulu was not big enough, and in 1977 he moved again and opened a Torrence, Calif., location called King’s Hawaiian Bakery. I visited it recently, and it is a beautiful tribute to its Hawaii roots.

Houghtailing Street

Caldwell and I also chatted about George Washington Houghtailing, for whom the street in Kalihi is named. Caldwell has a greater understanding of Hawaii history than most politicians I know.

Houghtailing arrived in the islands about 1848 and owned the Bay Horse Hotel and Saloon on the corner of Hotel and Bethel streets.

A bay horse is brown with a black mane.

Houghtailing had a home on a 15-acre site in Kalihi that now houses Damien Memorial School. On it he grew taro and rice, and raised bay horses, hogs and chickens.

He married twice and had 12 children. Four of them — Olivia, Sophie, Emmeline and Eliza — became well-known quilters. Eliza foresaw that one day the estate would be sold and the family cemetery moved. When she died she instructed that her grave be unmarked and hidden so that it would remain on the property.

The estate was sold to the Catholic Diocese in 1949, and all the graves were moved except Eliza’s. Hers was never found and is believed to still be on the school’s grounds.

Another twist: In a 1918 letter to the editor of The Honolulu Advertiser, Harry Roberts said he had talked to the Houghtailings, and they spelled their name “Hotailing.” They didn’t know how it became misspelled.

Beaver weather vane

Phil Boultinghouse told me there is a beaver weather vane downtown. I worked downtown for 40 years and don’t recall ever seeing it.

He said it is on top of the C. Brewer building at Fort and Queen streets. You can see it from the Topa Financial Center side of Queen Street.

The beaver belonged to Hudson’s Bay Co. It is North America’s oldest company (1670) and is still in business today. In 1834 the fur-trapping company had a supply store in downtown Honolulu.

Hawaii was a convenient stop for ships leaving the Pacific Northwest and traveling around the tip of South America for the East Coast or Europe.

Hawaiians, they found, made excellent fur trappers, and many were hired.

Long after it left Hawaii in 1859, the beaver weather vane was found in a storeroom downtown. It’s about 3 feet long and made of metal.

Also found was a painted clay beaver that was on display in the James Campbell Estate offices. It’s now in the James Campbell Co. office in Kapolei.

Surfer statue in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Boultinghouse also told me there is a surfer statue in Santa Cruz.

Prince Kuhio, David Kawananakoa and Edward Keliiahonui attended a military school south of San Francisco. They made surfboards and taught locals to surf in Santa Cruz.

Is it possible that the Santa Cruz surfer faces the Duke Kahanamoku statue in Waikiki and vice versa?

I could not find anything online discussing it. One site says the Santa Cruz surfer faces “west.” If that’s so, he’s facing Japan.

But, researcher that I am, I went to the Duke statue last week and looked at it with a compass. It appears to be facing 30 degrees east of north.

By my reckoning, he’s facing Canada. I’d calculate he’d have to be facing 60-70 degrees to face Santa Cruz. Have any readers heard anything about this? It’s an interesting question, but I’m dubious that there’s any connection.

Attempted robbery gone awry

Former First Hawaiian Bank President Jack Hoag told me of an almost comic bank robbery attempt that happened when he was with the Kapiolani branch in the 1950s.

“A young soldier from Schofield had a stolen savings passbook, as they were called then, in his possession and was attempting to withdraw money.”

The teller was naturally suspicious as the owner was Japanese and the soldier African-American. “When a supervisor confronted him a minor scuffle ensued and he ran,” Hoag says.

“The old Kapiolani branch had floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows at the parking lot exit, but in his panic the would-be thief didn’t see them and crashed headfirst through these large windows.

“He was bleeding but continued running at high speed makai through what is now the Ala Moana shopping center, then a construction site.

“Several male bankers and the bank’s handyman, brandishing a rake, chased him. After a while only Neal Petagno and Clarence Chun Hoon maintained the pursuit to Ala Moana Beach Park where he surrendered. Police took him away.

“When it was over Johnny Bellinger said he didn’t know if he should fire Neal and Clarence for chasing the guy through a $3,000 window or give them a commendation. I don’t think he did either.”

Have a question or suggestion? Contact Bob Sigall, author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books, at sigall@yahoo.com.