It’s time to open up the old mail bag and answer some reader questions. I try to do this every four to six weeks, so feel free to send in any questions you have.
Rabbit Island
Wyman Au asked whether there were ever rabbits on Rabbit Island. Yes. “The first rabbits were turned loose there sometime between 1876 and 1890 by John Cummins, the first owner of the Waimanalo Plantation,” manager George Chalmers Jr. said.
Cummins’ lease of Waimanalo included the 70-acre Rabbit Island, called Manana by Hawaiians.
“He thought of raising rabbits as a hobby but did not want them to injure his sugar cane, so he let some loose on the island.” Today it’s a sanctuary for many birds.
The island, just northwest of Makapuu Point on Oahu, played a role in 1894 in a counterrevolution to put Queen Lili‘uokalani back on her throne. A ship from San Francisco delivered 80 revolvers and ammunition to royalists, who then smuggled them to Honolulu.
The plot failed; the royalists, including Cummins, were arrested, tried and served short jail sentences.
During World War II the military used Rabbit Island for target practice.
Cummins, by the way, was minister of foreign affairs under King Kalakaua. He owned much of Pawaa and had a home called Allendale, now the site of Washington Middle School.
Astronaut training
Cammy LosBanos wrote: “As you know, after nine years the USA has launched astronauts (aboard SpaceX). I’ve wondered about the astronauts who trained on the lava terrain near Pohakuloa in 1967.
“My father was the CO there at that time and was given a photograph that was autographed by the men on one mission. I wonder about the travails of these men.”
I looked in the Honolulu Advertiser archives and found an article titled “From Hilo to the Moon” from 1965. All the astronauts who walked on the lunar surface came to the lava flows of Kapoho and Pohakuloa, the “next best thing to the moon,” NASA said.
It was a “geological training trip.” Astronauts would practice collecting lava samples and photography, the article said. “They will work with the same sort of equipment that will be used on actual moon walks.
“They’ll have a better idea of what to look for on the moon if they become thoroughly familiar with lava rock characteristics found on the Big Island.”
Military academies
LosBanos also asked about the first women from Hawaii in the the military academies in 1976, when they first opened to female candidates.
“I wonder about the women from Hawaii who may have been in this inaugural class. I was the first alternate for USNA (U.S. Naval Academy), the eighth alternate for USAFA (U.S. Air Force Academy). I’m certain I would not have endured the rigorous tests these women faced.”
I looked into and and found two Hawaii women, Karen Kinzler and Susan Kellett, had enrolled at West Point. They said it was challenging but managed to graduate in 1980.
Today, Susan Kellett-Forsyth lives in Charlottesville, Va., and works in change management, leadership, ethics, unconscious bias and civility.
Kinzler is now known as Karen Strang. She lives in Troy, N.Y., and is an assistant at the Brunswick Community Library. She’s married and has two children.
She served seven years of active duty in the field artillery and was in the Army Reserves for 10 years, earning a promotion to major.
Randy Jung said he was Kinzler’s classmate in the Aiea High School class of 1974.
“We swam together on Aiea’s swim team for years. She was always smart and I am not surprised at her achievements. She used to live on Aiea Heights Drive, where a surfboard still stands as a landmark to her father’s house.
“Her father Bob Kinzler was a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack and used to volunteer at the Arizona Memorial.”
There were others who enrolled at the military academies just after Kinzler and Kellett. If you know of any of their stories, please pass them along.
FDR and the queen
Kathy Lee said she had a question about the trip to Hawaii by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934.
“In the 1961 autobiography by Eleanor Roosevelt, she writes the following sentence about the trip: ‘Once they reached Hawaii, he and the boys’ — his two sons — ‘had a wonderful time. He enjoyed meeting the native Queen and eating poi.’ What queen do you think he met?”
That’s an intriguing question. None of our monarchs were alive in 1934. Our last, Queen Lili‘uokalani, died in 1917.
It’s possible she is referring to a meeting with Princess Abigail Campbell Kawananakoa, Iolani Palace historian Zita Cup Choy told me. If Hawaii had retained its monarchy, she may have been queen.
Kawananakoa was the wife of Prince David Kawananakoa, an alii from Kauai, who was a ward of the Kalakaua household.
She died in 1945, but her granddaughter, Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, is 94 and often in the news today.
Abigail Campbell Kawananakoa had a relationship with the Roosevelts, I found.
She broadcast a greeting to President Roosevelt from her home in Waikiki on the first anniversary of his inauguration in March 1933. The hourlong program was aired locally on KGU radio and carried around the world.
The Roosevelts listened from the White House. Later, Kawananakoa met the Roo-sevelts at the White House in July 1934.
Honolulu Advertiser Publisher Lorrin Thurston conceived of the novel way of congratulating the president on the first anniversary of his inauguration.
Princess Kawananakoa greeted the nation saying: “The miracle of radio having transported us on a magic carpet to the White House. There we stand happy at the opportunity of entertaining the president and Mrs. Roosevelt with the chants and folk songs of ancient and modern Hawaii.
“All of those taking part are Hawaiians. They know best how to sing the melodies of their native land. We who call these islands home send to the president, on this his first anniversary in office, hearty congratulations. We wish for him continued success and good health.
“Hawaii would feel deeply honored with a visit from President and Mrs. Roose-velt. We believe that our sun shines more brightly, that our skies are bluer and our people happier than anywhere else in the world. These riches we should like them to enjoy with us.
“We express to Mrs. Roosevelt our high esteem and affectionate regard, and later a song will be offered in her honor as a tribute from the Hawaiian race.
“To President Roosevelt goes our profound respect for American institutions with our loyalty and confidence in him as president and leader. Aloha a hui hou!”
A musical program then followed.
In July 1934 the president and his sons did come to Hawaii. They dedicated Ala Moana Beach Park and toured our military bases.
They were presented with lei as they were set to leave Hawaii by Princess Kawananakoa.
As an aside, Princess Abigail Campbell Kawananakoa’s property at 1438 Pensacola St. now houses the Hawaiian Mission Academy.
So could she be the queen Eleanor Roosevelt was referring to?
The Hawaii newspapers in her day all referred to her as a princess, not a queen, and I’m sure FDR would understand the difference between them.
I could find no mention of a foreign queen visiting Hawaii at the same time as the Roose-velts.
Do any readers have an insight or opinion on this matter?
The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s now twice-weekly free email newsletter that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. Join and be an Insider at RearviewMirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!
