Every year, I write about the anniversaries of important Hawaii organizations. Last week I explored the 100th anniversary of radio and the 70th anniversary of television in Hawaii. Here are some other significant milestones: a church, hospital, country store and bike path.
190th anniversary
The Liliuokalani Protestant Church in Haleiwa is 190 years old this year. It was called the Congregational Church at Waialua when it was founded in 1832, and was Oahu’s second-oldest church. It was located where Haleiwa Joe’s restaurant is today.
The Rev. John Smith Emerson and his wife, Ursula, built the thatched roof church. It’s moved slightly and has been rebuilt several times.
In 1985, Bob Krauss wrote in The Honolulu Advertiser that the Liliuokalani Church had something unique: a weather vane, high atop the church steeple. “The weathervane is in the form of a life-size Iwa bird with a 3-foot wingspan and a fish in its mouth. It is the only one of its kind in the world.
“Architect Daniel Chun came up with the idea to put an Iwa bird on top of the steeple. After all, ‘Haleiwa’ in Hawaiian means ‘Home of the Iwa bird’ and it was Hurricane Iwa which nearly blew down the steeple and made renovation imperative.
“Then there’s the enormous, seven-dial wall clock given by Queen Liliuokalani in 1892. The queen didn’t belong to the congregation, but she owned a home on Anahulu Stream nearby. She attended the church when she was in Haleiwa.
“Only seven clocks were made in the world like the one she gave the church,” Krauss said. “The clock tells the days of the week, phases of the moon, time of day, number of weeks in the year and about anything else you want to know.”
100th anniversary
Misaki’s Grocery & Dry Goods Store on Molokai will celebrate its 100th anniversary this month, Gary Takata told me.
“It all started in 1922,” the Molokai Digest wrote, “when Uta Misaki, a seamstress, opened a 10-by-20-foot shop to supplement the family income. Along with sewing services, the store sold candy, ice cream and a few other items. Uta was soon joined in the business by her husband, Masataro.”
In the old days the pineapple plantation was the island’s main employer.
“Almost everything was done on credit,” current General Manager Kevin Misaki said. “We were so tied into the plantation, everybody would charge items, and when they got paid, they’d come to the store and pay their bill for the month.”
95th anniversary
Can you think of a group that traveled over 4,800 miles to care for some of Hawaii’s neediest citizens? They’ve been here nearly 140 years, and their leader is now seen as a saint.
Yes, it’s the Sisters of St. Francis, who responded to a call for help from King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani to come to the islands and take care of those with Hansen’s disease. The king and queen were both concerned about the rapid decline in numbers of the Hawaiian race.
“When the Sisters first arrived in Hawaii in November 1883, they were tasked with managing the Kakaako Branch Hospital on Oahu, which served as a receiving station for patients with Hansen’s disease from all of the islands,” former CEO Sister Geraldine Ching says. It was about where the Kakaako SALT block is today.
“In 1884 the Sisters were asked to open Malulani Hospital, now Maui Memorial Medical Center. Kapiolani Home on Oahu was opened in 1885 for the healthy female children of leprosy patients.” It was in Kalihi Valley near where Fort Shafter is today.
St. Marianne Cope and several sisters relocated to Kalaupapa in 1888 and took care of Father Damien De Veuster in his last year of life, Ching wrote in her new book, “Taking the High Road: Celebrating our 95th Anniversary.”
One of their next tasks was to build a hospital for Oahu’s growing population. St. Francis Hospital in Liliha opened in 1927.
Many high-powered leaders, including territorial Gov. Charles McCarthy and Princess Abigail Campbell Kawananakoa, helped raise the money to build and run the hospital.
On May 9, 1927, St. Francis Hospital admitted its first patient, an 8-year-old girl with tonsillitis. Her total bill was $15, which was paid by the Territorial Board of Health.
“Over the next several decades, St. Francis Hospital became the first in the islands to introduce a number of health services in the islands, including kidney dialysis, organ transplants, home health, hospice care, and a women’s alcohol treatment center,” Ching continues.
Today, St. Francis Healthcare System continues to live by the principles of the Sisters of St. Francis by identifying and filling the new and emerging needs in the community, CEO Jerry Correa says.
“With Hawaii’s fast- growing kupuna population, one of the top priorities in the community is meeting the needs of kupuna and their caregivers.
“St. Francis has focused on meeting these needs for the past decade since it has reimagined and transformed its Liliha campus into the St. Francis Kupuna Village, a growing, vibrant community to serve kupuna, caregivers and other family members.
“Last year, Hale o Meleana (translated House of Marianne, in honor of St. Marianne Cope) opened to provide adult residential care and memory care to augment the skilled nursing care and rehabilitation services provided by the Kupuna Village, which opened in 2015.”
Lanikai Bikeway
The Lanikai Bikeway turned 50 this July, Cynthia Thielen told me. It was the second bikeway on Oahu, with the first being a lane going to the University of Hawaii.
“The catalyst for the Lanikai Bikeway was a scary and almost fatal event,” Thielen said. “The two-way streets were dangerous, and there was inadequate space for the children biking to Lanikai School.”
“Student Linda Bell was riding her bike on the edge of the pavement when her tire hit a rut and she fell into the street. The oncoming driver, fortunately, was a policeman with fast reflexes. He slammed on his brakes, and his tire stopped so close to Linda’s head that it ripped hair out of her scalp.
“So, the parents galvanized and proposed a one-way loop, a traffic configuration that hadn’t been installed on Oahu up until then.
“Moms (including me) did the actual survey,” Thielen says, “counting the numbers of kids biking to school, plus some adult bikers. Ted Rodgers was the primary leader of this effort.
“We had to get City Council approval for the change to one-way street with bikeway on right side. One of the council members decided the bikeway should be ONE WAY. I think it was Rudy Pacarro.
“So, I found a six-foot stick, and took off two handlebars from my kids’ bikes, and armed with this ‘show and tell,’ went to the City Council hearing. I remember the security guard looking at me rather strangely, as I entered the hearing chamber with a long pole and handlebars.
“When I testified, this physical description showed Mr. Pacarro that there was ample room for two-way bike traffic on the bikeway. Problem solved.”
Thielen’s son, Greg, says, “This simple project was transformative for our little community. It took a dangerous roadway dominated by cars and turned it into a pedestrian- and bicycle- friendly community with little more than paint and simple signage.
“It is a reminder of how simple, community-led projects can make a big difference without costing a lot.”
In this, its 50th year, the City Council passed a resolution naming the Mokuloa Drive portion of the bikeway for Cynthia Thielen and the Aalapapa Drive portion for Ted Rodgers, calling it “an appropriate way to recognize their decades-long service to the Lanikai community, and specifically, their commitment and contributions to the establishment of the Lanikai Bikeway.”
Do you know of a Hawaii organization that is celebrating a significant anniversary this year? If so, please let me know.
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Bob Sigall writes about interesting Hawaii people, places and organizations every Friday. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
