Rearview Mirror: King Kalakaua prescribed medicine for his subjects

Every now and then I find myself with several vignettes that didn’t fit into an earlier column but are too interesting to ignore. So I put three or four together, even if they are unrelated. I call this type of column “leftovers.”

This column begins with King David Kalakaua acting as a doctor and prescribing medicines to his subjects. Next, we’ll look at a 1958 party for all the employees fired by a well-known businessman.

Then, I’ll discuss a local guy whose writing inspired Gene Roddenberry and “Star Trek.” Finally, we’ll end with a woman whose toes are firmly planted in the sand of Hawaii.

Dr. Kalakaua?

In researching the Oct. 7 column about the Hobrons and the Hobron drugstore, I found an interesting vignette written by Honolulu Advertiser columnist Bob Krauss in 1995.

In the 1880s, King Kala­kaua would sit in front of the Benson-Smith drugstore on Fort Street once a month to receive his Hawaiian subjects.

“They came by and described their ailments,” said Roy Blackshear of Keeau. “My father was a pharmacist at Benson-Smith later on.

“Kalakaua looked into a medical book and wrote out a prescription. The recipient would fill it inside.”

I looked into this further and found a publication called the “National Druggist.” In February 1908, Alexis Gignoux, a former pharmacist at Benson-Smith in Honolulu, said: “Kalakaua had some knowledge of medicine, and nothing delighted him more than to prescribe for his subjects.

“The king was fond of haunting the store of Benson-Smith & Co. and could be found there at almost any time of the day.

“His handwriting is very firm and clear, and will probably cause a sigh from many pharmacists who think of the hieroglyphics that (they are) called upon to decipher every day of the year.”

One prescription called for a mixture of laudanum (an alcoholic solution of 10% opium), tincture of cannabis and chloroform — used to relieve pain.

The publication reproduced a prescription written by the king himself.

In the 1880s the field of drugs and medicine was in its infancy. But, finding that King Kalakaua wrote prescriptions for opiates is astounding to me.

Iolani Palace historian Zita Cup Choy said Kala­kaua’s actions probably did not concern doctors in Hawaii in the 1880s.

“Patent medicines were widely available and advertised. Most had little or no real value beyond the placebo effect. Kalakaua may have gotten the idea from Dr. Judd or another source.”

Pink Card

Two weeks ago I wrote about Kahanamoku Lane near the Ilikai. In the past it had been Dewey Lane, and bordered the Tahitian Lanai restaurant.

While researching that, I came across an interesting story in the newspaper archives. My old friend, radio guru Ron Jacobs, threw a party for the “Kaiser Alumni Association Unlimited” at the Tahitian Lanai in 1958.

The association was founded by KHVH employees who were “fired, resigned, ordered to resign, or resigned and then fired.” Since pink was Henry Kaiser’s favorite color, Jacobs issued pink cards to the members of the association.

Kaiser wasn’t invited, but surprised everyone by showing up at the poolside gathering. He came with his wife, Alyce, singer Alfred Apaka and his administrative assistant, Robert C. Elliott. He ordered a round of drinks for the 75 cardholders attending.

After an introduction by Jacobs, who pointed out that it was Kaiser “who made all this possible,” the Hawaiian Village owner explained why he came.

He said, “I feel a deep kinship with all of you.” He then told a story of how he was fired from a company as a young man 30-40 years earlier.

“I got another job and worked so hard at it that later I was rehired by the company that fired me. So you see, I have a deep kinship with people who have been fired and rehired.”

Applause greeted his talk, and he was presented with a gag gift of Reynolds aluminum foil, which he accepted in good spirit. Reynolds was a competitor of Kaiser’s aluminum company.

Jasper Holmes and ‘Star Trek’

Is there a connection between a Hawaii resident and “Star Trek”? Recently, Charles Knapp, 88, of Carlsbad, Calif., told me there is.

Two months ago I wrote about Jasper Holmes, who was a codebreaker at Pearl Harbor during World War II. After the war he returned to the University of Hawaii as the dean of engineering. Holmes Hall was named after him.

“One of my strongest, early memories was, of course, December 7th, 1941,” Knapp told me. “I became an early fan of airplanes and submarines as a result of the war.

“I became acquainted as well with Jasper Holmes, writing under the pseudonym ‘Alec Hudson.’ I gave Gene Roddenberry a signed copy of his book ‘Up Periscope!’

“In the 1970s and ’80s, my then wife, Brooke, and I played golf with Gene and Majel Roddenberry every Sunday at the Bel Air Country Club. Gene was then into the writing and imagination of ‘Star Trek.’ and Majel was acting in the TV series.

“I can confirm that he used several of Holmes’ books as a foundation of ‘Star Trek’ stories. Neither Gene nor I ever really grew up, and when I bought a (WWII-era) P-51D Mustang fighter plane, Gene spent more than just a few hours in the converted back seat with me edging through the clouds as a devil-may-care pilot dreaming up new plots for the ‘Star Trek’ series.

“When Gene died in 1991 and his ashes were shot off in a rocket named Enterprise from Vandenberg AFB, I was there in full tears watching him go.”

Toes planted in the sand

Ellen Johnston told me she found a note from her mother in her Bible.

The note said: “Your dad and I started life together in the Army and arrived in Honolulu just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

“I fell in love with Hawaii and hoped never to leave. When you were still a babe in arms, I took you to the beach, dug a hole in the sand and planted your feet in the hole.

“I held you up and said, ‘I plant you here, my darling daughter, in this warm sand with sparkling, clear warm ocean water lapping your feet, and gentle breezes kissing your cheeks.

“’This is your home. If life should send you away on adventures, always know you are deeply planted here, and when the time is right, your feet and heart will bring you home.’”

“I did leave the islands over time,” Johnston says, “enjoying some adventures but always feeling unplanted, and missed the sand between my toes, the balmy breezes and the aloha spirit!

“I have been home for many years now and still am deeply planted in the sand.”

———

The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s free twice-weekly email 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. Contact him at Sigall@yahoo.com.