Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

malamamaunakea.org
from malamamaunakea.org More from this publisher
30.01.2015 Views

KM: RG: ‘Ae. I came to work for Parker Ranch when I finished high school. I started as a cowboy, then I was put in charge of Ke‘ämoku section. KM: ‘Ae. RG: And that included taking care of cattle up around Waiki‘i and down to Ke‘ämoku and whatnot. And at that time, there was a lot of corn raised in Waiki‘i. And also hay and then they gave the hay up, as I understand it. Because you couldn’t depend on the weather. They’d stack the hay and the stack would be half up and you get a heavy rain and the hay would all mildew. So corn was real dry, so they gave hay up and they continued with corn. And they would rotate the different areas. They plant this area one year in corn and the next year they go to another area. And the reason for rotating was that they were able to till the soil and plant different grass seeds and then they fattened cattle in there. KM: Hmm. That’s a wise use of the land isn’t it What, uncle what you folks had called before ho‘omaha, to let the land rest KL: Rest. KM: So important that value of rotating. They would plant the corn one year or what, harvest, then till it back in and the mulching like that and then grass would grow, cattle would come in. Is that… RG: They also raised a lot of pigs up here. And they even had a lot of turkeys, and I think Mr. AhFat here will give you that one. KM: Yes. May I ask you, you came to the ranch was it in ‘30… RG: In ‘36. KM: In ‘36, okay. Not, a little earlier RG: I think it was a little earlier. Kepä, makule you know [chuckles]. PG: In ‘34. KM: In 1934 right, it was ‘36 when you went to Ke‘ämoku. RG: Yes. KM: Yes, okay. Now, and of course your family, your ‘ohana, you were ranching people Honoköhau, Kaumalumalu section like that, right RG: That’s right. KM: In fact, you folks still have ranching interests out that side as well. When you came to the ranch here…there was a very nice letter in the 1930s from A.W. Carter back to your father Francis or Palani Greenwell. About what a fine young man you were on the ranch. You were working out just well, we’ve got a copy of that letter. I think you’ll enjoy that. RG: I think my father sent Mr. Carter ten dollars for that. Group: [all laughing] KM: You’ve of course had all kinds of experiences out on this land here from that time. Do I understand that this area that we’re basically sitting in now was a horse paddock RG: This, as far as I know was always a horse paddock. And it went down to the silo. KM: To the silo section RG: Yes. KM: Okay. Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina” Kumu Pono Associates LLC A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:524

RG: And then the other areas around here were where they planted corn. KM: Yes. RG: But I don’t remember corn in here. KM: Right. The map that we have here in front of you is a copy that I’ve given to all of you. It’s really a nice map from 1917 but it already shows the establishment of those fields like Number 6 or 7. You’ve all spoken about the different areas. And there were hundreds and hundreds of acres of corn planted evidently. What was the corn used for RG: The corn was used, the ranch had a dairy and they used a lot of corn there. They also sold corn. Would somebody, Hisa would you know who used to buy corn HK: Waldron’s in Hilo, as well as we shipped a lot of shelled corn to Honolulu. KM: Oh, amazing! HK: They had a feed store in Hilo. RG: For the ranch, it was used on the dairy and also the pigs and the turkeys. HK: Very interesting thing happened before that period during the World War I, when food shortage was very critical and Parker Ranch played a major role in supplying corn meal. And I found a bag of corn meal here. [holds up bag to show group] KM: You did. Wonderful! This is World War I time HK: Yes. It’s an empty bag though, there’s no corn in here. Group: [chuckling] HK: I put ‘em in the washer and the wording is very faint. It says “Hawaiian Corn Mill, Waiki‘i, Five Pounds.” KM: Amazing! Wow! And there’s an ear of corn drawn on to it. HK: Ear of corn on the right side here. Have you ever seen this RG: No. HK: This was a very important food item during the war, World War I. KM: Yes. HK: As I say, Waiki‘i took care of a major role in supplying food. And this is one of the reasons why prior to the Second World War, Alfred W. Carter asked me to start a Victory Garden in Waimea. Knowing the fact that during the World War I, the food shortage was very critical. He wanted to be sure that we would be able to sustain ourselves with our own food. Producing our own food. He asked me to start a Victory Garden for every resident in Waimea. Irregardless of whether you’re a ranch family, and we did it. And all the people who have asked for a Victory Garden, we tilled the soil, put in the chicken wire right around the garden you know. Because everybody had chickens in their backyards. KM: Yes. HK: With chickens you can’t raise anything, you have to fence. So, this is the job I had with my crew, building fences and tilling the land and prepare the soil for home gardens. And just prior to the war, 1940. What happened, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. KM: Yes. HK: How did Alfred W. Carter know that we should be prepared. I had about seventeen acres of corn planted in Waimea, and up in the Pu‘uhue section of the ranch, I planted kidney beans. KM: Oh yes. Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina” Kumu Pono Associates LLC A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:525

KM:<br />

RG:<br />

‘Ae.<br />

I came to work for Parker Ranch when I finished high school. I started as a cowboy, then<br />

I was put in charge <strong>of</strong> Ke‘ämoku section.<br />

KM: ‘Ae.<br />

RG: And that included taking care <strong>of</strong> cattle up around Waiki‘i and down to Ke‘ämoku and<br />

whatnot. And at that time, there was a lot <strong>of</strong> corn raised in Waiki‘i. And also hay and then<br />

they gave the hay up, as I understand it. Because you couldn’t depend on the weather.<br />

They’d stack the hay and the stack would be half up and you get a heavy rain and the<br />

hay would all mildew. So corn was real dry, so they gave hay up and they continued with<br />

corn. And they would rotate the different areas. They plant this area one year in corn and<br />

the next year they go to another area. And the reason for rotating was that they were<br />

able to till the soil and plant different grass seeds and then they fattened cattle in there.<br />

KM: Hmm. That’s a wise use <strong>of</strong> the land isn’t it What, uncle what you folks had called before<br />

ho‘omaha, to let the land rest<br />

KL: Rest.<br />

KM: So important that value <strong>of</strong> rotating. They would plant the corn one year or what, harvest,<br />

then till it back in and the mulching like that and then grass would grow, cattle would<br />

come in. Is that…<br />

RG: They also raised a lot <strong>of</strong> pigs up here. And they even had a lot <strong>of</strong> turkeys, and I think Mr.<br />

AhFat here will give you that one.<br />

KM: Yes. May I ask you, you came to the ranch was it in ‘30…<br />

RG: In ‘36.<br />

KM: In ‘36, okay. Not, a little earlier<br />

RG: I think it was a little earlier. Kepä, makule you know [chuckles].<br />

PG: In ‘34.<br />

KM: In 1934 right, it was ‘36 when you went to Ke‘ämoku.<br />

RG: Yes.<br />

KM: Yes, okay. Now, and <strong>of</strong> course your family, your ‘ohana, you were ranching people<br />

Honoköhau, Kaumalumalu section like that, right<br />

RG: That’s right.<br />

KM: In fact, you folks still have ranching interests out that side as well. When you came to the<br />

ranch here…there was a very nice letter in the 1930s from A.W. Carter back to your<br />

father Francis or Palani Greenwell. About what a fine young man you were on the ranch.<br />

You were working out just well, we’ve got a copy <strong>of</strong> that letter. I think you’ll enjoy that.<br />

RG: I think my father sent Mr. Carter ten dollars for that.<br />

Group: [all laughing]<br />

KM: You’ve <strong>of</strong> course had all kinds <strong>of</strong> experiences out on this land here from that time. Do I<br />

understand that this area that we’re basically sitting in now was a horse paddock<br />

RG: This, as far as I know was always a horse paddock. And it went down to the silo.<br />

KM: To the silo section<br />

RG: Yes.<br />

KM: Okay.<br />

<strong>Mauna</strong> <strong>Kea</strong>– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”<br />

Kumu Pono Associates LLC<br />

A Collection <strong>of</strong> <strong>Oral</strong> <strong>History</strong> Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:524

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!