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Natural History

Koa Haole
Leucaena Leucocephala

They used to be ubiquitous. As you drove along old country roads in the dry lowlands, there would be thickets of koa haole. The scraggly shrubs with its finely divided leaves, puffball globular, white flower heads that are an inch in diameter, and flat, long, bean-like pods were first recorded in Hawaii in 1837 as introduced foreign cousins of the native koa trees. They are originally from tropical America, in the Caribbean area.

Because they were able to grow in poor soil with little water, the plants naturalized quickly and took over large parts of the islands, choking out other species. It is not a favorite of people interested in preserving the indigenous plants of the islands.

The pods make moderately good cattle food., however, and when more people raised their own beef, wherever the stands of haole koa bushes were, there was sure to be some old cowboy chopping branches off to load up his truck. The plant is high in protein but about five percent of that is mimosine, an amino acid. If more than half of a cow's diet is haole koa for six months or more, the mimosine makes the animal sick and mangy. Other domestic animals, like pigs, chickens, and goats, have a lower tolerance for this amino acid.

In some places the koa haole is an important fire wood.

The plants have been called a "nurse crop" because a stand of koa haole offers shade for the natural regeneration of native species and, as a legume, it does act as a host for nitrogen-fixing bacteria. However, it is so aggressive that it became a pest in many areas.

For many years, the seeds were used to make lei. They are boiled until they are soft and then pierced with a needle and strung into intricate patterns. Old aunties used to have doilies and placemats made out of strung koa seeds.

In 1984 a Caribbean plant louse that eats haole koa somehow got to Hawaii. Since then this bug has caused widespread damage to the shrubs. Developers of land tracts tend to bulldoze down the stands as well.

There are no seed lei or doilies made any more either. The bugs lay eggs in the seeds and the eggs eventually hatch.
 

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Arts & Culture

The Great Lahaina Fire Of 1919

Like any town with wooden buildings built cheek-by-jowl, Lahaina in the early 1900's was always wary of the possibility of fire getting out of control. In January, 1919, a fire that started in the Sing Lung Co. fruit store, "two doors from the corner of Front and Church streets, on the mauka side," grew to engulf a large part of the business center of the town. More than 30 separate buildings were destroyed before the fire was stopped by the townspeople who turned out in the middle of the night to try to battle the conflagration after a mounted police officer gave the alarm by riding around town frantically blowing his whistle.

The Maui News article about the fire praised the heroics of a Japanese boy named Aoki who saved the historic Baldwin House Settlement main building by standing on the roof of the building with a garden hose, wetting down the building and putting out flying sparks and embers. He carried a small table which he held in front of him as a shield to protect himself from the heat and the burning ashes. The Baldwin House was saved by his early morning vigilance, suffering only a badly charred cornice on the side next to the fire.

The following month, the County Board of Supervisors approved and funded the start of a fire department for Lahaina. B. O. Wist was elected as the first fire chief and given the job of organizing a volunteer fire company. The Board went on to approve the purchase of two fire trucks - one for Lahaina and one for Wailuku.

Because of the fire, the Lahaina townspeople asked that the County install a large water main for fire purposes in the center of town as well as proper fire hydrants. The Board instructed the county attorney and the county engineer to "collaborate in drawing up of fire ordinances for both Lahaina and Wailuku, fixing fire limits, and prescribing the class of buildings and equipment that may be maintained in the thickly built parts of town."

The fire, considered one of the worse in the history of Maui to that date, was the catalyst for important improvements to Maui urban life.

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD ENGLISH: Stop that! You're embarrassing me!
BRADDAH-NICS: No make li'dat, you...some shame!

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD ENGLISH: Why not try it?
BRADDAH-NICS: Try go...go try!

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD ENGLISH: It'll never happen!
BRADDAH-NICS: No CAN!
 

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Local Grinds

Shrimp Tempura

Ingredients:

Shell and clean shrimp w/ tails on. Lightly slash underside diagonally. Heat deep fat to 365 degrees F. Sift the one cup flour with cornstarch and seasoning. Combine egg yolk, sherry and water; stir into flour mixture. Dip shrimp in flour, then batter and fry until lightly browned. Drain and serve immediately. Makes three dozen.

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Spotlight On…

Hale Pa'ahao Prison (Stuck in Irons House)

Lahaina, circa 1850's: A hub of leisure and activity for sailors from far away lands. Quite
naturally, where there is shore leave, there is bound to be a bit of trouble. Lahaina harbor was no exception. After many incidents of unruly behavior by these ill-mannered seamen, including one involving drunkards and a live cannon, the residents of Lahaina took action by having Hale-Pa'ahao Prison built.
Using stones gathered from a useless and outdated fort (which itself had served as a prison), convict laborers were put to work, building the "modern" prison Hale Pa'ahao.
Though classified as a prison, Hale Pa'ahao actually served more as a jail in it's time: temporarily holding those of lesser crimes such as drunks, ship deserters, and reckless horse riders. Those whom were guilty of more serious offences (carrying a sentence of one year or more) were instead shipped to O'ahu for proper incarceration.

Today, the Hale Pa'ahao Prison serves a new purpose as an educational landmark of Hawaiian history.

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