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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 1916)
4 TTTE SUNDAY OREGOWAX, POIlTLAXT, MAY 14, 1916. COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE MUCH IN EVIDENCE ON ISLAND OF HAWAII Early Missionaries, Seeking Substantial Homes, Introduce New England Styles Lack of Carpenters Caused Starting of First Trade School, Patterned After in Boston 40 Years Later Old Homes Beautiful. 1 sr ' - TO s "Ti sir EI LAURA BALDWIN- DOOLITTLE. HILO. Hawaii, May 3. (Special.) The architecture jf the Island of Hawaii has undoubtedly been very much Influenced by the early mission aries -who came here nearly 100 years ago. In fact, the first three missionary families, the Lymans, Coans and. Wet mores, were the first white people on the island, and they soon built for themselves houses as nearly as possi ble like the ones they had left In Massachusetts. All the homes here previous to that time had been of. grass, even the mis-I Bionaries themselves living In grass huts for several years, but all the while longing for the stability and con veniences of their former homes. Con sequently, as soon as possible, they built for themselves frame houses, the lumber of which had to-be brought from New Bedford in sailing vessels. inese three houses are still intact. and comfortable homes. Father Coan's has not been altered, but remains as It was originally built, a roomy Xew England Colonial house. The other two have had several additions, and thus lost a little of their austerity. The material for these three, as far as practical, was brought In sections around the Horn, and took months to get here. Carpenters were not to be had until the natives could be taught the trade. Father Lyman Immediately founded a trades school to teach the boys car pentry, cabinet making and farming. This school is. with many additions, still In existence and doing splendid worn. It was after this same industrial school that General Armstrong pat terned Hampton Institute, and it was not until 40 years after Father Lyman started his school that the first of the many manual training schools in the United States was Inaugurated in Bos ton. Training; A'eed Filled. How wonderful It is to trace the be ginning of things. Here was the ab solute need of training along these lines and the one missionary who had the Yankee ingenuity for doing things found his Christian duty lay in teaching these children, for all were children in knowledge of work: and naturally, in doing this he lay the foundation for the future style of homes and other buildings, as well as their furnishings. It is wonderful how the good old Puritan atmosphere of religion and boms la felt la tbia tropical laud. Hilo '.:t.il .,,w " u-V' ; j h . . M ir -HPr : ' I . Mt M M Mt'- jit '-'tiittP?;; tL MM ! 5. f, : xllf'f'f ' ' -illiiiiiiWI "miWit iltltlnii -t- . .. .1 i p-" ST yL -- 1 I t t y Murninmnii-ttmi n I I I v - ' , s .ii c . 6. -iv- 15- V' . " ft ' I f: -Sv-r-iSita KMIfm-tfir! MMIIMilWiltr ycZ'j- 8SIMrMMi: '111-tum 11 n i j r- ; 5 t f ' f ' m .'.-' 'I It t 'if f f .v zs Is ttz Irdi i: Hi iS looks more like e. big Kew England 1 village than anything else. The following generation, although building much finer and much more pretentious homes, more ornate with less true art, still followed the New England type, and. thus we find some of the finest homes on the island are of this same period of architecture. The missionaries brought fine old Colonial furniture, heirlooms in the family, that proved the patterns for the furniture makers, four poster beds. old Colonial bureaus, high boys and chests of drawers, tables and chairs of the Martha Washington period. At first, when visiting different homes in Hilo, I was amazed at the prevalence of good old Colonial furniture, but after an afternoon spent at the industrial school watching the boys being taught to make furniture in the gold old hon est way, hand rubbed and perfectly Joined, I marveled no more. They use the native mahogany, koa, and it is beautiful, a perfect golden mahogany that looks like that of the early cabinet makers in Virginia and Louisiana. Shlpman Home Beat. The largest, best built and most at tractively situated home In Hilo Is that of W. Ii. Shipman. This is one of the pioneer and leading families of Hilo. M Shipman received large grants of land from the King In the days of royalty, and that has developed into a great fortune. Mrs. Shipman was also a rich women in her own right, owning lands in the Kona district and .elsewhere. The children are all being educated in the States, the boys were graduated from the university in California, while the girls went to Wellesley, one having already graduated from there. There is a decidedly New England atmosphere of culture and stability in this home. The New England style of architec ture is very good for this island. High ceilings, French doors and windows opening out upon porches give plenty of air. Sunshine and air they must have to keep the house from too much dampness. There is from 200 to 300 inches annual rainfall, with everything around green and luxuriant. There is no glare of sand and the earth Is the richest velvety brown, consequently one wants the sunshine and plenty of light. It is not hot here, either. All precon ceived notions of a tropical country are put to rout. There are a few new California bun galows here, but they do not seem to Just suit this climate and environment. look a little out of place. - Low ceil inga and. Lroad overhanging toot a, with. .V.-.-' : - v --.v. 2 11 4 the tusual bungalow veranda so often walled in like a cloister, are conducive to dampness, and as much as people try to tell me that a bungalow is Just thehing for the tropics I cannot agree with them for the Island of Hawaii. Bungalow ' 3iot Salted. It is all right for India, where the bungalow originated, and in California, where there is constant sunshine and a glare all the time, with so little fresh greenness, but here it is Just the opposite of all that. Consequently the style of the Shipman house seems more conducive of comfort and the eternal fitness of things' than any other. There is one view of It that reminds one of the castles on the Rhine, perched so high up on the river bank that it Is a perfect jungle of foliage. On the other side it is set well back In a perfectly kept lawn. There is a cir cular driveway and a big porte cochere that is very sensible where there is so much rain. The hall is in the middle of the house, opening Into both the library and drawing-room with wide archways, and runs back to the dining room. A fine old grandfather's clock ticks -the time away, and a big palm gives just the right touch of green. All the walls are done in excellent taste. Those of the dining-room are a soft, gray, paneled with a narrow border, abstract design, in a soft dull rose and blue. The furniture in -the dining-room is of koa, massive - and appropriate for so large a room. The round table 13 72-inch Colonial base, and there are a dozen or more chairs, also of Colonial design. A verv larae sideboard china closet, curate's table ana several small taDies are or this same beautiful golden mahogany of the islands. Furniture Is Joy. It is a joy to see furniture so well made, all the drawers moving easily, and there Is no shrinking that leaves unsightly spaces. The koa is thorough ly seasoned, and it is hand rubbed with oil only, no unsightly varnish to sooil the Joints and corners. A very hand some Japanese screen done. In hi eh relief of mother pearl, stands in the arcnway oetweMi tne dining-room and dVa wing-room. The breakfast-room, a big glassed-in lanai, is back of the dining-room. A conservatory off the drawing-room proves a. most comfortable reading room. This has windows on three sides. one side of which opens out upon porch. The music-room has more koa fur niture and, a very large pedesuU. pa which stands a marbU bust. This is a. kos stump in its ortg-in&l form with the bark still on. but is beautifully finished by hand rubbing with oil. that really gives it a dull, satiny polish. It stands in a big- bow window that has an immense palm for a background, against which the marble looks' lovely. The rugs are Royal Saruks In soft rose and blue tones. Heavy Duchease lace curtains hang at the windows without overdraperies. In this climate heavy draperies are not liked nor used. The touch . of color that they would give to the room is supplied with cut flowers, and one does not miss the draperies so much. ' Flowers grow and blossom all the year round, and they are used pro- rusely. I noticed this the first time that I called at Mrs. Shlpman's. There were flowers everywhere, perfectly beautiful ones In baskets, vases and Jardinieres. The library is a beautiful room and has a fireplace, one of the very few on the island. It is never cold here, but after a rain It is damp, and a fire place with a cheery fire at night would be a delight. I should think. I notice in so many houses that the books are mildewed, and an occasional fire would prevent this by keeping the room dry. All Read Magraslnes. Everyone here has books and maga zines. I have never seen so many magazines, and the very best ones, so universally used and owned as here. The Public Library also ha all the leading publications, but every home subscribes to a half dozen or more. I have counted more than a dozen in. one home. Music and books are great fac tors in living In Hilo. and it does one good to see a chauffeur reading one of the standard magazines while wait lng in his car, instead of one of the light, trashy ones. Going back Jo the library, the walls are papered with a heavy, putty-colored paper with a wide border in abstract design, in soft pastelle shades of rose and blue. The bookcases line the wall and reach very -high, nearly to. the border. There is a big couch piled with pillows In plain dull blue and rose, the same tones as those in the border. The rugs are Oriental, and the furniture upholstered in a very ar tistic French tapestry of Ghobelin blue, rose and green. On the library table is a large squat bowl filled with rose-colored hibiscus Just the tone of the rose-colored silk lampshade. On the mantle is a basket of orchids, the Fhalanopsis Schlllerania, a long, drooping spray of white flowers that might have been white butterflies on a stem. The long French windows open .out upon a wide veranda, and here, or In the drawing-room, tea is served every afternoon. The girls, in their sheer white gowns. wearing their favorite flowers to make a bit of coltr. are an interesting group, for they are keenly alive to the up-to-date topics of the world, although not so strenuous as the girls of the States. QUAIL A DAY IS POSSIBLE Colonel Thornton, of Georgia, Sab, lid It Once, Is Report. SAVANNAH, Ga., May 6. Commis sioner of Agriculture James D. Price has wagered Representative L. C Brown, of Clarke County, that he can eat a quail for breakfast every morning for 30 consecutive days. It Is not known just how the Idea that a man couldn't eat a quail a day for 30 days got started, but It has been held that a certain "gamey" flavor about the quail, which is de lightful for a while, becomes repug nant to the taste and stomach after one has eaten a quail a day for a week or so. But the quail-a-day-for-30-days stunt has been successfully performed in Georgia more than once. The first time was in Atlanta about 40 years ago. It was during the days of Henry Grady and his pet local celebrity. Colonel Marcellus Thornton. Thornton ate the birds and Grady paid the bill. The last two or three birds made Thornton very sick, but this was probably due more to Grady's nagging than to the flavor or the birds. Two or three years later, about 18T9 or 1880, a similar quail-eating performance was pulled off in Albany Charley Powell ate the birds on a wager with an editor. The birds were served at the restaurant of Kemp & Mock, In Broad street. Powell got along all rig-ht for the first two weeks and began to boast of the picnic he was having and the wager he was go ing to pull down, but the newspaper man, relying upon the influence of suggestion, commenced a campaign of publicity which soon had everybody whom Powell met asking him solici tously about his bird-eating stunt. The effect was in a measure Just what it was intended to be, and Powell got sick and tired of his quail- eating enterprise before he was through with it. Toward the last he found it necessary to take a stiff bracer or two before tackling his bird; but he managed to put away the 30th bird on the thirtieth day. GIRL OF 17 SHORN OF HAIR Xew York Daughter of Interpreter Does Xot See Assailant. NEW YORK, May 6. The attack on Hannah Beckerman, 17, two feet of whose hair was clipped off while she sat alone in the dining-room of her home. No. 466 East One Hundred and Sixty-seventh street, is still an un solved mystery. The girl, who is pretty, is the daugh ter of Emanuel Beckerman, an inter preter in the Morrisania Police Court. She was in the front room of the apart ment and her mother and a sister were in the next. While the girl was oc cupied with her sewing an unknown person entered from an adjoining bed room and clipped her hair even with her shoulders. She ran hysterically to the -next room and was unable to say anything more than that a man had done-it. The front room was found to be In a disordered state, the contents of a bu reau drawer being strewn over the floor. Nothing was missing. Neighbors reported to Detectives Mayers and Wagner, of the Fifth Branch, that they saw a man wearing a blue suit, a brown cap and brown- topped patent leather shoes descending the fire escape about the time of the attack. Miss Beckerman, when asked for a description of her assailant, said: "I did not see him. ' I was sitting with my back to the door bending over my sewing. I don t know what he looked like." LEGALLY DEAD, MAN BACK Lone-Lost Heir to Portion of $200, OOO Estate Returns Home. AB.COLA. 111., May 7. John Hood, long-lost heir to a portion of a S200.000 estate of his father, the late James Hood, of this city, has returned to Areola after an absence of 14 years, during which the Douglas County Court declared him to be legally dead, and consented to his share of his fath er's property being paid to his wife and children. J. R Beggs, of Areola, was adminis trator of the estate and he refused to accept John's supposed death as a fact, requiring that he be furnished with a bond, approved by the court, to pro tect himself in case the missing heir should return. Young Hood is not Inclined to be communicative regarding his where a bouts during his long absence. STUDENTS BUILD LAWN MOWER, GAS ENGINE AND OTHER MACHINERY Mechanical Genius of Harvey Leisy, of O. A. C Turns Out Auto Grass-Cutter That Has Relegated "Old Dob bins," College Drudge, to Limbo of AU Displaced Horses. I ;: ' - y - , , .---.r ... I -. . v . n : ifc M-.V: REGON AGRICULTURAL COL LEGE. Corvallls. May 13. (Spe cial.) The automobile responsi ble for the retirement of "old Dobbin" and the one-hoss shay from the high ways of the nation, has now bumped him from the by-ways and shoved him a little further into that "innocuous desuetude" where abide other "ani mals" at one time thought to be in dispensable the wood-burner railroad engine, the coal oil lamp, the spinning wheel, the tidy, parlor "what-not." the old-fashioned milkmaid, and e'en the old oaken bucket that hung In the well. This latest set-back came during the present week, and, to add insult to injury, was delivered at the hands of one naturally supposed to be friendly to the snorting consumer of grains and grasses rather than to the Standard Oil octopus a student of the Oregon Agricultural College. AH of which em phasizes the fact that "you never can tell." Through the Ingenuity of Harvey Leisy, vocational senior in engineering at Oregon Agricultural College, the chassis of a discarded, auto was sawed In two. the business end mounted upon and attached to the gearing of the campus lawn mower, heretofore pulled by a lineal descendant of Jay Eye See or Maud 8. and during the first day of joyworking. young Leiny cut more campus grass than "old Dobbin" had been able to do in. three days. The superiority of gasoline over horse power was so apparent from the start that the campus horse, grown gray in laitnrui service, watched the new "ani mal" Just long enough to get up extra steam for an unusually hurried retreat to her stall, over which the attending veterinary, just a day or two later, was compelled to hang the old familiar requiescat In pace." Ynung Genlua la Leisy. The young genius responsible for this triu.mph of mechanism over the sinews of nature used a badly battered 1S10 two-cylinder Maxwell, dug out of tne scrap pile. After dissecting It and rejuvenating the weak spots, he hoisted tne engine and hood over the mower, connected up the roller with chains. and proceeded to clfauffeur over the green. Everything worked perfectly from the start, and during the past few days the auto-mower haa been sailing over the 91-acre campus at such a rate that soon it will be necessary to se cure other fields to conquer If the speeder is to be kept busy. J oung Leisy is a genius with ma chines. He came from Salem, a fact rhat may account for this trend of hla ingenuity. He has had but two years' n vocational work in the course in me chanic arts. The purpose of this course is to assist those who expect to make their way in the world by manual skill In various lines of nor i vit v nnH Leisy has exemplified the Dractical utility of the course. Having made lawn-mowing an automobile Jovride. he has not only shown ability to apply his training in an up-to-date fashion, but he may have pointed the way for the final use of all the old cltv "1It" and the thousands of soon-to-be-worn-out autos of farmers of the nation. The sons of the latter attending the Agri cultural College, at home on a vacation. may laae tne remnants, attach a few chains, press a button and dispense wnn me winamiu, relieve the horses on the binder, propel the disc plow at aouDie , speed, get a real "hump on' tne miming machines, and ran,, th. old wagon to rival the Pierce Arrow in an Dut comiort. . Gas Endue Also Built. Another niece of machinnrv t the students, though less spectacular in performance than the auto lawn mower, is a four-horsepower, two-cycle gas engine. In successful operation the past several months. The drawings for each and every part of this were made vj Biuucuks, patterns were constructed by them in the college shoDS. the cast ings were made ty students In the col lege foundry, the testing and finishing were done by the young fellows, and mis completed engine is now a hart of the regular equipment used for ex hibition and experimental purposes. This is not a copy of any engine, but is a real creation of the students and. except in general. Is unlike any other gas engine made. During the recent engineering show it was used to operate an electrical plant designed for the farm home. This engine came from the regular class work of students covering several months, being one of the many useful productions intended to give the stu dent practical understanding of how to meet gas engine problems. The work was done under strict shop methods, the Insistence of Professor H. C. Brandon being that the graduated student shall be ready to enter the first-class shop as a first-class mechanic, having the fundamentals and lacking only the ex perience. Hundred Machines Made. The college shops have needed a "hollow chisel mortiser"; recently the students finished one a larg piece of cast-iron mechanism for which they drew the plans, made the patterns, then the casting, and finally finished It so it looks as good as anything that could have been bought for 1175 to 3200. And it does the work as perfectly. Two others are in process of mrnufacture. Six wood-turning lathes were needed the students made them. Two double beaded emery-grinding machines, with line shafting, clutches, etc.. designed and built by the young fellows, serve the purpose of the best that could have been bought and the students got the practical work. A hydraulic compression machine of 60,000 pounds' capacity, two sand test ,era, and a foundry bax-teating machine 0 .3 I - ...H-r 1 i A:b '.ir:r- ..: - - T ' ..' V. 1 w" tire other necessities constructed by the1 students under shop methods, and so perfect in construction are they that the costly manufactured product could not serve the purpose better. The total estimated value of ma chinery produced by the students dur ing the past 18 months and now in use at the college reaches 32000. And in addition to this.that the young men may be working upon the things prac tical, college needs In the way of sewer and manhole covers, grates, andirons, foundry flasks, lamp posts, corner pro tections, etc., are made by them during their regular class periods. The Big Aim Set Out. The aim of this work is to enable each student to do what young Leisy did with the auto and the lawn mower get the fundamentals in such a way that he can make application at any given time and place. It is not ex pected that the young men who con tributed to the construction of the gas engine shall be able to make a gas engine should they need one, but that. having followed the making of such a machine, step by step, from the draw ing of plans to the painting of the fin ished product, and having done the work themselves and proved their work by tests, they shall understand gas engines, operate them regardless of type (for all are similar) and make needed repairs. The same aim is at tne basis of all other work done in the school of engineering at O. A- C. the effort being to give the student the sustained practical work, fundamental training and demonstration likely to be of most service In enabling him to reach his KoaL whatever that may be effective work In the office, shop, field project, mine or simply as utility man. In electrical engineering, highway engineering. irrigation engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineer ing. Industrial arts and mining engi neering, the effort and the opportunity are the same, and the offering as in teresting and' effective In its way as that which has led some students to construct gas engines, others to make auto lawn mowers, others to erect wireless stations and others to do other nectacular things. Dean O. A. Covell reports that the demand for trained men from the sev eral departments of engineering at O. a c. Is highly gratifying; In fact, he finds a dearth of men to fit certain special opportunities offered at times. There was an overplus of engineers three or four years ago. and the general business depression, with Its lessened activity in operation and extension of great enterprises caused young men to direct their attention to other fields of activity. a. a, consequence there have been i I llf. - : yy III 4 " ' it- i 5' II III 5 'A -V 1 I . .. 'Ill III --8. " , ( : 111 II' v-V f" ''II I I ' f ''K ill r f;VHv 7 ; .. ! It .. ; "f 1 1 II -I - ; v ! III I I - . -.; . ... ... .- ; - - '-.'- III i : 1 ar ' 1 a: .,.-3 Ji w.'- Qsl.cr. o iiuctsrtz-s fewer and fewer grads from the engi neering schools throughout the country, and the rising- business conditions, with prospect of great and long-continued activity, finds increasing opportunity for the placing of men from these schools. A Portland concern employing engi neers from several different schools came to O. A. C. recently for a certain especially qualified fitld man, and the one and only young fellow available filled the need so perfectly that he is on the job and reports say that he is making a great record. Professor II. C Brandon says he Is able to place industrial art grads -as teachers everywhere at salaries rang ing from 385 to 312S a month salaries that are invariably increased as ntness is proved. Electrical engineering at tracted tremendous numbers of stu dents a few years ago. and a corre sponding slump followed, the develop ment electrically having stopped with the tightening of business conditions. More Kle-rlol Men Xeodrd. Electrical engineering is coming into Its own again and the demand for men will soon over-reach the supply. The war has opened up a wonderful field for the chemical engineer, th extraordinary rise of the market price of all metals has created tremendous Interest in mining everywhere and during the coming years the demand for trained mining engineers will be greater than ever before. The Interest in good roads, roads scientifically con structed, creates an enlarged demand for the highway engineer, the man with experimental engineering training, and conditions generally indicate that in the Immediate future no man Is going to be more In demand than the various types of engineers. Oregon is fortunate In having at this time an engineering school, thoroughly-equipped for turning out young men with the sort of knowledge and practical training that Is now and will be in even greater demand. The en gineering plant of two buildings and equipment at O. A. C. represents a to tal value of 3213,666. there Is a faculty of 24 thoroughly trained men. and it Is a significant fact . that among the present engineering students there are young men from a score of states re puted to have superior engineering schools. These have noted the work here, have come into touch with the fame of the school, noted the success of the graduates, have contemplated the great opening field In the North west and are taking their work at the Oregon school. In Italy fuel made of old nwpeers. ro'.lrd and oiaprwtM. la coming Lola use as a s-AbsUtuie Xor tAcaneod. I T