The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-02-01
.LUNAL|LO'S
BIRTHDAY
Aged inmates of the
Home Have a
Feast.

L
L The aged Hawaiians residing in the
81 Lunalilo Home celebrated Founders
4 Day yesterday with their usual luau
1t was a simple affair. as it is prepared
! by the aged inmates, and they are I'M
able TO make it an elaborate feast. A
few visitors were present, mainly a few
of the old kamaainas, and persons tenn
porarily residing in this city who de
sired to see a Hawaiian meal Strangers
were greatly interested in the prelimi-
naries to the luau, the opening of the
imu. or underground oven of hot stones,
in which the food was cooked, the re-
movaI of the steaming pig, chickens and
J vegetables.
AS usual, Capt. Berger's band was
present Four Of the aged men render
ed an oIi-oh or ancient native song.
The words of the song were those of the
ancient language, which the majority of
the young Hawaiians do not under
I stand.
There are now forty-seven inmates
of the Home. The number varies little
! from wear to year. The natives do not
/ take kindly to any charitable institu-
| ton. however kindly it's administra-
ton is So long as native has friends
he is cared for by them. 1t is only
when he is left without immediate rel
atives or friends that he is willing to
accept even the mildest restraints of a
public institution. In recent years 1t
appears that the grandchildren have
| become unwilling TO care for the old
people. One of the recent inmates OF the
| Home was native giant, six feet four
inches in height. He died in his sixtieth
| year, and had resided in Niihau.
Among the inmates are a number of
! blind persons. These are more critical
| than the rest in the matter of clothing
and the washing of clothing. Their
sense of touch is so delicate they in
stantIy discover any imperfection in
cloth and the ironing of their simple
clothing. Recently a young blind man,
thirty years of age, was married 10
an aged female inmate, seventy-one
years of age, and regarded as the ugli-
est woman on the place. When he was
told that he had married so plain
woman, he replied that he was quite
satisfied as he could not see. The in
mates are Roman Catholics, Protest
ants and Mormons, and they delight in
holding services daily, the Catholics in
the morning, and the Protestants in the
afternoon. Some of them are power
full in prayer. One old blind man,
when he is offended with the inmates,
under cover of prayer, kneels before
them, and goes into great detail about
the sins and imperfections of his neigh
bors, giving the details of their iniqui-
ties, which he places in a loud voice
before the Lord. So long as he is on
his knees he is safe from any inter
ruption.
The institution, it is well known, was
founded by the will of the late King
Lunalilo. He devoted the larger part
of his estate to the support of aged and
INDECENT natives. The Home was found |
ed in 1881 by the purchase of several
tracts of land, then of little value, but
now of large value. The real estate !
consists of sixty acres, well situated. |
The first trustees including the present /
governor, wisely planted many valu-
able trees, which now, after twenty |
years growth, have reached fair size
and are quite attractive. Among them /
are four rare banyan trees, six varie-
ties of palms, poinciana regiaS, a num-
Der of kukui trees, many lauhalas, mon
key pods, the olea fanicutata, or ka-
mani, the mOnStrd QeleclaSd, a tree from
India which produces a fine fruit the
aurelia sebota, the sangra de christi, a
large number of magnolias, orange,
pumelo, and breadfruit trees, also ba-
nanas, alligator pears, guava and man
goes. The growth of the foliage, during
recent years has been rapid and the
place is now one of the most attrac-
tive in the city. The park inclosing the I
buildings now covers about fifteen
acres, much of which is in lawn. /
The trustees of the institution are {
Hon. w. o. Smith, Hon. Henry Wa {
-erhouse and Miss Mary Parker The i
is Mrs. Ellen A Weaver, who
was. for some years, associated with /
various charitable institutions of San T
Francisco. /