The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-11-02
Boyhood Days at Punahou
With Governor Frear
(The oahuan for November.)

Our honored Governor, Walter F.
Frear. happened to be born within a
few months of the writer, and hap
pened also some eight years thereafter
to belong to a small gang of boys who
lived on the plains" The nucleus of
this gang consisted of Henry Cham
berlain. who lived at the makai end of
Punahou street, Walter and Hugo
Frear, who lived at the town end of
Beretania street, and my brother and
myself, who lived at Punahou in the
old octagon. Intermittent members of
the gang were Henry Castle, Fred
Carter, and some of the valley boys"
We tramped in the mountains, wander
ed through the rushes on the McCully
place, and bathed in all the valley pools
without some of US being found at the
head of Makiki valley or back Of Tan
talus BY virtue OF age, physique and
an Unborn love of the woods, Henry
Chamberlain was the leader of these
expeditions. A fayorite rendezvous was
at a spring in the hollow below where
Mrs. G.ffard's house now stands. Our
initials were carved on a large kukui
tree, over sowing this spring lit
was reall. more than a water
hole), whiC standing. I think
that the initials ", ~ can be found
either on this tree. or on another large
kukui tree about half way UP the slope
to Mrs. Giffard's. One of the earliest
dates on this autograph album is 1871,
if I remember Alright after the letters
ID. B. b" (Dr. D. B. Bond, of Kohala)
and the latest, 1887, after the initials of
Charlie and Walter Dole. If any boy
wishing to find these trees should APP
ply at "Nahelehau." Governor F'rear's
mountain house, when the Governor is
there. 1 have no doubt he would gladly
i give all needed directions.
To come back, or rather down to
| Punahou, we all entered school tOgeth-
er in September, 1872, and were there
together for most of the nine years
following There was no preparatory
school in those days and the pupils
entered at a much earlier age than
! they do now. Walter Frear was with
in two months of nine years old when
he began school at Punahou. SO far as
/ know, he was younger than any one
| who had entered Punahou for a long
period of years, and younger than any
one who has entered since. May Dill
bingham (now Mrs Frear), I believe,
has come the nearest to breaking this
record.
When I say we entered. ought real
~ to include the Frears big, bay sad
die horse For beginning with Sep
TENDER. 1872, and for some ten years
thereafter-as the Frears, when they
left passed him over to the Hydes,'
and he continued his trips to school
with Henry Hyde in the saddle-during
term time this faithful horse rarely
missed his daily journey across the
plains to Punahou and back. So -regu-
lar were his goings and comings, that
the few residents along the road might
almost have used them to set their
timepieces. On his back were always
mounted two small boys and on either
side dangled four bare legs and feet.
If Walter occupied the saddle today
land Hugo rode behind, tomorrow or
next week, Hugo would be in the sad
die and Walter behind. Turn about
is fair play" was their motto.
Speaking of bare legs and feet, brings
| to mind our good Latin teacher and
his unsuccessful effort to make Us
cIothe our neither extremities. He
. would admonish US most earnestly to
mend our ways and wear shoes and
stockings, only to face the next day
the same row of bare legs and feet
swinging under the high wooden bench
The t'yalIey boys however, were al
WAYS to be excepted, for they wore
shoes and stockings and other gar
ments, under and outer, that the rest
of us disdained to even look at. There
never was very much time at recess
for swimming and the fewer clothes
there were to doff and don, the more
endowment there was to be had in the
pond.
: Brown linen, and that not always
clean or well fitting, was the materia
worn by the most of us. but the Freal
Q bows always wore wooden, which if no
cool, at least looked clean. We allowed
our hair TO grow quite long at times