The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-06-12
MEHAMEHA DAY.
NOW AND IN THE PAST
Confined from Page One.l

Confined from Page One.l
pleasure to those who visited that beau
tiful place.
The hotel and county beaches were
center of interest, and bathers and
suffers We're numerous all along the fam
Gus crescent, while canoes bumped and
sagged upon the crests of the rollers,
carrying enthusiastic crews of paddlers.
During the evening the moving pic
ture theaters We're crowded, and the
last ears took tired but apparently well
satisfied crowds back to their homes.
The Changing Times.
There were great contrasts between
the celebration of the former Kameha-
meha DAYS and the observances that
marked yesterdays anniversary. Where
the first had been blessed by saIutes to
royalty, the last was marked by nothing
more startling than a pugilist getting
knocked out before bowling mob, the
majority Of which proceeded to get
drunk Immediately as fit way of
drowning their sorrows or celebrating
their victory.
Near the place where the Kings and
| Queens Of Hawaii watched their favor
ite horses fash by the winning post
at Kapiolani Park, representatives of
four regiments belonging to once for
egn nation played baseball with the
American flag on the grandstands;
where the elite of the court held sway
in private boxes, surrounded by all the
| del ghtful atmosphere of the cultured
and refined, derbied sports and pug
nosed newsboys yelled for the blood
| of the umpire.
| Began in 1878.
| The descriptions of Kamehameha
! Days is no older than The Advertiser
| for in the issues Immediately follow
| ing the June lis of 1858 and 1868,
i there is no word to tell how the sun
/ shone or the breezes blew. In 1878,
however, the description appears, in
much the same form that it remained
for twenty years afterwards.
| In that year Kamehameha Day was
still called CommemOraton Day, and
| under this head The Advertiser of Sat
urdav, June ii. gives the following:
''Last Wednesday was one of those
beautiful sunshiny breezy days for
! which our island climate is noted and
the public generally enjoyed the boli-
day. elm and John, - whose col
Ioquoy about holidays appeared in our
last. could have no cause for complaint
on the 18th. for nearly all places of
| business were closed from an early hour
with the exception of the Chinese
| storekeepers and mechanics, who, with
an eye to the main chance, continued
throughout the day to pursue their
| ov-na,+inpc ENaCrc IiCr)Gyra1
upon the government buildings, foreign
| consulates and shipping in port, and al
noon a salute of twenty-one guns was
fred from the battery on PunchbOwl
But the great attraction was the race,
at Kapiolani Park and by ten o 'clOcB
the city was well nigh deserted OF
inhabitants and wore the appearance Of
Sunday, men women and children
having betaken themselves on foot or
| horsepower. or in wagons to the park
1t was a hard day for horsetiesh
Fancy prices were paid for anything
with four legs and a saddle and thu
drivers of wagons must have made ;
! handsome DAYS work. The steame
| WaimanaIO and several sailing Graf
| also carried passengers to the park ant
| altogether there were probably not ia
|
town to witness the races BESIDES th1
crowd there were number Of picnic
parties who went in var;ous dir0ct.o"
10 enjoy the holiday in the country
The program of the races was theI
given, the opening race being for tn
Kamehameha Purse of 5000 which wa
won by H. J. Agnew's ;. II. Susie
Other races were for the Queen
: Purse (s100), Mechanics Purse ($l00>
and the Honolulu Cup ($25o). tn,
Queen $ Purse was won by F, Wunden
burE's Q. 2. Mark Twain. 7. Spence
won q 400-vard dash in fftv-one sec
ond~, which time is respectfully recon
, monded to the present day athleti,
, stars,
Royal salutes in SO.
Ten wears later about the only thing
that had changed was the name Of tn,
holiday. the article describing It in tn,
Advertiser Of June y being under tn
heading Of Kamehameha Day Ever
81 D l.,