The Hawaiian gazette., 1911-05-26
: MOTHER" RICE
JOINS OLD BANJO


iNNlN AMN HtNNA AlMWf MANNh WHICH OF
ten rushed into the house, carrying
things hither and thither, and We our
selves at times seemed powerless Il
Withstand the blast. Our table wal
never satisfactory; the price for board
was small and no fresh vegetables
could be had much Of the year. Until
the Chinese succeeded In their gardens
II was thought impossible, except dur.
ing the rainy season, TO raise anything
except taro, sweet potatoes and bana-
mas. We were associated with the Rev.
Daniel Dole, an Israelite indeed, and
Miss Marcia NJ. Smith. / remember
her as the kindest of associates, ever
striving to carry the heavier part of
the burden. Punahou was at that time
a sort Of missionary hotel, and we great
ly enjoyed the visits of our missionary
friends.
Annual Missionary Meetings.
In 1852 there was longer session
than usual, for that year the change
came. By one dash of the pen in Bos.
ton we were changed from foreign mis-
sionaries to home missionaries, to get
in part our own support, to hold prop
erty, ande the property of the board
was to be divided-houses, lands and
herds. Before this, or about the same
time, King Kamehameha had expressed
a wish that the mission families re-
main here, and had given to each fam
lily at low price small tract of land.
Many of the missionaries had small
patrimOnies and paid for this land.
From this has arisen much scandal to
the mission and the taunt Of rich mis-
sionaries. But a careful survey of the
families of the mission will show that
the majority are poor, and will con
vince one of the truth Of the remark
once made by His Excellency, R. G.
Wyllie, that the mission had. on very
small salaries, lived decently and raised
their families creditably, not knowing
the faculty of many of the missi on
mothers,
% In the spring of 1854 we left Puma
hou, poor and worn, feeling that our
salary was Of more value to the school
than our services. Though it was often
very hard at Punahou, with perplexing
questions and conscious mistakes, as /
review our life work l must be thank
full for ten years service at Punahou. :"
The Rices then settled at Lihue,
Kauai, where they struggled for liv-
ing, while still having a supervision of
the moral and religious welfare of the
Hawaiian people. Gradually Mr.. Rice IS
sugar fields enlarged, until they were
merged into the Lihue sugar plantation,
of which he was manager His health
had begun to fail while at Punahou,
and in fact was the prime cause of his
leaving that institution. He died May
81, 1868, leaving his widow and son,
w. II. Rice, and daughters, Mrs. Paul
Isenberg. Mrs. C: Nj. Cooke, and Mrs.
George De LaVargne. Her daughter,
George De La Vergne. Her daughter,
Hon. D.. p. r. Isenberg of Honolulu,
and a daughter, the wife of Rev. Hans
Isenberg.
+" Mother" Rice lived to see her
grandchildren and great grandchildren
multiply around her. all of whom rise
up to call her blessed.
The Friend of December, 1902, says
of Grandma Rice:
CHER life is a placid stream which
beauties all its banks. She is remem-
bered as one of the early teachers of
Punahou, and her gentle and persuasive
methods reigned both in schoolroom and
in her parlor classes, where, at certain
times, she taught the clumsy fingers of
small boys to sew and to braid. Mrs.
Rice was to the manor born, her father
being then a missionary among the In
dams on the Buffalo reservation. Her
first four, years of labor here was at
the Hama station, east end of Maui
and Mrs. Condo was the only-mhite
lady within forty miles; then came
nearly ten years at Punahou- School,
and then Mr.. Rice, for his own health g
sake, moved with his family to Kauai
and she now eats and gives away fruit
from trees which he planted forty eight
years ago.
Having lived so many years at Iihue,
identified with every good work that
was carried on there to the advantage
of the people whom she accepted as her
special charge, Mrs. Rice's position is
unique, and on special occasions ON her
birthday and other anniversaries, she
was in the habit of holding informal
when her Hawaiian, Ameri-
can and foreign friends and neighbors
called to pay their respects. Every
visitor of distinction did the same.
Her birthday was always observed, peo-
pie far and near calling with congratu-
lations and presents.
The children of Mother Rice were
Hannah Maria, born at Hama, Maui,
February II, 1912, and died at Lihue
in 1867; Emily Dole, horn at Lahaina-
luna, May 10, 1874; William Hyde, born
at Punahou, July %, 1876; Mary
Sophia, born at Punahou, January q
ls49; Anna Charlotte, born at Puma
hou, September 5, 1858.
Mothern Rice was born in 1916,
just a year after the defeat of Napo.
leon at Waterloo, and four years before
the first band of missionaries from New
England arrived in the Hawaiian Is
lands.
Richard and Montague Cooke left for
Kauai last evening. Several other rela-
tives from here had already gone to
Kauai and were present when "Moth'