Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-06-30

WELL DONE. .

--lno5tiy SUNSHINE, as is characteristic UI
Hawaii-CaptIn Henri Berger has led The
Hawaiian band Today he formally lays dowr
his baton. Age and illness, not Discrimination
or lack of enthusiasm or energy, have ended
hissactive career as bandmaster
His is a record of continuous service, of faith
ful service, of conscientious service of effective
service for the community to be proud Of, to
remember. lie has been public servant who
toiled long and arduously, uncomplainingly
painstakingly, with the idea of not only doing
his particular job well, but of doing it better
and better From the day that he arrived in
HonoluIu-June , 1872-he has devoted his
best energies he has dedicated his health and
strength and enthusiasm of soul-to making
his special task one whose performance would
mean something worth while to Hawaii.
Captain Berger has seen Kingdoms sway and
fall, revolutions come and go, all the kaleido-
scopic political shifts bf more than four de
eades Of Hawaiian history. He has seen the
old order and the new, ih industry as well as in
politics. And he has been always ION the job. .
He has played for loyal coronations and
royal funerals, for nau9urations of governors,
mayors and lesser digntaries; for the opening
of parhaments and of legislatures He has
written iff celebration Of many varied occa-
sions The musical LAUREATE of Hawaii, he has
celebrated joyous events and commemorated
those of sadness and Mourning These compo-
sitions and the schedule of the band concerts
and recitals since 1872 giye a faithful and IL
lumiliating history Of the islands from the days
of Kamehameha Y to the present j A long and
steady procession of events, grave and gay,
sublime and ridiculous, important and trivial,
permanent and ephemeral, has gone down the
march of time to the accompanying music OF
Hawaii's band, led by one of the grand old men
of Hawaii.
Grand not because he won place o. power,
fortune or advancement, but because<for forty
three years he was ION the job !" He has given
to Hawaii a notable example of this, He was
on the job'f through many upheavals, and
many disorgsnizations and reorgSnizations,
political and otherwise. Much of tha old pomp
and eminenee Of his position and his band has
passed away, but he stayed with .the job
through it all. He stFoye persistently and con-
sistently to keep alive musical Organization
that would be credit to the copmunity. He
worked for his men and fought their battles
for them to see that they were paid enough to
keep the band together. He constantly en-
deavored to make worthy music an integral
part of Hawaii's life To him Is due much Of
The development OF the island music as well as
its popularity. Hawaii Ponoi is /; monu-
lnent to his musical taste and TO his love for
Hawaii and he popularized and made perlna-
nent much of the Hawaiian music that would
otherwise have been lost as the 'sold order
was succeeded by the.new.
Every visitor to Hawaii for decades every
resident, has the memory of Captain Berger
leading the marching at its head over
many miles in public professions his step grow
ing fcebler; or standing on stool, or chair or
box or anything handy at innumerable steamer
tlepartnres his gestures growing somewhat
sitter as the years went on. 1t is the memory
Of the man to whom the whole territory may
say, as he retires today on a well-earned pen
sion. We'll DONE good and faithful servant .
There, s deep and a fine lesson for the youth
Of Hawaii in Captain Berger's life. He is a
man who has made his work, however humble
and trivial it might seem day by day, the big
thing IN his life Not the work but the per-
foy,nance Of It moulds character. There is no
leg;timate task SO lowly that the doing of it
cannot be made stepping stone to character
building and thus stepping stone to service
for the community. "No man hveth to himself
alone.
rantain Berger had his task, his daily duty,
and did it for more than forty three years, lie
inf himself into it, his best'manhood ana man S
enthusiasm. and he retires with the sincere
affection of Hawaii.