Excerpts from Norwegian Aloha
Leaving Norway
A spring day in Norway in 1880 looks a lot like winter does in most of the rest of the world—trees without leaves framing a frozen, snow-covered scene. Two sailing vessels load up for a long voyage to a land that most of the time looks like the best of summer. The vessels and their passengers will head south, about as far from Norway as it‘s possible to get, down and around Cape Horn, then up the other side to the Hawaiian islands, the most distant islands from any land mass on earth. Read more...
The White Steamer Car
When I took charge of the Kahuku Mill, I also got the job of maintaining the manager‘s car, a White Steamer. That car carried 400 lbs. steam pressure, and the driver never had to shift gears to negotiate the steep winding road up the Pali. Every time I went over that car, the manager would take me for a ride to try it out, but he never let me drive it. However, I watched him operate the valves to steam up. Read more...
Typhoid and Creative Engineering
Every year, Kahuku had many cases of typhoid, and it became known as a typhoid center. The source was finally traced to a contaminated flowing well supplying water for the camps. That well was then plugged up and permanently closed. As a further precaution, every pipe fitting and joint was encased in a concrete block, and that ended the typhoid situation. That was one of my jobs... Read more...