The Fire Within
January 12, 2009 7:32 am > MAUI TODAY, > Maui Yesterdays The Fire Within |
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Wild Man Day
HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Inaina: Anger PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY — Buss up: Broken, damaged HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “The fire blazed up, then only ashes were left.” HAOLE SAYINGS OF THE DAY — “We are what our thoughts have made us.” - Vivekananda WEBSITE OF THE WEEK — Aldo Leopold Foundation
JANUARY 12th: This date holds some very memories for Maui, and Hawaii.
On January 12, 1900, the rookie illegal government just formed for Hawaii in 1896 came up with a novel solution to a terrible problem. Bubonic plague had broken out in Honolulu, and it seemed concentrated around Chinatown. The government decided to burn Chinatown down. Riots erupted when Chinese merchants protested the planned fires. While a haphazard collection of men formed a fire brigade, government officials (there were no “departments” as yet) set fires in key places, and armed security forces battled the merchants.Thinking that Oahu had gone nuts, people here on Maui decided that for the next week, no boat would be allowed to land from the Oahu. Many feared that plague carriers would arrive, and the same disasters would befall Maui. This didn’t sit well with Maui merchants, who relied on boat deliveries to stock their shelves. So fights broke out at Kahului Harbor and in Wailuku.
On January 12, 1960, Mt. Kilauea Volcano erupts with what is reported to be a “two-mile-long curtain of fire on Puna.” Homes, businesses, and people are damaged, but amazingly no one is reported killed. On Maui, the “vog” covers Kihei to Wailuku in a brown haze and is reported to extend a mile high .
On January 12, 2007. Just 2 years ago on this date, a detailed study reported that although the living expenses in Hawaii were among the highest in the country, the average Hawaiian wage was slightly below the national average.
Today, January 12, 2008. And finally, continuing eruptiuons from Mt. Kilauea Volcano for over 25 years have endangered Puna again, and homes have again been evacuated in this area of the Big Island.
EVENTS ON THIS DAY
- 1733: The first public museum in America opens (Charleston South Carolina)
- 1777: Mission Santa Clara de Asis is founded in California
- 1820: The Royal Astronomical Society is founded in England
- 1906: The football rules committee legalizes the forward pass
- 1915 The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote
- 1932: Hattie Caraway is elected to be the first female senator (Arkansas)
- 1937: The plow for laying submarine cable is patented
- 1948: Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast
- 1971: A Federal grand jury indicts Reverand Philip Berrigan, and five others (including a nun and two priests) on charges of plotting to kidnap Henry Kissinger
- 1998: Linda Tripp provides Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s office with taped conversations between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky
- 2006 A stampede broke out during the Islamic hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, killing 363 people
BORN ON THIS DAY
DIED ON THIS DAY
1962: Ernie Kovacs comedian (Ernie Kovacs Show), killed in auto crash at 42
1976: Agatha Christie mystery writer (10 Little Indians), dies at 85
1992: Walt Morey US children’s book writer (Gentle Ben), dies at 84
1993: Carles Mira Spanish director (Que Nos Quiten Lo Bailao), dies at 45
1995: George Price cartoonist (New Yorker), dies at 93
1996: Peggy Braithwaite lighthouse-keeper, dies at 76
1997: Charles Huggins surgeon/medical researcher, dies at 95
1997: Jill Summers actress (Agatha Coronation Street), dies at 86
2003: Singer Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees died at age 53
