Eating Rabbits

When I spoke to a Soroptomist chapter about Hawaii during World War II, I mentioned that growing rabbits was considered "patriotic." By sheer luck I had a copy of a Honolulu Advertiser piece (May 13, 1942) with me. It read:

The University of Hawaii is encouraging people to buy rabbits for food because rabbits don’t require imported feed. A poultry husbandman of University of Hawaii says in one year, two female and one male rabbit will furnish 100 pounds of live rabbits, or 55 pounds of edible rabbit meat. The chicken-like meat is highly nutritious and he points out every pound of rabbit meat produced locally means more space in ships for transporting war supplies.

During the war there were competitions in schools to encourage youngsters to grow rabbits. Recipes for rabbit were published in the newspapers, and more often then not, replaced chicken on the dinner table.

One of the Soroptomists started to laugh, then another, then another said, "I always wondered why I hate rabbit so much. I ate it all the time when I was a kid. I never knew why my mother cooked so much rabbit."

"Yes," another woman agreed. "Rabbits and Spam."

PHOTO: University of Hawaii War Record Depository. (undated)

Women of World War II Hawaii

From here on---we relax

"Here's Gracie!"

When I daydreamed about the book on Women in World War II in Hawaii being published, this was the cover photo I envisioned. To me it embodied the image of World War II Honolulu. Oahu wasn't a Pacific Paradise anymore. It was invaded by thousands of middle-class haole who came to defend, work and enjoy (Yes, enjoy) Oahu during the war.

The photo is of Grace (Powers) Staples flanked by admiring military men, walking downtown Honolulu, about 1943.

Grace Staples was one of the adventurous women who came to Hawaii and joined the civil defense force. I love Gracie! She lives on Oahu now. She still does laps in her pool, does stair-walking, sings, is active in church and enjoys three generations of her family. Here is a picture of her at Sea Life Park swimming with the dolphins.

Gracie was and is tough; and she knows it. It's her story and stories of women like her that I'm going to tell now---in a relaxed, no order, serendipitous, slideshow way. No more bibliographies and citations. I'll post them, but I'm not going to focus on them!

A Happy Relaxed New Year to us all!

Women of World War II Hawaii

Rumors--Death in a Lovely Nightgown

Fear, chaos, terror and latent xenophobia took hold. The Japanese population of Hawaii did not integrate into the mainstream society. It was a two-sided issue with both Japanese and non-Japanese content with the segregation, and each group suspicious of the other.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Mrs. Brown of Lihue discussing one of her diary entries. (Copies of the diary entry are held in the University of Hawaii War Records Depository.) It's not posted to accuse Mrs. Brown of racism, or irrational thinking. She's put down on paper a common sentiment--and she does it with a flair and an attention to detail that brings it home.

December, 1941: Mrs. Brown of Lihue

I made surgical dressing at the Lihue Red Cross all morning and worked at Koloa Red Cross making hospital gowns until 4 p.m. I came home exhausted with the chit chat and rumors. My Jap cook met me and asked if “I go up to store and get ant poison.”

Ordinarily that was a simple enough request but you see we had heard stories as far back as 1940 that the Japs on the island were all set to kill or poison every haole on island the moment the war started.

I didn’t know what to do. If I didn’t get her the ant poison she would know I was afraid of her. We could not lose face. We all pretended to our servants that we trusted them to be loyal Americans. She had been with the family for 18 years.

When I went to bed, I laid myself out—my best night gown. I’d be beautiful in death! I kept waiting for the agonizing death from poison but I finally went to sleep.

Mrs. Brown survived the night and survived the war. I have read nothing regarding the ants in her house, though.

PHOTO: A sake brewery posted both this poster and the one posted on January 9, 2009 to support the anti-rumor campaign.