Here in the KS Archives, we spend time with students discussing how daily life at the early Kamehameha Schools campus was so different from today.
In contrast to students’ connectivity with the world these days, via the constant and influential presence of television, cell phones and laptops, the very early days of Kamehameha students’ lives were most greatly affected by their teachers and KS staff members by virtue of their constant presence – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
On the first day of school on Oct. 3, 1887, there were just four teachers and a principal. Rev. William B. Oleson was the principal, W.S. Terry served as superintendent of shops, Mrs. F. Johnson was a matron, instructor Miss C.A. Reamer would later become the principal of the preparatory school and Miss L.L. Dressler also served as an instructor.
This first Kamehameha Schools principal, Rev. Oleson, was offered a salary of $3,000. with a house and pasturage. He accepted in a letter dated April 1, 1886.
The average salary for a teacher in Hawaiʻi, at the time, was $71.25 per month, and Kamehameha provided competitive wages — the only difference being that KS staff wore multiple hats while teaching and living at the Kaʻiwiula campus (the current home of the Bishop Museum).
Each of the instructors, Miss Reamer and Miss Dressler, had a salary of $900. The shop superintendent, Mr. Terry, earned $1,200 - men typically earned more than women at the time, mostly having to do with the fact that female teachers were single and most male teachers were married and supported their families.
While Rev. Oleson’s pay was more than twice the next closest salary, he earned it — he made schedules, preached on Sundays, and taught classes.
Oleson was disciplinarian, nurse, mother and father to each boy, and he attended every baseball game. His busy schedule may be one of the reasons for his departure after a short six years at Kamehameha.
In fact, as a whole, Kamehameha staff had a high rate of turnover. Teachers very often stayed only a year before moving on to different pursuits.
The KS Archives is grateful to have some of the letters and photos from these early Kamehameha Schools staff members, as they provide valuable, primary sources.
One teacher, Miss Eleanor Little of Newburyport, Mass., who was here in the 1910-1911 year, left the school a collection of her letters home to family. Ms. Little’s letters are wonderfully written, and give a first-hand account of life in Hawaiʻi, and at Kamehameha.
In her March 7, 1911 letter home, she provides a glimpse of what KS life was like:
If it is a good, clear day tomorrow the boys will probably have a half holiday and clean house. Have I written you about that? It is a sight for gods and men. Every stick of furniture and rag of clothing is taken out of the dormitories and deposited on the campus. Then the rooms are scrubbed until they shine. It is hard work, but the boys make a lark of it; and in many respects it is good fun.
We are grateful for the time and effort these early educators spent in the edification of our kūpuna, for they were people of good, Christian character. They truly wished the best for the boys and girls of Kamehameha.
Rev. William Oleson is the first principal to serve at Kamehameha Schools.
In this circa 1900 photo, Rev. Oleson (back row, fourth from left) returns to Bishop Hall for a visit with his former employer. Uldrick Thompson, (back row, fifth from left) would serve as the third principal in the history of Kamehameha Schools.
First teachers: an excerpt from The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, Nov. 5, 1887, discusses the teachers at the new Kamehameha Schools.
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