Wailuku school marks 100 years
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
WAILUKU, Maui — Historic Wailuku Elementary School will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its Charles W. Dickey-designed building by opening a time capsule that was put in place when the cornerstone was laid in 1904.
Wailuku Elementary School Centennial Committee photo
If they can find it.
Wailuku Elementary School opened in 1904 as Wailuku Public School, serving students from grade school to high school. Officials hope to find and open a time capsule from the dedication of the school at a May 22 ceremony.
Historical records are unclear and no one today can quite pinpoint the location of the steel tube sealed with the help of Maui sugar baron Henry P. Baldwin at a dedication ceremony attended by more than 1,000 people. The time capsule contains an 1866 copy of the Hawaiian Gazette, a 1904 copy of the Maui News, U.S. and Hawaiian coins, Hawaiian postage stamps and other documents.
Concrete Coring of Hawai'i donated use of a circular saw and a crew in late February to cut into the mortar around a concrete plaque inscribed "May 21, 1904" at the entrance to the building, but the effort was stopped when the saw hit metal.
The exploratory work is sensitive because the stone building is listed on the state and national Registers of Historic Places and any work on it requires the permission of the State Historic Preservation Division.
Wailuku Elementary PTA President Dave Jorgensen and the centennial committee got approval for another attempt this week to cut deeper around the plaque to see if it can be removed, hopefully revealing a cavity containing the time capsule.
If the original capsule is discovered, its contents will be put on display and a 2004 time capsule put in its place. Jorgensen said it's possible some of the material contained in the 100-year-old tube, particularly the postage stamps, could be quite valuable.
Wailuku Public School, as it was then known, was called the "crown jewel" of public schools in Hawai'i when it was dedicated May 21, 1904.
It was built on former pasture land down the street from where the old, deteriorating wooden schoolhouse stood.
Children came by train from as far as Ha'iku and Makawao to attend the elaborate dedication ceremony, according to a brief history of the school prepared by D. Sonny Gamponia.
Royal palm trees planted by students along the driveway in honor of Arbor Day 1905 stand tall today.
During World War II, the Army used the building as a headquarters and barracks, while classes were moved to church and community buildings. The upper grades were moved to the new Wailuku Junior High in 1929, and when Baldwin High School opened in 1939, the junior high became '?ao School, and Wailuku Public School was renamed Wailuku Elementary School for Grades 1 to 5.
Most of the concrete-block buildings on campus were built in 1955, with other buildings added later.
Today the school has about 940 students in kindergarten through Grade 5.
If found, the time capsule will be opened May 22 when the Wailuku Elementary School Centennial Committee hosts a daylong 100th anniversary celebration. There are plans for a parade, entertainment, displays, student performances, crafts, food and games.
The committee is collecting memories, photos and memorabilia from former Wailuku students for a commemorative book and video. Labeled items may be dropped at the school office and will be returned.
For more information on the Centennial Celebration, call Principal Beverly Stanich at (808) 984-5622.
Contact Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
