Pineapple
James Dole, also known as the Pineapple King, arrived in Hawaii in 1899. He purchased land in Wahiawā and established the first pineapple plantation in Hawaii. Believing that pineapples could become a popular food substance outside of Hawaii, Dole built a cannery near his first plantation in 1901. HawaiianPineapple Company, later renamed Dole Food Company, was born.
With his business climbing in profits, Dole expanded and built a larger cannery in Iwilei near Honolulu Harbor in 1907. The Iwilei location made his main operations more accessible to labor. The cannery at Iwilei was in operation until 1991. Actress and performer Bette Midler was one of its most famous employees.
Dole found himself in the midst of an economic boom industry. In response to growing pineapple demand in 1922, Dole purchased the entire island of Lanai and transformed the desert landscape into the largest pineapple plantation in the world. For a long stretch of time, Lanai would produce 75% of the world's pineapple and become immortalized as the "Pineapple Island."
By the 1930s, Hawaii became the pineapple capital of the world and pineapple production became its second largest industry. After World War II, there were a total of eight pineapple companies in Hawaii.
Read more about this topic: Territory Of Hawaii
Famous quotes containing the word pineapple:
“He is the very pineapple of politeness!”
—Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816)
“By metaphor you paint
A thing. Thus, the pineapple was a leather fruit,
A fruit for pewter, thorned and palmed and blue,
To be served by men of ice.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)