“Old Oakum” was one of the odd characters of Honolulu u to about thirty years ago. He was a harmless creature whose one talent was that of collecting honey from bee trees without being stung. Where he came from or was born, or just what his nationality was, were matters not well known, for “Old Oakum” seemed to have forgotten all about himself long before coming to Honolulu which must have been in the early 50s. Continue reading
It would be a difficult thing to fix the date of the beginning of the bee industry in the Hawaiian Islands. As far back as the “oldest inhabitant” can run his thoughts, honey has been gathered in the mountains. Back in the ’60s one of the characters of the city was Dwight Holcomb, known to the small boys and natives as “Old Oakum.” He was an eccentric individual and was the “bogie man” to the young boys of that time. Continue reading
Death of “Oakum.”—The half crazy vagrant who has for years been well-known in and about Honolulu by the name of Oakum, died at the Insane Asylum on Monday morning last, where he has been for some months, suffering from aneurism. His real name was Dwight Holcomb, he was about 50 years of age, Continue reading
Honey of the forest.—There are a lot of honey bees in the forests of Oahu nei. We often see buckets filled with honey harvested by Dwight Holcomb [Okamu haole] in the uplands of Manoa and Kalihi. Continue reading
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