What’s in Mrs. Hale’s Receipts for the Million 1857?

Receipt 1941- To Purify Stagnant Water –One part of chalk and two of alum will speedily purify stagnant water, and four parts of animal carbon and one of alum are sufficient to purify a thousands parts of muddy river water.

Visiting Mission Houses Museum again, I was reminded that at one time, Honolulu was very dry.  It lacked the beautiful trees, shrubs and flowers  that grace the parks and downtown containers today.  Good water had to be hauled in from several miles away.  Brackish water found close by, was filtered. The missionaries, in fact, used a circular filter cut out of coral rock for such a purpose. They poured the water through it and into a pitcher or bowl below.  It can be seen on a table in the back room in the  photo to the right

Mrs. Mary Dominis, the wife of Boston sea captain John Dominis and mistress of Washington Place, is said to have been horticulturalist. She introduced many of the plants seen around the grounds of the governor’s mansion, creating a vibrant, growing environment from arid, dusty land.

The Hawaii Writer’s Conference has been like that, providing water for writers to grow in. It was a wonderful weekend with many authors, screenwriters, editors and agents. While I was out gathering facts I took to heart what author William Martin of Back Bay said to do — I walked the ground, pacing the steps my characters might have made.  It wasn’t hard to fall in love with place again and hope to convey it when I get back to revisions in my novel.  Mahalo nui loa for a great time.