f the LDS Church in Utah and Hawaii. Leonard J. Arrington, LDS Church Historian for several years, provided a brief synopsis of the beet sugar industry in Utah, in which he cited two of his own works, namely the widely acclaimed Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830-1900 (1958), and Beet Sugar in the West: A History of the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, 1891-1966 (1966). While visiting Salt Lake City, Utah some 30 years ago, I happened to spot a hardback copy of the latter book at a Deseret Bookstore. I got the urge to buy it, because, at the time, I was doing sugar research in Hawaii, and I knew that my father had worked in the beet sugar factory that was located in Spanish Fork, Utah, and that he had much experience with sugar beets. There was a connection. My brother, John, was visiting Utah at the same time. On a whim, I convinced John to join me in visiting Dr. Arrington at his residence in Salt Lake City. It was a very pleasant visit, considering that Dr. Arrington didn’t know either of us, and he agreed to sign the book. Sorry to say, when we left Hawaii in a rush in 1993, I believe that this book was one of the many casualties that never made it back to the mainland with us.In Hawaii, the early Latter-day Saints settled in Laie, where they establish
ed a sugar plantation. It was later absorbed by the Kahuku plantation a few miles further northwest of Laie, which remained active until 1975, just two years shy of when Judy and I arrived in Hawaii. The history of sugarcane in Laie is woven into the outlined history of the town online. The most compelling picture at this website, related to sugarcane was taken around 1928 (see above), where one can easily see that the LDS Hawaii Temple grounds are practically surrounded by sugarcane. We lived on the windward side of Oahu in the town of Kahaluu, about 20 miles (30 minutes) from Laie. There was (and as far as I know still is) some abandoned sugarcane that can be observed from the road between Punaluu and Laie.While sugarcane and sugarbeets played a significant role in the history of the Church, the role has long since diminished into insignificance…just nostalgic memories now.
3 comments:
We have an old sugar beet factory here. It was the lifeblood of the city back in the day but now it just sits empty. I wonder why they don't do sugar beets around here anymore?
Good point. I suppose that if the price of raw sugar were to go up significantly, especially considering the movement of the ethanol industry toward non-food crops. On that note, I can't begin to tell you how many times during my career in a sugar crop that I've heard anti-sugar people say that sugar should not be considered food. Now, that works to our advantage.
Those pictures are really cool. It's weird to see all that sugarcane surrounding the temple! Definitely different than what it looks like now. :) I didn't realize there was an LDS connection to sugar, and even that your dad was involved with sugar beets.
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