The Frear home, known as “Arcadia,” was located at 1434 Punahou Street. It was built in 1907 for Governor Walter Francis Frear and his wife, the former Mary Emma Dillingham.

Walter Frear attended Punahou from 1872 and graduated in 1881. He then attended college at Yale from which he received a B.A. in 1885. He then worked at Punahou as a teacher of Greek, math, political science and history from 1885 to 1888.

Frear returned to Yale and received his LL.D in 1890. Back in the Islands, he was appointed as a Circuit Court Judge in 1893 and rose to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1900. From 1907 to 1913 he served as the Third Territorial Governor of Hawaii. Governor Frear died January 22, 1948.

Mary Emma Dillingham was a Punahou student from 1881-1888, graduating in 1888. She died on January 17, 1951.

The Frear home was bequeathed together with all land and improvements to Punahou School under the terms of Mary Dillingham Frear’s will.  Mrs. Frear asked that her residence be known as the “Walter and Mary Frear Hall.” (“Frear Will Bequeaths Mansion to Punahou: Numerous Other Gifts Listed.” Honolulu Advertiser 2 Feb. 1951: 1.)

For some years, the home hosted community groups, such as the Girl Scouts, while the school debated its use. Options such as faculty housing were considered but, by the fall of 1955, the facility had been remodeled to accommodate the kindergarten. (Annual Report of the Business Manager to the President and Trustees of Punahou School. 1955-1956: 5.) Classes were held there until May 1962 when the site was tendered to Central Union Church for its current purpose as a retirement residence.

Ground was broken on April 14, 1965 for the twelve-story, 287 unit building. (“Old Frear Home’s New Site of $7.4 Million Apartment.” Honolulu Advertiser 15 April 1965: A-15.) The $5.5 million project was developed and coordinated by Hawaiian Contracting Co. with Hawaiian Dredging & Construction Co. Ltd. as the contractor. Dedication ceremonies were held August 27, 1967. (“Retirement Home To Be Dedicated.” The Sunday Star-Bulletin & Advertiser 20 August 1967: D-20.)

Punahou held the fee interest in the property until 1992 when it was sold to the Arcadia Retirement Residence. (Glauberman, Stu. “Punahou will sell land under Arcadia home to residents’ group.” Honolulu Advertiser 21 May 1992: A-3.)  Today, the metal hitching post that once stood in front of the Frear home remains on display at Arcadia as a reminder of the site’s legacy.

one big memory: KINDERGARTEN ADMISSIONS

Getting into Punahou become a competitive challenge as baby boomers came of school age. For Punahou74 the challenge was especially acute. There were fewer private school alternatives available in 1960-1961 when our parents surveyed the academic landscape and booming birthrates–1956 was the second highest birth year of the post war baby boom, 1957 the highest–meant a surplus of applicants were available for every spot. Such numbers would not be repeated until the class of 2008 sought admission.

I remember seeing the tricycles all in a cage the first day of kindergarten. I went and sat with my back to the cage and almost cried.

B.A. (attended 1961-1974)

With admissions pressures soaring, Punahou named its first Director of Admissions in January 1957. Named to this new post was Dorothy Bond, formerly dean of girls and counselor in the Punahou Academy. Her charge was to “study the needs and problems of the school and Territory, and, with the help of the principals, the president and the trustees, to formulate a basic working philosophy for the selection of students.” (“Admissions Director.” Punahou Bulletin. Jan. 1957: 3.)

In reviewing the 1959-1960 school year, Dr. Fox wrote that there were 1,237 applicants for 367 available spaces. The 1960-1961 application cycle, the cycle during which Punahou74 parents would be applying their children, portended to offer a larger challenge. Fox remarked that

As Honolulu’s population increases, and people become more prosperous, and as our reputation as a college preparatory institution grows apace in an ever-tightening college entrance picture, more qualified students are applying for entrance each year, and our admissions problem is becoming acute. After accommodating qualified alumni children–who have admissions priority–there is tremendous competition by non-alumni children for the few remaining places. While it does permit us to raise our standards by choosing the most able students from among the hundreds who apply, it also compounds our public relations problem. Each day we are told by disappointed parents, “If you won’t accept my children at Punahou, we will have to leave Hawaii.”

Fox John F. “The Open Door.” Punahou Bulletin. September 1960: 5.

The kindergarten crunch was especially daunting for non-alumni applicants. Punahou74 entered Frear Hall with 61 of its 75 places allocated to high-priority alumni children. (Fox, John F. “Punahou and the Pursuit of Excellence: The President’s Report to the Trustees for 1960-61.”) The then definition of an alumnus, as determined by the Admissions Office was:

One who has graduated from Punahou or one who has attended Punahou for at least two years in the high school or four years in the junior school and who has supported the school’s activities.

“Alumni Agenda.” Punahou Bulletin. Sept. 1961: 4.

This standard was notably higher than that used today. As stated by the Punahou Alumni Association:

Anyone who attended Punahou for at least one semester is already considered a member. There are no annual membership dues. Members need not have graduated from Punahou School, but must be part of a class year that has already graduated. Punahou Summer School alone does not qualify for membership.

Punahou Alumni Association. 30 May 2019. https://alumni.punahou.edu/punahou-alumni-association/punahou-alumni-association.

Despite the higher standard, there were plenty of alumni who were applying to Punahou. There was also priority for the faculty children, and Punahou74 had two of them: Ann Mesrobian and Scott Metcalf. (Ron Nelson was both an alumni, his father a member of the class of 1948, and a faculty child.)

The parents of extremely capable non-alumni children faced daunting enrollment challenges in the primary grades and beyond. Qualified alumni-candidates always received first consideration. Four hundred applicants were tested for the 1961-1962 year at the school’s first entrance examination session early in February. One quarter of the school’s estimated openings were expected to be filled from this group.

The situation would not improve with the move to the Winne Units. Enrollment there was capped at 100 in each of grades 1-3. Pressure was building to expand school enrollment. Consequently, Punahou75 would welcome 105 to its kindergarten class. Today 150 of each class begins its Punahou experience in kindergarten.

But did the emphasis on preserving Punahou’s status as a family school hurt its academic/achievement potential? It did not. At least not for Punahou74.

Seventeen point eight percent of Punahou74 graduated with honors. How many of the kindergartners graduated with honors? Eighteen point seventy-five percent. President’s Award winners? Four point six percent of Punahou74; six point twenty-five percent of the kindergarten contingent. Perhaps the generational affinity for Punahou drives greater results. At least it did for this sample of one singular class.