Explore Oahu: Dole Plantation

One of the things I did before leaving Oahu was take an “aina tour”–that is, drive around the island with my parents, “talking story” about our favorite beaches, lookouts, and (of course) places to eat, stopping at these locations along the way.  It’s a family tradition to drive around the island during holidays, and we make sure to stop by the Dole Plantation to wonder at all the creative things you can do with pineapples.  At this particular visit, I was very surprised to learn that James Dole, the founder of Dole Food Company, graduated from Harvard.

Plaque about James Dole

James “Jim” Dole was born and grew up in Massachusetts, which he left with $1,500 and, in the words of the plaque, “a lot of ambition.”  Interestingly, Wikipedia disagrees and claims that he actually started the company, then called Hawaiian Pineapple Company, with $16,240.  The plaque and Wikipedia both agree, however, that he bought about 60 acres of land in Wahiawa.  With growing demand for pineapple, the only fruit that was able to grow in Wahiawa’s red dirt, Dole then purchased land in Maui and the entire island of Lanai, which remains private today.  He revolutionized the industry by investing in a machine that could peel and core 35 pineapples a minute, thus out-producing rival companies that still prepared their pineapples by hand.  He developed the first nationwide consumer ad campaign.  Business boomed.

Dole Plantation

While Dole Plantation (and plantation life in general) certainly does not play nearly as dominant a role in Hawaii today, it definitely has made an indelible mark on Hawaiian culture–how much so is beyond the scope of this post.  And since Hawaii once produced ninety percent of all canned pineapples in the world, the fruit has since been known as a Hawaiian product.  Pizza with pineapples, for instance, are known as Hawaiian pizza, even if there actually isn’t anything remotely Hawaiian about the combination.

The Dole Plantation is a must-see destination for locals and tourists alike.  I am a big fan of their Pineapple Whip, a soft serve flavor that has just the right amount of creamy sweetness and pineapple kick.  The Plantation is also the home of the world’s largest maze and offers a tour of the fields on the Pineapple Express.  The maze is really fun–if I remember correctly, you get a “passport” and try to fill it up all the spaces with stamps from machines scattered throughout the maze before you find your way out.  I haven’t been on the Pineapple Express, so that may be something I will try when I am home for the holidays.

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