June 2, 1918 - Ukulele

Today after attending early mass and a full but slow day at work, Mary spent the evening sitting on her porch playing the ukulele.  This is her second of three references of playing the "uke".  She also played the piano.

The ukulele, or "jumping flea" in Hawaiian, is a small four string instrument introduced to Hawaii in the 1800's by Portuguese immigrants.  The instrument was strongly endorsed by the Hawaiian king and soon became popular in the islands.

While it was first introduced to the mainland United States in the 1893 Columbia Exhibition in Chicago, its popularity in the U.S. soared when it was reintroduced during the San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915.

Being a new and exotic instrument, it was the target of good-natured ridicule in U.S. newspapers in 1918:
"It's too bad that the new prohibition law for Hawaii doesn't include the ukuleles." [Evening Public Ledger]
"Now that there is to be a further tax on musical instruments we may soon be able to obtain official confirmation as to just what a ukulele is." [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

A more detailed history of the ukulele can be found at the Smithsonian web site.