Lei (garland) the time, Blanding was employed by the "Honolulu Star Bulletin", and he shared his idea with columnist Grace Tower Warren, who came up with the phrase, "May Day is Lei Day". The Hawaiian song, "May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii" was composed in 1927 by Ruth and Leonard "Red" Hawk. At the 81st Annual Mayor's Lei Day Celebration at Kapiolani Park in 2008, Honolulu set the record for the World's Longest Lei. Unofficially, the lei measured 5,336 feet in length, more than a mile. All of the major islands celebrate Lei Day, and each island is symbolized in pageantry
Peter A. Garland Peter A. Garland Peter Adams Garland (June 16, 1923 – January 26, 2005) was a U.S. Representative from Maine. Garland was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Saco public schools and the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He graduated from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, in 1945. Garland was an officer and director of Garland Manufacturing Co. in Saco, Maine, and Snocraft Co. in Norway, Maine. He served as an enlisted man in the United States Air Corps from 1943 to 1946, and director of the New England Council and Associated Industries of Maine from 1955 to 1957. Garland also served