September-October 2012

S eptember- Oc to be r 2012

The Life of the Land Immersion with a Mermaid: A True Tale to Tell Debbie Hecht: Passionate Campaigner for Open Spaces

The Life of the People Cowman A-Moo-Ha: On the Run for World Peace A Mission of Gratitude: Daniel Sayre’s Life Lives On Talk Story with Uncle Robert: A Revered Puna Kupuna

The Life at Home A House Built Around Orchids —Literally! ...and more

"Sea Bird View - Waipio "

by Harry Wishard Complim e n tar y H AWA I ‘ I Cop y Visit Us and Our Advertisers at

KeOlaMagazine.com

2 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

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"The Life" Celebrating the ar ts, culture and sustainability of Hawai‘i Island

S eptember- O c to ber 2012

The Life in Spirit

11 Eia maila ē

Na Kumu Keala Ching

The Life of the People

17 Cowman A-Moo-La

Running for World Peace

27 A Mission of Enduring Gratitude

One Boy’s Life Opened a Door for Community Caring

33 Every Store Has a Story:

Glenwood’s Hirano Store

53 Healing the Land Takes a Big Vision

Andre and Jyoti Ulrych and Starseed Ranch in Kohala

57 Youth Invade Volcanoes National Park with Enthusiasm

Internship Program in its Third Year

4 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

73 Talking Story with Uncle Robert

Revered Puna Kupuna Holds Court at the End of the Road

The Life of the Land

21 Immersion with a Mermaid

This Kona Marine Mammal Has a True Tale to Tell

45 Debbie Hecht Loves Open Spaces

A Tireless Campaigner for the 2-Percent Land Fund

61 Hawaiian Petroglyphs Tell Stories of the Past

Back issues of Ke Ola available for purchase at KeOlaMagazine.com

celebrate

The Life as Art

39 Atmospheric Art

Revealing the Island’s Inner Light

The Life at Home

65 A Home Built Around Orchids

Love of a Flower Inspired a House Project

The Life in Music

life SEPT/OCT

Massage Training Intensive

SEPT 22

Illuminato Art Show

NOV 3-11

Puna Culinary Festival

NOV 4-7

Shaman in the Kitchen

79 Carly Smith:

A Humble Powerhouse of a Musician

Ka Puana -- The Refrain

98 Child of the Storm

A Memoir by Kirk Lee Aider

Then & Now: Kaloko Honokōhau.........................................13 Hawai‘i Island Farmers Markets............................................69 Island Treasures.......................................................................82 Community Calendar...............................................................86 The Life in Business..................................................................94

KE OLA READERS RECEIVE 20% OFF FESTIVAL PACKAGES. USE DISCOUNT CODE 2012KOFEST WHEN BOOKING.

with generous support from: County of Hawaii

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 5

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6 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Insurance, discounts and savings subject to terms, qualifications and availability. Discount and availability varies by state and product line. Life insurance issued by Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, IL, Lincoln Benefit Life Co., Lincoln, NE and American Heritage Life Insurance Co., Jacksonville, FL. © 2011 Allstate Insurance Company

"The Life" Celebrating the ar ts, culture and sustainability of Hawai‘i Island

UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘ĀINA I KA PONO.

The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. [Its sustainability depends on doing what is right.] Proclamation by Kona-born King Kamehameha III in 1843. Later adopted as the state motto.

Publisher

Barbara Garcia Bowman

Editor & Art Director: Karen Valentine, 808.329.1711 x2 Marketing & Operations:

Barbara Garcia Bowman Barb@KeOlaMagazine.com • 808.329.1711 x1

Advertising Sales & Business Development East: Adrienne Poremba, 808.935.7210 • KeOlaAds@yahoo.com West: Ed Gibson, 808.987.8032 • Ed@KeOlaAds.com North: Barbara Garcia, 808.345.2017 • Barb@KeOlaMagazine.com South: Mars Cavers, 808.938.9760 • MarsCavers@gmail.com

Distribution & Subscriptions Sharon Bowling, 808.557.8703 • Subscribe@KeOlaMagazine.com

Creative Design

Michael Mark P., Creative Director, Mana Brand Marketing ManaBrandMarketing.com • 808.345.0734

Advertising Design

Karen Fuller – 808.769.8151 • fullerdesignz@gmail.com Stephanie Schreiber – 808.315.7182 • alohadigitalarts@gmail.com

Copy Editing/Proofing

Sharon Bowling • Fern Gavelek • Adrienne Poremba

Production Manager: Richard Price Ambassadors

Eric Bowman • Keala Ching • WavenDean Fernandes Mariana Garcia • Fern Gavelek

Contributing Writers

KE OLA is printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks.

KE OLA is a member of Hawai‘i Alliance for a Local Economy (HALE), supporting the “Think Local, Buy Local” initiative.

Calendar submissions: Submit online at www.KeOlaMagazine.com (go to Contact page) or email to Calendar@KeOlaMagazine.com Editorial inquiries: Submit online at www.KeOlaMagazine.com (go to Contact page) or email to Editor@KeOlaMagazine.com Worldwide Delivery: Call 808.329.1711 x3, order online at www.KeOlaMagazine.com or mail name, address and payment of $24 US/ $48 International for one year to: P.O. Box 1494, Kailua-Kona, HI 96745. © 2012, Ke Ola Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved

www.KeOlaMagazine.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 7

Hadley Catalano • Keala Ching • Fern Gavelek Denise Laitinen • Marya Mann • Alan D. McNarie Sonia Martinez • Noel Morata • Robert Oaks Cynthia Sweeney

8 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Publisher’s Talk Story...

T

Standing Out

Barbara Garcia, Publisher

✿ Dear Editor: I’d like to thank you for the fine article in May’s issue by Fern Gavelek. [“Earl Bakken, at 88, Has Many Dreams Come True,” May-June, 2012] I’ve had innumerable articles written on me throughout my lifetime, and I believe this is one of the best in recent times. Fern spent a morning interviewing me, and I covered an expanse of information: from my own personal history, to the history of Medtronic, to the important activities I’ve been involved with during the last 23 years since my “retirement.” Most of my attention since that time has been directed toward improving the quality of life here on Hawai‘i Island.

I thought I’d overwhelmed her with “too much information” but she did a superb job at condensing it all into an interesting story with meaning. I’ve shared it with many people and they too are quite impressed. My hope is that is has inspired others—full-time as well as part-time residents—to get involved, give what they can and give generously. Volunteer, get involved, share your resources.

Hawai‘i Island has so much to offer and we must do all we can to sustain this beautiful place.

Ke Ola magazine is a great periodical and I appreciate that you highlight stories of people and activities that are pertinent to the local residents as well as the visitors. It is beautifully done.

Dreaming on, – Earl Bakken ✿ Aloha, I wanted to thank you for the beautiful aloha-filled article. [“Leilehua Yuen: Living Within the Stories,” July-August, 2012] It really makes me want to meet Manu and Leilehua! The time and care you put into the story really shines through. We both feel so very honored by your work.

Mahalo nui loa, – Leilehua Yuen

On the Cover: “Sea Bird View - Waipi‘o,” oil painting by Harry Wishard.

See story on page 39.

Also see wishardgallery.com

Send us your comments, letters and photos! We take email, snail mail, submissions through our website or posts on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter!

Editor@keolamagazine.com

Follow us:

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 9

his issue of Ke Ola features some unique personalities who aren’t afraid to stand out from the crowd, calling attention to themselves—not for the sole purpose of ego gratification, but for a grander goal of making the world a better place for the rest of us.

Those of us who prefer not to stand out (we learned this in school) may live vicariously through those who don’t really care if they have to stay after school.

The first one is Cowman. You can’t help but smile when his bobbing, horn-bedecked helmet cruises by the row of spectators during a marathon or triathlon. His unique headgear and handpainted t-shirts proclaim his vision of a bigger, more loving world.

Writer Fern Gavelek profiles this long-time Kona character in a story beginning on page 17.

Next is Debbie. Hawai‘i Island resident Debbie Hecht had some success in preserving land parcels in California. She transplanted her campaigning and persuasive skills to our island, and the rest of us are thanking her for standing out and standing up for the 2-Percent Fund. Because of one person’s efforts, others have been inspired and given the opportunity to say, “Yes, we care about saving land for the people!” See Hadley Catalano’s “shout-out” to Debbie on page 45 of this issue.

Has anyone seen a mermaid lately? The fantastical character of myth and legend, who tempts sailors into the sea, has come to life as the alter ego of Dana Marie Richardson of Kona. Sure, it’s fun to dress up in a mermaid tail and go swimming. Drawing attention to herself is not the point, so much as drawing attention to the plight of our ocean and its marine mammals is. Try swimming like they do, and you’ll perhaps hear their voices crying out. Turn to page 21 and be tempted by the tale told through writer Marya Mann.

Ke Ola magazine is completing its fourth year of colorful storytelling this year, as Editor Karen Valentine completes her four years of dedication to the creation of the vision and mission of its editorial content with this issue. As co-founder of Ke Ola, she is now stepping aside for the next chapter in its growth and continuation of telling the stories of Hawai‘i Island’s life through its people, its culture, its spirit and its land. We look forward to seeing more stories contributed by Karen Valentine in upcoming issues. Mahalo, Karen, for your vision, passion and love for Ke Ola. On August 9th, Ke Ola magazine was recognized for achieving the position of lucky number 13 on the 2012 “Hawai‘i’s Fastest 50” list, presented by Pacific Business News, ranking businesses statewide based on percentage of growth from 2009 to 2011. We are very proud to have earned this benchmark, which would not have been possible without the support of Hawai‘i Island businesses who have understood our vision from the beginning. We are honored to be counted along with 11 other businesses on this island. We are also pleased to pass along some other optimistic statistics: more than 600 new businesses have registered their names on Hawai‘i Island in the past year [as listed in Pacific Business News] and another, Hawai‘i Island has the second highest PBN subscriber base, after O’ahu. Commerce is happening on the Big Island- it’s such good news! We look forward to helping more businesses thrive in the continued economic growth of our island.

From Readers...

10 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

No trip to Hawaii’s Big Island is complete without visiting ‘Imiloa.

Science center with a Hawaiian perspective and 3D planetarium, ‘Imiloa brings the epic tale of Hawai’i to life.

Go to www.imiloahawaii.org find our Hawaiian Word of the Day and save!

808-969-9703

First light of dawn from Mauna Kea – Photo by Koakane Green

High upon the highest heavens ‘Ōpua gently moves about the mountains A sacred mountain, altar of Wakea Poli‘ahu presides upon this altar Look upon the highest heavens Brightness appears so beautiful Overwhelmingly, so close A deep thought appears Desirable is the deep forest Living forest, caressed by the wind Gentle voice of righteousness is heard Life is upon the path of heaven Life is upon the path of heaven

E ola

Let it live!

ānā ho‘i i luna o ke ao, he lewalani nō ia. Ma ia wahi, he kapu i uka ala ā noho a‘ela ka maluhia ma ke ahu o Wakea ā na Poli‘ahu ke kahu o ia wahi ala. Kau a‘ela ka maka i ka lani ā mōhala maila nā ‘ike like ‘ole i ‘ena‘ena akula. Mālama ihola ka ‘i‘ini a‘i‘ole puka maila ka makemake ‘ole. Aia ke ola i ka nāhelehele ā ho‘olono nō ke kani leo o ka pono. Noho maila ke ola i ke ala o ka lani, eia maila e!

Look upon the clouds, toward the highest heavens indeed. At this location is a sacred place, high above, where peace presides upon the altar of Wakea, the dwelling of Poli‘ahu. The eye is drawn to the heavens, where a thought of boundless knowledge is overwhelmingly bright. Be aware of a desire or an undesirable request that is received. Life is the forest where the voice of righteous is heard. Life is upon the path of heaven, here it is!

Inspired to encourage prayers/spirituality, to look to the heavens, yet always seek a simple solution to a situation. Ask with no expectation, live with unconditional compassion and acknowledge what is received – through prayer!

Contact Kumu Keala Ching: kumukeala@nawaiiwiola.org

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 11

N

I uka a‘ela i ka lewalani ‘Oni’oni ka ‘Ōpua, puni i ka mauna Āhē mauna kapu, Ahu o Wakea Wahi noho o Poli‘ahu I uka ala Kau ka maka i ka lani kū kilakila Mōhala ka pua i ka nani ‘ena‘ena Āhē nani ka pilina o uka ala ‘Ā maila ka mana’o hōhonu nei Eia ala ka ‘i‘ini i ka waolani Hula maila ka nahele, pili ka makani Kani ahe ka leo, ho‘olono i ka pono Noho maila ke ola i ke ala o ka lani Noho maila ke ola i ke ala o ka lani e

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Aerial photograph of the massive, restored seawall forming the Kaloko Fishpond (kaloko means pond) on the left and the ocean on the right – Photo courtesy of the National Park Service

he Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, located south of the Kona airport, provides clues to the lifestyle of early Hawaiians. Atop seemingly barren and inhospitable lava flows, the park incorporates the shoreline portions of the ancient Kaloko, Honokōhau, and Kealakehe ahupua‘a.

An ahupua‘a was a section of land, often approximately triangular in shape, that stretched from the seashore up into the mountains. By providing different topographies, the land could provide a community of from 60 to 100 people with everything they needed for a self-sustaining economy: marine life on the coast and agricultural lands (and rainfall) on the higher elevations of Hualālai volcano.

Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962, the site attained full National Park status in 1978. Intended to demonstrate the settlement patterns and lifestyle of pre-contact Hawaiians, Kaloko-Honokōhau Park includes fish ponds, a fish trap, heiau (temple), house ruins, petroglyphs, burial sites, and a slide for the ancient Hawaiian sport of holua. Probably first settled around the year 1000 A.D., people lived on this land into the 19th century.

When the inhabitants left the area for more hospitable regions along the Kona Coast, they abandoned hundreds of significant archeological sites that were largely undisturbed in the 20th century. And because these sites were not destroyed by subsequent development, the park provides one of the best

windows into many aspects of traditional Hawaiian culture and lifestyles.

The Kaloko and ‘Aimakapā Fishponds and the ‘Ai‘ōpio Fishtrap are the most significant archeological sites in the park because they are among the few surviving examples of these feats of Hawaiian engineering. At one time there were as many as nineteen fish ponds on the Kona coast, each a center of settlement and social life.

The 11-acre Kaloko Fishpond, at the northern end of the park, is the more important of the two. Kaloko simply means “the pond.” It consists of a natural bay that was cut off from the sea by a massive, manmade, stone seawall, at least 300 and possibly as much as 700 years old. Stretching for 250 yards, the wall is 30 to 40 feet wide and six-and-one-half feet tall. Built without mortar, it consists of an ingenious pile of interlocking rocks. Within the pond, smaller secondary walls were used to segregate different types of fish that were raised there. The importance of the pond is perhaps reflected in the naming of the ahupua‘a itself, Kaloko.

The area around this fishpond is also important as a burial site. Several high ranking ali‘i (chiefs) were buried here, and it is possible that the secret and still undiscovered burial site of King Kamehameha himself is nearby. As a result, the pond is extremely significant to the culture and history of Hawaiians, many of whom regard the site as sacred.

❁Continued on page 15

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 13

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Holualoa Village Coffee • Art • History

Hwy #180 Highway #180, above Kailua-Kona above http://www.holualoahawaii.com

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Contemporary, fine arts, and craft pieces.

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4 miles south of Holualoa Village on Mamalahoa Highway Try look! www.KeauhouStore.com Ph 322-5203

The late artist Herb Kawainui Kāne produced several drawings for the park, illustrating several aspects of Hawaiian life, such as rock wall contruction (far left) and fishing techniques (center and right).

– Illustrations courtesy of the National Park Service

❁Continued from page 13

H

O

L

U

A

L

O

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A

Cordy, Ross. Exalted Sits the Chief: The Ancient History of Hawai‘i Island. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing, 2000.

Pu‘u‘oina Heiau or Hale o Manō, with canoe hālau in background – Photo by Karen Valentine

Greene, Linda Wedel. “A Cultural History of Three Traditional Hawaiian Sites on the West Coast of Hawai’i Island.” http://www. cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/kona/history.htm. National Park Service, 1993.

Kirch, Patrick Vinton. Feathered Gods and Fishhooks, An Introduction to Hawaiian Archaeology and Prehistory. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1985.

National Park Service, “Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park”, http://www.nps.gov/kaho Oaks, Robert F. Hawai‘i, A History of the Big Island. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 15

‘Aimakapā Fishpond to the south is somewhat larger than Kaloko. Rather than rock walls, the seawater in this ceremonial purposes. A large burial platform is also north of the pond was trapped behind sand dunes. Currently it is about heiau. Its location near the ‘Ai‘ōpio Fishtrap suggests that the 15 acres, though it was once probably twice that size. heiau was an important site for governing a large area of north Originally a stone-lined channel cut through the dunes, Kona and overseeing the crucial fishing activities of the region. providing a sluice gate through which seawater entered the In addition to the archeological attractions of Kalokopond. There are still fish in this pond, though the water is Honokōhau, the park is also home to many varieties of birds and brackish, and it has become a major wildlife bird refuge. plants, as well as the green sea turtle (honu). The fishponds and Nearby, a holua slide is one of only eight that survive in fishtrap, originally built to supply food for Hawaiians, now provide Kona. The narrow track, constructed of stone, was covered a source of food for many wetland birds. Nearly 50 types of birds with grass to produce a slick surface. Two contestants are unique to Hawai‘i, although many of them are endangered by could compete at the same time. A contestant, who had to the introduction of a larger number of alien birds, which compete be from the ali‘i class, would lie on a narrow wooden sled for food and nesting spots as well as spread diseases and parasites and attempt to ride it all the way to the bottom, similar to unknown to the native varieties. The park tries to protect the tobogganing, though of course on dry land. native species, providing the visitor with an opportunity for At the southern end of the park, next to Honokōhau bird watching.

Drive up scenic Hualalai Road from Queen Ka‘ahumanu Hwy (190).

Turn Left at Mamalahoa Hwy (180), Harbor, is the ‘Ai‘ōpio Fishtrap. About two acres in size, the Similarly, more than 130 green sea turtles live in the waters art studios local nowstone occupy from Hawai‘i’s past. trapwhere is separated from theand ocean by ashops manmade, wall. historic buildings offshore and often sun themselves on the narrow, sandy beach.

UnlikeTake the fishponds, which were used primarily to raise a leisurely stroll through our quaint village . .These .You’ll be were gladlisted you asdid. turtles an endangered species in the same fish, the trap, as the name implies, was built to catch fish. year that Kaloko-Honokōhau became a National Park. The At high tide, fish could enter through a narrow channel in protection they receive may account for their relatively recent sun the wall. They could then be caught with nets or simply basking habit, apparently unafraid of human visitors engaged in trapped when the tide receded. Four walled enclosures the same activity. along the shore were probably holding pens. The The Park Service also attempts to protect native plants. Nontrapped fish possibly were transferred to the nearby native, invasive species have been cleared from Kaloko fishpond, ‘Aimakapā Fishpond. allowing the native pili grass, which Hawaiians used for thatching, Near the fishtrap is Pu‘u‘oina Heiau, sometimes called to flourish again. This is an ongoing struggle, however, since there Hale o Manō. The 50-by-145-foot stone structure is a fine are still threats from non-native algae and fish in the ponds, as example of the platform style of heiau. A small pool just well as mongooses, which eat nesting birds and their eggs. ❖ to the north of the structure may have been used for Contact writer Robert Oaks: boboaks@pacbell.net

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The Life food, including corn and hay to feed barnyard animals. As a young boy, he learned to fish and swim in a nearby lake and hunt for small game. “I discovered first-hand to appreciate nature,” he notes.

Crediting his parents for the values by which he lives today, Ken says he was taught the importance of love, compassion, patience and to stand up for himself and what he believes in.

“Mom gave us freedom to pursue our interests, but she was busy with our big family, so we learned to help cook and keep house,” recalls Ken. “Dad taught us how to drive and service the tractor, it had a crank starter, and I also could take care of the horse.”

Cowman says he was big and kind of clumsy for his age in grade school, carrying some excess weight. “I got picked last for all the playground teams and it affected me,” he remembers. “I told myself, ‘One day, I’ll show them.’”

And that’s what he did. By high school, Ken put his strapping young physique to work, excelling in four different sports in as many years. Besides being the top player on the North Salinas High School tennis squad, Ken vied in individual medley heats as a swimmer. At 6-foot-3, he was a formidable forward on the basketball court and on the gridiron, the teen played both offensive and defensive end for the NS Vikings.

❁Continued on page 18

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 17

I

t’s easy to spot the Kailua-Kona resident known simply as “Cowman” running races and triathlons all over the world.

Sporting his trademark, horn-topped helmet and handdrawn t-shirts, Cowman has been competing in marathons and triathlons for over 30 years. Saying he’s “68-years-young,” Cowman—who was born Kenneth Ivan Shirk—is still competing in the sport, most recently in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. In the mid-1970s, the Kailua-Kona resident helped pioneer the Western States Run, which stretches from Squaw Valley Ski Area in California through the Sierras to the mining town of Auburn.

In fact, Cowman is a global running celebrity of sorts, invited to appear in races in Japan, New Zealand, Brazil and Canada—and always with his horns. In Keauhou, he was honored with a race bearing his name in the 1990s: the Cowman Shaka Fun Run. The rugged and zany character we know as “Cowman A-MooHa” first hit the roads in California. But how the colorful persona came to be is the story of a farm boy, an award-winning high school athlete, a volunteer fireman and a life-loving mountain man who spent 18 years in the “outrageously beautiful wilderness” surrounding Lake Tahoe.

Ken grew up in the 1940s-50s in the rolling hills north of Salinas, California, where he helped the family grow its own

OF THE PEOPLE

Cowman running in Kona’s Ultraman World Championships in 2003. Ultraman is more than twice the length of the Ironman triathlon event and includes a 6.2-mile swim, 261.4-mile bike and 52.4-mile run. Entry is by invitation only.

– Photo courtesy of Ultraman World Championships Hawai‘i

18 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

❁Continued from page 17 At high school graduation, the youth was awarded the boy’s All Around Sportsmanship Award. “I thought that was the most special thing in the world,” he smiles.

“That was the start of my sports career.”

But Shirk was also interested in art, “as it was From left: Cowman and Gordy Ainsleigh something I was reunited at this summer’s Western States good at and 100, a race the two men pioneered. encouraged to do.”

- Photo courtesy of Cowman While pursuing an associate arts degree and working on artistic projects like stage settings and murals, he started running. Soon he was hoofing it with the Hartnell Jr. College cross country team and putting on some miles. Being fit, multi-lingual and a self-described “strong bull,” Ken says he was hired to work construction between classes and he joined a labor union.

After earning his associate degree in 1964, Cowman enrolled in San Jose City College with the goal of earning a teaching degree and being a coach. He continued working construction by day and, with the escalation of unrest in Southeast Asia, the student decided to fulfill his military obligation by joining the Army National Guard.

“I didn’t want to get drafted to Vietnam and kill people,” explains Ken. “I preferred to defend my country here at home.”

that before. I had a couple friends crew for me, giving me liquid and food.”

Today, circumnavigating the lake by foot is one of Lake Tahoe’s annual running attractions, billed as an ultra-endurance event.

To further celebrate the nation’s 200th birthday, Ken planned a speedy trek through Tahoe City on the Fourth of July in his birthday suit—painted red, white and blue. His friend gave him some buffalo horns. He fastened the horns to a helmet, put on his new headgear and streaked through town. A friend got it all on film from astride his motorcycle.

“I was a fireman at the time and it surprised a lot of people, but the response was great, as streaking was all the rage. I thought it would be a wild, fun and adventurous thing to do…it’s when Cowman was born.”

After that, when Ken entered a race, he signed up as “Cowman,” complete with his horns, and was placing in the top of his 210plus Clydesdale weight division. He also started wearing his own, colorfully designed t-shirts, emblazoning them with painted slogans like “World Peace Through Running” and “Save Lake Tahoe.”

“I used the shirts to express my messages of peace, love and happiness and they got noticed,” Cowman emphasizes. “Every day I try to be more open and communicate to others.”

What It’s Like to Be An Ironman

Cowman and his horns came to Hawai‘i to do the Ironman triathlon in 1979 and 1980 on O‘ahu. When the event moved to Kona the following year, Cowman came, too—to stay. “I fell in love with the people, the ocean, the landscape, the energy,” he says. “I got a construction job and helped build the Royal Sea Cliff.”

Cowman immersed himself into the Ironman lifestyle:

Make Me a Mountain Man

Ever the athlete, Cowman joined the San Jose State Ski Club and fell in love with the sport. He also ran his first marathon in 1967. Then Ken “decided to change direction and become a mountain man.” He moved to the north side of Lake Tahoe.

“I got to ski all winter long and experience the mountain life,” details Ken. “I lived in a cabin with a wood stove, chopped my firewood and fished for trout. I had a horse for recreational riding.

It was great.”

Cowman also kept running, but now he was traversing high altitude mountain trails from 6,200 to 9,000 feet in elevation.

“Running the diverse terrain, under these conditions, made me a stronger, faster and better runner.”

During the winter, Shirk skied. In the summer, he worked construction. A friend recruited him to join the volunteer fire department. After training, he was on-call by radio for three years. “It was all about serving the community,” Ken says.

Cowman is Born

It was 1976 and Ken wanted to do something big for America’s bicentennial. “I decided to run around Lake Tahoe—72 miles— and I did it in one day and as far as I know, nobody had ever done

Cowman spreads his message of Aloha (or A-Moo-Ha) all over the world. This scene is in the Sierra Mountains, part of the course in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run that he helped to found in California.

- Photo courtesy of Cowman

For night-time visibility, Cowman’s horns may be illuminated.

Here, he celebrates the 2005 Ultraman with Kona residents Virginia Isbell (left) and Betsy Morrigan (right).

This year’s 28th Ultraman World Championships will be held November 23-25, 2012.

- Photo courtesy of Ultraman World Championships Hawaii;

website ultramanlive.com

Contact writer Fern Gavelek: ferng@hawaii.rr.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 19

swimming from Kailua Pier, taking long bike rides around the island and running. He also did the annual Volcano marathon, relishing the course around the crater’s diverse terrain.

“I was totally proud to say I was an Ironman,” says Ken. “I wore my horns for the entire race—even the swim.”

Cowman says he was subsequently told he could no longer wear his horns during the Ironman World Championship, or suffer disqualification. He says he decided to wear them anyway and after being told he was DQed, Cowman continued to do the race to the finish line—forfeiting a completion medal.

“Ironman and I had a difference of opinion,” Cowman explains, shrugging his shoulders. “Some people say I’m a bad example by still doing the course, but I’m standing up for my freedom. I want to give people courage to stand up when they see something is wrong or needs to be improved. It takes bravery, but they can figure a positive way.”

Cowman says he hasn’t “missed” an Ironman since 1979. He does the course as an unofficial entrant and doesn’t always make the cut-off times for the swim, bike or run segments. He vies “officially” in numerous other races though, including this year’s Boston Marathon.

Saying he added “A-Moo-ha” to his Cowman moniker to show he’s “all for aloha,” Ken says he tells people at international races he’s from Planet Earth. “I do that because I wish others would look at it that way…we need to get along better and live in peace.”

He adds, “I have become who I am because of my parents’ great influence and the different things I’ve done in my life. We were a church-going family and brought up to be fair and honest, and I expect others to do the same.” ❖

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OF THE LAND

The Life

Dana Mermaid swimming with blacktip reef sharks.

– Photo by Hemisphere Sub Polynesia

brown color of the shell and leaves a perfect spiral.” Like an unfolding fern frond representing new life, the shell is to remind me our life source is the ocean.”

The tattoos on her left shoulder and arm, cascading waves with the same spiral forms as the shell following the contour, express her love for the ocean. She points to her bicep: “This is the symbol of Kanaloa, god of the sea.”

❁Continued on page 22

Dana Richardson, Paloma Field and Mariah Melanie swimming in Kua Bay, Kona. – Photo by Susan Knight, © susanknightstudios.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 21

I

n a challenge so unifying it has inspired global support among indigenous people, surfers, artists, marine scientists, models, musicians, boat captains, photographers, filmmakers, businesspeople, angel card readers and even Flipper’s original trainer, one Kona resident stands out.

Or swims out. She’s the leading lady of this particular story, Dana Marie Richardson, mermaid.

The protagonist, however, is the one living sea. Ocean activists like 34-year-old Dana have mobilized their lifelong passion for the sea into a planet-wide effort to educate everyone that brutal activities and polluting industries endanger not only marine species, but the entire circle of life.

“I want to inspire (everyone) with the magic of the sea,” she says, sitting in her human form at a seaside table overlooking Holualoa Bay as she lunches on fresh salad with broiled mahi mahi. “I want to share awareness of what’s going on and how important the ocean, the dolphins and whales are, how much we need them for our survival.”

She hands me a shell, an opaque spiral on a milky surface tinted with pink. A perfect Fibonacci spiral, inscribed by time and the sea on the face of the tiny hemisphere. “It’s from Polynesia, she says. “The salt water fades away the initial

Dana Mermaid with student learning to be a young ocean ambassador at Kukio Beach Kona. - Photo by Ilana Maxwell

22 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

❁Continued from page 21 Waves, tides and seabirds ripple along her human skin, from “interior heart” to the sea star on her big toe.

I first met Dana at the “Minds in the Water” Kona film premiere, which was attended mostly by normal, landbased mammals, but with a few finned friends too. With her waist-length, green-tinted mermaid’s hair and wearing only her Wahine Toa dress—in other words, not one of the four homemade mermaid tails she often wears—she stood on stage and thanked the sponsors. For someone who prefers fins to feet, it was no small feat to go door-to-door engaging businesses like Moku Nui, Quaysha Swimwear, Clark Little and 30 more contributors, inviting them to get serious about the tipping point we face.

She organized the event to feature the Independent Spirit Award-winning documentary following professional surfer Dave Rastovich and his friends as they sailed on Hobie kayaks for 36 days to protect dolphins, whales and the oceans. More than 125 people from all over the Big Island showed up at the Aloha Theater to support our one ocean and the groups working to save it: Women for Whales, Surfers for Cetaceans and the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary.

Now, here at Lava Java, she says, “It’s hard for people to think how bad it might be elsewhere in the world. In Kona we have the cleanest harbor I’ve seen in my entire life. But you go to the Red Sea, it’s polluted. California coasts, they all have evidence that pollution is happening. Here, we see the ocean full of life, but it’s all one sea. People don’t think about the big plastic gyre; it’s out of sight and out of mind. But it’s affecting the ocean and all sea life on a large scale which is ultimately affecting us as well.”

Creating Understanding

“With Women for Whales, we wanted to take a loving approach so people are more interested in learning more,” says Dana, who is also a boat captain, an underwater photographer and a marine mammal naturalist. “If you go to school and you’re force-fed something, you don’t want to learn. But if you learn about the magic and wonder of the sea, the magic key will open the door. We are trying to inspire through the magic

of the sea, to share how important the mammals are, how we need them for our survival.

As the wave action of late-morning tide serenaded us, urging itself with rhythmic perfection upon the Kona coast, Dana explained the circle of life in the ocean. “We need the dolphins, whales and sharks, the coral reef, plankton.

Everything is connected. It’s a complete circle of life. Without coral, there would be no waves. With no waves, the fish would die out. Without fish, there would be no dolphins. Gradually, things will go extinct without that complete circle of life.

“Our planet is 70-percent water, we’re 70-percent water. So we will go away without the sea.” We’re silent for a moment, hearing only the blue heart of the earth in its steady backbeat of wave action. What if the heart of the planet stopped beating, because we didn’t act to protect it?

Mermaid Talk Story

❁Continued on page 25

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 23

As a mermaid, Dana becomes a provocative, compelling voice for the sea, calling us to action and inspiring future ocean ambassadors. She conducts a multitude of educational projects for all ages, using the mermaid persona to entice, entrance and encourage her students to become one with the sea.

The romantic legends of mermaids as water nymphs waiting to snare unwary sailors with their haunting songs have delighted all generations in all parts of the world. Their music drives men wild, cautioned the enchantress Circe to Odysseus in ancient Greece.

The oldest mermaid in mythology, the goddess Atargatis from Syria, embodied the same contradictory qualities we see in the sea: beautiful, cruel, tender, loving and destroying. Since the time of the great Dana Richardson on land at the Aloha voyages from Tahiti Theatre for “Minds in the Water” to Hawai‘i, writes showing, July 5, 2012.

Kohana Au in Tales - © Charla Photography of the Mermaids of Waiahuakua, mermaids have also been a part of Pacific legend and lore. The goddess Moananuikalehua, who lived in the channel between Kaua‘i and O‘ahu, was said to be Pele’s best friend.

The mermaid, a fantastical creature, is like nature herself; she gives comfort and expresses truth. “The ocean is alive with so much life,” Dana Mermaid muses. “From the coral reefs to the phytoplankton to the shark and ray species to the fish and turtles and then, of course, the marine mammals—the whales and dolphins.”

What’s so special about whales and dolphins, she says, is their ability to use sonar. “To humans who protest our efforts to help dolphins, I want to say, ‘Do you know how to use sonar?

It’s like x-ray vision. Not only that, they’re so in tune, dolphins and whales have the ability to communicate through energy.

They don’t have all that extra stuff that we do on land; it covers up our intuition, our energy. That stuff isn’t there underwater.’”

There’s a unity in the sea, she says. “If there’s a ripple, it affects everything. We rise and fall on the same sea. We are all in the same water, a community, like in old Hawai‘i, one ‘ohana.”

Marine mammals, she says, “are much more highly developed than humans. Their brain is larger and they probably use more of it.”

This is one reason she prefers to meditate in the same way dolphins do. “They go into an alpha state and just shut their brains down. I’m working up to shutting half my brain down and slowing my heart rate, entering that peaceful state, watching the thoughts and emotions, and opening the heart space. That’s how dolphins rest,” she says. “They found out years ago with a captive dolphin who was put under anesthesia for surgery. He died because dolphins are conscious breathers and they have to stay awake in order to breathe.”

But they need to rest, so they have evolved the ability to have one eye open and one eye closed. They swim much like a flock of birds, flowing together as a group, which is a safer state. “They breath rhythmically, enter into a meditative state, slow down the heart, then they’ll wake up a bit and play then shut down the other side of the brain. So they get meditative catnaps all day.”

One pod might be in their rest cycle while another pod will be floating nearby, a little more awake, maybe a little protectively. “A guardian pod,” explains Dana. “No one really knows for sure. There’s so much we still need to learn. So much of it is our interpretation of their behavior, but they seem to be a group consciousness rather than having an alpha/leader of the pod.

“What I try to do is share a deep respect for the sea and all sea life, carrying that message in a way for people who may be ignorant of it. Many people have separated from the connection we have to the sea, but whether you live near the sea or completely surrounded by land, you are still connected to the ocean. It is our ultimate life source.”

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Dana Mermaid poses with net, part of ocean debris collected at Ka Lae (South Point). - Photo by Cat Malovic

❁Continued from page 23

The Mermaid Emerges

RESOURCES: Stay in touch with Dana Mermaid on Facebook and also at www.DanaMermaid.com or www.ManaKaiPhoto.com View Mermaid Magic through Wyland’s lens at www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0MutAFdkDM UPCOMING EVENT: Dana Mermaid is leading a group to Tahiti to swim with humpback whales September 15-24 and participating in a dolphin and whale paddle out of Kealakekua Bay on September 29th at 10 a.m.

Contact writer at Marya@LoomOfLove.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 25

Dana felt like a fish out of water in her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, where her “gills went dry” she says. “I swam in the pool until my hair turned greenish and my skin was wrinkled and sun- kissed, and still I would resist getting out of the water!”

She recalled using dive rings around her lower body to shift into a mermaid’s tail and the mermaid’s signature solo fin. “I would hold tea parties underwater, practice breath holds and dream of communicating with whales and dolphins in the sea.

I imagined them calling to me.” Later she crafted fabric tails and learned to swim with them.

Dana’s parents encouraged her youthful “mermaiding,” teaching her to “believe that anything is possible.” Believing in the existence of mermaids, it made perfect sense to become one. “When I visited the ocean, words can’t express the feeling but it was much like coming home.” Before long, she was able to free dive to over 100 feet and developed a static breath hold of five minutes.

Becoming a U. S. Coast Guard licensed boat captain for up to 50 tons, she began doing fieldwork and research with all species of marine mammals, especially the 32 species of whales and dolphins that reside in Kona year-round as well as the migrating humpbacks that appear in winter. Based on her close relationship to dolphins, she’s been hired for documentary projects to be a dolphin decoy and bring the dolphins closer to the camera.

In my work as a mermaid, I’m not a model,” she insists.

“Taking photos of my mermaiding is fun, but there are so many deeper levels to it. The ocean is a healing source of life with so much to teach us. When people swim in a tail, they connect to the sea in a deeper way, fully experiencing its bliss and wonder.”

Through her mermaiding, ocean adventures and her Sea Sister clothing line, as well as events she sponsors, sharing her love of the ocean is designed to be fun, heart-opening and educational. Her activities also contribute to the larger ocean activist movement that is changing the direction of human enterprise.

Ever since the film “The Cove” won the 2009 Academy Award for best documentary after exposing the cruel killing of

defenseless dolphins in Japan, a few thousand less dolphins have been killed. Clean-up crews on beaches and seacoasts worldwide are meticulously collecting ocean debris. Ocean naturalists have been attending International Whaling Commission meetings for five years, lobbying for the Atlantic Whale Sanctuary. The effort has not received enough votes to be established, but their plans have expanded, “and each year we are getting closer to whale freedom worldwide,” says Dana.

Hoping to save more whale species, they are now calling for a halt to some of the more deadly commercial shipping, tourist whale-watching traffic and military tests that strike whales or create noise pollution interfering with cetaceans’ sophisticated sonar capabilities.

Myths are more than make-believe. They are stories that endure and continue to arouse us because our deepest human instincts resonate with them. Overfishing has eliminated 90 percent of the big fish in the sea, including sharks and rays.

Half the coral reef has disappeared.

Pollution, fossil fuel consumption and the vicious massacres of dolphins and whales are a careless waste of our resources.

Today’s mermaids and mermen are breaking out of the old stereotypes and doing the work of saving our seas.

“There really is a whole other world under the sea that comes to life once you dive in under the surface. Magic happens in the ocean. You can hear the fish eating the coral, the shrimp,” she says. “If you’re lucky and happen to be underwater during whale season, you can hear the beautiful chorus of whale song echoing throughout the water, or you can hear cheerful dolphin sounds or be graced with their sonar.”

Dana Mermaid’s siren calls are sending out ripples in the sea. Kona Coconut Girls Gina and Michelle were so inspired by the “Minds in the Water” event that they are organizing a new event called “Hearts in the Water” to bring sea-supporters together to stop the Navy’s use of sonar. “Stay tuned for details!” Dana teases.

The story of the one living ocean is not over yet, and the plot is not set in stone, it’s fluid. There is still hope to save the sea creatures; some blue whales and ten percent of the big fish still remain; and half the coral reef is still intact, like a jeweled belt around the equator.

There’s still time, but not a lot, to restore the health of the ocean and protect our heavenly sea before it becomes a paradise lost.

I touch the shell Dana gave me—which the sea gave to her—and I remember that our life source is the ocean, but we humans are the source of saving our one living sea. The time to act is now if we want this story to have a happy ending. ❖

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OF THE PEOPLE

The Life

In the Sayre rescue, this is how the two rescuers were transported into the narrow gorge, deep in Pololū Valley.

Wearing rappel harnesses, they clipped into the rope attached to Chopper 1, and were flown in.

– HFD photo

A

beam of light filters through the thickly compacted branches towering overhead, highlighting the myriad hues of green: from light and delicate fern shades to deep and mysterious jungle tones. “My cathedral,” 25-year-old Daniel “Danny” Sayre calls the beautiful valley along which his favorite trail traverses the back of majestic Pololū Valley in North Kohala; he can look up and see the waterfalls and look down to see where they splash into the stream 500 feet below.

However, he has to climb out onto a tree limb to get a full view of the waterfalls. It’s important to do this today as this is his last day in Hawai‘i as he prepares to return to the mainland and resume his college commitment, after having taken a three-year break. He wants a photo of this special place. He’s already taken snapshots of friends visited on a farewell tour around the island. An experienced hiker and avid surfer, Danny knows he wants to collect memories of Hawai‘i, this island and his favorite places, to take with him and last forever in his heart.

In the distance, the sound of a helicopter rotor approaches— whup, whup, whup. On the trail overlooking Danny’s “cathedral,” stand Dr. Frank Sayre and Laura Mallery-Sayre. It’s two days later, and Danny hasn’t returned from his hike. Calls to his apartment by his father have gone unanswered, and the worried parents finally decided to call the police to report him missing. Not too long afterward, the police called to say a hiker had found his backpack and shoes next to a tree limb with its bark scraped off and the ground below it disturbed, as

❁Continued on page 28

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 27

Daniel Sayre, in whose name the Daniel R. Sayre Foundation was founded. A few personal goals he wrote in his journal: “To live life in the world, as if you were what you truly are, as a representative and purveyor of divine power and grace.....

Help others to trust in themselves; use the time I have left to surf, face the world unrestricted, and take the time to acknowledge and identify with everyone I come across.”

– Photo courtesy of Dr. Frank Sayre and Laura Mallery-Sayre

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if someone had fallen there. The Hawai‘i County Fire Department was called in for a search and rescue mission. A county helicopter had made a first pass over the valley, returning before nightfall without spotting the missing hiker.

At first daybreak the next day, Frank and Laura took their own backpacks and headed up to the Rope rescue gear used to rappel down trail from their cliffs to access and rescue a victim. home at Kaloko, Visible are “rollers” used as edge Kona. protectors, so the ropes don’t rub on Calling and the rocks. Also visible is the necessary calling, “Danny... gear for a rescuer: rope, rescue harness, Danny... if you’re helmet, gloves, hardware (carabiners, down there, can descender, etc.). “Over the years, the Sayre Foundation has donated so much you hear us? rescue equipment that it’s just about They’re going to everywhere in our station,” says get you out. Just photographer Jeff Loo. hang in there....”

– HFD photo The 4,000 square mile land mass called the island of Hawai‘i is blanketed with scenes of awesome natural beauty. They make your spirit soar in wonder at the magnificence. They are magnets for hikers and nature lovers; and, they are death-defyingly dangerous for rescue workers who make it their life’s work to get people out of the traps into which they’ve led themselves. Over snow-covered mountain peaks in blizzards, into dense rainforests slippery with vertical slopes and shear drops, and out into dangerous surf conditions and rip tides along the 400 miles of accessible shoreline they venture.

Here on the Pololū Valley/Kapaloa Falls Trail on August 28, 1997, the task is a daunting one. Above them lies Kapaloa Falls and below is another waterfall, making access by foot impossible. The cliffs are a shear, vertical drop to a stream flowing between the two falls.

“There’s no way to hike in,” said Laura Mallery-Sayre, who, with her husband, Frank, was observing the drama while living it, with hearts pounding and minds disbelieving. “The walls of the valley are too steep to go down without rappelling, and they didn’t have the ropes to rappel down that far. They had to keep attempting with the helicopter and it kept coming and they kept trying.” And hoping. “One of the firefighters kind of took us under his wing and became our counselor on the spot.

FRS (Fire Rescue Specialist) Lana Rowe really kept us together.

He kept informing us of what was happening and got us to talk about Danny. ‘Tell us about Danny,’ he would say. ‘What’s Danny like?’ He kept us focused.”

Whup, whup, whup.... the helicopter makes its first pass, and another.

❁Continued on page 30

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“They’d fly away and then come back and then fly away,” said science and practice of dental hygiene, as well as a practitioner Dr. Frank Sayre, owner of a Kailua-Kona dental practice. “They alongside her husband. Her personality is straightforward, did this for the better part of the day, a total of 10 hours. Then articulate and magnetic. On the day their son died, they were they basically called the whole thing off.” simply a pair of devastated parents.

Into the narrow valley, darkness comes early. The shadows “You can’t make the pain go away,” says Dr. Sayre, “nor do creep in and visibility dims, as do the hopes of those standing you want to.” and watching helplessly.

“We tried to say thank you [to the rescue crew], but we were “Captain Russel Miyao came to us and said, ‘Dr. and Mrs. destroyed at that point,” said Laura.

Sayre, we really think you should leave,’ ” said Laura. “ ‘The Soldiers who have fought side by side in wars know the mission’s being called off at this point. We’ll come back tight bonds that develop between humans who have traveled tomorrow.’ And I said, ‘Can you assure me that he’s dead?’ and life’s darkest moments together. At that moment, Frank he said, ‘No, I can’t.’ ‘I’m so sorry, but we’re not leaving.’ ” and Laura Sayre fell in love with the HFD Search and Rescue That was when every member of the Hawai‘i Fire Department Department—every one of them. Their hurt was so deep (HFD) rescue team, dispatched to the scene from the Waiakea and their gratitude so profound that they had to put the station at Hilo, then volunteered to stay—on their own time. emotion somewhere.

Another helicopter pilot had been called in, David Okita of On the drive home from Kohala Hospital, where they had Volcano Helicopter Company. gone to identify Danny’s body, a huge, double rainbow “This guy was kind of a ‘helicopter god,’” said Dr. Sayre. appeared alongside them. They pulled the car over, got out, “Everybody just snapped to. You just knew something was hugged each other and just cried. going to happen. He made one pass and then he picked up two “That rainbow followed us all the way home,” said Laura. guys from the staging area in the pasture. They were dangling They felt Danny with them. On that same drive home, Frank 1,000 feet up in and Laura were the air. They didn’t struck with the have a cable long idea of creating enough for the some kind of helicopter to stay endowment up high and let fund in honor of them down. He Danny. “It came had to descend to us both at the between the valley same time. We walls and drop knew we wanted them off. We were to do something, actually looking and we know down on the top it wasn’t our of the helicopter, thought. It was and the valley was from Dan. We’re so tight that the very clear on Honorees and dignitaries at the 2009 auction and awards banquet. At far left are Dr. and rotor was knocking Mrs. Sayre. Third from right is Hawai‘i County Mayor Billy Kenoi and at far right is Lieutenant that. It happened leaves off the Governor Duke Aiona. Fire Chief Darryl Oliviera is in the center, seventh from right, with HFD instantly and honorees on either side. – Photo courtesy of Daniel R. Sayre Foundation branches of trees we both started on both sides.” talking about it at Laura said: “We knew that a similar rescue attempt on O‘ahu the same time,” Laura said. just the year before had ended in all the rescue workers being During the rescue/recovery operation, both the Sayres were killed. “ This was a very risky mission, but they were committed. struck by the way the HFD personnel had performed under not All the while, Fire Rescue Specialists Clarence Young and only dangerous conditions, but also with equipment that was James Kuniyoshi were dangling from the cable over the valley. insufficient for the terrain and challenges that faced them.

With rotors precisely placed within dangerous proximity to “We knew that, at the risk of their own lives, they went either side of the valley and shadows descending, David Okita beyond the call of duty to get closure for us.” expertly lowered them down to the stream at the bottom. On “They were our heroes,” said Frank. “We wanted to find a way his first pass, the pilot had spotted Danny down there. Any for them to be recognized by the community, to give them an mistake could mean instant tragedy for all. The two-man rescue award or something. We found there was nothing like that. team landed and quickly assessed the situation. Danny was Then we started digging a little deeper into what they didn’t dead; he had broken his neck in the fall. Clarence Young radioed have and we found out that the search and rescue equipment is up to Lana Rowe, who passed the news on to Frank and Laura: somewhere down the line in budgetary allocations.”

“Dr. and Mrs. Sayre, your son is gone.”

Laura said, “We learned that they were going to call O‘ahu Dr. Frank Sayre is an accomplished dental surgeon, to bring in ropes long enough [to reach the bottom of the specializing in TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), valley] for us. We thought, ‘The entire island is covered with cosmetic dentistry, and according to his wife and dental these valleys, they have been here for how many years, and the hygienist Laura, one of the leading dental implant specialists Fire Department didn’t have ropes long enough to get to the in the state. He is a gentle, compassionate man with a friendly bottom of them? How much can a rope cost? Well, we found out personality, whose face and smile reflect an open heart. Laura they were $1,500 a set. That was the very first thing we bought: Mallery-Sayre is an international speaker and educator in the one set for each side of the island.”

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Treacherous conditions exist almost everywhere on Hawai‘i Island. Rescue personnel need protection in every circumstance.

The Billy Pugh net is mostly used for rescues in ocean/river situations. As a versatile piece of equipment, the net is also used in rescues involving forest, cliff and other difficult-to-access situations. It is kept aboard Chopper 1, and can be deployed while the helicopter is hovering. - HFD photo.

❁Continued from page 29 The Sayres first formed an endowment fund within the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and later, in 2008, established their own 501c3 foundation, the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation, which serves as a “community calabash” for others to contribute to helping those who help us all. Its mission is not only to upgrade the search and rescue equipment, but to recognize the tireless efforts of those they call “our heroes.” At an annual banquet fundraiser, they recognize some of those whose efforts have stood out during the year.

The mission of the Hawai‘i County Fire Department states: “The Hawai‘i County Fire Department has the responsibility of providing the highest level of service, above and beyond what people expect, in life preservation, incident stabilization, and property conservation.”

In July of this year, rescue crews searched day and night for two teenagers who were swept out to sea in a kayaking accident. The thermal imaging equipment donated by the Sayre Foundation allowed them to operate after dark; the crews worked tirelessly and beyond the official rescue period. Fire Chief Darren Rosario explained, “When tragedy hits someone else, you know that it could also hit closer to home, and you would want someone to do the same thing for you. In 2002, one of our rescue workers fell down a lava tube and was critically injured. At the end of the day, we want to know we have done our best.”

Brent Matsuda, former Fire Equipment Operator at Waiakea Rescue Company 2, said, “When I first started working at a rescue station in the Hawai‘i Fire Department, I used to hope for rescues to gain experience. Now I realize that when we are on a rescue mission, someone is not having a good day. The public sometimes perceives that firefighters have a lot of idle time, but they do not always see or hear about many incidents that happen. During my time in the HFD, I have seen so much tragedy that it feels really good to rescue someone who needs our help. Even through the length and frustrations of this rescue [describing a grueling rescue of hunters in the Ka‘ū Forest Reserve], no one grumbled, no one gave up, we all knew what had to be done. This rescue was done with integrity, pride, commitment to service, teamwork, with safety always in mind.

I have always felt that it is a privilege to help the people who

need our services.” In 2002, Brent Masuda himself was rescued from a fall into a lava tube, suffering critical injuries. The ropes used to rescue him were the ones donated by the Sayre Foundation.

“We’ve been able to honor the men and women who have gone above and beyond the call of duty in helping to save lives here,” says Laura, “and that makes us feel good, too. They don’t ask for recognition. In fact, some of them are just downright embarrassed to be honored just for doing their job. I have asked them to be humble recipients, even though some of them don’t want to be there. But I’ve asked them to come, because our community needs to be able to say thank you.”

She tells of several people who have come to the recognition events just to say thank you. One was Neil Swartz, who was saved from drowning by lifeguard Ricky Alvarez. He came to a Sayre Foundation “gifting” event early this year, which was presenting water rescue equipment to the county. He wanted to thank Alvarez and also made a donation. “It was a love-in,” says Laura.

“Frank and I started this foundation, but it’s truly not our foundation, it’s the community’s. We’ve taken this little teeny concept and the community made it bigger and very, very successful. Without the support of the community, this would have just fizzled. We’re making bigger strides each year. We are making a difference. We have so much gratitude to everyone who’s been supportive.”

Another couple who has channeled their grief into giving back is California visitors Glenn and Donna Malkin, whose son Gregg was killed when he was swept off the rocky coast

by King’s Landing in Puna. “HFD Water Safety Officer Garrett Kim searched for days in shark-infested waters to bring their son’s body back,” says Laura. The Malkins have since donated some $15,000 worth of equipment plus a truck through the foundation. Laura made sure the entire squadron was there to receive recognition and thanks from the Malkins. “It was so meaningful for all of them.”

Fire Chief Rosario explains that all of the equipment purchased for the county has to go out for a bid process, that sometimes it’s several years before they can purchase what they need and sometimes the functional details of the equipment is of lesser quality than they need for the job.

This year’s fundraiser will be a one-day “Virtual Event” instead of the traditional dinner event. On September 8th, donors may go to www.DanielSayreFoundation.net to bid on equipment items and training that the Hawai‘i County Fire Department needs, as well as bid on auction items donated in support of the foundation’s efforts. Bidding for the auction items ends at 9 p.m.

Contact writer Karen Valentine: karenvalentine808@gmail.com

Laura Mallery-Sayre and Dr. Frank Sayre – Photo courtesy of Daniel R. Sayre Foundation

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The community has a chance to say “thank you” to the HFD water safety team as they are presented with two new rescue boards at a February, 2012 “Gifting Event” at Kahalu‘u Beach Park. – Photo courtesy of Daniel R. Sayre Foundation

The foundation’s gifts only have to be accepted through a resolution by the County Council. All donations made to the foundation go to purchasing rescue and training equipment, while administration is handled personally by the Sayres.

In the years since Danny’s accident, Laura Mallery-Sayre has become something of an expert in firefighting equipment, water rescue and search and rescue equipment as well as training. The foundation’s gifts over the years have surpassed the $600,000 mark. For her annual “shopping list,” she details technical specifications as effortlessly as if she were speaking of dental equipment.

And, speaking of dental equipment, when asked how she is able to gather so many donations from the community, she laughs. “I’m a registered dental hygienist. They are all my friends and my patients. I have a captive audience!” Last year, she received five donations in a week for water rescue boards, binoculars and automatic defibrillators when her patients learned of the tremendous needs of the lifeguards, whose equipment really takes a beating.

Many community members also serve as volunteers for the annual campaign, and in-kind donations are made by others, including the Fairmont Orchid Hotel.

“Everyone cares about our community and they are all willing to make a difference in helping to save lives,” Laura summarized. “I am so lucky that so many of our community have taken ownership of the goals of this Foundation and have truly made it their own. I love this community. I’ve never met anyone that is more giving and more generous with their time, energies and talents and with what little they have. We may not be very powerful individually, but collectively, we are powerful.” ❖

OF THE PEOPLE

The Life

Hirano Store founded in 1917, is a general convenience store on Highway 11 in Glenwood, just north of Volcanoes National Park. The store was moved and upgraded in 1968 after the small highway was widened.

– Photo by Hadley Catalano

E

In 1917 Naojiro Hirano opened the store on a half-acre lot in Glenwood, an area he knew well from years of working at Ola‘a Plantation. It still operates as a general store 95 years later.

– Photo courtesy of Hirano family

workers their native language in the one-room school on land he had also purchased.

Unfortunately, both the family and the store endured some struggles during the earlier years. In 1924, Halema‘uma‘u Crater erupted at Kīlauea Volcano, depositing wet ash around the neighboring villages. The wet ash build-up on Hirano’s roof caused the eaves to collapse. Later, in the wake of Pearl Harbor, Naojiro Hirano was placed in an internment camp.

“They came in the middle of the night, broke into the house and took him away,” explained Eric Inouye, Shinae and Wataru’s nephew and current owner of Hirano Store, “because of his involvement with teaching Japanese at the school.”

Naojiro was released after the war, and he returned home to continue teaching at his beloved school.

During the early 1950s, shortly after Wataru and Shinae’s marriage, when Wataru was working at Torigoe Service Station in Kea’au, Shinae began working alongside her mother-in-law at their country mom-and-pop store.

“I did everything back then,” Shinae recalled, noting that she and her husband eventually took over the entire management of the store in 1955, when Naojiro and Shige retired. “And, until [Naojiro] passed away in 1962, he would come and meet

❁Continued on page 34

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very day, while working in her husband’s family store, Shinae Hirano would watch as her elderly father-in-law, Naojiro Hirano, picked up her eldest daughter at the store after primary school. Taking her by the hand, he would lead her across the street to his Japanese schoolhouse, where Naojiro would commence his afternoon Japanese class for his granddaughter and about 20 more local school children.

The time was the early 1960s, and the Hirano family was a permanent fixture along both sides of the old highway that divided Glenwood, a forested community just outside of Volcano village. On one side of the road sat the schoolhouse and on the other side, Hirano Store—the general store that Naojiro opened in 1917 with his wife, Shige. They had immigrated from their native Shizuoka, Japan, to work for the Ola‘a Sugar Company.

“My father-in-law first started working in the sugarcane fields, and later he was moved up to work in the plantation store,” said Shinae. “He would drive up and down the old highway when he worked for Ola‘a General Store. He knew the one-acre lot he wanted to buy in Glenwood to set up his own store. He put up a shack, without building permits or plans, put a sign on it that said ‘Hirano Store,’ and that was that.”

Shinae, who married the Hirano’s eldest son, Wataru, in 1949, laughs as she speaks about the simplicity of the times, explaining that her father-in-law’s business eventually grew and expanded from his opening-day shelf stock of three items: Shoyu, salt, and rice.

As one of the many convenience stores in the Puna district during the plantation heyday, Hirano Store soon distinguished itself from its competitors, becoming the spot for residents of Volcano, Mountain View, Glenwood and surrounding communities to purchase canned goods, kerosene, oil and other supplies. Soon the store—whose second story, like many family stores of the time, doubled as a home for the Hirano family—began offering patrons a filling station as well as a general retail store.

Naojiro’s true passion, in fact, was for teaching. While Shige worked in the store on the opposite side of the street, Naojiro spent his days teaching Japanese children of plantation

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❁Continued from page 33 my daughter Naomi at the store (where all the children were dropped off after school and would buy penny candy before Japanese lessons), and he would teach class for about an hour every day. It’s where our daughter’s foundation in the Japanese language and writing came from: her Grandpa Hirano.”

Shinae’s two daughters both eventually worked in the shop, helping out around the family business, standing on wooden box crates to reach the register. The seven-day-a-week schedule, with early mornings and long days, consumed most of the family’s time. They served a population of local famers who were in the lumber business selling ‘ōhi‘a firewood as well as commuters traveling to and from Ka‘ū and Hilo.

Inouye and his family would travel from Hilo to Glenwood in the early 1960s to visit the family. “I remember the store back then. Sold canned goods, rubber boots, sewing material— everything from radiator hoses to farming supplies like chicken feed,” said Inouye, describing the annual New Year’s Day trip to their relatives’ house, next door to the shop. (Naojiro and Shige still lived upstairs.) “It was a drive back then; the road wasn’t that good, and it took about 45 minutes to an hour.”

Then, in 1968, the County of Hawai‘i began to widen Māmalahoa Highway. The workers would come early and without breakfast. Soon the contractor, G.M. Tanaka, asked Shinae if she would make breakfast for his men.

“I started preparing breakfast and lunch. They didn’t have a place to eat,” said the store’s matriarch and first cook, who would have to rise at 3 a.m. to start preparing the rice. “I would buy these ham butts and make bacon and eggs with rice. For lunch the favorite was always pork shoyu, but I would also make sandwiches: ham and cheese, tuna, and then I would make my own ground beef with scraps of roast beef. That was my secret, no waste.”

During the course of the highway expansion, the Hirano Store had to be relocated, due to its inconvenient roadside position.

The store was reconstructed on the family’s land, next door to its old location, where the present day store now stands. In addition, the County wanted to utilize some of the 17 acres of Hirano land across the street, including the land on which the schoolhouse sat.

“The Hiranos donated the land to the County under the condition that the County construct something for the children who would catch the school bus there,” Inouye described, indicating the park that now sits across the street. “The County constructed a bathroom and shelter for the children, because it rains so much.”

Shinae Hirano ran and operated Throughout the the family business for nearly 30 1960s and 1970s, years. Now she is a grandmother of Shinae and Wataru ran three and resides in Hilo. the family business, – Photo by Hadley Catalano and Inouye, after high

After nephew Eric took over the family business, Shinae went to college in the mid 1980s to fulfill her dream and earn a BA in Japanese Studies from University of Hawai‘i, Hilo. Standing proudly beside her at Shinae’s graduation are her two daughters, Naomi and Phyllis, and her late husband Wataru Hirano.

– Photo courtesy of Hirano famiily

school graduation, went off to college and majored in business at University of Hawai‘i.

“One of my goals had always been to own my own business,” Inouye remembered, having worked for a number of years after college. “When I found out that my auntie and uncle wanted to retire, I was interested in buying the business.”

The Hiranos wanted to keep the business in the family, but warned their then-27-year-old nephew of the hard work that lay ahead. The young entrepreneur was up for the challenge, and in 1984 he bought the family store and has successfully been running the business for the past 28 years.

“My family was definitely happy that I took over the business,” Inouye said. “My auntie went back to get her degree. It was a lifelong dream of hers to go to college, since she worked at the store for so many years.”

In her late 50s, Mrs. Hirano enrolled at the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo, majored in Japanese Studies and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. She is now a board member of the UH-Hilo Alumni and Friends Association.

While his aunt pursued her dream of continuing her education, Inouye pursued his dream of successfully managing his own business. His first step was to rejuvenate the look and production of the store. He got rid of old items that were not selling and brought in newer products, rearranged the store, installed new refrigerator units, started selling propane for the many local residents that live off the grid, and he upgraded the hot, prepared-food menu for easy pick-up by morning commuters driving into Hilo.

“I wanted to increase what we offered for hot breakfast and lunch plates,” said the owner/chef who, like his aunt before him, now gets into the store about 3:15 a.m. for a 5:45 a.m. opening.

“Menu items include hamburgers and French fries, daily specials like pork roast and beef stew, Spam musubi and breakfast sandwiches. Everything is made in-house.

I cook everything.”

The owner-turned-accomplished-chef has two food items that have earned him statewide praise: his homemade chili and his ‘ōhelo berry jam.

“Chili is definitely the specialty,” Inouye smiled, showing off his autographed photo of Hawai’i celebrity Chef Alan Wong

Contact writer Hadley Catalano: hadleycatalano@gmail.com

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complete with a penned message; ‘Best chili I ever tasted.’ “I can tell you exactly what is in it, but it’s the way you put it together that makes the difference.”

Hirano’s Kapu’e’uhi Brand Ohelo Berry Jam, too, is a rare treat.

The red berries, purchased from local pickers, are native to the Volcano area, and offer a uniquely flavored jam. Eric’s recipe is said to be one of the best, according to locals, mainlanders who have it shipped to them, and critics from publications such as Hana Hou magazine and the Honolulu Advertiser.

While good food will keep most people coming back, it’s the Hiranos’ and Inouye’s friendly attitude and personal touch that have helped the store reach 95 years in operation.

“I told Eric, ‘You don’t know what Auntie knows about what goes on in the forest,’” Shinae said about the store’s secret to success, and “never repeat what people tell you. You need to gain their trust, because without customers, no sense you be in business.’”

Taking care of their customers is what Shinae Hirano loved best, and misses. The work, she said, she doesn’t miss so much; it’s the customers and the interesting people she would meet (like Maria Shriver, Garry Moore, and Henry Kaiser, to name a few) that she would rather reminisce about.

Shinae and her nephew—to whom she is thankful for carrying on the family business—both possess the same lively energy. “He’s doing an excellent job. He’s got an outgoing personality and I’m so grateful to him,” said the grandmother of three.

The value of this almost-100year-old business rests entirely on the shoulders of the hardworking family members that have put their heart and soul into the timeless, but endangered, beast known as the “family business.”

While the oldEric Inouye, nephew of previous owners Wataru and Shinae Hirano, has run his timers come back family’s general store open in Glenwood and ask for Shinae since 1984, helping the store to and the new maintain a presence in the small, families express east-side community since 1917. their gratitude – Photo by Hadley Catalano that Hirano’s ideal location saves them a trip into town, the store itself holds more stories than meets the eye. It is because of the obstacles its owners have overcome and the true, entrepreneurial family spirit that have enabled Hirano Store to be filled with good food, stocked shelves, and to continue on as a true Hawai‘i Island legacy. ❖

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The Life AS ART

Afternoon Rays

F

❁Continued on page 40

Kawai Nui

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 39

rom the searing cauldron of Kīlauea Volcano to the cool surfing waves of Waipi‘o Valley and the breathtaking summits of Hualālai and Mauna Kea, he had space to stretch out and explore all the edges, opposites and contrasts of life. He took time to smell the woody scents of red, yellow and orange lehua blossoms, finding it thrilling to replicate nature’s creative genius.

He explored extremes of high and low, narrow and wide, light and dark, before coming home to find a true center, the perfect balance in the middle range between the extremes. He might enjoy free-diving to 60 ft. below sea level one day, then hike up to the high mountain range for hunting wild pig the next morning at dawn.

He still does. Hawai‘i Island artist Harry Wishard is fascinated by every atmosphere on these island microcosms.

“Locality most probably molds the type or style of art one does,” Wishard observes. “Mine is quite realistic, and people are often enamored by my attention to detail, but it’s more of a device to give a painting credibility, rather than what the piece is really about.” It’s only the doorway.

“Realism accommodates viewers,” he points out. “It helps them ‘enter’ a painting. Growing up here has given me the knowledge of how things are supposed to look so that they can be accurately depicted. Technique attaches someone to a piece, but it is not the purpose of the painting. What matters— the real message—is the feeling or emotion evoked.

“Emotion may be the wrong word but if you look at the painting and you feel its warmth and sticky salt spray on your face, it gives credibility; it’s easier for you to enter the painting.”

From his mountain ranch outside Waimea where he paints, Wishard can see the Kohala Coast, ‘Alenuihāhā Channel, and on clear days, the peaks and caldera of Maui’s Haleakalā Volcano.

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❁Continued from page 39 The vista is broad, spectacular and spine-tingling. In contrast, the painter’s studio is small, disciplined and tightly focused.

Pungent aromas of turpentine and linseed oil fill the air in the simple, 20 x 30 ft. wooden structure. Family and historical memorabilia—including an old black wall phone like the ones used in “ditch shacks” during Pāhala’s plantation era—embellish the paneling and shelves. This humble workspace, incredibly, gives birth to the glowing panoramas that Wishard paints with staggering delicacy.

He has 20 or 30 paintings in process at any given time, and he produces five paintings per month, down from his previous output of more than 70 paintings per year.

At 59, Harry still exudes the innocent wonder and enthusiasm that must have led his uncle, acclaimed 20th century artist Leo Lloyd Sexton, Jr., to take his nephew under his wing 50 years ago. Sexton, born in Hilo in 1912, was a second-generation Volcano School painter, whose floral paintings, landscapes and portraits earned him repeated exhibits at the Royal Academy in London and around the world.

“He got me all set up with my own little painting palette and brushes,” says Harry. “We had a little beach house in Puako, and he would come up there in summer. He used to let me sit behind him, and I’d be very quiet and I would copy whatever he did.”

Sexton showed Wishard everything he could about becoming an artist. In fact, it was Wishard’s sole, formal art education.

A portrait by Sexton of Harry Wishard’s grandfather, Leslie Wishard, hangs beside Harry as he draws at his easel on polyflax canvas with Prismacolor charcoal pencils, followed by layers of pulsating color laid down with Grumbacher oil paints.

“It was funny,” the artist recalls. “He (Sexton) would say things that I would only really remember years later. He would say, like when he noticed I was doing something a bit too much, ‘I have a friend who does landscapes and sometimes he tries to get too much into it.’ Well, he was telling me, but I didn’t really hear it for 20 or 30 years—I was the one trying to cram too much into it.”

Today, a feeling of spaciousness is one of the signature qualities that make a Harry Wishard work so enticing. Airy and open, yet full of painstaking nuances, the mists come alive and move in harmony with cascading waterfalls in “Misty Falls.” They appear to have actual light emanating from them, such as the light rays emerging from the naupaka greenery and the whitefringed tops of sapphire and teal-colored waves in “Seaside Ranch” and “Afternoon Rays.”

Like Caravaggio and Rembrandt, Wishard is a master of chiaroscuro, a Latin word literally meaning “light dark,” denoting the skillful balance of light and dark in a painting, with strong contrasts to create moving, dramatic effects.

Wishard knowledgably represents every facet of tropical flora, fauna, weather and topography as well as farming life with astounding detail because he’s familiar with it. Born on the verdant slopes of Mauna Loa into a sugar plantation environment in Ka’ū, his keen senses were kindled by the unique range of ecosystems assembled on Hawai‘i Island.

“It was a great way to grow up,” remarks Harry. “Being a haole born in the ‘50s is not exactly rare, but uncommon. I did not realize it at the time, but as I look back, I grew up in a rather unique situation. My family had been involved in the sugar cane business for generations.”

Every Day Gotta Move The Goat

❁Continued on page 42

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Sugar plantations, like the rest of 1950s-era Hawai‘i, were tight melting pots of Japanese, Chinese, Caucasian, Filipino and other cultures, drawing people from all over the world and every economic class. The diversity of Hawai‘i Island plant zones and climates—from skypiercing, snow-peaked mountains to humid rainforest and the waterdrenched coastal reef— inspired Harry with the need to express the full breadth and depth of the natural world.

Artist Harry Wishard, with his own After his family moved to goats, on his Waimea-area farm the mountain ranch outside – Photo by Marya Mann Waimea, he expanded his horizons and discovered new visions, new ways of seeing. It was a rainbow world of unexpected contrasts, outdoor work and play, free-diving, surfing, family and farming.

“I love being on the beach early in the morning,” he writes in his artist’s statement. “First light, the cool but not cold morning air, the crisp clarity of the morning sky and the water, gin-clear, not yet rippled by mid-morning thermals. It is a refreshing, rejuvenating feeling—peaceful. So when I want to paint this feeling, I start out with a beach. Now, this beach may be in my imagination, or may really exist, but either way I’ll create a credible scene. Either I’ll represent the beach with enough accuracy to make it recognizable or I’ll depict it with such foliage and geographical characteristics that it may actually exist; hidden somewhere.”

If accepted by the viewer, he adds, it gives them the sense that they are actually emotionally experiencing what they are looking at visually. “They are there. If they can really feel their feet in the water or hear the small waves lapping at the shore, then I have done my job.”

With titles like “Naulu Rain,” “Afternoon Rains,” “After the Rain,” and “After the Mauka Rain,” multiple paintings of light and moisture shining through white clouds, Wishard repeats the theme of rain’s beauty, harmony and balance like a mantra. The full range of moment-to-moment variations, feelings and energies make each painting unique.

Wishard creates atmospheric paintings that distill and express an array of the moods and mysteries of Hawai‘i. The titles of Wishard paintings ground the truth that where we are right now is stunningly beautiful. They capture a moment in time and nature, yielding visual contentment and a total harmony with life as it is. They document the natural, visible world through total attention to detail, and through such intense involvement with what we see, the subject’s invisible essence is revealed. We move through the visible to find the invisible, finding that inside all material substance, there is an invisible essence, the unseen spirit or energy behind it.

In Hawai‘i, it is said that the hidden meaning is revealed when a person is ready. The Hawaiian word kaona—seeing behind the appearance into the hidden or true essence of a thing, person or word—opens up the poetry of it.

Wishard’s vision for a creative work, he explains, can begin anywhere. “Here’s this painting I’m working on. I was looking at a National Geographic. It was about summer in Russia. It reminded me of the old days. You see all these yards are really nice in the photo. There is always some old person working in it—like in Hilo. Not so many people do it anymore, except in places like Hilo, so that’s what I am going to do with it.

“First, I sketch the house, which has a feeling. I am going to have an old man sitting over here by the river. They just come to you.

“I put in the house first and then figure out where the horizon is going to be and where the light source is. In this painting, I think it’s going to be the upper right. Then I start adding everything else. This is going to be all dark by the riverbank.”

Wishard holds up a canvas and shows how he darkens an entire ravine and waterfall before he unwinds the light hidden inside the dark. “I rough it in, get all the white out of it. And I do it at an in-between color. In oil you work from dark to light,” he explains. “So it just gets darker and darker and at one point, it’s black.”

Then he starts bringing out the light, uncovering the massive landforms and tiny canoes, calm bays and turbulent clouds. Out of the darkness, like Michelangelo unearthing the sculpture hidden inside the raw stone, a core of soft light emerges. In Hawaiian tradition, too, out of pō, darkness, comes creation.

“When you start bringing out the light, the more and more you bring it up, the more depth you get. There is a little book in my gallery because everybody is asking how I do it.

So we actually made a book of photos on the sequence.

It’s interesting.”

When asked if this technique is very interesting for a painter, Harry quips, “I don’t know because I never went to school.”

Four years ago, in the middle of financial difficulty and an economic decline, Wishard again did the unexpected: He

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opened his own gallery in Waimea, a challenging time to open a new business.

His wholesale business had declined to less than 10 percent of what it had been. So he turned to retail, leasing a building and stocking it with his paintings.

Wishard Gallery Director Nancy Kramer had a lot to do with the gallery’s success, he says. Nancy, in her typically modest way, says, “It’s not that I am that great; it’s just that I am real careful with money.” Paintings sell for $2,000 to $9,000 for the originals and the giclée prices run from $800 to $1,200, and sometimes more: they’ve had some requests for huge reproductions “because they blow up well,” says Nancy.

At last, Harry has been able to balance his creative output with sustainable income. They are putting the finishing touches on a new gallery in the Queen’s Marketplace at Waikoloa, scheduled to open in the first week of September.

His biggest challenges today: raising his two children, ranching, breeding livestock and opening the new gallery.

Oh, and painting lips. His Uncle Lloyd Sexton began focusing more intently on painting portraits midway through his career, and Wishard is trying his hand at that too. “The galleries are always wanting more. I can hardly keep up,” he says.

Really seeing a Wishard painting makes it easy to accept that there can be as much pleasure and delight as we look for at any given moment; if we are willing to shine some light on something or someone that we love, to attempt to see the inner kaona, the light inside will turn on and shine back on us, as well as on others.

“It’s a gift,” says Harry. “So I don’t know what I am doing a lot of times.”

On the day the somewhat reclusive Harry Wishard opened his studio to a guest—something he rarely does—the landscape

Misty Falls

around his ranch glimmered with sunshine, mirroring the message of Wishard’s paintings: light is being reborn in every leaf, along every curve and on every branch and flower. Among the pu’u and hilltops, purple morning glories danced around elephantine, prickly pear cactus on slopes that sweep from the sky down to the sea.

Downslope, a rainbow appeared. Hawaiians recognize different types of the phenomena we know as “rainbows” and have many words to describe them. Na po makole, for example, is a “night rainbow,” a circular rainbow only appearing on the night of the full moon, harmonizing all available light around a fully-developed consciousness.

Wishard is a painter whose work spans Hawai‘i Island, and beyond, like the rainbow. He paints the spirit rainbows that shine through the mists of cultures, seasons and climates, bringing the conflicting forces of nature together into a new unity.

In his spartan studio high on the rugged sea cliffs, in a hale on the pali of Kohala Mountain, Harry Wishard paints to give us glimpses of these luminous rainbows known to only a few—until now, when, through his paintings, this island light can be shared with everyone. ❖ Visit Wishard Gallery at Parker Ranch Center in Waimea. www.wishardgallery.com 808.887.2278

Waimea Morning

Resources: Leo Lloyd Sexton, Jr. References: www.isaacsartcenter.hpa.edu Forbes, David W., “Encounters with Paradise: Views of Hawai‘i and its People, 1778-1941,” Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1992, 213-265.

Yoshihara, Lisa A., Collective Visions, 1967-1997, Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, 1997, 39.

Contact the writer: Marya@LoomOfLove.com

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The Life OF THE LAND

Debbie Hecht, open space advocate and proponent of voter mandates for land preservation – Photo courtesy of Debbie Hecht

ebbie Hecht is not your typical sign-waving activist.

For the past eight years, since the Tucson, Arizona transplant relocated to the Big Island, Hecht has become the leading voice on what she considers to be one of the most important issues on the island: saving Hawai`i’s great places.

As a licensed real estate broker in Arizona, specializing in selling land and apartment buildings since 1981, Hecht earned her stripes through her mastery of her profession during her 35 years of field work and by helping to save the 880 acres of pristine desert critical habitat called Sweetwater Nature Preserve, part of Pima County parks. Hecht was president of Tucson Mountains Association, the group who led the preservation effort with the Trust for Public Lands and helped run the campaign for a $215 million bond election.

“When I got to Hawai`i in 2004, I got in touch with the Trust for Public Lands (TPL),” said Hecht, who is currently the District 8 Commissioner on the County of Hawai`i Public Access, Open Spaces, and National Resources Preservation Commission (PONC). “They told me to get in touch with Josh Stanbro.

When I met with Josh, I asked if there was anything I could do to help? He asked me if I wanted to run the petition initiative campaign to get the Open Space fund on the ballot.”

With her inherent commitment to the natural beauty and the preservation of open space, Hecht has made it her mission to work with island conservationists to improve the quality of life on Hawai`i Island through information, advocacy and legislation.

Even as a newcomer to the island, Hecht felt that her experience in real estate land sales, land conservation, working with community groups, and a determined attitude made her the ideal candidate to tackle land issue reform. She genuinely embodies and represents a quote from Margaret Mead: “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

“It’s much better to be proactive,” said the avid swimmer, snorkeler and hiker. “My motivation was my love of the outdoors. Hawai`i Island is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We need to save the great places for future generations.”

Shortly after her work with land conservation began, Hecht was knee-deep in running the petition initiative to set aside property taxes to purchase land.

“They wanted to do 1 percent, I said let’s do it at 2 percent,” said the real estate broker for Real Estate Equities. “Sammie Stanbro paid for an opinion poll to be done through TPL and they found that most people were interested in having 2 percent of taxes being set aside for open space.”

Only a year after settling on Hawaiian soil, Hecht was already actively working on its protection. A petition was soon drawn up and the tedious process of collecting signatures began. Through the help of individuals whom Hecht refers to as her “100 Angel List” of volunteers, they collected 9,600 registered voters’ signatures in support of the initiative.

However the County disqualified more than 6,000 signatures on technicalities, such as the word “Road” not being included on a street address.

Continued on page 46

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Voters Approved Land Preservation Fund

The committed activists were not disheartened; they brought the issue up before the county council, who voted to put the 2 Percent Land Fund initiative on the 2006 ballot.

The ordinance received 57 percent of voter support, and it was in effect for two years, bringing in $4 million dollars annually from property taxes. This helped the County of Hawai`i purchase (with the help of matching funds for some purchases from organizations such as NOAA, State Legacy Lands Fund, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, among others) the following properties: Waipi‘o Lookout, both parcels of Kāwā Bay (Ka’ū), Ka‘iholena North (Kohala), Pao’o (Kohala), and Kingman Trust Property (Kona) along Ali’i Drive.

Land Fund Put on the Shelf

However, during the first budget hearing in January of 2009 newly elected Mayor Billy Kenoi suspended the land fund for reasons related to balancing the budget.

“For two budget cycles (2009-2011), taxes were suspended from being deposited into the land fund,” Hecht explained, noting that the land fund lost out on $8 million dollars. “I sat in budget hearings every two weeks for four or five months, testifying, before I started to look into the budget. It turned out that there were 300 funded, but not filled, vacant jobs in the county. Around $14 million was padding the budget.

We were wasting so much of citizens’ and council members’ time to write emails and testify at council meetings to keep the 2 percent amount in the budget for land conservation.

We knew we needed a charter amendment, because a charter amendment can only be changed by a vote of the people and not the council or Mayor. This assures the people of Hawai`i that 2 percent of our property taxes will be deposited each year for use to obtain matching funds and we won’t have to watchdog the budget.”

Hecht wrote and submitted the amendment to the 2010 Charter Commission. It was then put on the ballot for only 1 percent and excluded some important, key measures, and again 57 percent of the voters approved the inclusion of the land fund. The annual deposits that will help the County acquire the additional properties that PONC has ranked as the top of their 2001-2012 list of recommendations including, among many others: Pohoiki Bay (Puna), Hāpu‘u to Kapanai‘a Cultural Corridor (North Kohala), Kahuku Coastal Property (Ka’ū), Mahukona Banyan’s Beach (Kona), Niuli’i (Kohala), and Maulua Gulch (Hāmākua).

Back on the Ballot Again

Money to the People

“That’s why the maintenance fund is so important,” she expounds. “These groups can apply for the funding to help with their project, maintain the trails, restore buildings. That’s taking money from the government and giving it to the people who are already on the ground, working hard and loving those places. That’s new and exciting to me. I’m really excited to empower our citizens who love these places.”

She continues on, describing the Ala Kahakai Trail, the 175-mile long Upolu Point to Volcanoes National Park route that the Hawaiians used to traverse the island. The groups

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“Here we are again,” a repetitious phrase Hecht’s become familiar with, in reference to the newest voter items, two amendments for land conservation on the November 2012 ballot. “Brenda Ford and I wrote up a 2-Percent Charter Amendment and an additional Charter Amendment for Maintenance Funds. Both amendments got through the county council and are on this year’s ballot.”

The new amendment on this year’s ballot, which Hecht is equally excited about, proposes a charter amendment that would establish a Maintenance Fund for properties purchased with 2-Percent Land Fund dollars. The drafting of the amendment by Hecht and Ford asks for a maintenance fund of $500,000, or ½-percent of property taxes, be set aside to maintain the properties purchased by the 2-Percent Land Fund.

“My favorite part of that charter amendment is that the grants can be applied for by community groups that care for the land. There are some great 501(c)(3) organizations that have been doing a remarkable job around the island,” said the activist, who touted Ka`ū non-profit Ka ‘Ohana O Honu‘apo and their executive director Lehua Lopez for the work they’ve put into Whittington Park/Honu‘apo. “They have gotten grants to restore watersheds, they clean up the whole park, totally weeded, cleaned up the bathrooms, they painted and they are working on Kāwā Bay, both pieces obtained by 2-Percent funds.”

The dedication Hecht has put into her conservationism is reflected in her support and “it takes an island” mantra of her fellow conservationists, including groups such as People’s Advocacy Trails Hawai`i (PATH) and Kohala organizations such as Kohala Historic and Cultural Preservation Group, Mālama Na Wahi Pana O Kohala, Maika`i Kamakani ‘O Kohala, and Kamakani ‘O Kohala ‘Ohana.

The new grandmother and outdoor enthusiast who claims hiking as her favorite pastime is especially excited about Ala Kahakai National Historical Trail.

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that work on the trail could apply for the money and uphold the surrounding properties. This idea has obviously spiraled for the nature enthusiast, who would like to see the obtained lands surrounding the trail become a “brown/blue” trail system, encouraging people to hike, kayak and canoe around the cultural sites, while stimulating the ecotourism industry and creating jobs. The “brown trail,” on the land, would run parallel to the Ala Kahakai, and the “blue trails” would follow the voyaging route of the sea.

“This is the kind of stuff that gets me excited,” Hecht said.

“I just really hope that people will vote for these charter amendments so that we save the places that make our island one of the most beautiful places in the world. If we don’t preserve these places, they are at risk of becoming part of big hotel complexes or expensive subdivisions; then residents have less access. I moved to Hawai`i because it is so beautiful. That’s what keeps people here and keeps people coming back here year after year.”

Hecht has found the balance between political and environmental activism, which includes being appointed by Mayor Kenoi in 2011 to the Open Space and Natural Resources Commission seat of PONC. Both forceful in her perseverance for her passion to improve quality of life and governmentally savvy, Hecht has taken her years of experience and applied her professional knowledge for land conservation. Not one to sit idly by, Hecht has worked with the island’s dedicated land conservationists to work towards a common goal fueled by the notion that her granddaughter and future generations will be able to enjoy the natural scenery of the island.

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“We’re better and stronger when everyone participates,” she stressed. “People have to go out and vote, spread the word and educate each other on the charter amendments. Things can only be changed by the people at the polls.”

Debbie Hecht is indeed one person making a difference. While the votes matter and the handing out of flyers and talking to council members makes a difference, it’s the small, personal mementos that keep Hecht fighting for her cause. The small stories, like the one of an elderly local man during the time when Hecht was collecting signatures for 2-Percent Land Fund.

“He came up to me and asked, ‘Missy, what is this for?’ and I explained it to him and he said, ‘Oh, I’ve never voted; I’ll sign that’,” explained Hecht about her delight to see that people were moved and motivated by the land conservation effort. “ I asked if he’s a registered voter and he said no and I handed him a voter registration form, and he looked down and I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, he can’t write and he can’t fill this out.’ So I said, ‘Can I fill this out for you?’ And his whole face lit up and shoulders relaxed, and I filled it out for him, showed him how to sign it, sent it in and it was so heartening to see. So exciting, that here’s somebody that had never been engaged in the American voting process and this got him so excited he promised that he was going to vote. To me, that’s exciting to empower people.” ❖

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The Life OF THE PEOPLE

Main house at Starseed Ranch, formerly owned by musician Kenny Loggins. Small living quarters and a large outdoor kitchen are connected by a covered walkway supported by ‘ōhi‘a beams. Distinctive building materials characterize the dwelling, including redwood from old water tanks and delicate ironwood roof shingles from Bali. – Photo by Dale Belvin

his is the rugged and windswept coastline where King Kamehameha I rested after warfare. This raw and scenic countryside is also old, depleted sugarcane land, devoid of nutrients, with elevated levels of arsenic and unfit for growing much of anything.

This area, Kauhola Point, or Lighthouse—nicknamed for the Kauhola Lighthouse demolished in 2009—was also part of the Union Mill Plantation Company, the largest sugarcane mill in Kohala. Between about 1915 and 1970, sugar plantations throughout the islands exhausted the land with rigorous methods of clearing, burning and widespread use of arsenicbased herbicides.

After sugar production ceased here in 1973, the land was leased for cattle grazing and horse pasture. Wood and metal structures still remain, along with remnants of a riding arena, pipe fencing and wood posts, which still help define the landscape.

Today, an era of rejuvenation is underway.

“We can see an amazing corridor of nature. But it’s so dry and arid we’re thinking about planting trees to bring back the weather,” says Jessica Wieloh, a former teacher and one of the caretakers for this parcel of Kauhola land. “We are always going to be open to what the land will dictate. The land will attract the people and animals that it needs. I already see that happening.”

Enter Andre and Jyoti Ulrych.

About 15 years ago, Andre and Jyoti bought 115 acres at Lighthouse, intending to retire there. They envisioned a sort of eco-village, a low-profile, sustainable community with mostly farm-type dwellings.

Continued on page 54

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A unique bench found on the property when they were clearing land. The Ulryches moved it into the house and treated it with varnish and new legs. - Photo by Cynthia Sweeney

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T

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In Kohala, however, the land inspires dreams and potential for a lot of things that could happen. And healing this land is a process that is going to take time.

Andre and Jyoti subsequently bought 26 acres just down the road, near Pololū Valley, which they call Starseed Ranch.

Meanwhile, Jyoti has turned the Lighthouse project into a 501c3 non-profit, the Kukuiwaluhi Foundation, and is leasing the land to “young people” as she calls them, like Jessica.

Andre and Jyoti bring a rich history to the Big Island.

In the 1980s, GMO (genetically modified) food was on the rise, with the giant conglomerate Monsanto spearheading the crusade. In response, Andre and Jyoti co-founded Seeds of Change, with the intent to educate the population and stop the use of genetically modified seeds. Seeds of Change grew into an international business, and Starmesa, their 230-acre organic farm with headquarters in Aspen, Colorado, was host to international conferences and events.

Andre on Mt. Everest - Photo courtesy of Andre and Jyoti

Andre was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying; “Ninety-nine percent of the seeds on the market today are not organic. Many of them are hybrids that are routinely coated with pesticides. However, a growing number of people are avoiding eating industrial agricultural products.”

During this time, Andre and Jyoti also provided education, food and jobs for the community at their organic farm in La Rivera, Baja, Mexico: Rancho Rasayana Rosanna Retreat.

Funding for this revolutionary cause came from Andre’s Bar, the happening place in Aspen in the 1970s and ‘80s. Andre designed and built the establishment, Jyoti added the funky décor. When it snowed, the huge skylights would open and people on the dance floor “went crazy.” And with expensive food and drinks, on any given night celebrities like Lucille Ball, Sylvester Stallone, Buddy Hacket and Barbi Benton would trip the light fantastic.

“That was another whole world. I stay in the moment, but it’s fun to see where we were at,” Jyoti says looking back with fondness, also noting that they actually led a healthy, active lifestyle while running a nightclub.

Eventually they sold the bar with the intention: “We have to help people not do that,” Jyoti said.

Andre was an organic foods expert and macrobiotic chef, and Starmesa provided education in organic farming, cooking, yoga and a healthy lifestyle. He also designed and built their dream house, using sacred geometry, golden mean proportions. The Magic Mushroom Home has been published in several books and this year was mentioned on CNN. The home utilized 200 tons of rock. Andre collected stones and recycled materials, and also did the finish work.

“It was in sync with who we are,” Jyoti said. “That’s why we had never bought a home that was already built. This place was round, a logarithmic spiral, and resonated with who we were.”

The intrepid couple also climbed Mount Everest, on a job with Mutual of Omaha, to produce adventure movies. While Jyoti was taking care of supplies and equipment, Andre climbed to 20,000 feet, stopping within just 1,500 feet of the summit. What Jyoti recalls most vividly is the frequent avalanches and the worry that Andre had been swallowed up by one.

It was another catastrophe that seized Andre, however. The tremors began after a blow to the head while on a trip to Japan, and the removal of dental amalgams by an inexperienced dentist. The diagnosis was Parkinson’s Disease.

In the beginning, the dopamine-enhancing drugs prescribed by his doctors worked to control the tremors. After a year, however, the drugs had to be taken more frequently and worked less effectively. They were also very hard on his body.

It took nearly a year to get safely off of the prescription drugs while Andre and Jyoti looked for an alternative. They tried stem cell treatments in Germany and Mexico, but the most effective remedy for Andre proved to be mucuna pruriens, or velvet bean. Mucuna is grown in tropical climates and is used in ayurvetic medicine to treat Parkinson’s.

“The doctors don’t believe in it, yet they don’t have anything for us and tell us to keep doing what we’re doing,” Jyoti says.

The key, says Jyoti, who at 69 paddles three times a week with the Kupuna Kawaihae canoe club, is to keep moving.

“It’s a lifestyle. Keep moving, find things you are interested in and don’t eat dead food (in packages). Eat fresh, live food. We only get one body in a lifetime.”

Jyoti (left) and Andre Ulrych, owners of Starseed Ranch, were proprietors of a popular Aspen, Colorado, nightclub, hosting movie and music superstars. Proponents of healthy living, they have climbed Mt. Everest, founded Seeds of Change and the Kukuiwaluhi Foundation and are supporters of other Kohala initiatives. Andre suffers from Parkinson’s Disease.

- Photo courtesy of Andre and Jyoti Ulrych

Starseed Ranch is completely off the grid, with perhaps the only privately powered micro hydro-electric and solar system on the island, fruit trees, vegetable gardens, sheep, goats, cows, chickens and an eccentric home that blends into the landscape.

Andre and Jyoti bought the ranch from singer-musician Kenny Loggins in 2003, who they knew from Aspen. In Hawai‘i, Loggins invited them to experiment with permaculture.

At 500-feet elevation, a stream runs through both sides of the property, a covered walkway supported by ‘ōhi‘a beams leads to small living quarters and a large outdoor kitchen.

“We’re outside all the time,” Jyoti notes.

Distinctive building materials characterize the dwelling, such as redwood from old water tanks and delicate ironwood roof shingles from Bali. They also grow building-grade bamboo.

The two primary purposes of the ranch, Jyoti stresses, are the lo‘i (taro paddies) currently in development, and recycling the

Jyoti, standing on the steps of the “men’s house” which was imported from Bali, where its purpose was for men’s gatherings and ritual. As it turns out, it is now used here by the Mankind Project for men to gather and support each other.

- Photo courtesy of Andre and Jyoti Ulrych

Contact writer Cynthia Sweeney: sweeneywrites@yahoo.com Contact Jyoti Ulrych: 808.889.1083

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 55

tail water from the hydroelectric system for irrigation.

“We’re not just sucking up energy here,” she states.

Jyoti and Andre’s vision for an eco-village at Lighthouse may be many years off.

Rejuvenating this land is a slow process beginning with beach cleanups, taking down old fences, and listening to the land. Jessica and company are rotating a small group of livestock animals to help take down invasive weeds, and are slowly planting native plant species to help add shade, condition the soil and produce green mulch. They are also experimenting with beneficial microbes and other organic solutions to add to the soils.

“The bigger calling is about repairing the land,” said Jessica. “It’s a huge movement in Kohala, and we are part of that larger picture. It’s a process that’s going to take time to heal the land, take down fencing, revitalize, rotate animals, and regenerate this resilient land.”

This movement to heal the land is attracting people and gaining momentum, attracting talented builders, farmers and grant writers who lend their skills, mostly in trade, and who are helping to propel the vision.

The Kohala community nonprofit Maika‘i Kamakani ‘O Kohala, Inc. recently purchased 27 acres of land next door, which will remain open space in perpetuity.

“We know we’re on a high-profile piece of land, with regards to neighbors, and under scrutiny (from the community) so we move in a cautious, pono way. There is a high bar to keep it low-profile,” Jessica said. “This is holy, very special sacred Kamehameha land. And I’m not hooky pooky at all, I’m elemental and very basic.”

Yet, she says, “There are rocks that might talk to you. There is history in this land and, as we step up as stewards, that’s a very big thing for us.” ❖

V o l ca n o ... where the lava glows VOLCANO ECO-ADVENTURES at Niaulani

RainForestGallery at Niaulani

at Niaulani

Hawai‘i Volcanoes Institute Inspirational Experiences Experiences in in the the Great Great Outdoors Outdoors Inspirational

RainForest Gallery

at Niaulani

WHERE PEOPLE, PEOPLE, ART ART AND AND NATURE NATURE MEET MEET WHERE

56 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

at Niaulani

at Niaulani

at Niaulani

in && around around the the national national park park in

Gallery

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unded In In part part by by the the h hawaI awaI‘I‘IttourIsm ourIsma authorIty uthorIty ffunded and the the c county ounty of of h hawaI awaI‘I‘I d department epartment of of r research esearch and and d development evelopment and

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volcano volcano photo photo: Images magesoffhawaII awaII.net net

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FIELD SEMINARS SEMINARS FIELD and and PRIVATE TOURS TOURS PRIVATE

This summer’s youth interns at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park in the division of interpretation. From left to right: Jasmine Kaho‘okaulana-Kaupe, Kaysee Buchanan, Rachel Gristock, Nicolyn Charlot, Charu Koszczymski, Bodhi Shartner, Tyler Atwood, Radhika Dockstader, Lucas Myhre, Julia Espaniola, Kelsey Harris and Deann Nishimura-Thornton. – HVNP photo

❁Continued on page 58

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 57

“I

training in the nuts and bolts of specific jobs within the park—from interpretation to fighting invasive species. always thought that geology was just historic The icing on the cake for the interns is an actual summer job things in the past,” muses Tyler Atwood. “But here the volcano at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. The youth get introduced changes every day. The entire elevation of where you stand to a possible career in conservation—one of the few fields that changes every day. They just paved Chain of Craters Road two is still growing in Hawai‘i’s current economy, notes Kūpono months ago. But the pavement is already cracked….”

McDaniel, supervisory ranger of interpretation, who runs the Something the youth may not have even pondered in the program. He also notes that interns learn basic organization, past, the sometimes-ephemeral nature of stone, is just one communication and “people” skills that can translate to other of the lessons that Atwood, a student at Ka‘ū High School, is fields as well. learning this summer. He’s in his second year as an intern in “We’re building the skill sets for our local people to be Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s Youth Internship Program. competitive,” maintains McDaniel. He notes that employers The National Park program itself is in its third year have told him, “Youthful now. Starting originally people coming into a job, with students from Ka‘ū, it’s they don’t look people expanded to take in kids from in the eyes when they Puna schools, as well, and has speak to them....” gotten some college students Kaysee Buchanan, a firstinvolved in working with the year intern, says she had that park staff to mentor the highproblem. “Before I was shy,” schoolers. With cooperation she says, “and now I’m more from schools in both districts, open to talk with strangers the teens in the program and share what I’ve learned.” participate in weekly, two-hour And by summer’s end, class sessions for six weeks.

McDaniel says, “I think that They learn biology, geology, they know they can do a job and native Hawaiian culture; well, and have that pride they’re exposed to scientific under their belts, so that they methods, learn first aid and can go out into the world and CPR, and get formal training in make a difference.” teamwork and communications Intern Kaysee Buchanan helps educate visitors at Many of the students also gain skills. Then they go to the National Kīlauea Visitor Center. – HVNP photo what Atwood calls “a newfound Park for two more weeks of on-site

58 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Summer Roper, a National Park Service archeologist, (left) works with interns Darien Gaurtan and Caitlin Moniz to perform a condition assessment update at a Kīlauea lithic workshop (the analysis of stone tools and artifacts). – HVNP photo

❁Continued from page 57 appreciation for my home”—and the lesson spreads. Like New Yorkers who never visit the Statue of Liberty, Atwood’s family, he says, felt that “There’s really no reason to visit the National Park. We live here. But you bring your family up, you bring your friends up here, and just in a day, they can see what you’ve done, and it changes their outlook of it too. They go from, ‘We don’t need to go to the National Park,’ to ‘This is a special place.’”

Buchanan spent her early years in California, where, she admits, “Nature was a trip to the beach.” She says the program has given her a stronger bond with her new home—not only with its nature, but with its native culture.

“Hawaiian culture has lasted so long,” she says. “I think it’s our duty to keep it alive.”

She notes that it’s not just friends and family who catch the interns’ enthusiasm. Tourists can catch it, too. “It’s amazing how, when you talk to someone and share the knowledge that you’ve learned in this program, it impacts them, and then they care how concerned you are about it. They can sense it, and then they care as well,” she says. “They’re also awed by the fact that we are young, and that we know all this. It helps them respect the ‘āina, the land, a little more, and some of them do take action and get involved in conservation work as volunteers…. They realize that maybe there’s hope for their own areas, and they can relate to it scientifically and culturally.”

The park, too, benefits from having the kids there. The perpetually undermanned and under-budgeted park staff

was boosted by 50 workers this summer, thanks to the intern program. And the interns aren’t just warm bodies; they have impressed the veteran rangers with their drive and élan.

“We had a meeting with people in the other divisions, and they were stunned at how really committed these students are to the park service through their six weeks in this pre-training,” says Ranger McDaniel.

When it first began, the interns worked mainly as interpretive rangers, guiding tourists and answering questions. But now they’ve expanded into other branches of the Park Service.

Atwood, for instance, has gotten involved in the battle with one of the park’s worst invaders: kāhili ginger, a beautiful, extremely fragrant, yellow-and-red flowering ginger that was originally a native of the Himalayas, but got its Hawaiian name because of the flowers’ resemblance to the feather-bedecked staffs that were carried as emblems of Hawaiian royalty. Like many of the island’s plant pests, kāhili ginger was originally brought to the island to grace local gardens. Unlike other gingers, however, it thrives in shade, allowing it to invade native rainforests. It’s a fierce competitor, crowding out native plants and covering the forest floor with a dense layer of six-foot-high plants that produce thousands of seeds and grow an under-layer of rhizomes (the root-like parts that, in edible ginger, are used in cooking, but are inedible in kāhili ginger) that can be three feet thick. Cut down the stalks, and the plants will come right back from the rhizomes, making them extremely tough to kill, as

many a Volcano Village resident can attest. But now Atwood knows how.

“We already took out five patches of ginger at least,” he says.

“We just kind of chop it down and leave about three inches sticking up so we know where it is, and then come back about a week later and poison it.”

Some teens even work in law enforcement. “Students in the Law Enforcement Division learn that communication is the best tool for law enforcement. Those other tools that hang on your belt are as last resorts,” says McDaniel. Then he adds, quickly, “But we don’t give students guns and Tasers.”

McDaniel says the Youth Internship Program got started with a grant from the National Park Service’s Youth-in-Parks Initiative, because the Park Service had “found that youth were not really connecting with the parks as much” as they had in the past. The internship program helps with the problem in at least two or three ways. First, the interns themselves get involved with the park. Second, they help other young visitors to connect.

“When people come into the visitor’s center, they naturally connect with the ranger who looks most like them,” observes McDaniel.

And the young rangers also give their older mentors insights into how kids think.

“Students are helping the park with digital media, making sure that it makes sense to them, and not just people that are already connected to the park service,” McDaniel says. “A lot of conservationists think that everyone thinks like us….”

The program’s success has garnered it additional monetary and in-kind support from a variety of sources, including the

Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Hawai‘i Pacific Parks Foundation. Ka‘ū’s Edmund C. Olson Trust donated a van to transport kids to class, and Ka‘ū and Pahoa High Schools have provided classroom space.

It’s a program that seems to leave just about everybody associated with it feeling good.

“For my own Intern Nicolyn Charlot shows visitors heart,” says how to make a nose flute during a McDaniel, “I wanted cultural program demonstration. kids to know that – HVNP photo there were jobs you could enjoy, be passionate about and go home at the end of the day feeling that you did some good for the planet.” ❖ Contact Kūpono McDaniel: Kupono_McDaniel@nps.gov Contact writer Alan McNarie: amcnarie@yahoo.com

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 59

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The Life

‘i‘i pōhaku – the name Hawaiians gave their petroglyphs – are found scattered throughout the island chain.

The largest, most concentrated fields of ancient rock carvings, however, are found here on Hawai‘i Island, where smooth, pahoehoe lava rock provided an ideal “canvas” on which to create k’i’i pōhaku over the massive lava flows, cliff faces and the smooth interiors of lava tubes and coastal caves.

One of the most accessible, viewer-friendly fields here, according to researcher and author, Ski Kwaiatkowski, is found surrounded by shopping center and condominium developments at Waikoloa Beach Resort on the island’s west coast.

While Kwaiatkowski, a native of O‘ahu of Hawaiian, Portuguese and Polish descent, has been studying petroglyphs for more than 40 years, he became a serious student of the Waikoloa petroglyph fields when he moved to Hawai‘i Island in the early 1980s.

“Early on I was lucky to talk with some old-time Hawaiians about the k‘i‘i pōhaku—kūpuna (elders) who are now longgone from this earth, whose stories fueled my interest in the subject,” he says.

By 1983, Kwaiatkowski was giving guided walks on the five-to six-acre Waikoloa field during “off-time” from his chiefof-security duties at the nearby Royal Waikoloan Resort (now the Marriott Waikoloa Beach Resort). In 1991, his book Na K‘i‘i Pōhaku: The Hawaiian Petroglyph Primer was published.

“It’s now out of print, but we’ve learned so much since it was published more than 20 years ago, I’m planning to update it

and come out with a second printing,” Kwaiatkowski says.

Among the most significant new findings— information that was not scientifically proven in 1991—is the age of the rock carvings found along the Ala Loa Trail (more commonly known as the King’s Trail) at Waikoloa. Using Carbon 14 dating, Researcher, educator and author, Professors Ron Dorn Ski Kwaiatkowski and Nicole Cerveny – Phhoto courtesy of Kwaiatkowski of Arizona State University’s Geology Department have determined the oldest petroglyph in the Waikoloa field was created in 840 AD and the most recent in 1900, according to Kwaiatkowski.

“I believe petroglyph-making remained active and widespread in the islands just prior to the arrival of Captain Cook.

For some unknown reason, after the arrival of Cook and all those other guys (early explorers), it died off relatively quickly,” he says. ❁Continued on page 62

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 61

K

OF THE LAND

In this paniolo petroglyph, made circa 1836, the rider is wearing a Mexican sombrero. “The white in the lines of the petroglyph is recently left over chalk from a thoughtless person who tried to get a rubbing of it, which is expressly forbidden. Little do they know that the chalk, when combined with carbon dioxide will actually produce acid effects on the rock. The reddish tinge around the petroglyph is from a long-ago individual who put red paint around the glyph and placed a piece of muslin on it to get an image,” says petroglyph researcher and docent Ski Kwaiatkowski. “This is why petroglyph concentrations in public areas need docents, not just benign neglect as a form of management. Locking people out is not an option, as it only gives rise to anger and resentment and possible damage to petroglyphs as a result. Education is the key, which is why I am only too willing to share what little I know from my research about Hawaiian petroglyphs.” – Photo by Kwiatkowski

Petroglyph field along a portion of the Ala Loa or King’s Trail at Waikoloa Beach Resort. The Waikoloa field may contain up to 10,000 petroglyphs, making it the most densely concentrated area on the island. – Photo by Kirk Lee Aeder

Mexican charros (cowboys) who were brought over to share their herding, rounding-up and roping skills with the native Hawaiians,” Kwaiatkowski says.

Respected cultural leader and kahu (shepherd or minister) Danny Akaka says each of the drawings found here are significant in their own way. “We can only speculate about the meaning of many of the petroglyphs.”

Although there has not been an official count, Kwaiatkowski and Akaka agree that the Waikoloa field may contain up to 10,000 petroglyphs, making it the most densely concentrated area on the island.

With Hawai‘i Island’s large landmass—most of it conducive to rock carving—one wonders why so much of it is petroglyphyfree while relatively small areas are densely covered?

“Hawaiian are very sensitive to places with high energy or areas with “power spots,” containing special mana (power)… this is where the highest concentration of k‘i‘i pōhaku are found,” Akaka says.

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❁Continued from page 61

What we do know, he said, through both scientific carbon dating and distinctive carving styles, is the progression of more and more sophisticated art forms, the earliest being linear stickman drawings, which then moved to a brief period of block-like, wide-bodied forms. Both of these styles, Kwaiatkowski says, are found used by ancient cultures worldwide. The most recent pre-contact drawings use triangular forms unique to the Hawaiian k‘i‘i pōhaku.

“Post-contact drawings are perhaps the easiest to recognize, since they often depict large sailing ships, muskets and cattle,” he says.

All of these forms—from most primitive to most recent— are found at the Waikoloa field, and among the most rare petroglyphs found here are a spiral (a symbol almost never found in Hawai‘i); an image of Lono, guardian of agriculture and the clouds; a feather cape, and a horse and rider (paniolo or Hawaiian cowboy) of distinctly Mexican nationality, as signaled by the sombrero atop his head!

“Between about the 1840s and These are columnar-form females, 1850s, Hawai‘i uncommon in the depiction of figures Island was in Hawaiian petroglyphs. The most being over-run common and oldest form is the linear, by wild cattle or stick image, and the most recent and most refined form is the triangular introduced by the body form.

Europeans and

This image started out as a linear form, and when it became popular to make triangular forms, a triangular body was added. This is born out in the “signature” of the maker, evident in the depth and width of cut of the original petroglyph, whereas the signature of the person adding on the triangular body is quite different.

Many of these areas of dense concentration, such as the Waikoloa field, are theme specific, he says. “For example, the nearby petroglyph field at Mauna Lani Resort is devoted primarily to rock drawings depicting procreation and ‘ohana (family) life, the most prominent feature of the Waikoloa field is birth and the piko (umbilical cord) ceremonies that were held here.”

Kwaiatkowski explains, the piko ceremony consisted of taking a remnant of the baby’s umbilical cord and placing it in a sacred hole at this site overnight to absorb the mana. “The family returned the next morning to retrieve the remnant.

There was a downside, however. If the remnant was missing, it was thought to have been taken by a rat (considered a thief by Hawaiians), and the characteristics of that unsavory character were absorbed instead.

“Fortunately the concept of hānai (adopted) children was common back in the day, and often families would give away a child—no questions asked—to a friend or relative to raise,” he says. This was often the fate of these so-called “rat children”— not such a bad fate at all!

This is a petroglyph of someone named “Tuelapa” done on March 24, 1860. The “Mal is a contraction for “Malaki” or “March.”

Today, docents are at the Waikoloa field site daily from about 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., spreading aloha and educating visitors about this powerful petroglyph site. To access the site, park at the east or mauka (towards the mountains) end of the Kings’ Shopping Center parking lot and follow the rock path behind the service station into the lava fields.

Some Viewing Tips and Warnings:

All petroglyph photos by Ski Kwiatkowski Contact writer Margaret Kearns: margaretekearns@gmail.com

PHOTO: Mary-Kay Cochrane

Susan J. Moss

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Kamuela, HI PH: 808-885-5587 www.trans-pacificdesign.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 63

For optimal viewing of the k’i’i pōhaku at Waikoloa Beach Resort—or any of the Hawaiian Islands’ sites—arrive just after dawn or just before dusk. The angle of the sun at these times best accentuates the carvings, making for better viewing and photography.

But remember, k’i’i pōhaku are cultural treasures that are many centuries old and extremely fragile. Take care to tread lightly around the fields The majority of petroglyphs at and do not step on ‘Anaeho’omalu are for the piko certhe petroglyphs. emony. They consist of circles and dots, Rubbings and open circles and dots, no dots with just castings of the a circle, a group of concentric circles or rock carvings are open circles. The dot, or puka, in the strictly forbidden. center indicates a first-born child. No To fully enjoy your dot indicates those after the first born. experience, be sure In this petroglyph it is for a first born boy and his siblings (concentric circles). to pack plenty of In this way many generations could cool drinking water recount their family genealogies just by and sunscreen— memorizing the locations and names of and don’t forget previous generations’ piko symbols. sunglasses, hat and sturdy walking shoes.

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64 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

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The Life AT HOME Julie Goettsch, in front of her custom-built home’s wall oforchids.

– Photo by Denise Laitinen

hen Julie Goettsch saw the orchid wall at the Kahala Resort on O‘ahu back in 1969 she vowed to herself that someday she would have a similar wall in her home. It took 40 years and a few detours, but Julie’s dream of an orchid wall finally came true in 2010 when her house in Hakalau was built entirely around orchids.

“The Kahala Resort—at that time, the Kahala Hilton—had an incredible orchid wall made out of lava rock, and I was just so taken with them,” she says. Goettsch first moved to Hawai‘i to work as a schoolteacher. “I just totally fell in love with orchids at the time,” she said.

Then she wound up moving to Colorado, where she worked as an educator and then as a project executive for IBM. “I took a little detour for 33 years,” she said with a chuckle. But her love of orchids and Hawai‘i remained. “In Colorado I tried to grow orchids. I grew them on a stepladder in my living room.

There was snow up to the windowsills and it would be seven degrees outside, but they were blooming away.

“I knew that when I retired I wanted to come back to Hawai‘i.

I chose Hilo and this area [Hakalau] because of the ease of growing orchids,” explained Goettsch. “When I built my house, I purposely designed the foyer to have an orchid wall like what I’d seen at the Kahala Resort. I built the orchid wall so that it’s the first thing people see when they come in.”

She didn’t stop there. Another “must-have” for Goettsch’s dream orchid house was to have a center courtyard for

❁

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 65

W

growing orchids. “I built the center garden so I that I could see orchids growing on the ferns from any room in the house,” she added. “The orchid wall and center courtyard were my two ‘gotta-haves’ when I was dreaming of this house.”

How does one go about building a house around a plant species?

“I had a couple of false starts finding builders,” said Goettsch.

Then a friend recommended Cheryl Green, owner of Hamakua Drafting, LLC and Green Construction, based in Honoka‘a.

Green is one of the few female building contractors on island, and she specializes in building environmentally friendly homes. Green was one of the first contractors on the island to be LEED certified (the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a national certification of the U.S. Green Building Council).

“I always love to support women in business any way I can,” Goettsch elaborated. “We sat down and talked about my ideas.

She impressed me right at the beginning by the quality of questions she was asking. Cheryl was able to take my ideas and translate them into how she would actually do it.”

A third-generation contractor, Green grew up in Connecticut and moved to northern California while in her early 20s.

She joined the San Francisco carpenters union and rose through the ranks to become a foreman on two major, high-rise projects. After a decade in the union, she got her contractor’s license in 1989 and started doing restoration of Victorian homes.

Continued on page 66

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“The floorboards of the sunroom are made from Trex decking made of recycled plastic,” added Goettsch.

The silestone material for the kitchen counters was selected based on the eco-friendly practices used to mine the material. “Silestone is one of the most environmentally friendly countertops available,” explains Green. She said she even used recycled wood from a previous project to make the bathroom vanities.

“We also tried to use local products wherever we could, in addition to recycled products,” explained Goettsch. “For instance all the flooring in the house is made out of ‘ōhi‘a wood, which was grown and milled on island.” Green noted that the ‘ōhi‘a trees were from cleared lots in lower Puna and the wood was milled in Kea‘au. “People didn’t want the wood—it would have gone to The corner bath features orchids both indoors and out, allowing a view through the spacious windows within the privacy fence enclosure. – Photo by Denise Laitinen waste if we hadn’t bought it.”

Green also pointed out that they used all local labor on the house-building project. “That’s a ❁Continued from page 65 really important thing, supplying our community with jobs,” Growing weary of city living, Green fell in love with the says Green. “It’s important to utilize people that live and Big Island on her first visit to Hawai‘i. She bought a piece of work here.” property during that trip, and before she moved here in 1994, Green said that, while the planning stage went pretty she received her Hawai‘i contractors license. smoothly, there were some issues in the construction phase of Green, who is a draftsperson in addition to a carpenter and the house. Green designed the house for Goettsch’s particular contractor, designed Goettsch’s house. “What makes [Julie’s] piece of property, which happens to have a steep slope. house “green” is the way it was designed—the air-flow and “Well, the challenges were the slope of the land,” said Green. the lighting,” explained the builder. She added that she gave “We didn’t want to disturb the slope of the land, so we had to careful thought to the positioning of the house. “I took into figure out how we could get the height that she has at the front consideration the wind, the way the sun rises and sets, and the of the house and still fall within the CC&Rs of the community.” way it [the sun] comes through the windows.”

Green met with members of the local homeowner’s “The house breathes,” said Green. “We don’t need air association and showed them in great detail that the slope conditioning because of the positioning of the house and of Goettsch’s roof was indeed no higher than that of her the windows. It’s about bringing the outdoors inside in a neighbor’s house. But, because they didn’t disturb the land, comfortable way” she added.

Goettsch’s house Because Goettsch had been thinking about her dream house actually looks for four decades, the design phase of the house was pretty easy. much higher.

“Julie’s plans were preliminary at the time,” explained Green.

The center “We basically took the dream that she had on paper and came orchid courtyard up with plans designed specifically for the house site,” she said. was the first part “We didn’t have very many problems because it was so well of the house that thought out ahead of time,” she commented. “We were able was built. Before to turn her plans out in three weeks. At that time the planning any framing took department was only taking one month to approve plans, so place, work crews basically it was three months from introduction to permit.” constructed a In addition to building the house around orchids, Goettsch 10-foot high had a few other ideas she wanted incorporated into the house. concrete box filled “I knew at the time that I wanted to use all solar,” explained with cinder. With Goettsch. “I also wanted the house to look like a representation the slope of the of the plantation community where I live.” land, the top of It was also important to both the homeowner and the builder the concrete box, to use recycled materials as much as possible. “Hardie plank which extends three Orchids etched into glass door panel. siding used on the exterior of the house contains recycled feet into the ground cellulose,” said Green.

- Photo by Denise Laitinen

Because the house is located on a steep slope, the center courtyard was constructed on a special foundation before the rest of the house was built around it. The ornamental boulders were also put in place at that time. A hallway surrounds the courtyard, and all the main rooms in the house have a view into its orchid-filled garden.

– Photo by Julie Goettsch Asian architectural piece from the

into the walls. For owner’s collection is built into wall. instance, the back – Photo by Denise Laitinen wall of the foyer rises in a triangular shape to accommodate a 250-year-old triangular-shaped artifact made of mica and teak that originally came from a temple in Thailand.

“Cheryl designed the foyer around the orchid wall, the temple piece, and inset niches for my artifacts from the South Pacific,” added Goettsch.

The house took about 14 months to build and was completed in August 2010. Goettsch, who currently serves as president of the Hilo Orchid Society, quickly set about decorating the house with even more orchids. “I always have orchids on display all over the house,” she said.

“The thing I like about orchids is that it’s kind of symbolic of life in a way.”

Pointing out that orchids live in 11 of the 13 climate zones in the world, Goettsch says of the delicate plants, “they adapt themselves to wherever they find themselves. It’s kind of like that with people.

“We have to find the best environment for us to grow and thrive.

We’ve all been in situations where we weren’t thriving, and we have to take ourselves and transplant ourselves to a better environment where we can thrive. That’s why orchids are so amazing to me.”

It’s clear both Goettsch and her orchid house have adapted well to their environment. ❖ Contact writer Denise Laitinen: wahineokekai@yahoo.com

Exterior view - Photo by Denise Laitinen

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 67

for stability, is actually ground level when you walk into the back of the house.

The courtyard garden was designed to have two large rocks in it, and the rocks were placed on the top of the concrete box before the house was built. Goettsch laughs as she recalls how she asked the excavator to find two pretty rocks for the courtyard. “He was this old, crusty guy. He said ‘what’s a pretty rock?’ We set those rocks in there before anything else was there.”

As if building a house around orchids weren’t enough of a challenge, Goettsch also wanted her home to reflect her love of Asian antiques. Green incorporated specific antiques into the design of the house while other pieces were built directly

68 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Wednesday & Friday:

North

Saturday & Tuesday: Hawi Farmers Market, North Kohala, across from Post Office and Nakahara Store, under the banyans (Saturdays 8 a.m.

– whenever everyone goes home; Tuesdays 2 – 6 p.m.)

Saturday: Waimea Town Market at Parker School, 65-1224 Lindsey Rd., Waimea/Kamuela.

8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Saturday: Honoka‘a Farmers Market, Mamane St., Honoka‘a, Honoka‘a Trading Co., Old Botelho Bldg.

7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Tuesday & Friday: Kekela Farms Organic Farmers Market, 64-604 Mana Rd., Waimea. 100% organic.

2 – 5 p.m.

Wednesday: Waimea Mid-Week Farmer’s Market at Pukalani Stables, site of the Paniolo Museum.

Local foods and local artists in a historic setting. Serves lunch or dinner. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Pukalani Road in Waimea.

Midweek Farmer’s Market, Anna Ranch, 65-1480 Kawaihae Rd., (nestled beneath Hoku‘ula, aka Buster Brown), Kamuela.

12:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Sunday: Laupāhoehoe Farmers Market.

Next to the Minit Stop on Hwy. 19.

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Sunday – Monday: Pana‘ewa Hawaiian Home Lands Farmers Market, Puainako and Ohuohu Streets

by Walmart, Hilo.

8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Thursday: Hilo Farmers Market, corner of Mamo and Kamehameha Ave., downtown Hilo.

7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Sunday: Akebono Farmers Market.

Luquin’s/Akebono Theater parking lot.

7 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sunday: Maku‘u Farmers Market, Kea‘au-Pahoa bypass road.

8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sunday & Thursday: Pepe‘ekeo Farmers Market.

Off Hwy. 19 on Ka‘akepa St. Produce and foods. Sundays dawn to 2 p.m.; Thursdays 2 p.m. – dusk.

Tuesday – Saturday: Kea‘au Village Market, 16-6550 Old Volcano Rd., Kea‘au.

7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturday: Kino‘ole Farmers Market.

Kino‘ole Shopping Plaza, 1990 Kino‘ole St., Hilo, 7 a.m. – noon Saturday: Keaukaha Pana‘ewa Farmers Market. Railroad Avenue, across from Home Depot, Hilo.

Homegrown produce offered by Hawaiian Homelands lessees.

7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Saturday: SPACE Farmers Market, Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education, 12-247 West Pohakupele Loop, Kalapana.

8 a.m. – noon Saturday: Hilo Coffee Mill, 17-995 Volcano Rd., Mountain View (on Hwy. 11 between the 12 and 13-mile markers).

8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Saturday & Wednesday: Hilo Farmers Market, corner of Mamo and Kamehameha Ave., downtown Hilo.

6 a.m. – 4 p.m.

South

Friday: Green Market, Ocean View Community Center, 92-8924 Leilani Circle, Ocean View.

2 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Saturday & Wednesday: Na‘ālehu Farmers Market, Ace Hardware lawn.

8 a.m. – noon

West

Saturday: Keauhou Farmers Market, Keauhou Shopping Center, Keauhou. 8 a.m. – noon SKEA Farmers Market Hōnaunau, Hwy. 11 between mile markers 104 & 105.

9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Saturday: Waikoloa Village Farmers Market, 68-3625 Paniolo Ave., Waikoloa Community Church parking lot across from Waikoloa Elementary School.

7:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Sunday: South Kona Green Market, Captain Cook, Kealakekua Ranch Center (behind ChoiceMart and Ace Hardware).

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Wednesday: Kings’ Shops Farmers Market, Waikoloa Beach Resort, Kohala Coast.

8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Wednesday: Ho‘oulu Community Farmers Market, Keauhou Beach Resort/Outrigger.

10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Wednesday-Sunday: Kona Farmers Market, corner of Ali‘i Drive and Hualālai Rd. 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Please send info on new markets or changes to sharon@keolamagazine.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 69

Saturday: Waimea Hawaiian Homestead Farmers Market, 64-759 Kahilu Rd., located at Kuhio Hale Bldg. (off of Mamalahoa Hwy., two miles east of Waimea town).

7 a.m. – noon

East

Uncle Robert’s Awa Bar and Farmers Market in Kalapana at the end of Kalapana-Kapoho Road (Route 137), next to Kalapana Village Café.

Locally grown produce, ono grinds, artisans, awa bar and live music.

Evenings 5 – 9 p.m.

Sunday: Volcano Farmers Market, Cooper Center, 1000 Wright Rd., Volcano Village.

6 a.m. – 9 a.m.

70 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Spotlight:

‘Ulu (Breadfruit) A

By Sonia Martinez

Contact writer Sonia Martinez: cubanwahine@hawaii.rr.com

Breadfruit Goes Bananas Custard

1-1/2 cups cooked breadfruit - mashed 1/2 cup apple bananas (about 2-3) - mashed 2/3 cup skim milk 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 5 Tablespoons brown sugar 3 beaten eggs yolks 2-3 Tablespoons chopped, toasted macadamia nuts (optional) 1/2 teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt or to taste Non-stick cooking spray 2-3 sliced apple bananas 1 Tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Preheat oven to 325 F. In medium bowl, stir together the mashed breadfruit and bananas.

Add milk and blend well. Add vanilla extract brown sugar, eggs, macadamia nuts, if using, and salt, mixing thoroughly.

Spray one-quart ramekin or baking dish with non-stick spray.

Pour mixture into dish and bake 40-45 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Meantime, peel and cut the two whole, fresh bananas into slices and dip into citrus juice or commercial fruit preservative. Set aside until needed. Decorate top of baked custard with banana slices and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Cut in wedges to serve.

Curried Breadfruit and Warabi Salad 1 medium green breadfruit – boiled whole 1 medium Maui onion – chopped 1 cup warabi *– blanched or steamed and cut 1/2 – 3/4 cup thick yogurt Hawaiian sea salt to taste Curry powder to taste Macadamia nuts – chopped and toasted

* Warabi or ho’i’o as they are known in Hawaiian, are a type of edible fern related to the fiddlehead fern and quite popular for use in salads in the islands. There will be more on warabi in a future issue of the magazine.

Cut and core the breadfruit after boiling. It is easier to cut breadfruit in chunks if you let it get cold in the refrigerator for several hours.

Snap ends of warabi as you would asparagus, cut in small bite-sized pieces and blanch or steam for 3-5 min., depending on quantity.

Chop and toast the macadamia nuts, watching them carefully as they can burn easily. Take off burner and place in a bowl when toasted to stop the cooking.

Mix sea salt and curry powder into the yogurt to desired taste. Add to the breadfruit chunks, chopped onion and cut warabi. Carefully enfold to mix well without tearing up the breadfruit. Sprinkle with the chopped and toasted macadamia nuts. Serve cold.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 71

ll things breadfruit will again be celebrated at the Second Annual Breadfruit Festival, on Saturday, September 29 [see calendar]. This gives me the opportunity to encourage everyone who hasn’t done so already to try this versatile fruit and the easy recipes here.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) or ‘ulu, as it is known in Hawai’i, has been a staple in the islands for over 2,000 years and was one of the “canoe plants” brought by the early Polynesian settlers to these shores. Of the hundreds of varieties of breadfruit known, the ones most seen in the islands are the so-called Hawaiian ‘ulu and the Samoan Ma’afala varieties.

The breadfruit is a fast growing and prolific fruit-producing tree, which can keep a family fed healthily and well for many generations. The trees will start producing within two to three years after planting and produce fruit for many decades.

Choosing a breadfruit can be a bit confusing, but remember that, even when selecting a green one, they will ripen in just a few days.

As long as it is firm with just a slight give, you can use a green one in savory dishes. The ripe ones will work for desserts and any dish where you don’t mind a slightly sweet taste.

I haven’t tasted one yet, but have been told that a small, immature green breadfruit will taste like an artichoke when cooked.

The starchy fruit—which is loaded with vitamin C—contains no fat, very few calories and is gluten-free; breadfruit also contains minerals such as potassium, iron, manganese, zinc, selenium and calcium.

The fruit’s sticky sap can gum up knives and any cooking surface, utensil or pot when cut or boiled, but hot water and a good scrubbing can get rid of it. I prefer to roast it whole, but some recipes do better when the fruit is boiled whole, then cut and steamed.

The fruit, either green or ripe, can be peeled, cored, easily frozen and stored for six months in freezer bags for times when it is not in season.

From appetizers, soups and salads to entrées, side dishes and desserts, breadfruit can be used in as many ways as your imagination or creativity can come up with ideas. It may be roasted, baked, fried or boiled and can be substituted for potatoes in any recipe that calls for the tubers.

Flour made from the dried breadfruit is richer and higher in nutrients and other amino acids than regular wheat flour and it is now being made in Haiti and Hawai’i.

Other uses for breadfruit and trees are wood from older trees for construction, livestock feed, medicine, glue from the sap, insect repellent and fabric in the form of tapa from the bark.

For more information on breadfruit, please refer to the JanuaryFebruary 2012 issue of Ke Ola magazine. For more information on breadfruit and recipes, visit the Breadfruit Institute website at ntbg.org/breadfruit.

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The Life

Uncle Rober

t Keli‘iho‘om

alu

After graduating Pahoa High School in 1958, Keli‘iho‘omalu joined the Army and was stationed overseas in Germany.

Four years later, when his tour of duty ended, he returned to Kalapana to care for his mother.

He returned to a changing Hawai‘i. The road to Pahoa had been paved. There were more cars on the road. Hawai‘i had become, officially, the 50th U.S. state. And life was changing for Uncle Robert, as well. Updated utilities were spreading across the island and the family bought a refrigerator.

The same year he was discharged from the Army, he married Philmen Tolentino, a Maui girl from Hana. A singer and songwriter, Philmen worked as a tutor at Pahoa Elementary School. Together they raised 11 children: eight boys (Robert Jr., Sam, Patrick, Primo, Paul, Prince, Phillip and Peter) and three girls (Patricia, Princess, and Lohelani Philmen).

With the exception of Robert Jr. and Sam, who was named after his grandfather, all of Uncle Robert’s sons’ names begin with the letter “p”. Uncle Robert says he named his son Primo because he ran out of names that began with the letter “p”.

Shortly after Primo was born he saw a can of Primo beer and decided that would be a pretty good boy’s name.

Just as Uncle Robert spent his youth singing with friends to pass the time, music was a natural part of his children’s lives.

❁Continued on page 74

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 73

Wednesday night crowd at Uncle Robert’s

OF THE PEOPLE

I

f you live in Puna, chances are you know where to find Uncle Robert’s. No need for directions—everyone knows that his family’s four-acre compound can be found at the end of Kapoho-Kalapana Road. The site of Uncle Robert’s Kava Bar, Kalapana Cultural Tours, and a popular farmers market (see sidebar), Uncle Robert’s is a well-known community gathering place.

And while just about everyone knows Uncle Robert’s name, fewer know the man himself. Family patriarch, Hawaiian sovereignty activist, former soldier, sustainable farmer and retired county employee, Robert Keli‘iho‘omalu is a man of great faith who embodies the spirit of aloha.

“Everything about Uncle Robert is about aloha,” says Garry Hoffeld, a retired building contractor who has lived in the area for 15 years. “He is definitely our biggest kupuna,” adds Hoffeld.

“There’s others, but he is definitely the most notable,” adds Garry’s wife Cyd. At 73, Robert Keli‘iho‘omalu has seen many changes in Kalapana. Born in 1939 to a Hawaiian father and Hawaiian/ Filipino mother, Robert’s family moved from Mokohulu (in lower Puna) to Kaimū in 1955.

“Growing up those days was real country,” says Uncle Robert.

His family raised pigs and grew their own vegetables. Known for being quiet and serene today, the Kalapana area was even quieter back then. “We hardly heard any cars passing by,” he says. “We saw maybe five or six cars a day.”

“We didn’t have electricity, we had kerosene lamps for lights,” he adds. No electricity also meant no refrigerator (or “icebox”).

“We ate dried fish and salted meat,” he says.

Uncle Robert points out that in those days the road from Kalapana to Pahoa was gravel, not the nice paved thoroughfare it is today. Going to the nearest school in Pahoa meant a ninemile ride each way on the rough, winding road.

“Those days our bus was a truck with chicken coop screening all the way around it,” says Uncle Robert. But far from seeing the long trek as a burden, he says he and his friends passed the time with music. “There was always a lot of music and singing on the bus. We would sing Hawaiian songs every day. We had a lot of fun.”

74 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

❁Continued from page 73 “Both my Mom and Dad were musical,” says Prince Keli‘iho‘omalu.

“We all had to sing as kids,” he adds chuckling. Indeed, the family includes several talented musicians and several of Uncle Robert’s sons and grandsons can be heard performing at the farmers market.

“The whole family is well known for their music,” says Hoffeld.

While music is important to Uncle Robert, he pursued A house painter by profession, Dave other career Cardall has recently started making choices. When he jewelry and selling it at Uncle Robert’s returned to Hawai‘i farmers market. in the early 1960s, he found work as a truck driver with Jas W. Glover. After five years with Glover, he spent another five years working for the County Parks and Recreation Department before transferring to Public Works, where he worked for another two decades.

But even the county bulldozers could not protect Kalapana from the onslaught of lava that devastated the community in 1990. Most of Kalapana and parts of Kaimū were overrun with lava. Uncle Robert’s home, however, was spared.

He recalls the fateful days when the lava flow steamed toward his house. “It was hard not knowing where the lava was going to go,” he says. A deeply religious man, Uncle Robert placed a scapular (a religious sacramental in the Catholic church often worn with a rosary) on the rock wall near the front of his house just before he evacuated his family to safety. After they were evacuated, Uncle Robert’s wife would come to the property on a daily basis to check the status of the lava flow while Uncle Robert was at work. One day he came to get her and found her standing in the yard in tears.

“The heat was so intense from here to there,” he says pointing to two spots only a few feet from each other.

She said to me, ‘The lava stopped right in front of me. I was praying and crying and the lava stopped and turned direction.’” Uncle Robert responded, “God has answered your prayer,” to which she replied ‘Thank God…it was a miracle.’”

Sure enough, the lava stopped short, just shy of his family’s home and turned direction heading toward the ocean. Twenty years later you can still see where the lava flow stopped and changed direction. (It’s on the makai side of the stage of the farmers market.)

❁Continued on page 76

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 75

Uncle Robert and the community as a whole was in for some tough times. Even as they dealt with the destruction, they had to deal with members of the public viewing the situation as a tourist attraction. “We had to put up with the public,” he recalls. “ ”A lot of people were trying to sneak in.”

Although his house was spared, the family spent the next couple of years living with his brother’s family in Mokohulu.

“It was about two-and-a-half to three years before they cleared the road and we could move home.” Many had no homes to return to.

A strong proponent of Hawaiian sovereignty, to this day Uncle Robert is critical of the response by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) to the devastation that many Hawaiians in Kalapana experienced. “OHA and DHHL—they didn’t help. They should have been in there helping, but we got nothing.”

After the family was able to move back into their home, Uncle Robert decided to open a small place near the front of his property that sold shave ice, soda, and other sundries.

He and one of his sons made a trail nearby to show people Hawaiian plants in the area. With the encouragement of a family friend, he decided to start selling kava and opened Uncle Robert’s Awa Bar. Originally open just on the weekends, another family friend offered to run the business on weekdays.

Over the years, the site has become a community gathering place, with different organizations holding everything from veterans’ events to political candidate forums.

“I think he really brings the community together and creates a real sense of family,” says Tracey Kauahi, a Kea‘au resident who, along with her husband Grant, recently held a fundraiser for the Kalapana Canoe Club at the farmers market.

“He’s Mr. Aloha,” adds her husband.

Today, Uncle Robert’s extended ‘ohana includes 33-grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Most of Uncle Robert’s grown children still live in Kalapana, as do 20 of his 33 grandchildren. In fact, about 30 extended family members live in multiple houses on the family compound.

The passage of time has continued to bring changes. Uncle Robert retired from working for the county of Hawai‘i, and in 1996 Philmen, his wife of more than 30 years, passed away.

This past February his son Patrick “Puna”, a well-known gifted musician, passed away.

But, as some things change, others remain the same.

Just as Uncle Robert’s parents grew their own food when he was a boy, generations later his family continues to live off the land. The property has an orange grove, a vegetable garden, fruit trees, multiple taro patches—it even houses an apiary and a chicken coop tended to by a family friend who sells honey and eggs at local farmers markets. Sustainable agriculture and buying local produce have come into vogue.

Creating a farmers market was a natural extension for Uncle Robert’s sons. In recent years his sons Prince, Primo, and Sam moved back to Kalapana. Sam had the idea for the farmers market and, given the family’s musical talent, wanted to also incorporate music. Last summer he got the project rolling when he set about building a stage. The year before, two of Uncle Robert’s grandsons started Kalapana Cultural Tours at the same location, offering bike, boat, fishing and hunting tours of the area.

76 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

❁Continued from page 75

Soon, brothers Prince and Primo joined in helping create the farmers market. Like everything at Uncle Robert’s, the effort to create the market was a communal one. His family is quick to point out that many friends donated materials for the market and that their kōkua (help) made everything possible.

“I’d like to thank all the people that put their hands together to help,” says Uncle Robert, noting that good family friends Tina Aiona serving corn chowder at Jay Luhan, Norman, Uncle Robert’s farmers market. Aiona and Tracy contributed is one of Uncle Robert’s nieces. their time and energy.

Grateful that his family is picking up where he left off, Uncle Robert prefers to spend his days in the background. But he is not spending his time alone; his fiancée, Koko Kawauchi, is often by his side. Originally from Japan, Koko says the two met three years ago at his house and a friendship ensued.

Looking to the future, Uncle Robert says he would like people in Kalapana (and beyond) to carry on the aloha spirit. He would like to see everyone band together and help each other, especially in these hard economic times.

And he wants people to know that Kalapana is still a place where the aloha spirit is strong. “There’s no pilikia (trouble), everyone is in harmony. There’s no division, with people looking down on each other, there’s no high or low. That’s the way I believe our Lord wants it to be.” ❖ Contact writer Denise Laitinen: wahineokekai@yahoo.com All photos by Denise Laitinen

J

Uncle Robert’s Farmers Market A Taste of Old Hawai‘i

udging from the size of the crowd, Uncle Robert’s Farmers Market is the worst kept secret in lower Puna. Held every Wednesday night from 5-9 p.m. at Uncle Robert’s in Kaimū, Kalapana, it’s the only nighttime farmers market on the island. It’s also one of the busiest. With vendors offering locally grown produce, baked goods, hand made jewelry, freshly cooked food, and live music, it feels more like a festival than a market.

“I don’t call it a farmers market, I call it a social market,” says Ikaika Marzo, one of Uncle Robert’s hānai grandchildren, as he looks across the crowd. Long, communal picnic tables in the dining pavilion are filled with people listening to the Kalapana Awa band perform and enjoying food from one of the many vendors at the market. A little girl is on the dance floor trying to dance hula to the music.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 77

Beyond the picnic tables, throngs of people can be seen strolling the aisles of the farmers market, admiring the produce and wares available.

“It’s a family place,” says Sam Keli‘iho‘omalu, one of Uncle Robert’s 11 children. “It’s a fun place.”

It’s reminiscent of old Hawai‘i, and that’s the way we like to keep it,” says Prince Keli‘iho‘omlau, another one of Uncle Robert’s sons. “It’s very local, very relaxed.”

Situated on Uncle Robert’s four-acre family compound at the end of Kapoho-Kalapana Road in Kaimū, the site was already home to Uncle Robert’s Awa Bar and the starting point for Kalapana Cultural Tours (operated by Marzo and Andrew Keli‘iho‘omalu, one of Uncle Robert’s grandsons) when Uncle Robert’s son Sam decided to establish the market.

The market is truly a family affair and many of Uncle Robert’s extended family can be found working either behind a booth counter, directing traffic and parking, or up on stage performing.

“The majority of people that come down here have jobs, so we decided to have the market at night,” adds Marzo.

Upon opening at the start of this year, the market was an instant success. Within six months there was a waiting list of vendors wanting to participate. Some of the vendors, like Tina Aiona, Colorful signs tell stories, are related to Uncle Robert (she is his niece), while many too, at Uncle Robert’s Farmers Market. others are area residents looking to supplement their income, or just make an income.

Vendor Dave Cardall says he’s a house painter by profession but work has been hard to come by with the recession, so he started a second career creating custom jewelry. The market gives him an opportunity to showcase his wares. “I’m reinventing myself,” he says with a smile.

“We’re pretty much making our own economy down here,” says Marzo.

The market is about more than food and music. It also features a permanent display depicting information on the history of the area with pictures from the 1990 lava flow.

There’s also extensive information displayed about the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, something dear to Uncle Robert Keli‘iho‘omalu’s heart and soul. “Everything about Uncle Robert is about sovereignty,” says Garry Hoffeld, the island-wide organizer for Moku o Keawe Reinstated Lawful Hawaiian Government. For visitors and recently arrived residents, the displays are their first, and sometimes only, exposure to these historical and political issues.

The market is also reflective of Uncle Robert’s strong spirit of aloha, attracting residents and visitors alike. “You see a lot of local people and a lot of visitors,” says Lisa Bowring of Aloha Exotics, who sells chocolate-covered chili peppers and strawberries. “It’s a very festive atmosphere.”

“It’s a mini ho’olaule‘a (festival) every Wednesday,” says Kea‘au resident Tracey Kauahi.

7th Annual Kahumoku ‘Ohana

Hawaiian Music and Lifestyle Workshop

78 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Five-time Grammy award winner, Keoki Kahumoku, shares his music and knowledge of the Hawaiian culture from the heart. His wish is to ho‘omau - or share the tradition - of Hawaiian slack-key guitar and ‘ukulele. “If each student takes what he learns and shares it with one other person, the music is perpetuated,” he says earnestly.

While music is the focus of the workshop, the Kahumoku family works to perpetuate other Hawaiian traditions as well. Each morning, students gather to practice a traditional chant, or oli, written specifically to honor this event. Meals introduce visitors to island fare with dishes like kalua pork, sashimi, poi, and laulau.

Other cultural opportunities include Hawaiian language, hula, lei making, lauhala weaving, and traditional food preparation. The event closes with a community concert and makahiki events.

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*Dennis Kamakahi *Brittni Paiva *George Kahumoku Jr.*Kanani Enos *Moses Kahumoku *Konabob Stoffer *Sonny Lim *Ka’iwi Perkins *John & Hope Keawe *Jessie Ke *James Hill *Darci Baker *Anne Davison *Andy Andrews *Keoki Kahumoku *Pua Medina *Herb Ohta Jr. **and more**

November 3-11, 2012 Pahala Plantation House, Ka’u

For more information or to register, please visit http://www.konaweb.com/keoki or contact Tiffany Crosson at (808) 938-6582 tiffanyfreedom@gmail.com

IN MUSIC

The Life Singer/musician Carly Smith is weaving a connection between traditional Hawaiian music and paniolo (country) music.

C

❁Continued on page 80

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 79

arly Smith has music in her blood, and music IS her lifeblood—it’s what makes her tick. “Music is medicine to me. It’s part of every aspect of my life,” she says.

Carly hails from a family that includes professional bluegrass musicians on her father’s side: her grandfather, father, uncles and aunts. On her mother’s side, she is related to the inimitable Cruz family, whose most public members include Nā Hōkū Hanohano and Grammy award-winner John Cruz; Ernie Cruz, Sr., the original “Waimea Cowboy,” who had a string of local hits in the ‘70s; and Ernie Cruz, Jr., widely known for his participation in the popular band, Ka‘au Crater Boys.

Bluegrass and country music resonate with Carly most of all. “Lyrically, country and bluegrass are honest and pure,” she says.

“The music tells a story; it’s not so much about radio play and popularity.”

One of the first things that you notice about Carly—besides her sweet, dimpled smile and the tasteful pattern of musical notes tattooed on her neck and shin—is her humility. While I was doing research on Carly for this article, I watched a couple of videos of her playing with the local group, The Girlas, a very successful band in which she played from 2005 to 2009. In these two videos—one of a TV appearance and the other a club gig—two things stood out for me: first, that she was so focused on the music pouring out of her that the audience might as well have been non-existent. Second, that even though her focus was purely on the blend of the group and the delivery of the song, in spite of herself, she was the true “star” of the band. Her talent shone like a beacon. She can’t help it; that’s just the way it is.

Some people are lucky enough to have been given a musical gift like Carly has. Not everyone, however, has the same attitude toward it. “My dad used to tell me over

❁Continued from page 79

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and over, ‘It doesn’t matter how good a musician you are; if you’re not a nice person, NO ONE will listen to your music.’ You know how it is,” she continues. “You just love someone’s music, then you hear or see something about their behavior that just turns you off, and you say to yourself, ‘I don’t like their music!’”

Keeping her business relationships professional and positive is always foremost in her mind, “because it really comes back to you,” she says.

Carly’s positive attitude toward people and aversion to “burning bridges” has resulted in many rewarding associations and sometimes surprising opportunities. One of the most recent examples of this good fortune was when Carly was put on the lineup of the 2012 Waiki‘i Music Festival by music promoter Tim Bostock. “I still don’t even know how that happened,” she says. “I saw my name on a poster for the festival before he even called me!” It was a coveted spot, especially because this year was the first time the popular music event, traditionally held every Father’s Day weekend at Waiki‘i Ranch on Saddle Rd., had taken place in seven years. She followed the dynamic Hawaiian musician Willie K on the bill and received such good response from both the crowd and Willie K that the performance may lead to a future musical collaboration between the two.

Carly was born in 1984 in Turlock, California. Her father toured as a bluegrass musician all over Northern California with a group called CS Express. He started his kids on musical instruments when they were very young, and Carly won a fiddling contest when she was 6. “It really made my other two sisters mad,” she says. “They said, ‘You don’t even play fiddle!’”

(As I said earlier, folks, she can’t help it.) The girls performed at

county fairs and bluegrass festivals with their dad, appearing as Charlie Smith and the Smith Girls. When she was 12 years old, the Smith Girls opened for the famous bluegrass group, Allison Krauss and Union Station.

Her dad had to be convinced to let Carly play guitar; he didn’t think it was “ladylike” for girls to play that instrument. “I wanted to play guitar like he did; I didn’t want to play fiddle like my sisters,” she says. “So when I was 5, I started playing guitar, but my dad would only let me play rhythm guitar in the band. One day, when I was 16, we were jammin’ and I kept asking him, ‘C’mon, Dad, let me have a lead!,’ but he wouldn’t. Finally, he said, ‘Okay, let’s see what you can do.’ But it was more like he meant, ‘Go ahead. Let’s see you fall on your face!’ I played a riff, and he just kind of sighed and said, ‘Okay,’ like he was finally giving up that battle,” Carly laughs.

She now plays guitar, bass guitar (“Uncle Ernie, Sr., always makes me play bass for him when he performs on the Big Island—of course, I know all his songs!”), dobro, mandolin and ‘ukulele. She is a very talented singer and songwriter, with a beautiful voice that instantly commands attention.

When she was 16, Carly traveled to a bluegrass camp in Alaska, where she taught guitar to kids and mingled with the excellent bluegrass group, Bearfoot. She was surprised and delighted to hear that some of the Bearfoot band members come to Hawai’i island twice a year to teach at Keoki Kahumoku’s Aloha Bluegrass Camp. When she was 19, Carly’s cousin Tiffany Cruz enticed her to move to O’ahu, and Carly bought a one-way ticket to “Paradise”.

Soon after Carly arrived on O‘ahu, Tiffany introduced her to some of her talented musician friends, and shortly after that,

Cousins John Cruz, Carly, and Connie Cruz, with Ernie Cruz, Sr., at Waiki’i Music Festival

Carly joined the band, The Girlas, a collective of six young female singer/songwriters. The group got big, to the point of touring the West Coast, playing for huge names like Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson. They had recorded an album, recorded tracks on two island music compilations and were in the middle of recording a second album of their own when the band dissolved. “I am so grateful, really,” Carly says, taking a positive approach to that event as she is wont to do. “It was the perfect time for me to be able to get to the Big Island and back to my country roots. The Girlas were playing more of a pop/rock style, and it was hard being on O‘ahu.”

Kelli Heath from the band is still her best friend and ended up marrying Carly’s cousin, David Cruz.

Carly is very happy and excited to be starting a new chapter of her own life: she is marrying her fiancé, Derek Kenison, in October. Derek is very supportive of Carly’s music and says he wants to help her to be able to quit her full time “day job” as a manager of Crazy Shirts when they are married so she can focus entirely on her music and recording career.

Carly has begun recording a solo album on O‘ahu at the private studio of Imua Garza, a music producer and musician who was a member of the very popular local band, Opihi Pickers. The album is due out in late 2013.

When asked about her vision for her music career, Carly said, “I want to get an album out that will make the people of Hawai’i realize what the connection is between traditional Hawaiian music and paniolo (country) music—that it’s a true art form. I don’t sing songs in Hawaiian, but I do feel that my country music has an island flavor to it. I think that the “old”

country music, before it got commercialized, was very similar to traditional Hawaiian music in a lot of ways.”

“It’s so sad,” Carly says. “I was watching the Nā Hōkūs (the annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano music awards celebration) last night, and there was no category for country/paniolo music!

There’s rap; there’s even Latin...but no country/paniolo music?

It’s such a large part of Hawaiian culture, it seems to me. That situation needs to be changed.” She gives me a dimpled smile, and says emphatically, “Let’s change it!”

Carly performs at the Hilton Waikoloa Village’s Malolo Lounge on Thursday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. Perhaps surprisingly to some people, the hotel requested that she emphasize country music at her gig there. She also plays at various Kohala Coast, Waimea and Kona venues, performing a wide range of music, including many of her originals, and covers of some of the songs made famous by her Cruz family members. Sometimes she and Grammy-winner/guitarist Charles Brotman present gigs together in Kohala. Carly also has a steady stream of jobs playing for weddings, baby lū‘au and special events on this and other islands. ❖ Contact writer Shirley Stoffer: Shirley@konaweb.com Photos courtesy of Carly Smith Email Carly at carlysmithmusic@gmail.com Sample Carly’s music at www.myspace.com/carlysmith

GALLERIES

Original Art by Local Artists

Oil by Marilyn Koschella

Watercolor by Stefanie Culbertson

Photography by Cynthia Hankins

celebrating over 25 years Alii Sunset Plaza Gallery

Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort Gallery

Hawaii 96740 ♦ 808-329-6653 78-6740 Alii Dr. ♦ Kailua-Kona open daily from 10 am - 9 pm Hawaii 96740 ♦ 808-324-7060 kailuavillageartists.com open Tues - Sun 9:30 am - 5:30 pm

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 81

Kailua Village Artists

Hand-Blown Glass Art

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“B

ecause we are in Hawai‘i, we want our glass to reflect the environment around us. The essences of the volcanoes, ocean, clouds, plant life, all show up in our glass,” says Hugh Jenkins, who, along with his wife, Stephanie Ross, own and operate Big Island Glass and Art Gallery in Honoka‘a.

The two artists, both former teachers on O‘ahu, moved to the Big Island to create their own art.

They opened their studio in Hāmākua in 2001, and in 2004 opened the gallery to show their work.

“Our glass is created right here on the island and is the collaboration of both of us,” says Jenkins.

“Stephanie creates the complex colors and I realize the shapes. We do not create using a team of workers or outsource our work. It is just the two of us.”

Over many years of experience, the glass artisans have perfected their craft until the pieces they produce are both functional and gorgeous.

“Our glass melting formula and colors are imported from mainland suppliers. The sources of high quality glass colors are mainly in Germany and New Zealand,” says Jenkins. “We have a mixed market in that we make some utilitarian glass for home use, some decorative work such as lighting, and some high-end gallery work aimed at the art collecting buyer.”

Because of the extremely high temperatures required to melt and work with glass, a propane gas kiln is used. “Energy costs have been a constant challenge. This has led me to inventing special heat recovery systems to lower our fuel use, and to the development of a burner system that uses reclaimed vegetable oil as our main heating fuel. Both of these have been unique to our glass shop,” Jenkins says. [See Ke Ola magazine story on Hugh Jenkin’s vegetable oil kiln, March/April 2010] “We have had to become true leaders in energy conservation to survive as glass artists.”

Hugh Jenkins and Stephanie Ross create decorative and functional, handblown glass with designs and colors that reflect Hawai‘i’s environment.

The couple recently moved the Honoka‘a gallery to a larger space on Mamane Street. Their glass pieces may also be found at Volcano Art Gallery in Volcanoes National Park, Pura Vida in Kapa’au and Wishard Gallery and Isaacs Art Gallery in Kamuela.

Address: 45-3626 B Mamane St., Honoka’a, Phone: 808.775.7715 or 775.1167 Email: hujenkins@hawaiiantel.net Website: bigislandglass.com

Mountain Apple Brand Beef Portuguese Sausage

H

awai’i Island grass fed beef is the main ingredient in this locally manufactured sausage that is produced with natural smoke flavor and contains no added hormones, is antibiotic-free and contains no MSG. Kulana Foods, a meat producer based in Hilo, is the manufacturer of this Portuguese sausage that’s frozen fresh and sold under the Mountain Apple Brand by KTA Super Stores.

“Mountain Apple Brand provides an outlet for local farmers and small businesses to help ensure the sustainability of Hawai‘i and the future of the local farmers and ranchers,” says Derek Kurisu, executive vice president of KTA and the creator of Mountain Apple Brand products.

The special spices like garlic, paprika and chili pepper characterize Portuguese sausage, which is typically packaged in a horseshoe shape. The ingredients in this Mountain Apple Brand sausage, made

by Kulana Foods, are Hawai’i Island grass fed beef, water, nonfat dry milk, salt, natural smoke flavor, vinegar, sugar, garlic, paprika, sodium nitrite and chili pepper.

It’s great cooked on the barbecue grill or in a pan and served with rice and beans in a traditional Portuguese meal.

Website: ktasuperstores.com Derek Kurisu, executive vice president of KTA Super Stores, (left) and Brady Yagi, president of Kulana Foods

If you have a locally-made product—an Island Treasure— that you would like to see featured here, please email barb@keolamagazine.com or call 808.345.2017 .

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Kulana Foods (formerly Standard Market) has been in business in Hilo since 1939.

Its president is BradyYagi, whose grandfather, James S. Yagi, started the market. The business works with ranchers and farmers, both large and small, to process beef, pork and lamb that is sold to supermarkets and restaurants, most of it on the Big Island. The meat company also makes laulau, kalua pork and kalua turkey to be sold under the Mountain Apple Brand label.

“When hard times befell Hawai‘i after the demise of the sugar industry, the late Tony Taniguchi, then President of KTA Super Stores had the foresight to consider how KTA could help the local economy,” says Kurisu. “The Mountain Apple Brand, named after one of Hawai‘i’s canoe plants brought here by the ancient Polynesians, was created to market food products grown, processed or manufactured in Hawai‘i.

These products are priced competitively and their standards for quality are exceedingly high. KTA recognizes that Hawai‘i shoppers will embrace these products if the quality, availability and price compare favorably to established mainland known brands.”

KTA offers a wide range of other Mountain Apple Brand products including eggs, milk, fresh produce and other varieties of meats from Kulana Foods.

Mountain Apple Brand Beef Portuguese Sausage is sold exclusively at all KTA Super Stores, found in the freezer case.

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Keauhou Shopping Center

“Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”

– Khalil Gibran Pick up any issue of Ke Ola and measure it to what Gibran presents– does it include love?

The answer is a resounding “YES!” You could take any section and exchange “The Life of...” with “The Love of...” and it would still be true.

I’m Ed Gibson - West Hawaii’s Advertising Manager. I’m happy my job passes Khalil’s test, too. My job, as the publisher phrases it, is to “spread some love”, while also helping businesses grow. Ke Ola is “blossoms and fruit” through and through and I love representing Ke Ola Magazine.

Dear Business Owner, please join our Ke Ola advertising ‘ohana by giving me a call. I look forward to helping your business thrive!

Ed Gibson West Hawai‘i Advertising Account Manager Office: 808-329-1711 x 5 Cell: 808-987-8032 Ed@KeOlaAds.com KeOlaAds.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 85

Dear Reader, I encourage you… please show Ke Ola advertisers “some love” and also tell them you saw their ad in Ke Ola. It’s because of them that you’re able to pick up a free copy at over 300 locations!

September-October 2012 ❖ C A L E N D A R ❖

SEPTEMBER 38th Annual Parker Ranch Round-up Club Rodeo Saturday–Sunday, Sept. 1–2 Waimea Weekend fundraiser to provide scholarships for school-age children of Parker Ranch employees. Family-style fun includes team roping, bull riding, barrel racing and more. Horse auction Sept. 2 at 10 a.m. All the fun is at the Parker Ranch Rodeo Arena on Hwy. 190, noon to sunset both days. Pre-sale tickets $5 at Parker Ranch Store, $6 at the gate, 10 and under free! 808.885.7311 or visit parkerranch.com.

Queen Lili‘uokalani Canoe Races Saturday–Monday, Sept. 1–3 Kona Coast [See Spotlight] Held on the Kona Coast, three days of paddling attract dozens of canoe hālau (clubs) and hundreds of paddlers from Hawai‘i and beyond.

Competition features single hull, double hull and individual races along with a torchlight parade, dance and lū‘au awards ceremony. 808.334.9481 or visit kaiopua.org.

“The Odd Couple” Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 1–22 Hilo Playwright Neil Simon’s biggest comedy hit at East Hawai‘i Cultural Center with

director Arval Shipley, who has successfully directed the play many times at his theater in Southern California. 7 p.m., tickets $12 general; students/seniors $10. Call 808.961.5711 or 808.935.9085.

Online at ehcc.org

Sensei & Sensibilities: Art Exhibit Saturday, Sept.1–Oct. 13 Holualoa The Donkey Mill Art Center is excited to present the Third Annual Sensei & Sensibilities exhibition showcasing the fine artwork of our teaching artists along side the art of their students. The public is invited to an artist reception on Thursday, Sept. 6th. There will be a silent auction held during the reception.

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Spotlight:

Kona-Style Slack Key Guitar Festival Sunday, Sept. 2 Keauhou Hawai‘i’s trademark method of tuning and playing guitar—“slack-key”—is showcased at this free music festival.

More than 15 of the best slack-key artists from Hawai‘i and the Big Island perform authentic Hawaiian music—an event not to miss! Food and drink available for purchase, no outside food/beverages allowed. Noon–5 p.m. Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa. 808.226.2697 or visit slackkeyfestival.com.

UpCountry Faire

2012 Queen Lili‘uokalani Long-Distance Outrigger Canoe Races

Saturday–Monday, Sept. 1–3 Kona Coast The 41st Annual Queen Lili’uokalani Long Distance Outrigger Canoe Races are a major feature of Labor Day holiday weekend, September 1-3, 2012. The world’s largest long distance canoe race is organized and hosted by Kai Opua Canoe Club, started 1929 in Kona. Named in honor of the last reigning monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili’uokalani, whose birthday was September 2, the races attract more than 300 six-person crews, including international crews from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Tahiti and United Kingdom.

For detailed race information, course maps or to register online, log onto www.kaiopua.org

Proceeds will support our programs and help keep tuition affordable. The intention of Sensei & Sensibilities is to bring attention to the extraordinary art being created in our community, as well as to inspire more people to create art. Come see the exceptional artwork of our teaching artists and their students! Exhibit hours 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (Tues.–Sun.) Free.

For more information call 808.322.3362, email DonkeyMill@gmail.com or visit DonkeyMillArtCenter.org.

Schedule: Saturday: Wa’a Kaukahi (single hull canoes) The women start this event paddling 18 miles from Kailua Bay to Honaunau.

The men then bring it back 18 miles to Kailua Bay. Torch Light Parade through historic Kailua village starting at dusk.

Sunday: Wa’a Kaulua (double hull canoes) Two single-hull canoes are tied together to make the double hulls; the course is six miles round trip, Kailua Bay south to Lyman’s. Women’s and mixed teams.

OC1 (one person) and OC2 Races (two person) Same course as the double-hull canoes.

Stand-up Paddleboards Course goes south to Casa de Emdeko,

turn there and return to Kailua Bay. Teen Three keiki divisions (OC-6 - 6 person crews): 16 and under, 18 and under and mixed, 18 and under. The young people paddling this race follow the same course as the double hull canoes.

Queen Lili’uokalani Awards Ceremonies and traditional Hawaiian Luau.

Monday: Ali’i Challenge (single hull canoes 12 person crew) The second year for the Ali’i Challenge, a blend of Survivor and Amazing Race, that includes a triangular paddling course with a distance of almost 17.5 miles, followed by each crew of 12 negotiating a land course with clues and cultural/historic features. The course runs between Kailua Pier and Honokohau Harbor.

Photo courtesy of Kai ‘Ōpua Canoe Club

Monday, Sept. 3 Kealakekua Games and prizes, pony rides, ono grinds, keiki ID, face painting, petting zoo, magic, Tupperware, goldfish game, children’s puppets and coloring, animal balloons, rummage sale, Sugar Shack, palm reading, massage—just good fun! 9 a.m.–2 p.m. at Queen Emma Community Center at Christ Church, 81-1004 Konawaena School Rd. Purchase scrip for play or purchase goods. 808.323.3429 or email bjkoala@pendragonhawaii.com.

Words and Wine Event Tuesday, Sept. 4 (to be confirmed) Keauhou Kona Stories bookstore in the Keauhou Shopping Center hosts a local author reception with free wine and pupu the first Tuesday of each month. Best-selling Hawaiian author Kiana Davenport is featured author, event begins at 6 p.m. with a 30-minute presentation followed by book signing. Wine and light pupus are served. 808.324.0350 or konastories.com.

❖ C A L E N D A R ❖ Paradise Studio Tour Artists Collective

Kindy Sproat Falsetto and Storytelling Contest

Sept. 7–27 Hilo The Wailoa Arts & Cultural Center will host a multi-media exhibit featuring paintings, pottery, glass, wood, fiber art & jewelry made by East Hawai‘i artists.

The opening reception is Saturday Sept. 7 from 5–7 p.m. Free admission. Monday, Tuedsay, Thursday, Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Wednesday 12–4:30 p.m. Contact Patti Pease Johnson 808.966.8861 or paradisestudiotour.com.

Saturday, Sept. 8 Waikoloa Beach Resort A Hawai’i Island Festival—30 Days of Aloha event. Celebrating its 21st year, this unique Hawaiian music competition features talented male singers of all ages who can not only sing in the unique falsetto style, but can also captivate the audience with the stories behind the songs. Doors open 5:30 p.m., contest 6:30 p.m. 808.886.8822, email joinus@waikoloaland.com or visit hawaiiislandfestival.org.

Taste of Hawai‘i Island Golf and Run For Hope Sept. 7–9 Ka‘upulehu Friday, Sept. 7: Annual Taste of Hawai‘i Island at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.

Saturday Sept. 8–Hualalai Golf Scramble and Hualalai Tennis Tournament.

Sunday, Sept. 9: Run For Hope is a noncompetitive, 10k run and 5k run/walk event. Proceeds benefit cancer research in Hawai‘i. Event Hotline, 808.325.8052, email monica.balanay@fourseasons. com or visit fourseasons.com/hualalai.

Registration forms available at fsrh.net/pr/run_for_hope.pdf.

Opening: Paradise Studio Tour

Poke Contest Saturday, Sept. 8 Waikoloa Beach Resort A Hawai’i Island Festival—30 Days of Aloha event. Held at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort Ballroom, both home cooks and pro chefs compete for the championship recipe of this popular Hawaiian dish made from the freshest seafood plus seasonings, and after the judges announce the winners, the audience gets to taste!

Doors open at 11 a.m., program begins at noon. Admission charge. 808.886.8822, email joinus@waikoloaland.com or visit hawaiiislandfestival.org.

Saturday, Sept. 8 Hilo This festival celebrates the birthday of Hawai‘i’s last reigning monarch, Queen Lili‘uokalani, in the beautiful surroundings of the Japanese-style Lili‘uokalani Gardens. Hula performances by worldwide hula hālau. 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

808.961.8706.

Daniel Sayre Memorial Foundation 15th Anniversary Virtual Live Auction Saturday, Sept. 8 Online This foundation honors our heroes from the Hawai‘i County Fire Dept. HCFD needs funds for rescue equipment and training. Presenters of the former, annual fundraising banquet, the Sayres, ask you participate in the online auction, 7 a.m.–9 p.m. 808.325.5456 or DanielSayreFoundation.net

Joseph Nāwahī, Hawaiian Patriot Monday, Sept. 10 Hilo This video-biography details the extraordinary life of Joseph Nawahi: artist, writer, teacher, attorney, legislator, publisher, advisor to Queen Lili‘uokalani and staunch supporter of Hawai‘i’s independence in the 1800s. 7 p.m. at the Lyman Museum, 276 Haili St. Museum members free, nonmembers $3. 808.935.5021 or visit lymanmuseum.org.

Kupuna Hula Festival Wednesday–Thursday, Sept. 12–13 Keauhou A Hawai‘i Island Festival—30 Days of Aloha event. Some of Hawai‘i Island’s most experienced and talented kūpuna (elders) hula dancers perform at this event, beginning 5 p.m. at the Sheraton

❁Continued on page 88

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Saturday, Sept. 7 Hilo The Wailoa Arts & Cultural Center hosts a multi-media exhibit featuring paintings, pottery, glass, wood, fiber art and jewelry made by East Hawai‘i artists—the Paradise Studio Tour Artists Collective. Opening reception is Sept. 7. 5–7 p.m. Free admission. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and Wednesday noon–4:30 p.m. 808.966.8861 or paradisestudiotour.com.

He Hali‘a Aloha No Ka Queen Lili‘uokalani Hula Festival

❖ C A L E N D A R ❖

Spotlight:

Na Mea Hawai‘i Hula Kahiko Performance Saturday, Sept. 15 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park See traditional hula and chant performed outdoors featuring Hālau Hula Ka Makani Hali ‘Ala O Puna under the direction of kumu hula Ehulani Stephany at 10:30 a.m. rain or shine at the hula platform.

Bring sitting mat and sun/rain gear.

Hawaiian cultural demonstrations at Volcano Art Center Gallery, 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

808.967.8222 or volcanoartcenter.org.

17th Annual Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Agricultural Festival

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Friday, Sept. 21 Waikoloa Beach Resort Sprawling inside and out of Hilton Waikoloa Village, this Big Island localvore extravaganza showcases the isle’s grassfed beef industry while bringing together local ranchers, farmers, restaurateurs and eager eaters to celebrate a bounty of locally produced food. Thirty-five of the state’s top chefs dazzle diners 6–8 p.m. with delectable dishes using grass-fed beef, pork, lamb, goat, mutton and wild boar—plus a cornucopia of fresh island fruit, veggies, honey, spices and beverages. Culinary adventure seekers can taste and enjoy all the cuts of grass-fed beef—everything from tongue to tail—prepared expertly by Hawai‘i chefs. While “tasting,” grazers can talk story with Hawai‘i’s food producers at gaily decorated vendor booths. “Taste” also affords local food producers the opportunity to hookup with isle chefs, wholesale buyers and consumers. Learn how to use and prepare 100-percent pasture-raised beef at a 3 p.m. informa-

Kokua Kailua Hulihe’e Palace Concert and Village Stroll tive culinary activity: Grass-Fed Beef Cooking 101. This year’s guest presenter is James Babian, executive chef at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. The presentation includes sampling. Tickets for evening “Taste” remain priced at $40 presale and $60 at the door and Cooking 101 demo tickets are $10. Buy tickets online and at various islandwide locations; find details and info on overnight event packages at TasteOfTheHawaiianRange.com. Free parking shuttle from Anaeho‘omalu Bay. 808.969.8228.

– Photo courtesy of Taste of the Hawaiian Range

❁Continued from page 87

Paniolo Parade and Ho‘olaule‘a

Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa in Kona.

Tickets $10 per night. Advance ticket purchase is recommended as this event usually sells out. Hawaiian crafts fair both days, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. 808.322.1812 or hawaiiislandfestival.org.

Saturday, Sept. 15 Waimea A Hawai‘i Island Festival—30 Days of Aloha event, this parade celebrates the Hawaiian paniolo (cowboy) with colorful entries and Hawaiian Island princesses on horseback. Parade starts at “Church Row” and ends at Waimea Park with a festival featuring crafts, games, arts, island foods, Hawaiian products and live entertainment. Always a popular event for the whole family. 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Free. 808.936.4376 or visit hawaiiislandfestival.org.

2012 Habitat For Humanity West Hawai‘i La‘i ‘Opua Blitz Build Sept. 12–22 Kailua Kona Help build five homes in 10 days in the La‘i ‘Opua Subdivision, opposite Kealakehe High School. Volunteers are needed from Sept. 12–22; donations welcome too! Work 8 a.m.–3 p.m. most days. 808.331.8010 email pr@habitatwesthawaii.org or visit habitatwesthawaii.org to get involved.

Sunday, Sept. 16 Kailua Kona Featuring the Merrie Monarch’s Men’s Glee Club and the Hawai‘i County Band remembering Queen Lili‘uokalani.

Presented free by Hulihe‘e Palace on the South Lawn at 4 p.m. Bring your own beach mat or chair. Enjoy the oceanside cafes, restaurants, artists and local musicians before and after the performance at the “Kokua Kailua” Village Stroll from 1–6 p.m. 808.936.9202, email dorlenechao@yahoo.com or visit historickailuavillage.com.

17th Annual Mealani’s Taste of the Hawaiian Range and Agricultural Festival Friday, Sept. 21 Waikoloa Beach Resort [See Spotlight] Annual gala showcases the isle’s grass-fed beef industry while bringing together local ranchers, farmers, restaurateurs and eager eaters to celebrate a bounty of locally produced food, 6–8 p.m. Grass-Fed Beef Cooking 101 class, 3 p.m. Tickets for evening Taste are $40 presale and $60 at the door and Cooking 101 demo tickets are $10. Buy tickets online and at various islandwide locations; find details and info on overnight event packages at

TasteOfTheHawaiianRange.com. Free parking shuttle from ‘Anaeho‘omalu Bay. 808.969.8228.

3rd Annual Earthdance Hawai‘i Friday–Sunday, Sept. 21–23 Honoka‘a “Year of the Woman” is the theme for the world’s largest synchronized music and dance festival for peace, uniting over 500 locations in 80 countries worldwide! All Earthdance events focus on causes that work to promote gender equality and empower women, while fostering peace and harmony. Two stages this year. Entertainment includes live bands, multicolor laser light show, fire dancing, visual art, organic food vendors and more! A full weekend of camping, music, art, vending and dancing on 250 acres deep in the Hāmākua Coast.

Facebook.com/Offthegridpro or Offthegridpro.com.

6th Annual Peace Parade and Festival Saturday Sept. 22 Honoka’a Join residents of the Hāmākua Coast in observing the United Nations’ International Peace Day. This fun, free event for the whole family celebrates peace, compassion and awareness of global interdependence with a colorful parade down Mamane St. at 11 a.m. It’s a “moving stage” with marching bands, taiko drums, rock ‘n roll, street performers and more. Afterwards, a Peace Day Festival takes place at the Honoka‘a Sports Complex from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. with local and ethnic foods, artists, crafters, live entertainment and a large community Bon Dance for everyone to join in.

808.883.0669, email info@peacedayparade.org or visit PeaceDayParade.org.

Fall Equinox Ceremony/Prayer Circle Saturday, Sept. 22 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Join us for ceremony and prayers at

Access A New Possibility for Living Saturday, Sept. 15 Kailua Kona Access Conciousness for Amazing Change is a workshop by Judy and Ken Foster at the Kona Coast Resort. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

For more information call 760-703-9365.

Keiki unit in Paniolo Parade, Waimea – Photo courtesy of Hawai‘i Island Festival

❖ C A L E N D A R ❖ Kilauea Overlook. Gather in circle to share prayers and healing for ourselves, loved ones, community and the planet. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to connect with the ‘āina and your spirit!!

Bring your prayers or songs. 3 p.m.

808-333-4514 or visit www.9innerjewels.com.

Breadfruit Festival Goes Bananas Saturday, Sept. 29 Captain Cook Celebrity chef Sam Choy headlines this year’s culinary festival featuring breadfruit (‘ulu); bananas (mai‘a) have been added as a co-star. Enjoy the many Hawaiian and Pacific Islander cultural activities, workshops and demonstrations featuring poi ‘ulu (breadfruit poi) preparation, tapa making from ‘ulu bark, and quilting with the Hawaiian ‘ulu motif.

Enjoy cooking demonstrations, featuring celebrity chef Sam Choy and others, including students from Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School. Chef Betty Saiki and the West Hawai‘i Community College Culinary Arts Program offer a buffet luncheon featuring breadfruit and other local foods.

A music/storytelling tent features Diana Aki; Kumu Hula Auli‘i Mitchell performing Hula Ki‘i (Hawaiian puppetry); “Stories and Hawaiian Mythology of ‘Ulu and

Mai‘a” with Ryan McCormack; music

by Auntie Irma DiCenzo and Kahikina’s Nahenahe ‘Ohana; and hula by BeamerSolomon Halau O Po‘ohala. Hands-on activities with keiki in the Youth Art Tent.

Presentation tent with talks from worldrenowned experts in breadfruit, banana and agroforestry. Compete for prizes in the Breadfruit Cooking Contest. See website for details and entry forms. Presented

by Hawai‘i Homegrown Food Network, the Breadfruit Institute of the National Tropical Botanical Garden and Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Free. 808.756.9437 or visit breadfruit.info.

Birthday Celebration for Namaste, the White Bengal Tiger Saturday, Sept. 29 Hilo Namaste celebrates his 14th birthday at the Pana‘ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens.

The traditional “ice cake” is presented at 9:30 a.m. At 10 a.m., he receives a birthday present of a huge pillow mouse, stuffed with “Meowie Wowie” catnip.

Non-animal friends can enjoy free cake and ice cream to be served at noon while supplies last. Namaste gets his turkey dinner at 3:30 p.m., winding up the day’s festivities. Live music all day, games for

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the kids, crafts and food. Plus party favors for all the animals! 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Free.

808.959.9233 or visit hilozoo.com.

Hilo Wayfinding Festival Saturday, Sept. 29 Hilo Experience the “Spirit of the Wayfinder” at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center’s fifth annual Wayfinding and Navigation Festival.

The, free, full-day event celebrates and honors the rich story of Kaho‘olawe, its historic struggles and triumphs, its

Sunday, Sept. 30 Kailua Kona Multi-cultural food, carnival game booths, keiki activities, continuous entertainment, a country store and a live and silent auction are part of the family fun at the annual St. Michael the Archangel Feast Day Celebration. A fundraiser open to all.

Proceeds benefit the Parish Building Fund to build a new church campus. Built in 1850, St. Michael the Archangel Church was damaged beyond repair during the October 2006 earthquake and decommissioned and demolished in November of 2009. 11 a.m.–3 p.m. at Hale Halawai. To donate for the auction, 808.322.9032 or feastday@onecatholicohana.org.

❁Continued on page 90

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app with Aloha

immense cultural significance and its connection to the ancient art of wayfinding. Hands-on activities include wayfinding and navigation skills, Makahiki games, canoe and cultural arts exhibits, planetarium shows, speaker presentations, a featured documentary and live music.

10 a.m.–4 p.m. 808.969.9703 or visit imiloahawaii.org .

❖ C A L E N D A R ❖

❁Continued from page 89

OCTOBER The Hawaiian Hoary Bat Monday, Oct. 1 Hilo Thousands of years (and miles) removed from its North American ancestor, the Hawaiian hoary bat is one of only two endemic mammals and the only native land mammal in the Islands. USGS wildlife ecologist Dr. Frank Bonaccorso brings these tiny creatures out of the dark in this talk. 7 p.m. at Lyman Museum 276 Haili St. Museum members free, nonmembers $3. 808.935.5021 or visit lymanmuseum.org.

Words and Wine, Local Authors

90 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

ORGANIC KAVA Science is in our Nature.

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Tuesday, Oct. 2 Keauhou Kona Stories book store in the Keauhou Shopping Center hosts a local author reception with free wine and pupus the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m.

Meet Kate Kealani Winter, author of “Lost Twain-A novel of Hawaii; Jason Lofland, co-author of “Catch” a cookbook from the “Deadliest Catch” TV show; and Betty Jones, author of “A Child’s Seasonal Treasury” who offer 10-minute presentations of their work. Q & A and talk story.

808.324.0350.

Jazz Master Eddie Palmieri Thursday, Oct. 4 Hilo UH Hilo Performing Arts Center presents the Eddie Palmieri-Bryan Lynch Jazz Quartet, Grammy Award winners for their CD, “Simptico.” Eddie Palmieri, known as the “Sun of Latin Music,” is a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master pianist.

Expect a lively performance.

7:30 p.m. Tickets available online at http://artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu/ EddiePalmieri. Discount with season subscription. Phone: 808.974.7310.

Located at 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, on the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo campus.

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Fridays–Sundays, Oct. 5–21 Kainaliu Aloha Theatre presents this campy rock musical fresh from a successful Off-Broadway run. Aloha Performing Arts Company (APAC) is the first nonprofessional company anywhere to be granted the performance rights to the show, which features music and lyrics

by Bon Jovi’s David Bryan and book by Joe DiPietro. The musical is an irreverent adaptation of Lloyd Kaufman’s 1985 cult

science fiction film “The Toxic Avenger.”

The setting is Tromaville, New Jersey, the toxic waste capital of America, and the plot revolves around nerdy Melvin Ferd the Third, who longs to stop political corruption in his neighborhood. The mayor’s goons dump him into a vat of deadly sludge, and he emerges two pages later as a giant mutant superhero, The Toxic Avenger. 808.322.9924 or visit apachawaii.org.

Jesus Christ Superstar Fridays–Sundays, Oct. 5–21 Hilo Palace Theater’s 11th Annual Community Musical is the famous rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tickets are on sale from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. weekdays at the theater box office. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. 808.934.7010 to purchase tickets by phone with a credit card or visit hilopalace.com.

23rd Trash Art Fashion Show Friday, Oct. 5 Hilo Trash Art Contest awards presentation and opening reception. Exhibit runs Oct. 5-24, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., except Sunday.

Free. East Hawai‘i Cultural Center, 141 Kalakaua St. 808.961.5711.

Big Island Woodworkers and Artists Exhibit Oct. 5–25 Hilo The forests of the Big Island abound in native and exotic hardwoods which star in this show as beautiful pieces of furniture and ‘ukuleles made by island woodworkers. The furniture pieces are exhibited with other art media, including oil paintings and glass sculptures.

Wailoa Center. Free. Weekdays only 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (noon–4:30 p.m.

Wednesday). 808.933.0416.

28th Annual Kohala Country Fair Saturday, Oct. 6 Kapa‘au Old-fashioned country fun with food, crafts, entertainment, music, keiki rides, contests and games, merchants’ booth sales, exhibits, silent auctions and more.

9 a.m.–4 p.m. Free. 808.333.8712 or kohalacountryfair.com.

3rd Annual Green Living Fair Saturday, Oct. 6 Hōnaunau Sustainability is a Lifestyle—come see tools and products that make living

❖ C A L E N D A R ❖ green empowering, enjoyable and cost saving. One Island’s Sustainable Living Center opens its grounds to exhibitors and islanders interested in learning about a wide range of sustainability practices.

See electric vehicles, try out locally grown foods, explore natural farming and permaculture techniques, get your face painted, learn about the difference between solar PV and solar hot water, check out solar refrigerators and more.

Free. All ages welcome. Lunch option $18.

Painted Church Rd. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. with local foods picnic lunch at noon. Email hawaii@one-island.org or visit one-island.org/hawaii.

Ironman Triathlon World Championship Saturday, Oct. 13 Kona/Kohala Qualifying 1,800 triathletes from around the world (50 countries and 50 states) vie in the Superbowl of triathlon events: a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run. This is the big one—a world-class sports event!

Temporary road closings in Kona.

Email kona@ironman.com or visit ironman.com/worldchampionship.

The Art & Traditions of Hula at Kīlauea

Kona History Cruise Sunday, Oct. 14 Kona Coast Take this ocean adventure aboard a sailing catamaran to learn about some of the many interesting Hawaiian historical sites found on the Kona Coast. Sponsored by the Kona Historical Society with narration

by Kona’s John Mitchell. Along the way look for dolphins and enjoy pupus and drinks. 2–5 p.m. Fee. 808.322.2788 or www.konahistorical.org

Greening Your Business Thursday, Oct. 18 and Nov. 8 Hōnaunau Green business owner and author Lynn VanLeeuwen guides this one and a half-day strategy workshop at One Island Sustainable Living Center. If you own or manage a business on the Big Island, this

Octoberfest 2012 Friday, Oct. 19 Waimea A benefit for North Hawai‘i Rotary grants and scholarships. Locally brewed beer provided by Big Island Brewhaus and German beer and wine provided by Johnson Brothers of Hawai‘i, Inc. Donation $45 in advance, $50 at the door. Silent auction to benefit Waimea Country School. Pukalani Stables behind Parker Ranch Center.

5–8 p.m. 808.375.4768.

Christ Church Graveyard Tours Fridays, Oct. 19, 26 Kealakekua Return to the 19th century on a lanternlit tour to visit several historical graves and hear their owners’ stories at the cemetery at Christ Church Episcopal, the oldest Anglican church in the state of Hawai‘i. Reservations required, limit 25 people. $25 fee. 6 p.m., corner of Hwy. 11 and Konawaena School Road in Kealakekua. Reserve online at store. konahistorical.org or call 808.323.3222.

Keiki Triathlon Saturday, Oct. 20 Kailua Kona Children’s fitness event for ages 7-14, sponsored by Hawai‘i County Dept. of Parks and Recreation. Swimming, bicycling and running in four age groups.

Limit 30 entrants in each category. Ages 9 and up compete in 100-yard swim, 3.2-mile bike and one-mile run. Ages 7 and 8 complete half these distances. Applications available at Yano Hall, Captain Cook; Kekuaokalani Gym, Kailua-Kona; Pu‘u Nui Park, Waikoloa; Waimea Community Center; and Kamehameha Park, Kapa‘au, Mon.–Thurs. noon–3 p.m. All participants supply own bicycle, helmet, swim goggles and other equipment.

Medals awarded for top three in boys and girls and each age category. All receive commemorative certificates.

808.345.9105.

Kona Coffee Living History Farm Open House Saturday, Oct. 20 Captain Cook Celebrating its 13th year, Kona Historical Society’s Kona Coffee Living History

❁Continued on page 92

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Saturday, Oct. 13 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Kumu Leilehua Yuen and Manu Josiah present a hula kāhiko “informance” at the hula platform 10:30–11:30 a.m., plus cultural/craft demonstrations from 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at Volcano Art Center Gallery, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Free; park entrance fees apply.

808.967.8222 or volcanoartcenter.org.

workshop will help you identify, select and start integrating sustainability practices that revitalize your business model and strengthen your economic return.

808.328.2452, email ganesh@one-island. org or visit one-island.org/hawaii.

❖ C A L E N D A R ❖

❁Continued from page 91 One Vendor. One Bill.

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Farm hosts an open house honoring Kona’s coffee heritage. A free event with food booths, coffee tastings, and sales, historical photo displays and tours. Also workshops in traditional coffee processing, coffee baskets, coffee dolls and farmhouse food making. Keiki activities: ojame games, coffee bag races and Charlie the Donkey. Free. 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Kokua Kailua Hulihe’e Palace Concert and Village Stroll Sunday, Oct. 21 Kailua Kona Featuring the Merrie Monarch’s Men’s Glee Club and hula remembering Princess Ka‘iulani. Presented free by Hulihe‘e Palace on the South Lawn at 4 p.m. Bring your own beach mat or chair. Enjoy the oceanside cafes, restaurants, artists and local musicians before and after the performance at the “Kokua Kailua” Village Stroll from 1–6 p.m. 808.936.9202, email dorlenechao@yahoo.com or visit historickailuavillage.com.

14th Annual Taste of Hilo

92 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Sunday, Oct. 21 Hilo Sample foods from more than 30 restaurants, chefs and beverage suppliers. Pro-

ceeds supplement the JCCIH Foundation Fund that is administered by the Hawai‘i Community College for student scholarships, faculty and staff development programs and campus-wide improvements. Honpa Hongwanji, Hilo Betsuin Sangha Hall, 424 Kilauea Ave. 1–3 p.m.

Ticket purchases: 808.987.8328 or Chamber Office, 714 Kanoelehua Ave., Hilo $40 Presale, $60 at the door. 808.934.0177 or email jccih@jccih.org.

Island Civilization of Ancient Hawai‘i Monday, Oct. 22 Hilo In this presentation, renowned Pacific archaeologist and author Dr. Patrick Kirch traces the history of Hawaiian culture from the first Polynesian arrival about 1,000 years ago, to the development of a complex civilization governed by divine god-kings. A book-signing follows. 7 p.m. at Lyman Museum, 276 Haili St..

Museum members free, nonmembers $3.

808.935.5021 or visit lymanmuseum.org.

Red Grammer Friday, Oct. 26 Hilo UH Hilo Performing Arts Center presents one of the premier entertainers of

children and families, described by Parent’s Magazine as “The best voice in children’s music.” Red Grammer’s music communicates themes of caring, excellence, oneness and diversity within his delightful performing style.

Special early time for keiki: 6:30 p.m.

Tickets available online at artscenter.uhh.hawaii.edu. Discount with season subscription. Phone: 808.974.7310. Located at 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, on the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo campus.

Earth Life: October Full Moon Saturday, Oct. 27 Honoka‘a Gary Washburn, director of Grammywinning Honoka‘a High School Jazz Band for 30-plus years, debuts his original musical work 7 p.m. at the Peoples Theater. Inspired by a total solar eclipse, each movement of the seven-part suite for two pianos and percussion is an impression of humankind’s relationship to Earth—from the first rays of creation, through the fleeting impact of one lifetime and reflection of final peace. This is a one-time chance to play a part in the experience, as the concert is live-recorded for release

by Emkay Records for worldwide distribution. Admission is $10 adults/$5 children,

  

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❖ C A L E N D A R ❖ available at the door. Email catherinetarleton@gmail.com or visit facebook.com/EarthLifeOctoberFullMoon.

Halloween Pet Walk Saturday, Oct. 27 Hilo–Queen Lili‘uokalani Park Sunday, Oct. 28 Kona–Historic Kailua Village Walkers with—or without—pets are urged to raise pledges and support Hawai‘i Island Humane Society.

Registration for both events begins at 8 a.m. and the walks begin at 9 a.m. Free registration online at HIHS.org or at any isle shelter. Raise $50 or more and receive a free t-shirt. Log on to FirstGiving. com/HIHSPetWalk and create your own or team fundraising page, then email co-workers, friends and family around the world to contribute! 808.329.8002 or email exec.dir@hihs.org.

COMING IN NOVEMBER Moku o Keawe International Hula Festival Nov. 1–3 Waikoloa Beach Resort A multi-day event celebrating the hula.

This festival features hula hālau (troupes) from Hawai‘i, Japan and elsewhere

competing in kūpuna (senior), kahiko (ancient) and ‘auana (modern) hula divisions. Master instructors teach workshops and cultural classes throughout the event.

808.886.8822 or visit mokuokeawe.org.

tours and parades, while recognizing the accomplishments of Kona coffee pioneers, farmers and artisans. Various venues showcase the Kona Coffee Belt.

808.326.7820 or visit konacoffeefest.com.

Black & White Night

Holualoa Village Coffee & Art Stroll

Friday, Nov. 2 Hilo Downtown Hilo’s biggest strolling party with numerous live music venues, fashion shows, a treasure hunt, free food, author and artist receptions. Everyone dresses in black and white–from shorts and T-shirts to gowns and tuxs—to enter the “Best Dressed Black & White Contest” for cash prizes. Free. 5–9 p.m. Attend the Black, White & Gold Ball from 8 p.m. to midnight to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association. For both events, 808.935.8850 or visit downtownhilo.com,

Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Nov. 2–11 Throughout Kona The annual Kona coffee harvest and 180-coffee heritage is celebrated every November at this award-winning festival, the state’s oldest foodie fun. The celebration features events such as tastings, art exhibits, a cupping competition, farm

Saturday, Nov. 3 Holualoa Holualoa Village is a 15-minute drive from Kailua up scenic Hualālai Road to Māmalahoa Highway. Enjoy a beautiful day of art and Kona coffee tasting as the quaint Holualoa Village becomes a stage for all things coffee. The Coffee & Art Stroll is a premier marketplace with a diverse collection of artists and boutique art galleries along with over two dozen estate Kona coffee farms. 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

808.322.8484 or holualoahawaii.com.

7th Annual Kahumoku ‘Ohana Hawaiian Music and Lifestyles Workshop Nov. 3-11 Pahala Keoki Kahumoku, proud resident of Hawai’i Island and five-time Grammy award-winner, will be holding his 7th annual Kahumoku ‘Ohana Hawaiian Music and Lifestyles Workshop in the district of

Ka’ū. Immersed in the culture of Hawai’i on the grounds of the Pahala Plantation Cottages, this is a rare, week-long opportunity to learn kī hō’alu (slack key guitar), ‘ukulele, steel guitar, song writing, music theory and hula, from today’s top masters. 808.938.6582, konaweb.com/keoki.

Disclaimer: Calendar listings are submitted by the producers of the events and are subject to change. They are accurate as of the time Ke Ola goes to press, which is sometimes one to two months before the event. Please call the contact number in the listing to confirm the event. Ke Ola is not responsible for event changes or cancellations.

If you have an event you would like included in this calendar, please submit via the form on our website, keolamagazine.com, or email to calendar@keolamagazine.com. Deadline for the November/December issue is September 25, 2012.

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"See our coupon at keolamagazine.com."

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The Life in Business...

Randall S. Cislo, DMD

94 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

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Randall S. Cislo, D.M.D. (Doctor of Medical Dentistry)

r. Randall S. Cislo, D.M.D., says his patients may be anyone from ages 13-103, with or without teeth. As a dentist, it helps to have a sense of humor, and Dr. Cislo, who grew up on O‘ahu, graduating from Castle High School, also had some pretty unusual jobs along the way. The first one, he says, was an iguana wrangler. After that, he worked at the Dole Pineapple Cannery, as a deckhand on a boat in Kewalo Basin, a bouncer, bartender, waiter in Waikīkī and a staff member at Hawai‘i Youth Correctional Facility. “However, I knew as sophomore in high school that I was going to be a dentist, somewhere in Hawai‘i,” he says.

Dr. Cislo completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Hawai‘i–Manoa before moving to St. Louis for his dental education and earning his dental degree at Washington University School of Dental Medicine. In practice since 1982, he moved to Hawai‘i Island in 1986.

After working in several group practices, he wanted to pursue his own philosophy, business model and work ethic, and started his own practice, said Dr. Cislo.

“I also came to the realization that I needed a working environment with open windows, fresh air, sunlight and the sounds of life. When I first saw Parker Square in the fall of 1991, I knew that I had found the ideal location for my practice.”

Cislo’s practice combines aesthetic, restorative and general dentistry, a blend of high tech dentistry provided in an environment of on-time, casual comfort, says the Waimea dentist.

He stays abreast of the latest advances in dentistry with active memberships in the American Dental Association—attending annual conventions with his entire staff—and the Academy of General Dentistry, as well as Hawai‘i Dental Association. Dr. Cislo served for 11 years on the Board of Directors for Hawai‘i Dental Service and most recently as a four-year member of the Hawai‘i State Board of Dental Examiners.

When he’s away from the office, Dr. Cislo’s hobbies include flying, running marathons and competing in triathlons with his wife Sharon. He is a commercial pilot.

In summary, he says: “Our business philosophy and mission statement is a simple quote from the Dalai Lama: ‘If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.’”

Location : Parker Square, 65-1279 Kawaihae Rd., Waimea Phone: 808.885.8617 Email: drcislo@yahoo.com Website: drcislo.com

“I

Nancy Carr Smith Principal Broker

The Life in Business...

Aloha Kohala Realty

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 95

love this part of the Big Island, and feel it is best to focus on particular areas, as opposed to working the entire island,” says Nancy Carr Smith. The principal broker with Aloha Kohala Realty lives in Waimea and specializes in the Kohala Coast area, including Waimea, with a few listings in Kona.

Nancy grew up in Southern California and spent close to 30 years in Northern California on the Mendocino/Sonoma coast prior to moving to Hawai‘i 10 years ago.

“I fell in love with the Big Island back in the mid ‘70s and after that spent time here whenever possible. I love everything about this island—from the people, the land itself, the culture and the weather,” she says.

Prior to deciding to enter the real estate business in 1989, Nancy worked in a number of other service-related careers and managed restaurants for many years. She became a broker in 1992.

“I have grown to love the business and the opportunities that it has allowed me to meet new friends and work with people closely to accomplish their goals and dreams.”

Today’s market has been somewhat challenging, she says, “but it’s a healthy adjustment to the inflated market from a few years ago. I knew this was a good time to start in business and have time to focus on getting myself set up. Turns out that I have been very busy, and I only wish there was more time in a day! The challenges are basically found in today’s market, which is filled with buyers who want the best deal possible and sellers who are still adjusting to the substantial drop in [real estate] values. It’s challenging to get parties to agree, but that’s what this business is all about: putting deals together, problem solving and finding the best way for both parties to proceed so that everyone accomplishes something close to what they projected. ” Nancy is active in the community. She is a volunteer mediator with West Hawai‘i Mediation Center in Waimea, sits on the County of Hawai‘i Board of Appeals and on the Waimea Community Association’s board of directors.

“I support and work with the Giving Tree Project (formerly Lokahi) for our island, which supports the working poor in our community during the holiday season,” says Nancy. She is also involved with Ka Ulu Lauhala o Kona, which perpetuates the tradition of weaving lauhala.

Nancy Carr Smith can be found rotating between her home office and the Waimea Parkside new housing development, which she represents.

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The Life in Business...

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96 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

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Owners Christine and David Reed

hometown bookstore that has a dedicated focus on Hawai’i, showcasing local authors and artists, Basically Books of Hilo and its publishing arm, Petroglyph Press, are in their second generation of ownership.

Steve and Frances Reed, parents of current owner David Reed, arrived in Hilo in 1958 when Hawai‘i was still a U.S. Territory.

In1962, the couple opened Petroglyph Press, a printing company. At that time not many books about Hawai’i were in print, so they began publishing books that would make more information about Hawai’i’s history and culture available. In 1974, David assumed ownership and management of the business and, in 1976, Christine became his partner in life and business.

As the business grew and expanded into carrying gifts, books, maps and stationery the retail store, Basically Books opened its doors in 1985 on Keawe St. In September of 1997, just in time to celebrate the company’s 35th anniversary, the couple moved the two businesses together into their present location on the downtown Hilo Bayfront.

The store has one of the largest collections of maps in the Islands, an extensive Hawaiian music selection, the latest books about Hawai’i as well as the classics and a children’s section that includes books, toys and games, says Christine.

David Reed has developed an extensive knowledge of printing processes and equipment, as well as expertise in pre-press and graphic design. Christine has a background in photography and marketing, and loves reading, writing and editing. They are both self-taught business people.

Petroglyph Press Publishing continues to showcase works by local authors and artists. “Our most recent title, Pele and Hi’iaka

by Dietrich Varez, was a nominee for this year’s Hawai‘i Book Publishers’ Po’okela award. They also help customers with their business cards, copying and fax needs,.

“Frequent special events, including live music and hula, author talks and demonstrations, all help make Basically Books a gathering place. On Black & White Night, Nov. 2, from 6 to 9 p.m., we will join in the downtown Hilo street party and celebrate our 50th anniversary with music, refreshments, giveaways and prize drawings,” says Christine. “More information will be posted on our websites.”

Location: 160 Kamehameha Ave. in downtown Hilo Phone: 808.935.6006 Email: bbinfo@hawaiiantel.net Websites: petroglyphpress.com and basicallybooks.com

The Life in Business...

Hawai‘i Volcanoes Institute Institute instructor Jeff Sutton (right) explains volcanic activity to a young visitor.

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | 97

hroughout the country, there are non-profit organizations that work in cooperation with the National Park Service to provide high-quality educational experiences at our National Parks.

On Hawai‘i Island, Hawai‘i Volcanoes Institute, a program of the Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park (FHVNP) offers park visitors learning experiences and volunteers for various projects at the huge national park.

In 1997 Na Hoaloha ‘Ainahou (“The Friends of ‘Ainahou”) was founded, named after a historic ranch located within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

“As our mission and focus expanded beyond ‘Ainahou, we changed the name to “Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park” in 2002. In 2009, we launched the Hawai‘i Volcanoes Institute, based on the success of our past field seminar series,” says Elizabeth Fien, education and outreach coordinator.

National Park institutes and field schools share one key characteristic: they all provide in-depth education for small groups in natural and historic settings. Periodic field seminars are held, as well as private tours that allow groups (of any size) to create their own custom-designed private tours. “We are happy to work with school groups, families, tourist groups and more,” says Elizabeth.

The institute has more than a decade of experience offering field seminars with instructors and naturalist guides who have a gift for bringing their subjects to life and engaging students of all ages.

Institute instructors—all experts in their fields—make the programs come alive. Scientists offer the latest insights into volcanic processes and geologic history. Naturalists explain how isolation bred endemism and unique species were born.

Hawaiian cultural practitioners share stories and legends, oli (chant) and mele (song), and the ancient art of hula.

Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park could not exist without its loyal cadre of members and volunteers. From active outdoor projects to sit-down office tasks, volunteer opportunities abound. A major, ongoing effort is forest restoration.

To find out more about FHVNP, become a member, volunteer or to sign up for one of the Institute programs, call or visit the website.

—THE REFRAIN

Ka Puana California surfer Chris O’Rourke performed incredible maneuvers in the sea that defied the laws of gravity and inertia. He was convinced by others to humble his arrogance and speak with his skills—a potent combination that attracted many followers. In 1975, at the tender age of 16, he became the highest-ranking competitive surfer in the mainland United States.

Living fast and competing hard, he didn’t make it to age 23.

Child of the Storm is a memoir by Big Island surfer/photographer Kirk Lee Aeder about his life-long friend and a time when world professional surfing was just beginning to gain momentum.

This excerpt describes a day spent with Chris and a few friends. It captures some of the champion surfer’s unique style and personality, along with a hint of what was to come.

98 | www.KeOlaMagazine.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

A

s the boys slipped into their wetsuits, a pod of dolphins passed through the wave lineup. Overhead pelicans flew in perfect formation.

Chris excitedly waxed up his board. I walked over to take a picture of him, and he stuck out his tongue. We both laughed. But then Chris started coughing like he was choking on something.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine, Aeder, don’t worry about it.”

He ran off to the shoreline and suddenly stopped. In order to reach the perfect waves, he had to paddle through the swiftly moving ocean currents closer to shore. Unlike rip tides that flowed out to sea, these moved sideways and looked more like a raging river. He picked up a small piece of wood and threw it into the water, watching as it was quickly swept away. Chris had only seen these dangerous currents before at Pipeline in Hawai‘i, and he knew paddling through them would be difficult.

A few hundred yards to the north, two electrical power plants stood next to the shore; between them, a rock jetty stretched into the ocean. Chris took off down the beach and climbed onto it, scampering out upon the large rocks well past the treacherous currents, and leapt into the water.

As he waited at the lineup, the dolphins surfaced just a few feet away. Chris watched them, smiling, then turned his attention to a large set of waves approaching.

Chris caught his first wave, then another, and another. Mark and Tim finally joined him. As the morning progressed, I rapidly changed rolls of 35mm slide film while capturing all the action.

Tony had taken several reels of Super 8 movie film as well. It didn’t matter whether Chris was surfing with his buddies, or in a competition. He was always the standout in any session. He took every wave seriously, as if it were his last.

These were the magical moments surfers lived for. So free and uninhibited, the ocean was like one huge water park with no boundaries. All over the world, incredible surfing locations were still waiting to be discovered. The possibilities seemed endless, which only added to the allure.

Photographer/author Kirk Lee Aeder was able to capture O’Rourke’s meteoric surfing career on camera as he rose to world-class status and as he fought cancer with ferocity. During treatment, he surfed with a helmet, shown here with a cross-shaped light reflection.

By early afternoon the wind had switched to an onshore direction, effectively ruining the surf for the rest of the day. As the water’s surface began to deteriorate, Mark and Tim quickly paddled back to shore.

Chris, though, couldn’t resist a few more rides. By now he had mastered the shifting lineup, and no wave could hide from him.

He almost toyed with each wave, and in the process, made surfing look so easy and effortless. While riding inside the tube, instead of crouching down like most surfers would, Chris confidently stood upright. Only a handful of surfers around the world were doing this….

All of us were now eager to depart, but Chris paddled for one last wave—and he couldn’t help riding it without adding a little personal flair. By now I thought I had seen him do just about everything. Wrong again! Chris took off on a five-foot wave breaking to the left. Normally his back would face the wave, but this time he assumed a goofy-foot stance. This ambidextrous style in surfing was commonly referred to as switch foot. Similar to the notion of a baseball player who can hit from both sides of the plate, very few surfers could do this with any degree of competence.

Undaunted, Chris casually descended the wave’s steep face. He performed a stylish bottom turn and briefly touched the ocean’s surface with his left hand. The wave opened ahead of him, and he tucked inside the liquid blue barrel. In the end, Chris rode the entire wave switch foot.

When he walked up the beach toward us, he was again coughing hard. I figured he had swallowed some salt water and didn’t give it much consideration. Everyone gathered around the cars and spoke excitedly about the surf.

About the author:

Kirk Lee Aeder, a contributing photographer for Surfer Magazine during the ‘70s, was inspired by his friend, classmate, and prodigy surfer, the late Chris O’Rourke, who passed away from cancer in 1981. Kirk moved to Hawai‘i in 1985 and now lives in Waikoloa. His photos have appeared in Sports Illustrated, Outside, Islands and many international magazines. Child Of The Storm (Mutual Publishing) is his second book. It’s available at local bookstores Kona Stories, Keauhou; Basically Books, Hilo, and Big Island BookBuyers in Pahoa. It can also be purchased from mutualpublishing.com, amazon.com, or signed copies can be purchased from the web site: kirkaederphoto.com.

Contact the author at aederkla@aol.com

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