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Articles Categorized History Hawai`i

Entertaining the Bride-Elect, 1939

On Sunday, December 3, 1939 the Hilo Tribune Herald noted that “being a very popular bride-elect of the winter season, Miss Helen Henderson is being entertained at one party after another each week by her many friends and relatives in Hilo and the Big Island. The wedding will take place on December 16 at the

Francis Hyde I’i Brown: “The Last Ali`i”

This is a story about family, love, and history, with a light touch of scandal. The story happened at the Eva Parker Woods Cottage Museum, a wooden structure that rises above fishponds to face the sea. But the story isn’t about Eva. It’s about Francis Hyde I`i Brown, a public man who lived a secluded

Kilauea Lodge & The Fireplace of Friendship

Kilauea Lodge may be the most famous structure in Volcano Village. Visitors and tourists comment on the excellent food and serene atmosphere. Only a mile from Volcano National Park, the lodge is a pleasant place to stay while exploring the area. Hiloans often drive approximately thirty miles southwest on Highway 11 for a brief “staycation.”

GODDESS PELE’S PATH

Goddess Pele, creates land and destroys whatever impedes the process, whether vacant forest or inhabited towns. The land is hers, and she does with it as she likes, when she likes. The goddess can be beautiful and loving as shown here in Arthur Johnson’s depiction of Pele carrying her embryonic sister Hia`aka in an egg.

A SYMPHONY OF ORCHIDS

    ORCHIDS. The very word conjures up exotic flowers and romance. At one time, every girl hoped her escort to the high school prom would give her a large orchid corsage. Ideally, the corsage should look like this. The blossoms screamed expense, status, and an adoring boyfriend. Alas, most boys could barely afford a

MOKU`AIKAUA CHURCH: Historic Past, Present Crisis & Unknown Future

In 1820 a company of fourteen New England missionaries with three Hawaiian protégés arrived at Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai`i. Seven men, seven women – all determined to bring Christianity and American know-how to islands most of them probably couldn’t point out on a map. Two men were ministers; one was a doctor.

THE BEACHES AT WAIKĪKĪ

Travel is a state of mind, an openness to new realities. It is challenging to travel close to one’s home. The terrain is too familiar; our eyes fail to see the nuances, the unique communities of place, or the historic context that can make the ordinary extraordinary. So, today I invite you to join me

NEW GENERATIONS AT THE MANAGO HOTEL

In 1929, Osame Manago took her children to Japan. Her father said, “seeing [them] was worth more than a house filled with gold.”  But the triumphant visit became bittersweet on the day Osame and her family prepared to leave.  Osame’s sister observed that at seven months old, Osame’s baby was “so young that she couldn’t tell

STEP INTO OLD HAWAI`I AT THE MANAGO HOTEL

The Manago Hotel on Hawai`i’s Kona Coast offers visitors a glimpse of rapidly disappearing “Old Hawai`i.”  If you require hotel amenities equaling those at the Four Seasons, this is not the place for you.  But, if you have a sense of adventure and a desire to experience a different slice of life, the Manago can

PURNA YOGA, VOLCANOES, & MOMENTS FROM OLD HAWAI`I

You may be wondering what Purna Yoga, Volcanoes, and Old Hawai`i could possibly have in common. All contribute to my creative growth as a writer and my joy in the history of Hawai`i. So let us begin. Purna Yoga I didn’t post last week, because I attended a four-day yoga workshop at Big Island Yoga