Fern Gavelek
A native Hoosier, Fern moved to Hawai‘i in 1988. Ever since, she’s been writing about what makes Hawai‘i so special. She has extensively covered the state’s tourism, culinary, and agriculture industries and was named Hawaii County’s Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year. Also a public relations professional, Fern promotes a half-dozen Big Island events, several trade associations, and local businesses. The Holualoa resident is an avid community volunteer and was by tapped the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce 2009 Member of the Year. She enjoys gardening, time with husband John and playing with their pup, Sweet Pea.
Cruisin’ with Kona’s Kenny Tagavilla
By Fern Gavelek Music has weaved in and out of Kenny Tagavilla’s life since small kid time. His paternal grandmother sat him down as a keiki to teach him to play ‘ukulele—but no, he didn’t want to pick it up.…
Students Learn, Grow Food, Eat at School Culinary Gardens
By Fern Gavelek Itʻs all about “connecting the dots to textbooks while making learning delicious.” That’s how Patti Cook, community development director of Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School, describes the Māla‘ai Culinary Garden. Started in 2003 through a community…
Darien Hsu Gee: Crafting Ideas into Captivating Stories
By Fern Gavelek For some people, filling a blank page with their own words can be daunting. Not for Waikoloa Village resident Darien Hsu Gee. The wife and mother authored five novels—three under the pen name Mia King—which have been…
Maka‘eo Path Fosters Health and Community
By Fern Gavelek Build it and they will come. This statement certainly holds true for the Maka‘eo path at Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area. Flanking the mauka (upland) side of the former Kona Airport runway in Kailua-Kona, the paved…
Life is a Muse for Artist Sachi
By Fern Gavelek Sachi, the artist formerly known as Karla Musacchia, has been an award-winner since the 1970s. Before that, she mingled with celebrities in Malibu, was Playboy magazine’s first surfer girl centerfold, and appeared in Hollywood movies. The 74-year…
200 Years at Mokuaikaua Church: Preserving a Beacon of Faith in Kailua Village
By Fern Gavelek The first Christian church established in the Hawaiian Islands lives on today as an active and caring fellowship called Mokuaikaua Church. Founded in 1820, the church is commemorating its 200th anniversary with a massive preservation of its…
Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary: A Living, Teaching Tool
By Fern Gavelek The sun goes in and out of rain-filled clouds while driving up Koloko Mauka to the Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary (KCFS). Upon arrival, the air is cool and damp, smelling of dew and moist earth. The sun…
Bo Williams: Island Teen Proves “It Takes a Village”
By Fern Gavelek Restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic presented island youth with a variety of challenges: online school instruction, cancelled sporting events, and minimal, in-person interaction with friends. With the help of his community, a Hawai‘i Island teen…
Peer through the Lens of Photographer Wayne Levin
By Fern Gavelek Award-winning photographer Wayne Levin has exhibited images in galleries around the globe. You can see his work in New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Dimbola Museum and Galleries in England. His photos have appeared in…
Kathleen Abood Creates Purpose, Connects to Imagination Through Art
By Fern Gavelek One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure. This saying rings true for Kathleen Abood, who collects treasures to create art with intention. “I’ve always made stuff out of what I have on hand,” muses the Kailua-Kona resident.…
How One Boy’s Wish Benefits Thousands: The Jonathan Dale Miller Foundation
By Fern Gavelek A nine-year-old boy has left a legacy that’s been helping Hawai‘i Island’s needy families since 1999. To date, the Jonathan Dale Miller Foundation has personally touched approximately 4,000 families, affecting 15,000 underprivileged keiki (children) and 500 kūpuna…
The Meaningful Construction of Daifukuji Soto Mission
By Fern Gavelek The burgundy-colored building with white trim on Highway 11 at the entrance to Honalo (South Kona) is the landmark Daifukuji Soto Mission. The temple sits a bit off the road on the mauka (mountain) side, adjacent to…
4-H Clubs Inspire Kids “To Do”
By Fern Gavelek “It teaches kids life skills…It led me in the right direction and helped me while going through teenage moments…It offers projects for positive youth development…It enables kids to master a skill and chart their own direction…” What…
Future Forest Nursery: Say YES to Planting Trees
By Fern Gavelek “Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky.”—Khalil Gibran Trees make us look up. Their canopy provides shade and collects rain to replenish the watershed. Their roots sequester carbon, mitigating global warming, and store rain…
Ke Ola Magazine: 10 Years of Sharing ‘The Life’ of Hawai‘i Island
By Fern Gavelek You’ve read about well-known people such as pacemaker inventor Earl Bakken and landowner/steward Ed Olson. Musicians such as Cyril Pahinui and Kahulani. Artists such as Kathy Long and craft maker Ika Vea have been featured. There have…
The Wow Factor of Chef Sam Choy
By Fern Gavelek He cooks a mean oxtail soup and made poke a nationwide sensation. With 14 cookbooks, several TV shows, a string of celebrity clients, and involvement with numerous restaurants, Chef Sam Choy is a culinary ambassador for Hawai‘i.…
Statewide Boat Mooring Program Boasts Kona Roots
By Fern Gavelek From time to time, something is done purely because it is the pono (right) thing to do. How the statewide day-use mooring (DUM) system came to be is one of them. The strategically placed moorings protect marine…
Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers: Cultivating Successful Farmers to Feed Our Island
By Fern Gavelek Growing fruit in Hawai‘i to feed our island is one thing. Growing farmers to do it successfully is another. The Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers (HTFG) does both. The statewide nonprofit was founded in 1989 and boasts more…
Ka‘ū Coffee Festival: Celebrating a Crop that Brought Hope and Success
By Fern Gavelek Ten years ago, a group of folks were sitting on the lānai (porch) gazing out at healthy rows of Ka‘ū coffee trees laden with cherries. Beaming with pride and optimistic for the future, the neighboring Ka‘ū coffee…
LEED-Certified: Pālamanui Offers 21st-Century Learning
By Fern Gavelek Imagine going to college in a learning laboratory where sustainable building and design has earned the highest award in the green building industry. Residents of West Hawai‘i can do just that at Hawai‘i Community College, Pālamanui and…
VASH Hawai‘i Island: Nonprofit Comes to the Rescue of Visitor Misfortune
By Fern Gavelek Your friend vacationing from Minnesota loses her ID and worries how she will get on the plane to return home. After a day at the beach, a guest at your vacation rental is in a traffic accident…
Hands On History: Relive the Life of Kona’s Coffee Pioneers
By Fern Gavelek Step back in time to the 1920s–40s and relive the simple, yet arduous, life of Kona’s Japanese immigrant farmers during Hands On History at the Kona Coffee Living History Farm. It was a time when Kona farmers…
Flower Power!
By Fern Gavelek It all started more than a half century ago. The late Harold Tanouye Jr. was a college student in Iowa. In those days, Hawai‘i students attending mainland colleges stayed off island for the duration of their studies.…
It’s Cherry Blossom Time!
The age-old tradition of hanami is celebrated on Hawai‘I Island every first Saturday in February during the annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival. It’s when cool-clime Waimea, often back-dropped by a wintery white summit atop Mauna Kea, boasts an eruption…
Home Grown to Fulfill a Need: Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union
By Fern Gavelek Businesses come and businesses go, however, the Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union (HCFCU) endures after 80 years. With a charter membership of struggling coffee farmers, the credit union has evolved over eight decades to serve people from…
Then & Now: St. Michael the Archangel Church
By Fern Gavelek An 1855 landmark that housed North Kona’s Catholic community for more than 150 years, the original St. Michael the Archangel Church was damaged beyond repair during the October 2006 earthquake. A new church, reminiscent of the old…
Where Time Stands Still: The Manago Hotel
By Fern Gavelek Named after the family who founded it, the Manago Hotel endures as a piece of old Hawai‘i attracting visitors from around the world. With spotlessly clean, no-frills rooms that are accessed by a simple key, the Manago…
Sing-Song, Sing-Along! Celebrating 25 Years with the Kona Choral Society
By Fern Gavelek With one thing in common—the love to sing—Kona Choral Society’s 70-some members rehearse weekly to perform concerts for the enjoyment of the community. This year, KCS is marking its 25th year with a new name, additional performances,…
Success! Hakalau Forest Refuge: Scientists and Volunteers Partner to Save Forest Birds
By Fern Gavelek Hawai‘i’s geographical isolation means that the plants and animals found here have evolved unlike any other species found on earth. Human interaction and interference with once untouched habitats has rendered Hawai‘i the endangered species capital of the…
Uncle Billy Paris Talks Story
By Fern Gavelek He makes the best guava jelly and can sing a mean rendition of “Kona Kai ‘Opua.” Uncle Billy Paris has done many things during his 90 years of life and easily recalls all of them with pinpoint…
