Wahine Holo Lio (Women Riding Horses)
By Denise Laitinen They are easily one of the most popular parts of any floral parade in Hawai‘i. Sitting regally atop their horses adorned in lei, shimmering colored fabrics draping them from head to toe, the graceful women wave to…
Ka Puana: Aloha Joe in Hawaii
Joe Holt (aka Aloha Joe) was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1978. After living in orphanages, foster homes, and even a forced child labor camp, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on his seventeenth birthday. He was…
Talk Story with an Advertiser: Hawaii Water Service Company
Hawaii Water Service Company was formed in 2003 with the purchase of Ka‘anapali Water Corporation. Later, it purchased Pukalani Sewerage Treatment Works, Waikoloa Water Company, Waikoloa Sanitary Sewer Company, and Waikoloa Resort Utilities. Hawaii Water is a subsidiary of California…
Talk Story with an Advertiser: Bailey Vein Institute
Our leg veins have many one-way valves that allow blood to travel up toward the heart. Upon standing, the valves close in order to keep the blood from traveling backwards down the leg. When valves don’t close properly, blood travels…
Chocolate: Food of the Gods
By Sonia R. Martinez One of the perks of living in Hawai‘i is we can grow our own chocolate. Yes! Chocolate is made from cacao, and cacao trees grow very well on our island paradise. When strolling through the farmers…
Island Treasures: Holualoa Ukulele Gallery/Workshop—Hōlualoa
Sam B. Rosen was a jeweler on the mainland from 1956–1977. After moving to Hawai‘i Island in 1977, he became a goldsmith. Sam wanted to learn to play the ‘ukulele, so he went to an Adult Education Extension Class at…
Kiernan Music: A Legacy of Love from Father to Son
By Fannie Narte When you walk into Kiernan Music in Kainaliu, the guitars, ‘ukuleles, and musical paraphernalia that fill every wall and floor space overcome your visual senses. Without taking another step, you notice the unique instruments hanging on the…
Featured Cover Photographer: Dohn Chapman
A New England native, Dohn Chapman moved to Colorado to hike and explore the Rocky Mountains and ended up in the highest incorporated town in North America—Alma, a small mining town at a more than 10,000-foot elevation. In 1999, his…
A Place Like No Other: Dragonfly Ranch
Nestled in the South Kona hills, just along the treeline where the shade of great monkeypods cools the earth below, is a place so heavenly one could hardly believe it’s there. Descending the hill to Pu‘uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical…
A Brief History of: Kalalea Heiau
Peter T. Young Ka Lae is the site of one of the earliest Hawaiian settlements, and it has one of the longest archaeological records on the islands (included in the complex is the earliest recorded occupation site (124 AD.) (NPS)…
Every Store Has a Story: B. Ikeuchi & Sons, Inc. Hardware Store
By Barbara Fahs At the gateway to historic Waipi‘o Valley, in the town of Honoka‘a, the B. Ikeuchi & Sons, Inc. Hardware Store has been serving up essential supplies to local residents since 1918. It holds the record for being…
Celebrating a Long Time Advertiser: Trudy’s Island Arts
Shortly after Trudy and her husband Rick moved to Hawai‘i Island in 2003, Trudy met Katrina Bellak, who needed some help at her new art kiosk. Trudy worked a few nights a week until the shop moved to Ali‘i Gardens…
All Creatures Great and Small: Centipedes
By Stig Lindholm Off-island and rooting around in an English garden, my heart skipped a beat when turning over a rock I happened upon a centipede. Then, with surprised relief, I realized that an encounter with the British Isles’ cousin…
Managing with Aloha: Lōkahi
Lōkahi: the value of harmony and unity. The value of teamwork—collaboration and cooperation. Harmony and unity—people who work together can achieve more. Ninth in an ongoing series. By Rosa Say When I was young, my family bought a 21-foot fishing…
Signature of One’s Life: The Story of Ben Mahi Samson
By Gayle ‘Kaleilehua’ Greco A signature is an imprint, a sign of one’s self that signifies who we are. A signature comes in many forms, as common as a signed name to as subtle as a familiar color. What happens,…
Healing Plants: Pōpolo – Foundation of the Hawaiian Pharmacy
By Barbara Fahs Related to tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers in the nightshade family, pōpolo, also known as Solanum nigrum or black nightshade, was a common medicinal plant in Hawai‘i until modern times. Like its culinary relatives, pōpolo is a small…
What it’s Like to be Pā‘ū Queen
By Denise Laitinen It’s very humbling to be asked to be a pā‘ū queen,” says Anna Akaka, Pā‘ū Queen of the 2013 King Kamehameha Day Kona parade. Anna, the wife of Danny Akaka, Cultural Advisor for the Mauna Lani Bay…
World Wide Voyage: Wayfinding Around ‘Island’ Earth, Provisioning the Wa‘a
By Margaret Kearns E Lauhoe mai na wa‘a; i ke ka, i ka hoe, i ka hoe, i ke ka; pae aku i ka‘aina. Everybody paddle the canoes together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail, and the shore will be…
Pūnihi ‘o Mauna Kea
Written by the eighth grade class of Kumu ‘Ilikea Kam at Ke Kula ‘o ‘Ehunuikaimalino 2014 Hō‘anu ‘o Mauna Kea i ka pūnihi Pūnihi ka ‘ikena ma luna o nā moku Mauna Kea sits majestically in the cold The view…
Kolohe Diamond: Aunty Maile Spencer Napoleon
By Catherine Tarleton It could be “Twilight at Kalahuipua‘a,” or another cultural event on Hawai‘i Island where people gather to enjoy music, hula, and camaraderie by the ocean. As the audience waits for the first strum of ‘ukulele, the sun…
