Wood Sculptor Jan C. Orbom
By Margaret Kearns Spanning more than four decades, Jan C. Orbom’s art has journeyed though many different mediums—from Hollywood set designer, to poet, wood sculptor, and classical guitar musician. Today, in his home perched high above the spectacular South Kona…
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…
Edwin Kayton: Advocate of Island Renaissance
By Margaret Kearns Ka’ū-based artist Edwin Kayton approaches his work in just the same way he lives his life: quietly with humility and respect for humanity, spirituality, culture, and nature. And it’s these very qualities that have endeared him to…
Every Store Has a Story: Keauhou Store in Hōlualoa
By Margaret Kearns Keauhou Store History Yoshisuke Sasaki was born in Japan in 1885 and immigrated to Honolulu at age 15 to work in construction. He later moved to Kona, earning a living making coffins and building redwood water tanks…
What the World Needs Now: Peace, Harmony, and Love, Sweet Love
By Margaret Kearns Sacred lands, historical treasures cherished and protected by the people of Hawai‘i, exist throughout the island chain. All possess special mana (power or energy) and some much more than others. On Hawai‘i Island, one such place is…
I Live. I Love. I Race. Kailua-Kona’s Own Triathlete Bree Wee
By Margaret Kearns “Nice.” Who would expect that to be the first descriptor for a fiercely competitive triathlete? That, however, is the word heard repeatedly from fellow competitors, fans, sponsors, and trainers when asked about Hawai‘i Island’s most stellar female…
“Beetle Juice” Inoculates Kona Coffee Against Coffee Beetle Borer
By Margaret Kearns Greenwell is a name synonymous with Kona coffee in Hawai‘i with patriarch Henry Nicholas Greenwell lauded as the marketing genius who put the region’s highly-sought brew on connoisseurs’ radar worldwide more than 150 years ago. Greenwell, a…
Hawaiian Petroglyphs Tell Stories of the Past
By Margaret Kearns K‘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…
It Was a Hard Day’s Night for Cindy Coats: Now She’s Back, With a Little Help From Her Friends
By Margaret Kearns Holualoa resident Cindy Coats recalls distinctly the moment she declared her chosen profession. “I was 10 years old and had just seen the most incredible movie with my mother,” she says. The movie? It was The Beatles’…
Hawaiian Quilting: Creating Treasures, Passed Down from Generation to Generation
By Margaret Kearns Scattered around Hawai‘i Island, small groups of women—and a handful of men—are using passion and knowledge, skill and patience, hands and hearts to save what they say is a dying art. Hawaiian quilting is literally a labor…
Fallen Trees Turn to Art with Tai Lake and Family—Fine Furniture and Art Collaboratives
By Margaret Kearns At the very top of an unmarked, dead-end road in charming Holualoa Village lives a unique family of Lakes, five in all. Fired by vision, passion, and inextinguishable energy, this family is headed by internationally-acclaimed artist and…
The Story of “Lefty” the Sea Turtle
By Margaret Kearns Green sea turtles (honu in Hawaiian) are among Hawai‘i’s most popular, positively charming marine creatures. Revered by ancient Hawaiians, one legend tells the story of a mystical honu, Kauila, who resided in the waters off Hawai‘i Island.…
Bringing Hawai‘iʻs Scenery Indoors: Plein Air Painter Sita Soesman Finds Joy in Landscapes
By Margaret Kearns Long-time Hawai‘i Island resident and O‘ahu native Sita Soesman is a rare talent—one of those fortunate individuals gifted equally with excellent business, marketing and sales skills, and amazing artistic talent. Mix all of that with unbridled enthusiasm,…
Saving the Nightingale: Four-Legged Coffee Farm Workers Now Unemployed and Endangered
By Margaret Kearns One of Hawai‘i Island’s most charming creatures—known as Kona Nightingales—played an integral role in island heritage, especially in the history and development of the island’s Kona coffee industry. These beloved donkeys bray from farm to farm at…
He Knows the Uke from the Inside Out: Sam Rosen—Craftsman, Teacher, and Historian
By Margaret Kearns Longtime Hawai‘i Island resident Sam Rosen is preserving one of Hawaii’s cultural treasures, one student and one ‘ukulele at a time. Soon after relocating to Hawai‘i Island 33 years ago, Rosen found he finally had the time…
