Author Archives: Catherine Cluett Pactol

The American Sugar Company and its Kaunakakai Wells

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Community Contributed

By Arleone Dibben-Young

Eager to begin a sugar plantation after the Feb. 2, 1898 sale of the Molokai Ranch to the new Molokai Ranch Company, director Alfred W. Carter hired the McCandless Brothers partnership to drill test wells in Kaunakakai. Arriving on the Wilder steamer Helene in Kaunakakai with a crew of men and a complete artesian well drilling boring outfit on April 22, 1898, “Kimo” J. S. McCandless immediately commenced setting up the equipment three-quarters of a mile up Kaunakakai Gulch from the ocean.

Two wells were drilled 40 feet apart and 80 to 90 feet deep with an 8-inch casing and were completed by July, then used to irrigate 80 acres of cane planted on the flats below where Manilla Camp stands today.…

Honorary Mayors of Kaunakakai

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

Honoring kupuna is one of the age-old traditions that’s part of Molokai’s cultural DNA. One way residents have recognized the service of kupuna is through the election of an Honorary Mayor of Kaunakakai. The tradition has evolved over the past century –it’s been hosted by a variety of organizations, passed down in many versions of oral history and has even been memorialized in a nationally-known song.

Probably the best-known Honorary Mayor was Mitchell “Papa” Pauole in the mid-1900s, a well-loved Molokai resident who embodied the aloha spirit, greeted visitors at the airport, and served the community in many capacities. But the tradition of Honorary Mayor began long before Papa Pauole, according to Halawa resident and cultural practitioner Pilipo Solatorio.…