• Failure notice from provider:
    Connection Error:http_request_failed

  • Submission Deadlines

    Advertising

    Thursday 4pm

    October 30, 2025

    Content

    Friday 4pm

    October 31, 2025

    To print on:

    Wednesday

    October 29, 2025

  • Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Google Plus Subscribe via RSS

Culture & Art

Ukulele Collector Strums Up Business

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

Ukulele Collector Strums Up Business

Todd Ragsdale, a boat builder, musician and fervent collector, wanted to try something different after retirement.

Six months ago, he fused his passion for music and fondness for collecting ukuleles into a business to share both his hobbies with Molokai. Thus was born Molokai Music Maker, where he sells handmade and vintage ukuleles from Hawaii, the mainland, Indonesia and beyond.

“It’s like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” said Ragsdale, a Honolulu native, while plucking one of his many ukuleles, improvising a melody at Hotel Molokai’s weekly Friday market. “You can’t have the peanut butter without the jelly. You come to Hawaii, you should have a ukulele.”…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

ArtAloha! Summer Art Activities

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

Community Contributed 

By Heather Williams

Open Studio and Keiki Art Classes will be held every Wednesday from 1 to 5 p.m. Projects of focus for June and July are painting murals of the ocean life and natural/found object mosaic murals with focus of malama for the ocean. Collaborative and individual works of artistic techniques and concepts will be developed.

The art show of the Global Art Project for Peace opening will be held on Friday, June 27 from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. with art activities and pupus.  Stop by on your way to the beach! The art will be on display every Wednesday 1 to 5 p.m.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

OHA Trustees to Hold Meetings On Molokai

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

OHA News Release

Native Hawaiians on Molokai will get an opportunity to provide feedback to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) at a community forum as well as a regular meeting scheduled by the Board of Trustees.

The community meeting is designed for OHA officials to listen to concerns and highlight efforts to improve conditions within Hawaiian communities. Both meetings are open to the public. Here are the specifics:

Community Meeting
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
6:30 p.m.
Kulana `Oiwi Halau

OHA Board of Trustees Meeting
Thursday, June 19, 2014
9 a.m.
Kulana `Oiwi Halau

For more information, visit oha.org, or call OHA’s office on Molokai at (808) 560-3611.…

Posted in , , , , commentsAdd your comment

Blast from the Past

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

Blast from the Past

The unearthing of time capsules at the 75th anniversary of Molokai High School, held last month, brought back many memories. Pictured here are staff and faculty in 1989 from a photo buried at the 50th anniversary.

A letter dated May 26, 1989 from then-principal Clifford Horita expressed wishes from the past.

“When this message is read in the year 2014, we want to wish all of you greetings from 1989,” he wrote. “I hope that Molokai’s ‘friendliest spirit” still exist in 2014 as it is existing today. We wish all of you a successful 75th celebration.”

The letter was carefully wrapped in plastic, along with many other memorabilia, including the May 1989 Anniversary and Senior Special Edition of Ke Kukui `O Molokai, the student newspaper of the high and intermediate schools.…

Posted in , , commentsAdd your comment

A Show from the History Books

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

A Show from the History Books

Community Contributed

Editor’s note: For decades, Bob Hope brought entertainment and smiles to millions of U.S. troops through United Service Organizations (USO), making 57 tours for the USO between 1941 and 1991. Two weeks ago, Aka`ula school put on its third annual USO-tribute show, with a full cast of characters performed entirely by Aka`ula students. Below, reprinted with permission from Aka`ula’s newsletter, are what students had to say about the experience.

USO Dress Rehearsal

By Dillon DeCoite, 8th Grade

Even though it was a dress rehearsal, I think we did great.  The audience was mostly our parents and family members, and they sold food and drinks on the side. …

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

End of Isolation at Kalaupapa Commemoration

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

Hui Malama Makanalua News Release

This year, June 30 marks the 45th anniversary of the end of the isolation of Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients at the Makanalua peninsula, commonly known as Kalaupapa. To observe this anniversary and honor those who were subject to the policy, local nonprofit Hui Malama Makanalua will be placing lei made from natural materials at every known burial site on the peninsula. This project, named Lei Hali`a O Kalaupapa(lei in remembrance of Kalaupapa), will be completed with the assistance of Kalaupapa National Park personnel.

From 1866 to 1969, nearly 8,000 individuals with Hansen’s disease were sent to live in “quarantine” on the peninsula.…

Posted in , , , commentsAdd your comment

Veterans Corner

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Jesse Church

Aloha my fellow veterans and residents of Molokai, old Jesse here with all the veterans news and upcoming events. Wear a class ring? If you’re a graduate of the Air Force Academy, the first class ring was in 1959 for its first graduating class. That class lay the groundwork for a side of the ring depicting not only the class number and year, but also the Polaris star and the eagle, a stable for each future ring. Why? Polaris, the North Star, signifies hope, light and direction, and has been adapted as the symbol for the Academy’s core values to provide guidance and destination.…

Posted in , commentsAdd your comment

Feeding Molokai Sustainably

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014

Feeding Molokai Sustainably

Molokai used to be known as “Molokai `Aina Momona,” or the abundant land, for its plentiful food supply that fed a population many times its current size. Like much of the state, Molokai now imports most of the food found in its stores and restaurants — 98 percent, in fact.

But the food served on Molokai’s dinner tables is a different story. About 40 percent of food consumed comes from subsistence sources such as hunting, fishing, gathering and home grown fruits and vegetables, according to a 2012 study conducted by Sust `aina ble Molokai.

“[The high level of subsistence] means that if disaster hits, Molokai is actually better off than other islands even though food production is less [than other islands],” said Emillia Noordhoek, executive director of Sust `aina ble Molokai.…

Posted in , , , , , , , commentsAdd your comment

Novel Set in Ancient Hawaii

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Novel Set in Ancient Hawaii

Gem Thomas News Release

“Strong Roads: Blues and Greens and Blood”is the title of Gem Thomas’ newest novel. It was written while the author travelled throughout Molokai in 2012. His novel is a creative non-fiction work. The work was inspired by a legend in Hawaii that is centuries old. This is the first novel rooted deep in Hawaiian culture and in addition, uses a new medium to share the story.

It tells the tale of Spanish soldier, Alonso Truylos, who survives a shipwreck by washing ashore the sixteenth-century, Island of Hawaii. Eventually, the character becomes a chief and falls for a higher-classed chiefess.…

Posted in , comments2 Comments

Protecting the Irreplaceable

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Hawaii has a rich history, which means the state has a wide range of historic places that should be preserved, conserved and protected. Molokai is leading the way in historic preservation, according to Kiersten Faulkner, executive director of nonprofit Historic Hawaii Foundation (HHF).

“Molokai has set the standard and set the bar high on preserving active cultural sites, such as the fishponds restoration,” said  Faulkner, who came to Molokai May 17 to hold a seminar on historic preservation. “Molokai has been fierce advocates for a sense of place. The rest of the state is way behind Molokai.”

About 15 Molokai residents and HHF representatives met at Kulana `Oiwi to discuss the importance of preserving historic resources on Molokai.…

Posted in , , , comments1 Comments