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Culture & Art

Ku Ka Lau Lama 2012

Monday, December 10th, 2012

Ku Ka Lau Lama 2012

Under the spreading branches of the banyan tree at the Molokai Community Health Center, Aka`ula School parents and supporters enjoyed a prime rib dinner during the school’s annual Ku Ka Lau Lama fundraiser. The event raises money needed for purchasing school supplies and equipment, as well as funding the financial aid program for Aka`ula students. One of several annual fundraisers for the school, it also featured a large collection of silent auction items and the opportunity for guests to donate school supplies to the giving tree.

“It’s a challenge for nonprofits and schools across the board, so we’re extremely grateful that the community is willing to help support educational choice,” said Victoria Newberry, one of the founding teachers.…

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A Christmas for Kupuna

Monday, December 10th, 2012

A Christmas for Kupuna

This year’s Senior Christmas Gala was a night full of food, music and dancing. The celebration last Saturday, hosted at Mitchell Pauole Center, marked the sixth and final Senior Gala dinner, due to budget cuts from the county, according to Barbara Haliniak of the Molokai Island Foundation, which organizes the event. For the first time this year, Molokai High School (MHS) athletes from the girls’ volleyball team volunteered to serve the kupuna dinner. Photo by Caylee Ledesma.…

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Why We Must Save Paradise

Thursday, December 6th, 2012

Why We Must Save Paradise

Community Contributed

By Mike Bond

Hawaii has changed much in recent years. Places on the Big Island that were narrow country roads in my youth are now four-lane highways. What were taro fields and home gardens on Maui are now parking lots and air-conditioned shopping centers.

Even Molokai is threatened. Mainland energy companies, working with Molokai Ranch, want to turn thousands of beautiful Molokai acres into an industrial zone and construct high voltage cables through Molokai reef and the whale sanctuary. They would bring in hundreds of foreign and mainland workers, and ruin our culture and our aina forever.

So we have to protect what’s left, and malama Molokai, our culture and our greater ohana – which is everyone who loves and tries to protect Hawaii.…

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Photos: Parade of Lights 2012

Thursday, December 6th, 2012

Photos: Parade of Lights 2012

The faces of hundreds of keiki and ohana lining Ala Malama Avenue lit up as lavishly decorated Christmas-themed floats and marching teams paraded past last Saturday night. The Molokai Island Foundation’s fifth annual Parade of Lights featured 13 floats and eight marching units this year, including entries from Friendly Market, Monsanto, and other local businesses. Just a few of this year’s favorites included Rudolph the reindeer school bus, Poinsettia hula dancers, the Grinch and of course, Santa Claus.

Families and local organizations dedicated hours to designing and decorating their floats in hopes of winning this year’s contest. The Grinch and Whoville float, representing the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints, took home the grand prize of $700.…

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Remembering the Pearl Harbor Attack

Sunday, December 2nd, 2012

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise military attack on the U.S. naval base at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor. Eight U.S. battleships were damaged, and four were sunk. One hundred eighty-eight U.S. aircraft were destroyed. Two thousand four hundred two Americans were killed and more than 1,000 were wounded. The attack shocked Americans, and prompted the U.S. entry into World War II, with a declaration of war on Japan announced the following day.

Around Hawaii, residents feared further Japanese attacks. On Molokai, the community experienced black-outs, drills and food rationing. In honor of Pearl Harbor Day this Friday, the Dispatch asked Molokai residents to share memories of reactions on the day of the attack and life in the months that followed.…

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OHA Sponsors Scholarship Fairs

Friday, November 30th, 2012

OHA Sponsors Scholarship Fairs

OHA News Release

A series of scholarship fairs will be held around the state, sponsored in part by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). Their intent is in part to provide Native Hawaiians with greater financial aid. The Molokai fair will be held on Dec. 13 at Kulana Oiwi from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Known as the 2012-2013 Native Hawaiian Scholarship ‘Aha, these fairs are part of a partnership with the University of Hawaii, GEAR Up Hawaii, and the Native Hawaiian Education Association. Last year, OHA awarded $718,000 in scholarship money to an estimated 300 Native Hawaiian students, who received between $1,000 and $4,500 to assist with expenses for about 80 colleges, including Cornell University in New York and Stanford University in California.…

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Arts Center Pot and Plant Sale

Friday, November 30th, 2012

Arts Center Pot and Plant Sale

MAC News Release

The Molokai Arts Center (MAC) will be having an open house and Pot and Plant sale at the Arts Center located in Kualapu`u, behind Coffees of Hawaii, on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. After nearly one year in this location, the artists are all excited to share their space and talents with the island.

Everyone has been busy creating planters for the sale, which is a fundraiser for the center. There are pots of all sizes, some with plants, and some without. In addition, other items will be offered for sale including bird baths, ceramic plant tags, garden luminaries, bird houses and even gift memberships for that hard to buy for person on your Christmas list.…

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A Natural Cleanse

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

A Natural Cleanse

Molokai Soaps of Hawaii uses natural, local ingredients

Think about a bar of soap. What probably jumps to mind is a hard, waxy block stamped with a generic brand that you bought in a pack from the grocery store. If you’ve ever bathed with a bar of handcrafted soap produced by Molokai Soaps of Hawaii, however, you’d have a different definition.

Master soaper Patricia Hammond is renowned for her artisanal approach, crafting all-natural products sourced from local ingredients. Her creations not only delight the senses but also promote a sense of well-being. Each meticulously crafted bar of soap bears the hallmark “Molokai” and is accompanied by a note detailing its creation process.…

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The American Sugar Company and its Kaunakakai Wells

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

The American Sugar Company and its Kaunakakai Wells

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.…

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Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa Gets OHA Grant for Outreach

Wednesday, November 21st, 2012

Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa Gets OHA Grant for Outreach

Community Contributed

By Valerie Monson, Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa

For many families with ties to Kalaupapa, finding their ancestors who lived in the settlement is like piecing together a puzzle, and many youth today are left in the dark about Kalaupapa’s history. Thanks to a $53,665 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs awarded to organization Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa, school outreach and the restoration of family ties programs will become possible.

“The ‘Ohana thanks OHA for having confidence in us to help teachers include the history of Kalaupapa in their classrooms and to continue our efforts to assist descendants of the people of Kalaupapa obtain information about their kupuna,” said Clarence “Boogie” Kahilihiwa, President of the `Ohana and a resident of Kalaupapa for more than 50 years.…

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