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Kalaupapa

Kalaupap Peninsula and Kalawao County news, articles, and stories.

Observing Damien’s Feast Day

Thursday, May 28th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

She stepped off the plane with a broad smile on her lovely face and gave me a big squeeze as I welcomed her. The Miracle Girl, Audrey Toguchi, who credits the intercession of Father Damien with her miraculous cure from cancer, had come to Kalaupapa to join us in celebrating St. Damien’s feast day. Shortly thereafter, we climbed aboard my Paddy Wagon and rode out to St. Philomena in Kalawao to celebrate Mass in honor of St. Damien in the church he himself built. Led in song by the St, John’s choir, we had a beautiful celebration.…

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Ground Breaking for Kalaupapa Memorial

Friday, May 8th, 2015

Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa News Release

The land where the Kalaupapa Memorial will be located was blessed and ground was broken during the annual meeting of Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa, April 24 and 25.

“We have dedicated the ‘aina for our Memorial,” announced Boogie Kahilihiwa, President of the `Ohana, after an emotional procession to the site on the grounds of the former Baldwin Boys Home in Kalawao.

Kalaupapa resident John Arruda, who was sent to Kalaupapa in 1945, then called for a groundbreaking. Using a fallen branch from nearby, he dug into the ground along with Kahilihiwa who dug with the points of the ski poles he was using as walking sticks.…

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Beachcomber Of Kalaupapa

Friday, May 1st, 2015

Community Contributed

By Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

I approached the huge log with caution and a degree of awe. There was something majestic about this massive piece of tree, something almost mysterious. How did it get here? When did it get here? Had it been floated from some other location in ancient times, destined to be shaped into a wa`a, a Hawaiian canoe? I stood there looking down at its great length and enormous girth and I thought, “God only knows.” Then I stepped around it and continued to explore the beach.

It was a beautiful sunny and windy Sunday afternoon and I had decided to leave the quiet of Kalaupapa village and explore the outer fringes of this Makanalua peninsula.…

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Kalaupapa General Management Plan

Friday, April 24th, 2015

KNHP News Release

The Kalaupapa National Historical Park (KNHP) Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement is now available for public review.

“This draft plan is the culmination of years of planning and engagement with the public,” said KNHP Superintendent Erika Stein Espaniola. “We are thrilled to present the draft plan on the eve of the National Park Service’s Centennial in 2016. We are now asking for feedback on the draft plan we can make the best long-term decisions for Kalaupapa in partnership with the State of Hawaii agencies, many stakeholders and the public.”

The purpose of the KNHP Draft General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement is to articulate a vision and overall management philosophy for Kalaupapa that will guide decision-making by current and future management teams during the next 15 to 20 years.…

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Friday, April 10th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

It was time for my evening walk and Bailey accompanied me as is his custom. We walked past the Care Home where a nurse is always on duty to tend to any patient who is in need of care. We passed the Visitors’ Quarters and the Wilcox House, both of which accommodate visitors who come to experience this special settlement for a few days. We passed the Bayiew Home which now serves as offices for some of the National Park personnel as well as sleeping accommodations for others. When we got to the next intersection, we paused at the memorial Celtic Cross erected by the English in 1893 to the memory of Fr.…

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Kalaupapa Conserves Pieces of History

Friday, April 3rd, 2015

Kalaupapa Conserves Pieces of History

Community Contributed

By Carrie Mardorf, Chief of Cultural Resources, Kalaupapa National Historical Park

From March 9 to 20, Kalaupapa National Historical Park hosted two conservators, Curtis Sullivan and Theresa Voellinger, to conserve a number of significant objects within the park’s curatorial facility.  Sullivan and Voellinger are employed at Harpers Ferry Center, a specialized National Park Service (NPS) conservation and interpretive center in West Virginia.

During the course of two weeks, nine objects associated with Kalaupapa were conserved, including a crib from Bishop Home, an end table owned by Kenso Seki, large poi board, three ledger books from the American Japanese Association Hall, an Ed Kato sketch, and birth certificate and passport of Kenso Seki.…

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Season’s First Pup

Wednesday, March 18th, 2015

Season’s First Pup

This black-coated baby is the first Hawaiian monk seal of the season born on Papaloa Beach, Kalaupapa last week.  Researchers don’t yet know whether it’s a boy or a girl. The mother, named RV06 by scientists, was also born in Kalaupapa in 2005, said Diane Pike, Molokai response coordinator for the Monk Seal Foundation.

Last year, RV06’s pup died after three days, but so far this year, mother and pup seem to be doing fine, Pike said.

Hawaiian monk seals are highly endangered, with only about 1,100 individuals alive today. Scientists believe the Hawaiian monk seal, along with the Hoary Bat, are the only two species of mammals indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands.…

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Kalaupapa Exhibit One-Day Free Showing

Thursday, March 12th, 2015

Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa News Release

Molokai residents will be offered free admission to the Kalaupapa Photo Exhibit showing at the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center on Sunday, March 15, from 1 to 4 p.m.

The exhibit, titled “A Reflection of Kalaupapa: Past, Present and Future,” was developed by Ka `Ohana O Kalaupapa. It features 100 framed photographs of the people of Kalaupapa and their family members from as early as 1884 through current times.

The museum is normally closed on Sundays, but Noelani Keliikipi, Executive Director of the museum, the Board of Directors and museum volunteers all wanted to make sure Molokai residents had the opportunity to visit.…

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Return to Youth in Kalaupapa

Friday, February 27th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

They were waiting for me in the clearing at the foot of the Kalaupapa trail when I drove up in my Paddy Wagon. It had taken these young people and their adult adviser a casual hour and a half to hike from topside Molokai to Kalaupapa. It was obvious that this quintet of teens and their adviser, Mr. Edgar Alvarez, from St. Damien Parish in Kaunakakai were excited about their visit to our unique settlement, the land of Saints Damien and Marianne.

Shortly thereafter back at the parish house, I learned that a couple of the girls were members of the Farmers’ Basketball team who represented Molokai High School so honorably on the court in recent weeks.…

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‘All Day, All Night, Marianne’

Thursday, February 12th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

“All day, all night, Marianne

Down by the seaside siftin’ sand.

Even little children love Marianne

Down by the seaside siftin’ sand.

When she walks along the shore, people pause to greet

White birds fly around her; little fish come to her feet.”

So go some of the lines from one of my favorite popular songs from the 50s, sung by the great Harry Belafonte, among others. Now you may say that this is an unusual way to introduce the celebration of a saint. Yet that is precisely what I am doing as I think of Mother Marianne Cope, now St.…

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