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Kalaupapa

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

Free At Last

Wednesday, May 12th, 2021

Opinion by Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

The COVID-related meeting had been slated to happen in Pasqual Hall, the seat of Kalaupapa’s movie theater, originally dedicated in 1916 and rededicated in 2012. However, when morning dawned, we realized that the venue had been switched overnight to the shade of the great banyan tree just off Staff Row. We were not entirely surprised at this change, since this banyan tree has provided the shelter for all of our community meetings since COVID-19 hit our islands. It has been the safe gathering place.

On schedule, our Dept. of Health Administrator, Ken Seamon, appeared before us like Jesus Christ appeared to the apostles in the upper room after his resurrection.…

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Kalaupapa Today

Wednesday, April 21st, 2021

Opinion by Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

It is 8:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning and the trash collector has just left the church compound. There is still a residue of dew on the grassy lawn but the sun is shining, a slight breeze is blowing and soon that dew will be absorbed into the atmosphere. It would seem like any other Thursday in Kalaupapa but this day is different. It is Holy Thursday and tonight we will observe it like any of the many previous Holy Thursdays over the decades with Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7 p.m.…

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Kalaupapa’s First Seal Pup of Season

Wednesday, April 21st, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Kalaupapa welcomed its first Hawaiian monk seal pup born this season earlier this month. The baby was born to first-time mom RG18, herself born in Kalaupapa in 2015.

The Kalaupapa National Historical Park shared the news on their Facebook page, reminding the community to give new moms and pups plenty of extra space, with no swimming advised if they’re present on the beach.

Kalaupapa’s quiet coastline is a popular spot for monk seals to give birth each year, usually beginning in late March or early April. Pups are born with black fur and their coats later change to dark gray or brown.…

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The Last Farewell

Wednesday, March 24th, 2021

Opinion by Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

“There’s a ship lies rigged and ready in the harbor, tomorrow for old England she sails
Far away from your land of sunshine to my land full of rainy skies and gales
And I shall be aboard that ship tomorrow, though my heart is full of tears at this farewell
For you are beautiful and I have loved you dearly, more dearly than the spoken word can tell.”
For those of you who were into the hit songs of the 70s, “The Last Farewell” is one of them, sung by the great Kenyan-Englishman, Roger Whittaker, in 1971.…

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Aloha, Uncle Boogie

Wednesday, March 10th, 2021

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Kalaupapa’s Clarence “Boogie” Kahilihiwa will be remembered by many around the world for his big smile, even bigger presence and his life of advocacy for patients of Hansen’s disease in Kalaupapa. Uncle Boogie passed away on March 5 at the age of 79, following an illness.

Uncle Boogie served as president of Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa, an organization for patient residents and their families and friends, since 2011, as well as a member and former president of the Kalaupapa Lions Club. He retired from his job as a painter with the state Dept. of Health and managed the Kalaupapa Bookstore, a popular visitor stop on the Kalaupapa tour.…

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Kalaupapa Goodbyes

Wednesday, February 24th, 2021

Opinion by Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

It must have been about 9:30 p.m. and I had settled in bed for the night when it came to me by way of the voices of Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli, “Time to say goodbye….” I have no idea why this melody floated into my consciousness. In this song written for Andrea, the duo are saying goodbye to countries they have never shared with each other, but now they are in fact going to these countries on ships which don’t exist anymore. So, it’s time to say goodbye again. The opening verse is in Italian and I have only a couple of words of Italian in my vocabulary.…

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Baring Arms for the Cause

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

Opinion by Father Pat Killilea, St. Francis Church, Kalaupapa

Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, is credited with many witty sayings, most of which I dare not quote here, but this one I can. It goes, “Man who wears short sleeved shirt supports right to bare arms.” He has also been quoted as saying, “He who sits on needle gets the point.” Now I believe that most people would agree that getting a needle in the seat would not be something to look forward to, unless absolutely necessary. However, there are millions of people on our earth today who are looking forward to baring their arms and inviting some lovely young nurse to give them a shot or needle in the arm containing the COVID vaccine.…

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Kalaupapa Gets Vaccinated

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

Kalaupapa Gets Vaccinated

By Catherine Cluett Pactol

Residents and employees in Kalaupapa received COVID-19 vaccines last week delivered to the settlement.

Dr. Glenn Wasserman, chief of the Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division of the Hawaii Department of Health, and two DOH public health nurses flew to Kalaupapa Airport last Monday.

“It is gratifying to be able to protect our Kalaupapa patients and community with these vaccinations. Our patients are elderly with significant comorbidities that make them especially vulnerable to COVID-19,” said Dr. Wasserman. “We’ll be back in four weeks to administer a second dose of the Moderna vaccine to those who have now received their initial inoculations.”…

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Mahalo Mokulele

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

Kalaupapa Airport has been like a gathering place for many of us over the years. Then once this COVID struck our islands with such devastation, all this has changed and necessary restrictions by the Dept. of Health have prevented us from gathering there. That all changed on Saturday morning, Jan. 16, 2021, although only for a brief time, when we gathered in our masks at Terminal 1 to await the return of Boogie to our little township. After a brief delay, Mokulele’s flight touched down and taxied to a halt. A cheer went up as Boogie was taken from the plane and wheeled into the terminal in his wheelchair.…

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Bringing Boogie Home

Wednesday, January 27th, 2021

It is with deep gratitude that we send this huge mahalo nui to Mokulele Air for going out of their way to help the patients in Kalaupapa. They have made special trips to deliver food, supplies and patients. Boogie was able to return to his home in Kalaupapa last week. Even in his weakened physical state, it was obvious that his spirits were high. Words cannot express the deep joy and fondness that filled us as his flight landed and he emerged. Boogie “rode around” in his wheelchair to familiar places in the settlement, enjoying the crashing of the ocean, the beauties of the aina and meeting of friends along the way.…

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