Banana Muse (April 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Yes, the Latin word for the banana is Musa. Coincidence? The banana belongs to the plants of the ancients and has been given God-like powers in many diverse cultures. These "old-world" plants are thought to have originated in India and played an important role in ancient Egypt and Assyria as early as 1100 BC.
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Birds of a Feather (Spring/Summer 1999) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, 15 ancestral species from 11 families of birds came to rest on newly formed lava islands thrusting from the sea more than 2,000 miles from any land. These first birds thrived in isolation from enemies and predators, evolving in their own leisurely fashion to some 78 bird species unique to Hawai‘i.
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Burros and Beans (Spring/Summer 2002) By Jim Lightner

A well-conditioned, mature donkey can carry about a 125 pound load at the speed of a human’s stroll all day long. The donkeys were a key component in developing the Kona coffee industry on the steep slopes of Hualalai Volcano.
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The Coconut Tree - Staff of Life? (February 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

The tall coconut tree sways in the Hawaiian trades. Many visitors to the islands expect to see these graceful palms or look forward to an authentic pina colada. They mail the coconuts to their snowbound relatives elsewhere. Ah, how sweet the tropics.
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Guardian Geckos (September 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Ten years ago, on the Puna side of this island, I spent my first few nights in Hawaii sleepless and stunned. It wasn't just the sudden transition from stark northern Europe to the lush and humid tropics that kept me awake. I found myself to be a captive audience to the most bizarre spectacle between creatures that I had ever seen.
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The Hala Tree and The Art of Lauhala (Fall/Winter 1995-1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

When I first saw a hala tree, I was reminded of the ancient trees in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I believe they were called ents. They were very wise and lovable, there were many of them, and they could walk. That sums up the hala tree.
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Nene - Saving the State Bird (Winter 1999) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Legend? Actually, the shy Hawaiian Goose (Branta Sandvicensis), unique to the islands, seems to have missed out on the great mythologies of the Hawaiian people, although it is mentioned in the Kumulipo, the great creation chant, as a guardian.
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Pueo, The Protector (March 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

The cry of the owl has followed me from country to country, continent to continent. The silent scream that once penetrated the snow-burdened hills and frozen glens in Northern Scotland now wakes me up to the eerie surf breaking against the steep cliffs below our house in the tropics of Kohala.
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The Kona Grosbeak (Spring/Summer 2000) By Les Drent

Already rare when Wilson visited Hawaii, the Kona grosbeak was found at elevations of about 5,000 feet in the Kona district amid the koa forest. In 1887 Wilson was one of the last to observe the bird in life, for it was last reliably sighted in 1894. He saw only three specimens in a four-week stay, and so rare was the bird that it apparently had no name in the Hawaiian language.
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The Struggle of the Ancients (August 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

They lived through the age of the dinosaurs. They survived the earth's age of ice. Sea turtles, the true ancients of the world, have been swimming the oceans for over 200 million years. And for the first time in all these millennia, six out of the seven species are either endangered and on the verge of extinction, or threatened to become endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
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Tapping the Roots of Taro (November 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

The roots of taro run deeper in the Hawaiian culture than they sink into the muddy patches of Waipi'o Valley or even into the ruins of ancient dry land lo'i (terraces) at Greenbank in North Kohala, once part of the great King Kamehameha's ahupua'a.
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Taro, Gift of the Ancient Gods (Fall/Winter 1995-1996 ) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Wakea, Father Heaven, could no longer resist his desire for his youngest daughter. Careful to not arouse the jealousy of his wife, Mother Earth, he arranged nights of kapu, in which men and women should sleep apart from each other. Those were the beginnings of the many kapus between men and women.
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ULU - The Breadfruit Tree (Winter 1999) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Its beauty stands out in any garden, grove, or yard. Easily 40-60 feet tall, with branches spanning a similar-size diagonally, the sensual, dark-green lobed leaves of the breadfruit tree form a graceful tapestry from which sexy, lime-green globes, weighing up to 10 pounds each, dangle gracefully in the Hawaiian trades.
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Wild Forests of the Gods (Spring/Summer 1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

The word for wealth and prosperity in the Hawaiian language is 'wai-wai', 'water-water' or 'abundant water'. Young Pele might well reside over the fire of the volcano; with the life-giving power of water the old gods continue their legacy in the wild rainforests and remote valleys of Hamakua and Kohala.
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The Best Brews (Spring/Summer 1999) By Lance Tominaga

Dare to be different. Bold is better. Life is an adventure. Those are the messages David Palmer champions at his two Café Pesto restaurants on the Big Island. What’s worked well for us is blending the familiar with the exotic, says Palmer. Everyone knows what a pizza is, so we like to put exotic toppings on it. We let them be adventurous.
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Getting to the Roots of Hawaii Regional Cuisine (May 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Mention local food in Hawaii, and people think of fish and poi, plate lunches with macaroni salad and rice, squid luau made with taro leaves, or poke made of raw fish and seaweed.
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Let's Go Grind (November 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

When a Hawaiian friend says, "Hey, pau hana let's go my house for grind. We got plenty ono pupu-poke, musubi, might even be some pipikaula and po'i in the fridge," don't hold your stomach (or cover your ears) in bewilderment.
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What's That Fish On My Plate (July 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

The abundant bounty of the oceans doesn't strictly define Hawaii cuisine, yet it surely is one of its strongest and most influential characteristics. Times have long passed when one could only choose local mahimahi or snapper in restaurants where the menu was otherwise filled with imported and frozen sole, lobster or salmon.
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1999 Downfall of Kona Coffee (Spring/Summer 1999) By Les Drent

After writing for six years on the subject of Kona coffee and having expended countless number of hours lobbying and writing for the protection and preservation of our Kona coffee name, I have sworn many times to remove myself of any personal involvement within this industry outside of my coffee roasting and retailing business which I truly love and enjoy to work at.
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1998 - What's Brewing in our Kona Coffee Industry (Winter 1999) By Les Drent

When everything is finalized with the production of this magazine and all the coffee has been roasted and shipped out to my customers I can finally look forward to that brief window of opportunity to report to you the current happenings in our local Kona coffee industry.
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What You Don't Know About Kona Coffee (Fall/Winter 1995-1996) By Les Drent

Since the first issue of Coffee Times rolled off the press in April 1993 I pledged to myself to do everything possible to bring awareness to an issue that for many years has done more harm to Kona Coffee than any other. That being the truth in labeling of one of Hawaii's few remaining agricultural commodities, Kona Coffee. Thus, the name Coffee Times.
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The Pilgrimage of Kona Coffee (March 1993) By Les Drent

"Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other, be it grown where it may and call it by what name you please." Mark Twain, 1866. It has been many years since Reverend Samuel Ruggles brought the first coffee plant cuttings to Kealakekua-Kona, Hawaii.
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Coffee Times 1994 State of the Bean Address (October 1994) By Les Drent

The sweet smell of freshly pulped coffee cherry stagnates in the morning air as coffee shacks of decrepit weathered wood and their patchwork of tin roofs sit low in the shade of tropical foliage. Woodrose creeps in the foreground, up crooked telephone poles and out across weeping lines.
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Coffee Farming in Kona, Hawaii (October 1993) By Les Drent

The majority of the coffee in Kona is harvested between the months of July and December and many of the small mills that process the raw coffee cherries swing into full operation during this time of the year.
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The Great Kona Coffee Scandal (Spring/Summer 2001) By Les Drent

DID YOU KNOW that out of the 20 million pounds of Kona Coffee bought and consumed every year only 2 million pounds of that coffee is actually grown here in Kona?
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Kona Coffee Booms (October 1997) By Les Drent

A bountiful 1997 Kona coffee harvest is upon us and strong growth in our industry seems to be upon us as well. The high demand for Kona coffee around the world and increasing cherry prices have resulted in widespread planting of coffee by small to large size farms all around Kona.
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Kona Coffee Soars To New Heights (Spring/Summer 2000) By Les Drent

The new numbers now surrounding the Kona coffee industry are staggering. It was only 10 years ago that Kona coffee acreage dropped to a mere 1,200 acres as the name “Kona Coffee” was becoming more of an icon throughout the coffee crazed world than the actual prized coffee bean from Kona.
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Kona Coffee Pioneers (Fall/Winter 1999-2000) By Kona Coffee Living History Farm

The "American Dream" was founded on the principals and idealism of equality, determination and freedom. Often the "American Dream" is associated with European immigrants leaving economic privation and political and religious oppression in their homelands to build a new and better life in America.
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The Future Continues to Brighten for 100% Kona Coffee (Fall/Winter 2000-2001) By Les Drent

With the final chapter being written in the fraudulent Kona coffee case; a state wide Hawaii Coffee association gaining momentum and planted acreage in Kona continuing to rise; farmers, millers, roasters and retailers of 100% Kona coffee have much to look forward to.
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Hand Harvesting Ripe Coffee is an Art (Fall/Winter 2000-2001) By Les Drent

A ripe coffee bean - plump and red - signals harvest. Each year in Kona, where hand picking is the norm, one by one, the coffee beans come off the tree. Red coffee cherries must be picked without disturbing the unripe coffee beans on the coffee branch. This is a critical step in quality coffee production, according to George Yasuda, agricultural consultant for Tiare Lani Coffee, Inc.
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Elixer For The Soul (Fall/Winter 2000-2001) By Nancy Michael

If you're a coffee fanatic you probably use a French press coffee pot. It's a simple design that makes great coffee quickly and easily. Just place the fairly coarse ground fresh coffee in the bottom of the French press pot, pour water "just off the boil" over the grounds and let it sit for a few minutes.
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Final Chapter Written In The Kona Kai Coffee Scandal (Spring/Summer 2001) By Les Drent

Former Kona Coffee Supplier Gets Jail Time, New Assurances Of Kona Coffee Purity Implemented In Oakland this past March, U.S. District Judge D. Lowell Jensen sentenced Michael Norton, 53, owner of the now defunct Kona Kai Coffee, to 30 months in prison as a result of his pleading guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion.
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100% Kona Coffee Industry Strengthens (Spring/Summer 2001) By Patti Stratton

Coffee in Kona has had a long history since the original plant was brought to the area by missionary Samuel Ruggles in 1828 and replaced by a Guatemalan variety introduced in 1892. It's the soil and climate that determines the taste of any coffee, and this plant has thrived in the acidic soil on the gentle slopes of Mauna Loa volcano drenched by daily showers during the wet Summer season.
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Coexistence of Rainforests and Coffee Orchards in Kona (Spring/Summer 2001 ) By George Yasuda

Within 2 centuries a lot of koa and ohia forests have either disappeared or have drastically been reduced in Kona. Once where nice stands of koa and ohia flourished, there now lie no koa or ohia trees. There are several reasons for this decline including agriculture and ranching.
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Aloha In Every Cup (Fall/Winter 2001-2002) By Matt Delaney

The memory of my first Kona coffee experience still brings a smile to my face. I was living on The Big Island in Hilo at the time and working three jobs (normal for most islanders). Friends who were renting an old coffee shack on the hills above Kealakekua Bay invited me to visit and stay for a weekend.
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Kona Coffee Travels (Fall/Winter 2001-2002) By Les Drent

During the last eight years of marketing Kona coffee I have encountered countless numbers of customers who share the same comical yet earnest sentiments about their refusal to leave home without their cherished beans. Being on the road without a cup of Kona coffee in hand is a hardship that most of you are simply not willing to endure. Neither am I, for that matter!
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Grafted Kona Coffee Wins Big for Heavenly Hawaiian Farms (Fall/Winter 2001-2002) By Les Drent

No one believed it was possible. No one had seen it done. But family farm owners Kraig and Sheryl Lee and Rae and Sandy Young proved that grafted coffee was the best Kona coffee in the prestigious Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Cupping Competition in 2000.
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Back to the Basics of Coffee Growing (Fall/Winter 2001-2002) By George Yasuda

The coffee plants’ nutritional needs fall within the planting and cultivation category and is one of the most important factors in improving the quality of coffee. It is very important to use high quality fertilizers in the right proportions and the correct ingredients.
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Orchard Perfect 100% Kona Coffee (Spring/Summer 2002) By Les Drent

While driving along Mamalahoa Highway, the high and winding mountain road that traverses the Kona coffee belt, one can see a countless number of coffee farms. Some of these farms are tucked into a landscape draped in overgrown vegetation and shadowed by towering trees. Others brandish large iron gates at the front and are surrounded by acres of elaborate rock walls.
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My New Adventure in Coffee (Spring/Summer 2002) By Les Drent

As I hover over my young coffee trees, I think back nine years when I issued the first edition of Coffee Times magazine. At that time specialty coffee was just sinking its roots into American culture. Within two years of the first printing I bought a coffee roaster and packaged and sold my first pound of 100% Kona coffee.
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The High Quality Way (Fall/Winter 2002/2003) By George Yasuda

Kona coffee orchard should not be haphazardly planned, planted, and maintained. A poorly designed and installed orchard would have limited production, high tree loss, poor fruit quality, short tree life, and would be harder to maintain; it would also be unsightly.
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Kona Family Produces Winning Coffee (Fall/Winter 2002/2003) By Les Drent

In 1994, Kraig A. Lee and his father-in-law Rae F. Young ventured together to start Heavenly Hawaiian Farm on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai above KailukKona, Hawaii. With their trust firmly planted in the Lord, Kraig & Rae went right to work building the family’s two homes, barn, wet mill and stock nursery.
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Kona Coffee at its Best (Spring/Summer 2003) By George Yasuda

When you can have great tasting coffee, and a high quality, high yielding, efficient, picturesque Kona coffee orchard why do some settle for less? If done right your farm will bear shiny, dark green, super healthy, eight foot tall Kona coffee trees laden with 10 to 12 pounds of cherry in just one year of growth. By the second year these same trees can reach loads of 20 to 30 pounds of cherry.
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Mountain Thunder Shakes Up Kona Coffee Industry (Fall/Winter 2003-2004) By Les Drent

Visiting Mountain Thunder Kona Coffee Plantation was like entering paradise. Varying sizes of Kona coffee trees adorned with succulent coffee cherries grew among towering hapu’u ferns and ohia trees. Birds flew overhead, filling the morning air with song.
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Making The Right Choice (Fall/Winter 2003-2004) By Les Drent

George Yasuda has been farming Kona coffee for decades and he takes as much pride in helping others establish and maintain successful coffee orchards as he does in growing his own high quality coffee. Upon getting to know George one realizes that his expertise come from decades of experimentation, and hands on learning as a farmer.
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From Dream To Reality (Fall/Winter 2003-2004) By Les Drent

Over the last four months I have experienced some of the most exciting times in my life as giant steps of growth and development have occurred at Blair Estate coffee farm in Kauai. After nearly two years of planning, ground was finally broken in mid-June for the construction of a new multi-purpose timber frame barn that will serve as a coffee processing and roasting facility as well as a home.
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Selecting Seeds (Spring/Summer 2004) By Les Drent

With nearly 100 different varieties of coffee trees existing in the world today there is only one that has contributed to the famous reputation of Kona. Known today as Kona “Typica” this coffee variety was first called “Guatemalan” when it was introduced back in 1892 by an Oahu grower named Hermann Widemann.
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A New Way to Prune Coffee? (Spring/Summer 2004) By Bob Nelson

Throughout the past 175 years, Kona coffee farmers have tried many innovative techniques in an effort to successfully grow what many profess to be “the best coffee in the world!” Pruning is a necessary technique that is not only required to maintain a healthy tree but keeps quality and quantity at its highest levels.
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Kauai’s Only Organic Coffee Farm is Now Open (Spring/Summer 2004) By Les Drent

With only a few dabs of paint remaining (hip, hip, hurray) we’re proud to announce the opening of our farm visitor center. The coffee roaster is seasoned and in just a few short months we will be in the fields picking the season’s new coffee as we also entertain coffee lovers from around the globe.
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Mountain Thunder Booms with Growth! (Fall/Winter 2004-2005) By Les Drent

The recent growth at Mountain Thunder Coffee Farm is dizzying to say the least. After winning 2 blue ribbon awards at the Kona Spring Blossom cupping competition Mountain Thunder ran off with the Gold medals in both the People’s Choice and Chef’s Choice divisions at the recent cup off at the Kona Village Resort. The event was held this past July.
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The Basic Needs of a Kona Coffee Tree (Fall/Winter 2004-2005) By Les Drent

Each living organism has basic requirements to perform optimally. On numerous occasions I have been asked this question, “where can we grow Kona coffee trees viably?” Here are some basic answers: 1. Rainfall should be close to 6 to 8 inches per month.
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The Life of a Coffee Farmer’s Wife (Fall/Winter 2004-2005) By Deepa Alman

For seven years, I was happily married to Joe Alban, an orthopedic surgeon, when one day in 1994, I found myself owning a Kona coffee farm with him. I knew he had been dreaming of owning a coffee farm in the Kona district, but little did I know how it would completely change my life.
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Blair Estate Kauai Organic Coffee Farm (Fall/Winter 2004-2005) By Les Drent

Heavenly may be the best way to describe our experience of raising organic coffee in Kauai. I'll try to paint a picture of our Kauai organic coffee farm. Sitting on our lanai and looking west to the majestic 2600 foot Mt. Wekiu, we view numerous waterfalls cascading down the lush green slopes.
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Preserving Hawaii's Native Forest Trees To Support Hawaii's Native Bird Life (Spring/Summer 2005) By George Yasuda

The norm of Hawaii’s land use is to remove all or most of the native trees in order to develop the land. The landscape of the beautiful mountain sides of Kona has experienced a decrease in population of native trees such as koa, sandalwood and ohia. It is sad to see trees 200 years and older removed.
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Mountain Thunder Shares Passion for Coffee (Fall/Winter 2005-2006) By Amy Hoff

Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation is, in a word, magical. In a fairyland of ohia and jungle vines, it is a ghostly oasis in the mist. Ohia branches become visible through the mist like the fingers of forgotten gods. The haunting atmosphere is relieved by the explosion of colors around you.
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The Continuing Adventure of Blair Estate (Fall/Winter 2005-2006) By Les Drent

After four years of farming coffee, I have realized one thing holds true about cultivating this magical shrub. I should have planted more lychee! That would have been the easiest route, if not for my abiding passion for the enchanting quality of the coffee bean. At least I now have a much deeper appreciation for what goes into producing my morning cup of coffee.
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Diary of a Coffee Picker (Fall/Winter 2005-2006) By Carole Prism

Up at 4:30 am, stumbling around my house, aware that folks living nearby are fast asleep. What am I doing up at this hour? This goes against the body's biological rhythms. I am picking coffee, my first day this season. A bumper crop, so I hear. I can see the cherry on the trees around Kona, wondering who is going to pick all this stuff. I guess I am one of the army of people who will.
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Kona Coffee Mourns The Death Of Ward Barbee (Spring/Summer 2006) By Les Drent

It's been only 4 days since we heard of Ward Barbee's passing here at Coffee Times. I know I speak for everyone in the Kona coffee industry when I say we were deeply saddened to hear of this news. Besides being one of the craziest and most honest characters in the world of coffee, Ward always stood up for what was right.
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Making the Right Choices (Spring/Summer 2006) By George Yasuda

There are proven, basic techniques in growing high quality, high production Kona coffee trees. Volcanic, good drainage loam seems to be best suited for coffee trees. Crushed coral and magnesium oxide needs to be added to the soil approximately every 3-4 years. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are needed in the right proportions as well. These elements also need to come from the correct sources.
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The Aloha Shirt (December 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Not even tucked in, blazing and bold, here's the aloha shirt! The missionaries might have denounced extravagance and nakedness, the craving for vivid colors, tropical textures, and sensual shapes couldn't be suppressed. Within two centuries a modest workman's shirt grew into the trademark wear of Hawaii.
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Before The Glory - Gearing Up For The Merrie Monarch Festival (Spring/Summer 2000) By Lance Tominaga

For most of us, the annual Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo is a fantastic celebration of the Hawaiian culture, overflowing with pageantry and color, and spotlighting perhaps the most beautiful and personal form of Hawaiian expression, the hula.
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Big Fish in Little Ponds (August 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Fishponds, loko i'a, encircle the shores of the Hawaiian Islands, their origins shrouded in legend and inconclusive carbon dating. Some, with walls of basalt and coral, rest like necklaces of glistening black pearls against the blue shoulders of the sea, rimming green and golden shorelines.
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Body Art (Spring/Summer 1999) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Queen Kamamalu had a tattoo applied to her tongue as an expression of her deep grief when her mother-in-law died in the 1820s. Missionary William Ellis watched the procedure, commenting to the queen that she must be undergoing great pain. The queen replied, He eha nui no, he nui roa ra ku‘u aroha. (Great pain indeed, greater is my affection.)
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Chants: Mele of Antiquity (September 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

In 1897, the dethroned Queen Liliu'okalani translated the Kumulipo, an ancient Hawaiian creation chant, from a Hawaiian text published by her brother King Kalakaua in 1889. The preface to her slim volume, written by Kimo Campbell, considers ulterior motives the two monarchs might have had for their interest in the Kumulipo.
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The David Gomes Guitar (Spring/Summer 1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Ki ho'alu, or Hawaiian slack key guitar, is an island tradition. It's more than that. It's the rich expression and reverence for all that life holds: Through its unique finger-picked style and special tunings ki ho'alu tells the story of the Hawaiian islands and its people, past and present. It is music drawn from the heart and the soul.
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The Demise of Captain Cook (Fall/Winter 1999-2000) By Betty Fullard-Leo

The bay at Kealakekua is so translucent, so placid, that scores of novice snorkelers slip into the water daily, arriving by boats from Kailua-Kona, which anchor, bobbing peacefully, just beyond the obelisk that marks a far more violent episode in Hawaiian history. It was here that the great navigator Captain James Cook was killed on February 14, 1779.
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Feathers Tickle Hawaii's Fancy (May 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

An estimated 450,000 golden yellow feathers from more than 80,000 mamo birds were woven into King Kamehameha I's feather cloak, which is on display during special occasions at the Bishop Museum on Oahu. The cloak, which measures four-feet wide by eleven-and-a-half feet at the bottom, was passed from ruler to ruler as an emblem of the royal office.
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Fishing - An Art of Survival (Fall 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Being a fisherman, a poe lawaia, in old Hawai'i was an honorable profession, one that grandparents handed down to the boys in a family. It was a profession that anyone would practice for the sake of survival, but the more expert the fisherman, the more tools of the trade-long canoes, short canoes, large and small nets, various poles, woven fish traps, bone hooks-he possessed.
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Hawaii's First Post Office (Spring/Summer 2006) By Fred Gregory

Until the latter part of 1850, handling mail was strictly a private affair in Hawaii. There wasn’t much privacy, however – letters received from abroad often were spread across the counting table of one or another mercantile house in Honolulu and people sorted through the stack looking for their letters.
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The Hawaiian Lei (Fall/Winter 1995-1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

'I got leid in Hawaii', proclaims a favorite bumper sticker that many visitors take back to the mainland. What is it about those fragrant flower garlands and the sensual image invoked by the words lei and Hawaii? From the earliest times, men and women worldwide have adorned themselves with leis.
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Hawaiian Recreation - Games People Played (March 1998 ) By Betty Fullard-Leo

In old Hawai'i, there was a time for work and a time for play. During the fall Makahiki season, war was suspended for three-to-four months, taxes were paid to the chiefs according to the abundance of the year's harvest, and festivities, feasting and games filled the days.
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Herb Kane - Artist And Historian (Spring/Summer 2001) By M.V. Harden

In 1970, Herb Kawainui Kane left a successful career as a graphic artist in Chicago to begin a new life in the land of his ancestors. Within 14 years he was so renowned in Hawaii he was named one of the state's "Living Treasures." He was in his forties when he made this leap of life styles, not an easy age to begin anew.
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Hina's Kapa (June 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Hina spreads out her kapa, her beaten cloth, white as snow, clear as a mountain stream. She places stones on them, to prevent the raging winds from blowing her clouds away. Hawaiian women look up at the sky and understand the solemnity of their craft, the making of bark cloth. Working their tools, they pray.
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The History of Surfing (May 1993) By Les Drent

From the Journal of Captain King, Cook's Voyages, March 1779, three months after the death of Captain Cook: The surf, which breaks on the coast round the bay, extends to the distance of about one hundred fifty yards from the shore, within which space, the surges of the sea, accumulating from the shallowness of the water, are dashed against the beach with prodigious violence.
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In The Footprints of Keoua (Spring/Summer 2002) By Betty Fullard-Leo

An easy 3.6 mile hike off Route 11 in the barren Ka‘u Desert leads to sets of footprints imbedded in lava along the trail to Mauna Iki dome. A Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park pamphlet mentions that the footprints were left by Hawaiian warriors after a violent eruption of ash and cinder in 1790.
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A Journey to the Land of Kings (February 1998) By Kirk Lee Aeder

For the most part, surfing on the Big Island of Hawaii is an early morning experience. Ask anyone who knows and they'll tell you the same thing. As dawn's first light makes it's presence amidst the towering volcanic mountain peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa Mountains, hard-core surfers are already on the road, heading for spots with names you've never heard of.
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Kailua-Kona 'A Royal Retreat' (December 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Under the shopping-bazaar facade of sun-dappled Kailua-Kona lies a legacy of events and historic locales that played a pivotal role in changing forever the lifestyle of the Hawaiian people.
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Kalahuipua`a - Fabled Fish-Pond (Fall/Winter 2000-2001) By Betty Fullard-Leo

All along the Kona-Kohala Coast, ancient anchialine ponds reflect those long-ago days when thatched hales (houses) and shady shelter caves furnished homes for fishermen and their families.
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Kapa (June 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Kapa making is an art that once spanned the Pacific, but it reached perfection in Polynesia. The artistic beauty of the cloth made of pounded bark impressed Captain James Cook in 1778.
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A King's Statue Multiplies (Spring/Summer 2000) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Four massive bronze statues honor the great warrior King Kamehameha—the original at Kapa‘au on the Big island, a replica at Ali‘iolani Hale (the judiciary building) in Honolulu, another in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. and the most recent, erected in 1997 in Hilo, on the Big Island.
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The King's Trail (May 1994) By Steve Graves

The Big Island of Hawaii has one of the oldest and most historic trail systems in the islands. For visitors interested in Hawaiian antiquity it offers a means to see some of the most interesting locations of ancient Hawaiian habitation and culture. In some areas old trails are the primary means to reach sites.
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Kohala Coast - Tied to the Past (June 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

More than any other coastline in Hawai'i, the northern Kohala Coast, stretching from Kawaihae around the northernmost tip of the Big Island to beyond the end of the paved road at Pololu, holds secrets from the past in its ebony lava flows and sandy shores.
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Kohala Ditch (Fall/Winter 1995-1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

The crystalline sound of cups resonates through the rugged mountains of North Kohala. Japanese ditch-men are drinking their sake, after a grueling day of work. The year is 1905. After 18 months, and the loss of 17 lives, the engineering miracle of 22 miles of flumes and tunnels will soon make sleepy Hawi into a prosperous sugar plantation town.
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Konane (Fall/Winter 1995-1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Surf's up. The waves are too rough for fishing. Yet the breeze is calm, and the Hawaii sun invites yet another languorous and pleasant day under the palm trees. Imagine your village to be at Lapakahi, now a historic park, located between Kawaihae and Hawi, in Kohala. Imagine spending the day with friends and family. What would you do?
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A Legacy of Paddling (July 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Slender canoes cleave the Hawaiian waters. In the golden light of dawn and dusk, paddlers work in perfect unison, their strokes disciplined, strong, and smooth. Canoeing, called "paddling" by the locals, has rightfully been named the official state team sport in Hawaii. All paddlers know that the waves, perhaps so calm and blue today, hold their life.
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Lomilomi (April 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Auntie Margaret Kalehuamakanoelulu'onapali Machado held both my hands in her firm grip and prayed softly in Hawaiian. "'Amene," she concluded, peering intently into my face. "You have pain, tightness in your right shoulder." Unerringly she poked the spot that made me wince.
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Lua - A Fighting Chance (August 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Secretly, in the dark of night, the ancient warriors practiced the deadly moves involved in the art of self defense called lua. It was a discipline that required balancing the practitioner's spiritual and physical aspects in order to achieve victory in battle as well as harmony in everyday living.
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Lucy Thurston - Missionary Wife (Spring/Summer 1999) By Betty Fullard-Leo

At Moku‘aikaua Church in Kailua-Kona, beside a display of the 19th-century brig, Thaddeus, are pages reproduced from the diary of the Big Island’s first missionary wife, 24-year-old Lucy Goodale Thurston. Sometimes the writing is poignant, revealing a New England girl’s homesickness, often everyday life is recorded in sharp-eyed detail, but through it all the patience and fortitude of the writer emerges.
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Ho'ao Pa'a And The Ohana Marriage And The Family (Fall/Winter 2002/2003) By K.A.M.

In ancient Hawaii, marriage between a man and a woman, called ho'ao pa'a, was a lasting relationship. A man did not leave his wife nor the wife her husband. This form of marriage in which each took a single mate originated as a command from the god to Hulihonua and his wife Keakauhulilani and lasted for 27 generations.
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Merry Monarch Remembered (April 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Sixty years after Queen Ka'ahumanu, King Kamehameha's wife, had forbidden the dance in the name of Christian values, Kalakaua gave hula back its glorious crown. He became known as the Merrie Monarch. Under his reign, Hawaiian traditions revived and took on a new life. Ancient sports were once again celebrated and the hula was reborn.
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An Early Missionary Circles the Big Island (Spring/Summer 2002) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Excerpts in this article are from the books, Hawaiian Tour by William Ellis, published 1826, and Polynesian Researches, Hawai‘i, Journal of William Ellis, published 1969. Just as American missionaries were establishing missions in the Pacific in the 1800s, so were British missionaries.
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A Musical Legacy (January 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

The insistent throb of shark-skin-covered drums, the yearning twang of slack key guitars, and the soft, mellow strains of a duo singing the "Hawaiian Wedding Song" are sounds that evoke images of palm trees and moonlight and waves lapping on warm, white-sand beaches-in short, images of Hawai'i.
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Ölelo Hawai'i (October 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Each language holds a history and culture, giving identity and roots. Yet, worldwide, 4 languages die every two months. Of the 6000 languages known, only 3000 will be left by the end of the 21st century.
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Plantation Days And Henry Akana (Winter 1999) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Sugar Time: Days of hardship bordering slavery; of friendships before the impersonal electronic age; and of survival skills that have disappeared with time. Henry Akana, now in his 80's, was born and raised in Kohala. Like all other boys and many girls, he started working the plantation at age 14. His first job? "Hoe hana", hoeing endless rows of cane under a relentless sun.
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Narrative Tour of Volcano (Spring/Summer 2005) By William Ellis

The following passages were reprinted from the 1823 Journal of William Ellis. The reverand William Ellis (pictured on the right) and his party were the first non-Hawaiian group to enter the sacred region of Pele now known as Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Ellis was guided by a man named Makoa (pictured on the left) who was provided by the high chief Kuakini of Hawaii.
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Pu'ukohola Heiau (January 1994) By Steve Graves

Overlooking the village of Kawaihae in North Kohala sits the ancient religious structure called Pu'ukohola Heiau, meaning, "hill of the whale". The massive rock structure which is the last temple to be built by the ancient Hawaiians in the islands, was constructed by Kamehameha I between the years of 1790 and 1791.
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"Quilts in Hawaii?" you may ask. (Fall/Winter 2001-2002) By K.A.M.

While at sea level the summer temperatures average 85 degrees and winter temperatures 78 degrees; with each 1000 foot rise in elevation, temperatures can drop 3.5 degrees. A cozy Hawaiian quilt can be just the ticket if you live in the mountains.
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Sacred Burial Practices (February 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Speculation ran rampant after two ancient caskets containing the bones of Big Island ali'i, King Liloa and his great grandson, Lonoikamakahiki, disappeared from O'ahu's Bishop Museum in February 1994. The caskets, or ka'ai, made of woven sennit, stood 31 and 35 inches tall and in shape, roughly resembled the human form.
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Sacred Grounds (Spring/Summer 2000) By Lance Tominaga

Fifteen years ago, in 1985, Kona resident and Hawaiian history lover Joseph Castelli traveled to Honolulu for a leisurely research session at the Bishop Museum. Although he didn’t know it at the time, that visit led him to one of the greatest challenges—and victories—of his life.
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Scotland and Hawai'i in History (Fall/Winter 2005-2006) By Amy Hoff

The history of both Hawai’i and Scotland are almost the same. Two tribal nations embroiled in conflict with an oppressive foreign party intent on taking over, illegally if necessary. Both peoples went through a time where their clothing, language, music, and very way of life was outlawed. Both nations seek sovereignty today, with the memories of the wrongs visited upon them in the past.
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Seeds of Beauty (June 1997) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Scholars theorize that of the twenty-seven plants thought to have been brought to the Islands by the first Polynesian explorers, only two - kamani and kukui - bore seeds with a hard enough shell to be used in seed craft.
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Showtime in Lost Polynesia (February 1998) By Kirk Lee Aeder

Somewhere in "Hidden Hawaii", there remains a place of mystery, intrigue, and places to be explored. Kelly Slater sat on the black stone wall, staring out at the moving blue sea as an occasional three to five foot set exploded off the jagged lava reef, providing a luring temptation. But, Kelly was content to sit while no one bothered him because, for the most part, there was no one else around.
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Snow to Surf - It's The Best Place On Earth (February 1998) By Andrew Nisbet

The Big Island of Hawaii's two tallest volcanos, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, have elevations reaching 13,677 feet and 13,796 feet respectively. It is fairly common for these two peaks to receive snow during the winter months. When they do it is possible to find people skiing and snow-boarding near their summits. It is also possible to go surfing on the very same day.
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Speaking Stones of the Past (Fall/Winter 1995-1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

There is an unusual activity available for the more adventurous tourist on the Big Island, it's called petroglyph hunting. On such a hunt, bring water, good shoes, and sunscreen. Leave all ideas behind about wanting to reproduce, alter, or "improve" the petroglyph. Leave all pre-set thoughts about Hawaiian history behind.
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Sugar and Steam in Kohala (January 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

"The latest mania in Kohala is going to the station at Hawi, below Hind's. On a fine day even the ladies may be seen wending their way to the attractive spot and returning in raptures about the whistle and the bell, 'that keeps ringing all the time, just like a real train'," wrote the Saturday Press on March 18, 1882.
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Star Struck by Wayfinding (May 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Hundreds of years before European seafarers sailed into Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island, early Polynesians systematically navigated through 16 million square miles of the Pacific. These voyages of discovery are thought to have begun as early as 300 AD, dwindling off about 1000 AD and ceasing about 1200 AD.
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Tsunamis, The Big Waves (Spring/Summer 1999) By Betty Fullard-Leo

The tsunami that pounded the northeastern shores of the Big Island on April 1, 1946 was the cruelest April Fool’s trick that Mother Nature could have played. In a matter of moments, more than 1,300 homes were swept away, and 159 people were killed.
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Weapons Of War (Spring/Summer 2000) By Betty Fullard-Leo

By the time King Kamehameha the Great waged war to unite the Hawaiian Islands under his rule, Europeans had introduced guns and cannons to a population which previously had fought with handmade clubs and spears. Kamehameha was clever enough to enlist the use of these new mechanical devises.
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Hawaiian Weaving - A Meaningful Legacy (Winter 1999) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Weaving was once such a highly developed skill that many of the pieces rendered by artistic Hawaiian women of old are considered works of art today. Deft fingers propelled by creative minds fashioned natural materials such as lau hala leaves, i'e i'e rootlets and makaloa sedge into beautifully woven and dyed utilitarian objects-mats, baskets, fans, fish traps, sandals, bed coverings and clothing.
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Who Killed David Douglas? (Fall/Winter 2001-2002) By Betty Fullard-Leo

In 1832, David Douglas, a respected Scottish botanist, was found dead in a pit dug to trap wild bullocks at Kaluakauka, in the ahupua'a (land division) of Laupahoehoe. His clothes were torn, his body mangled and ten gashes marked his head.
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The Woman Who Changed A Kingdom (June 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Without Queen Kaahumanu, the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I, it is doubtful that the man who united the Hawaiian Islands under his royal reign would have succeeded at all. Her power and influence, however, stretched far beyond supporting him.
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Words of Power (Fall 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

When there is no written language imagine selling property, traveling without any form of identification, or proving who your parents are, all without a paper trail. Imagine, as happened to a high chief in Hawaii long, long ago, that you flee from your island, end up in a shipwreck, and drift onto foreign shores: You would be considered an enemy and your death would be certain.
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Yesterday Once More (Fall/Winter 2000-2001) By Lance Tominaga

Just a few blocks up from picturesque Hilo Bay in downtown Hilo, on Haili Street, stand two buildings. One is old-the oldest wooden frame structure on the island, in fact-while the other is decidedly modern. Together, the adjacent structures make up the Lyman House Memorial Museum, which lives up to its mission statement of "(telling) the story of Hawai'i, its islands and its peoples."
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Hawaii Forest & Trail (Fall/Winter 1999-2000) By Les Drent

Who would have ever guessed that a children's naturalist program started in May of 1993 by Rob Pacheco would have grown into one of Hawaii's premier tour operations by the turn of the century. Perhaps it was the marketing genius of Rob's wife Cindy that first saw glimpses of a bright future.
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Jen's Kohala Cafe (Fall/Winter 1999-2000) By Les Drent

Complementing the rich tradition of history in North Kohala is an eatery that is making a name for itself. Creating great food and creating the right food for the moment are all skills that come from years of dedication to the culinary industry and the food at Jen's Kohala Cafe is the obvious result of that dedication.
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Lo'ihi - Hawaii's Coming Attraction (Fall/Winter 1999-2000) By Lance Tominaga

As sci-fi fanatics geared up for the May release of The Phantom Menace, the next installment of George Lucas's Star Wars series, another blockbuster sequel rose quietly in waters off the Big Island. While Jedi-geeks and Ewok-aholics had to wait 16 years for Menace, however, Hawai'i residents had to wait a little longer for Lo'ihi-perhaps, say, a thousand lifetimes!
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Tex Drive In (Fall/Winter 1999-2000) By Les Drent

When some things of old change they have a tendency to leave the past sadly behind but for everyone involved including its loyal patrons the new look of Tex Drive In in Honokaa is a welcome sight. By far the busiest spot in Honokaa, Tex Drive In, is an eatery that plays host to not only local patrons but a countless number of tour busses filled with island visitors that make their way around Hawaii.
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The Climate Is Simply Delicious" Yum! (Spring/Summer 2003) By K.A.M.

Mark Twain wrote, "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes." I say, "If you don't like the weather in Kona, just drive to some other part of the island." Hawaii is a marvel of nature. The weather is diverse, covering ten of the fifteen types of climates. Among them are tropical, moonsoonal, desert, and periglacial.
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East Meets West (Spring/Summer 2003) By Les Drent

When I realize that the last 13 years of my life has been spent on an island in the Pacific far from the roots of my New England upbringing I suppose it’s only natural to look around and reflect on the past, present and future of this journey.
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Big Island Farmers Markets (Spring/Summer 2006) By Sarah Blanchard

Just before dawn, as the sky begins to lighten at the rim of the horizon, the farmers markets come to life all across the Big Island. Trucks and vans and cars congregate at the stalls, as farmers and fishermen and craftspeople begin unloading boxes and crates and buckets and bags of the most wonderful produce, baked goods and handicrafts.
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'Aumakua (Winter 1999) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Eons before the missionaries introduced their concept of one God to Hawai'i in 1820, Polynesians had an intricate nature-oriented belief system. A host of deities called 'aumakua could be called upon for protection, comfort and spiritual support. The first 'aumakua were thought to be the offspring of mortals who had mated with the akua (primary gods).
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Henry Opukaha'ia - The Youth Who Changed Hawai'i (Fall 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Henry Opukaha'ia was only 26 years old in 1818 when he died of typhoid fever in Cornwell, Connecticut, but because of a slim volume he wrote about his life, his feelings, and his philosophies that was published after his death, the destiny of Hawai'i was forever changed.
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In the Beginning - Hawaiian Gods (Fall 1998) By Betty Fullard-Leo

In the beginning in Hawaiian mythology, Po was a vast, empty land, a dark abyss where only one life form dwelled. This was the spirit of Keawe. A single light shown through the darkness of Po-a flame holding the energy of creation.
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Legends of Hilo (Fall/Winter 1999-2000) By Lance Tominaga

Longtime kama'aina know that Hilo is much more than a friendly host to the world-renowned Merrie Monarch Festival. It is a town full of history and character. Even today, many Hilo residents can tell stories of how they survived the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960, terrible disasters which killed more than 150 people.
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The Legend of Kamapua'a (Spring/Summer 1996) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Here is what happened and has been long forgotten: Fire and water must rule together. (Perhaps we thought it easier to remember only the power of fire, forgetting the sharp sting of pain. Many honor the goddess of the volcano, Pele, as the only one.) Life comes from the cascading waterfalls in lush Hamakua and Kohala. Life comes from the fertile green land in the north.
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Pele And Poliahu (Fall/Winter 2000-2001) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Pele has survived as the best-known, most-revered goddess of ancient times, but in legends, she was anything but a kind and lovable being, and she had many competitors. Among those generally considered her enemies were four mythological maidens attired in luxurious white mantles, the goddesses of the snow-covered mountains.
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Pele - Goddess of Fire (Winter 1999) By Betty Fullard-Leo

Described as "She-Who-Shapes-The-Sacred-Land" in ancient Hawaiian chants, the volcano goddess, Pele, was passionate, volatile, and capricious. In modern times, Pele has become the most visible of all the old gods and goddesses.
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The Pleiades (Fall 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

At the end of October, perhaps early November, over the eastern horizon during the magical hour of sunset the Pleiades rise to greet the Hawaiian land. In ancient times both commoners and chiefs eagerly awaited the appearance of this constellation, the Makali'i. It marked the start of the great Makahiki Festival.
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Sanctuaries of Hawaii (July 1997) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

When the first Polynesians came to the Hawaiian islands they respected the forces of lava, sun, ocean and wind as the rules of invisible gods. They understood that angry gods summoned tidal waves and earthquakes. Satisfied gods provided safe fishing and a bountiful harvest.
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Tides of a Mission (August 1998) By Veronica S. Schweitzer

Isolated from the bustling activity elsewhere on the islands, in rugged silence perturbed only by unpredictable storms and heavy rains, North Kohala proudly sails the waves of struggle and prosperity.
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