Spirit of Aloha | Features | July/August 2004

Aloha Shorts

News and notes from around our world

The romance of Travel

earching for a photo that might help us celebrate in an interesting way the 150th anniversary of Louis Vuitton, the ultimate maker of stylish travel luggage and accessories, we discovered not so long ago at the Bishop Museum this candidly simple black-and-white image of a somewhat chaotic scene, taken amid the crush of humanity at the baggage claim area of Pier 11, in the shadow of Honolulu’s prominent Aloha Tower sometime in the mid-1930s. What we can guess about this photo, which is from the collection of a photographer named N.R. Farbman, is that the regularly scheduled Matson liner has recently arrived from San Francisco, disembarkation has been successfully undertaken and the throngs of new Hawai‘i arrivals have begun to jostle for their luggage. Already, we can assume each passenger has been greeted with a flower lei and, no doubt, with a welcoming “aloha” or two. Perhaps the Royal Hawaiian Band has played a couple rousing marches of greeting, hula dancers have made their tantalizing appearance to the applause of the new visitors, and an enjoyable life of one kind or another can now begin. As we scanned this photo, surely one of many aken during informal arrival ceremonies of the Matson ships, our eye wandered casually to the bags resting unclaimed at the right center of the photo, awaiting collection by a passenger or by a porter. It did not take us long to realize that these are indeed Louis Vuitton bags, looking appropriately regal in Monogram canvas, masterpieces of the full splendor of nostalgic myth, punctuating, in the way they are chosen to do, the dream life of the classic travel experience. From waterproof trunks and traveling libraries to the more unlikely mobile writing desk, the House of Louis Vuitton, this haven of good taste for a century-and-a-half, has made the art of travel a luxurious certainty. So, fellow travelers, not for us the posed photo of the Duchess of Windsor with her mountain of LV branded luggage, or Muhammad Ali with his. Give us the simple life: A noisy pier, a frazzled customs officer, a scrambling crowd eager to move on, a modest view of reality—and a couple well-traveled pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage, waiting to be fetched and transported. That’s the romance of travel for us.



Harpooners vs. Haranguers

Lascivious, boozing seamen taking on uptight, puritanical New England missionaries. That’s the simplistic version of Lahaina’s lusty history. But anyone who has visited this lively old port town, once the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, knows it has preserved more history per square block than just about anywhere else in the Islands. Now you can add to that educational mix the brand-new Lahaina Heritage Museum, located on the second floor of the Old Lahaina Courthouse.medal."

Conceived by the executive director of the Lahaina Town Action Committee, Theo Morrison, and developed by Maui writer Karee Carlucci, the museum provides an interactive showcase of Lahaina’s lively heritage, including the current exhibit that features Hawaiian voyaging canoes.


The Maui Historical Society/Bailey House Museum is among the organizations that have contributed to the museum?s display of Hawaiian artifacts. Whether you harpoon or harangue, you can also be a part: the committee is actively soliciting Island businesses to sponsor upcoming exhibits. Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.


Grin and Bear It

Local Hawaiian, Billy Loa, grows up in O‘ahu in Punalu‘u, plays football for Kahuku High School and graduates in 1974. Marries a Mainland woman in 1999 and moves to California. Enjoys the free-wheeling lifestyle of Southern California, but feels something’s missing. Thinks he needs to spread some love and aloha. Says “We feel everyone needs a hug and everyone needs to feel special.” Has an inspiration: a talking teddy bear that says things like “You’re so special, I love you, aloha,” wears a hibiscus pattern on neck and ears, and has its name embroidered on the bottom of its feet. Names the bear Cuddly Wudley.

Ships the bear back to Hawai‘i and sells it at Longs Drug Stores to locals and visitors for about $17.99. Or online at www.cuddlywudley.com We do want to believe that life is much more bearable since Cuddly Wudley made his appearance.




Deck the Halls with Boughs of Hula

It’s almost that time of the year again—no, not football season—Christmas. To our happy attention has been brought the newest collection of special tree ornaments from our friend, Dr. Sarah Stanley, who is the president and founder of Ornaments to Remember, a little company based in Wilsonville, Ore.

For Christmas 2004, Dr. Stanley has roamed the world, working with designers, developers and manufacturers of special ornaments. She only brings home to sell the sassiest, the funniest and the most genuinely artistic. Some of her Hawai‘i ornaments are now in limited editions, classics of their kind, and will only be available one more year. A list of stores that sell the ornaments is available by calling (800) 330-3382. A free catalog is available by contacting www.ornaments2remember.com



Happy Grape Day

Louis Vuitton is not the only enterprise in Hawai‘i celebrating a significant anniversary. On the slopes of Haleakala, 2,000 feet above sea level, on the 20,000-acre ‘Ulupalakua Ranch, where the volcanic soil is fertile and conditions are near perfect for growing wine grapes, Maui’s only commercial winery, Tedeschi Vineyards (one of only three in all of Hawai‘i), will commemorate 30 years of winemaking in August.

Visitors to Maui should especially welcome the ongoing festivities at the ranch and vineyards, since it has been a popular destination for the day-trippers and the rich and famous for many years. Robert Louis Stevenson, the story goes, visited the ranch, and so did Gen. George S. Patton, who came to play polo.

Tedeschi Vineyards produces the legendary Maui Blanc Pineapple wine, now called Maui Blanc, made from Hawai‘i’s most famous fruit. Maui Brut, a light, dry sparkling wine, was served at President Ronald Reagan’s inauguration.

The vineyards? tasting room is located in the King?s Cottage, which dates from 1874, when it was built for the visit of King David Kalakaua and Queen Kapi?olani. The centerpiece is an 18-foot-long bar cut from the trunk of a single mango tree. All reasons enough to start your drive up the volcano.



MUSIC:Now Hear This

Hawaiian 105 KINE's "Aloha Morning Show" radio host Brickwood Galuteria brings a world of experience to this issue's list of recommended music from the Islands.

• Various Artists—Territorial Airwaves: Take a journey back in musical time to Hawai‘i’s pre-statehood era, when radio’s airwaves were filled with the sounds of Hilo Hattie, Andy Cummings, Gabby Pahinui and other early Hawaiian musical stars. Harry B. Soria Jr. carries on the tradition of the “First Family of Hawaiian Radio” with this compilation of Island classics, including Myrtle K. Hilo’s comical “Will You Love Me (When My Carburetor Is Busted)?”

• Amy Hanaiali‘i and Willie K.—Amy & Willie Live: Hawai‘i’s vocal diva once again joins guitar virtuoso Willie K. for another magical collaboration. This time, the duo recorded its “2003 Aloha Live Tour,” an 11-day Mainland tour that covered nine concerts in nine cities in 11 days. Newcomers to this duo’s music should pay special attention to “Katchi Katchi Music Makawao.”

•Na Palapalai—Ke ‘Ala Beauty: The trio of Keao Costa, Kehau Tamure and Kuana Torres offers five brand-new compositions, woven together with several old-time favorites that will take fans of all ages to another place and time. From the traditional mele ma‘i “Kö Ma‘i Hö‘eu‘eu” to the new “Ua Lanipili i ka Nani o Papakölea,” Na Palapalai takes us on a natural retreat in perfect harmony.



BOOKS: Tales of the Pacific

Concluding his well-thumbed collection of Pacific writings, The Blue of Capricorn, the late writer Eugene Burdick wrote, “Most of my days have been spent on the surface of the Pacific, on its islands or along its shores. This is no guarantee that I understand it perfectly. It is too vast a place.”

Burdick’s book, a bestseller when it was first published in 1961, has, fortunately for lovers of Pacific literature, been kept in print by Honolulu-based Mutual Publishing. The “Tales of the Pacific” collection includes practically priced paperbacks such as Jack London’s South Sea Tales, The Lure of Tahiti, edited by A. Grove Day, The Trembling of a Leaf, by W. Somerset Maugham, and many others, all classics of their kind. In Hawai‘i, you can find them at most bookstores.
New books on aspects of Pacific life and history are of a different sort:

• Sailing in the Wake of the Ancestors, by Ben Finney (Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, 2003) is a much-honored anthropologist’s story of how Hawaiians and other Polynesians have struggled to become deep-sea voyagers again, and how their experiences are helping them face contemporary problems with renewed pride and courage.
Tasting Paradise III (Third Edition), by Karen Bacon. Coastal Images Press, P.O. Box 1006, Kula, HI 96790-1006.

• The Pacific Islands and the Sea, edited by Fran Dieudonne (Neptune House Publications, Encinitas, Calif., 2002), is an unusual virtual tour of the Pacific as seen through the tidbits of information provided by clues left in fish traps, fishponds and ancient walled fish weirs in Oceania.


• Wao Akua: Sacred Source of Life, published by the Hawai‘i state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, 2003, is a series of essays and poems inspired by the beauty and fragility of Hawaiian forests. It is gorgeously illustrated by the work of many of Hawai‘i’s leading photographers.

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