Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 8, 1 August 2009 — A marriage made in statehood [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A marriage made in statehood

Kamaka eouule budt

half-century union on old-fashioned values By Liza Simūn Public Affairs Specialist By 1959, territorial Hawai'i seemed to be marching toward a new political

rreality ol' statehood, but on one particular February night ol' that year, Fred Kamaka and Elisabeth Theelen were more concerned with romance, as they took a leisurely stroll through Waikīkī, a quiet refuge back then with only a graceful trio ol' hotels along the shore - and, in Kamaka's mind, a perfect plaee to make a marriage proposal. "That night on the beach, we could hear the music from my family ' s hula troupe at the Roy al • Hawaiian. Finally, we stopped in front ol' the Moana Hotel and I asked Elizabeth to marry me.

She accepted," recalls Kamaka, a scion ol' the Kamaka family world famous for its koa 'ukulele. On Aug. 22, the day after Hawai'i marks 50 years ol' statehood, the eouple will celebrate 50 years ol' matrimony, surrounded by friends and family at their Kāne'ohe home. "We have our heahh, we have children and grandchildren," Theelen says. "This is time to give thanks and look forward to more good years." The eouple also say they are indebted to the era ol' statehood, because the spirit ol' that time shaped their destiny, beginning with the way the magic ol' Hawai'i, suddenly on the world stage after World War II, played the role ol' Cupid in bringing them together. "We were from opposite ends ol' the world," says Theelen, then a Pan Am stewardess, born and raised in small village on the German-Dutch border.He was a career military man stationed on the U.S. continent, though at heart he was still a child ol' Kaimukī, where he was raised in the Hawaiian culture ol' his family's 'ukulele business and the hula ol' his mother and aunties.

The eouple met in Lake Mohawk, New Jersey, where Pan American Airline ol'hcers decided to throw a lū'au, but didn't quite know how. "They found me through my Hawaiian buddies who were attending school New York City on the G.I. Bill. I guess word got out that I was someone who knew a thing or two about Hawaiian food and music," says Kamaka, who was stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in the late 1950s. It was Theelen's first lū'au. "I needed a lei so I bought 10 chrysanthemums and sewed them around my neek," she says. "They gave me a grass skirt, but I wasn't going to go barefoot, so I wore my high heels. I must have been quite a sight."During the couple's first encounter in the kitchen ol' the Lake Mohawk Lodge, Kamaka 'fesses up to chiding Theelen for preparing devilled eggs. "That's not a pūpū, I told her, but she had the good sense to take me with a grain ol' salt," he says. When it eame time to entertain, Theelen said the young military officer from Hawai'i charmed her by playing the 'ukulele and singing. After a year ol' courting,Theelen visit-

ed Hawai'i in February 1959 to aeeompany her father on an island vacation. Kamaka took leave from Fort Dix to be here for them. Theelen wondered what her father would think ol' her relationship with a Hawaiian in this faraway plaee, but Kamaka wasn't so worried. "Being around professional entertainers, my brother and me were raised differently," he says. "We welcomed people from around the world. I made sure all my cousins eame to meet Theelen's father. That set the stage. Her dad thought I was a good catch." A half-century, three children and 10 grandchildren later, Kamaka cites the oldfashioned values ol' 1959 as the key to success for a lasting love. "We went about things straight-laced," says Kamaka, who still puts in daily hours as a tour guide and business manager at the ieonie Kamaka 'Ukulele factory on South Street, where he's worked since retiring from the military in 1972 and moving back to the Islands. "I give credit to my wil'e. She did everything right in helping raise the children in formative years. We had no problems." Theelen's secret to a lasting marriage? A solid faith in God. Plus, there's this to always remember: "When there's eonflict, it's good to give in," she chuckles. ■

50 YE ARS ANP COUNTING

The happy eouple in 1959 und toduy. - Photos: Courtesyof fred Kamaka