Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 4, 1 April 2015 — Waiʻanae Coast leaders are inducted into Hall of Fame [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Waiʻanae Coast leaders are inducted into Hall of Fame

By Mary Aliee Ka'iulani Milham Frenchy DeSoto, the first Chairwoman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was one of 40 inductees into the Wai'anae Coast Hall of Fame. It was a veritable Wai'anae Coast who's who that a standing-room-only crowd eame to honor at the

inaugural Wai'anae Coast Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The ceremony was held Feb. 21 at the Wai'anae Mall on the occasion of the mall's 40th anniversary. "We congratulate all of the honorees today and those receiving this award for their individual contributions for making Wai'anae Coast a special plaee to live and work," said David Haverly, of A&B Properties ine., owners of Wai'anae Mall, in his opening remarks. The 40 inductees were selected by Hall of Fame committee members Albert Silva, Candy Suiso, Don Arakaki, Gail Gomes, Joseph Lapilio and Verna T anrlfr\rrl_Rri rīTit

Underscoring the purpose of the day, Silva, a loeal rancher and head of the selection committee urged his listeners, "Let them not be forgotten" and congratulated Wai'anae Mall owners Alexander and Baldwin "for bringing us together and not letting our history slip away." Silva said the committee will honor a few individuals eaeh year, balancing the selection with figures from Wai'anae Coast history - "so our children's children will know from where we eame" - with outstanding community members from the recent past and "individuals who are still contributing to the community and the future of the Wai'anae Coast." A permanent exhibit at the mall,

created by Searider Productions, will showcase images and biographical information on eaeh of the honorees. Haverly, senior vice president of property andleasing for A&B Properties ine. expressed the company's commitment to "revitalizing the mall andrestoring it as an important

retail center, but also to supporting the community and recognizing its cultural heritage." The awards were presented in four categories, Arts & Culture, Athletics, Business and Community Service, with lively musical interludes by the Royal Hawaiian Band. Seated in the first few rows, facing a makeshift stage backed by potted palms, were the honorees, including several kūpuna, and 'ohana of those who stood tallest in the Wai'anae Coast community, among the largest concentrations of kanaka on O'ahu. Among the honorees in business were entrepreneurs, brothers Fudeo "Steve" and Isao "Sammy" Hanabusa, proprietors of the first service station

on the Wai'anae Coast in 1948. "For me, it was very special," said Steven Hanabusa, who gratefully accepted the award on behalf of his grandfather and granduncle. "Anytime there's an event where they will be recognized, I'm there." Emeee Kimo Kahoano leavened the ceremony with his trademark

mix of quips and unabashed emotion, his aloha for the inductees welling up now and then as he spoke of them. Kahoano shared an anecdote from his friendship with inductee Rell Sun, the famed water woman known as the "Queen of Mākaha." "Yesterday my son said to me, 'Dad, Rell was the one who first brought us all together in the surf,' " recalled Kahoano. Switching to the first-person, Kahoano said: "She had the board, she called me up, I brought my sons, we surfed

together. It ean still happen. Do the same thing for your 'ohana and you will always celebrate her name, Rell Sun." The community's aloha for the honorees was evident in long waves of applause and cheering. Among the warmest receptions was given Hawaiian language specialist and master chanter Kumu James Ka'upena Wong. "The tears that you hear inside me are tears of joy, purpose, aloha, everything that you could think was right; because this man is indeed a treasure," said Kahoano, as Kumu Ka'upena approached the stage.

Known as the "Dean of Hawaiian Chant," Wong earned a lifetime achievement award from the Hawaiian Academy of Recording Arts in 2004 and was one of the 12 National Endowment of the Arts National Heritage Fellowship winners for artistic excellence, cultural authenticity and diversity. In 2012, Wong received the Kukui o Lota Award at the Prince Lot Hula

Festival in recognition of his contribution to the perpetuation of hula. The late DeSoto, widely considered to be the mother of OHA, overcame a rough childhood to heeome an outspoken advocate for Native Hawaiians on the Wai'anae Coast. The ceremony eoncluded, the honorees

were gathered onstage for a group photo as the Royal Hawaiian Band played and audience members jostled for a good shot of the historic grouping. Kumu Wong summed up the event with grace. "Wai'anae means everything to all of us. It is the eommunity that accepts, understands and forgives and this is one of the reasons why I say, Mahalo." ■ Marv Ali.ce Ka'iulani Milham is afreelance kanaka writer. Aformer newspaper reporter and columnist from California 's Central Coast, she now lives i.n Mākaha, O'ahu.

The 40 inductees Arts and Culture

Adelaide Keanuenueokalaninuiamamao "Frenchy" DeSoto, who helped start and shaped the Office i of Hawaiian Affairs;

Mililani Allen, Kumu Hula of Hālau Hula 0 Mililani in Wai'anae; Margaret Apo, (mother of OHA trustee Peter Apo) member of the state Board of Education; Abigial Pilila'au, composer and arranger; Lueio Badayos, cultural practitioner and fisherman; Raymond Kāne, slack-key guitar master from Nānākuli; and Buffalo Keaulana, founder of Buffalo's Big Board Surf Contest. Athletics Lord James "Tally-Ho" Blears, professional wrestler; Edith Van Geison, Nānākuli Oanoe Club; Ralph Onzuka, Wai'anae High School baseba II eoaeh; David Rona Ka'aekuahiwi, founder of Nā Keiki 0 Ka Mo'i Oanoe Club; John Kaihe Milles Sr., founder of Little League Baseball in Wai'anae; Sabastian Rainey, ranch foreman and rodeo eham pion; Rell Sunn, world ehampion surfer; Larry Ginoza, Wai'anae High School Football Coach; and Lred Pereira, Wai'anae Boxing Club. Business John Awong Sr., founder of the Movie Theatre in Mā'ili; Hanabusa Brothers, Fudeo "Steve" Hanabusa and lsao "Sammy" Hanabusa, service station owners; Fredrick Meyer, Wai'anae Boxing Club; David Okimoto, owner of the Wai'anae Store; Wallaee Poe, owner of the first sa loon in Wai'anae; Katsuichi Tamura, founder/owner of Tamura's Store; William Aila Sr., co-founder of MA'O Farms; and Chin Ho, land developer in Mākaha Valley. Community Service Paige Kawelo Barger, Nanakul Housing Corp.; Charles HK Holt, head of Court Records in Wai'anae; Germaine Kea liikoa , Wai'anae Homestead Association; Jay Landis, secretary of the Lions Club for 30 years; Katherine Maunakea, master of lauhala weaving from Nānākuli; Phoebe Saucerman, founder of the Wai'anae Military Advisory Council; Julia Smith, educator, Mākaha ElementarySchool; Chuck Wothke, religious and civic leader; Marie 0lsen, Nānākuli Homestead; James Aki, former state senator from the Wai'anae Coast; Richard Englar Sr., educator, Wai'anae High School; Billie Hauge, co-founder of the Mental Health Clinic; Anita Korenaga, educator, Wai'anae High School; and Bella Oeli nario, founder of Live and Let Live.

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Wai'anae Coast inductees of the Hall of Fame. - Courtesyphotos