HPS Oral History Finding Aids
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10524/65791
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Item Oral History Finding Aid: Queenie Dowsett(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyThe first official oral histories for the new non-profit Hula Preservation Society were with Auntie Queenie at her homestead in Waimea on Hawaiʻi Island. With glorious Mauna Kea in view, and husband Jamie never far away, she and Auntie Nona Beamer sat for two days and talked and talked, all with our cameras rolling. It was an amazing way to start this long-term journey with our willing elders, and over the next 15 years, Auntie Queenie became a part of our core “kūpuna crew” that led countless HPS public programs across the islands. To many, when she danced she was her kumu personified – the extraordinary Iolani Luahine. It was wonderful to hear about “Auntie Io,” to see the sparkle in Auntie Queenie’s eyes, and feel the loving spirit that emanated from her heart when she recalled times with her mentor. Auntie Queenie will always hold a most special place in the forever history of HPS, as she set the standard for what was to come with the dozens of elders that have been interviewed by HPS since that first humble meeting in 2000.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Emma Kauhi(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyAuntie Emma was the only kūpuna hula we met with in the early years of HPS who was a native speaker of Hawaiian. Being from a most rural environment on Hawaiʻi Island – the lands of Puna – her country and subsistence upbringing set her apart from most elders we had spoken with by that time, for she was raised immersed in her mother tongue. Most others we were interviewing came from families who had made the decision, conscious or otherwise, to not pass on the language to their children in that time of great change and westernization for the islands. When we met Auntie Emma in her twilight years, she was living in Hilo but shared how she had lost her Puna home to Pele years earlier. The most striking comment from that discussion was that she was “happy” her home had burned from Pele’s heat (versus being run over by lava), so she could collect her insurance and rebuild. That sums up our kūpuna – persevering through difficult times and circumstances and finding the blessings!Item Oral History Finding Aid: George Naope(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyBesides HPS founder Auntie Nona Beamer, Uncle George was probably the most high-profile kūpuna we worked with through HPS. He was well-known as founder of the Merrie Monarch Festival, a dapper dresser, and a man who loved to “party.” Fortunately, like those closest to him, we were also able to experience the private Uncle George who was thoughtful, politically aware, deeply kind, loved children, would give the shirt off his back to help someone, and who had the most interesting and unique life journey in hula and music. His talents were recognized from an early age and that set him on his lifelong path in the culture. The first official thing we did with him through HPS was a panel discussion in 2001 at the inaugural World Conference on Hula in Hilo. From 2001 until his passing, Uncle was the foundation of every public program HPS did, no matter what island, time of year, or event. In addition to the solo oral history sessions, this time spent with Uncle George, all of which is documented, is a treasured gift to future generations. Uncle committed himself to the mission of HPS, and we will be forever grateful.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Puluelo Park(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation Society“Auntie Pulu” was a tall, stately woman from Kohala, Hawaiʻi Island. Her laugh could warm your heart, her commitment to hula and her students was inspiring, and her dedication to and love for her family was deeply grounding. Her parents moved the family from Kohala to Oʻahu when Auntie was still a growing young girl, but that foundation never left her. She established roots in Kailua, Oʻahu, and became one of the primary hula teachers in the growing and blossoming town on the Windward side. At HPS, we were fortunate to spend the last four years of her life with her in oral history sessions and public programs. We felt profound gratitude when she asked if we would document her final ʻūniki (graduation rites) on the island of Kauaʻi at Ke Ahu a Laka heiau in Kēʻē. We climbed the mountain alongside her students with our camera gear in tow to fulfill her wishes. From almost the beginning of our relationship, Auntie Pulu got it! Her rallying cry to her kūpuna peers, “Let’s get documented!” Her many hours spent with HPS up to the very end of her life was the most exceptional gift she could give her family, and she knew it. That’s love!Item Oral History Finding Aid: Marjorie Sumner(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyAuntie Marge was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi and was fortunate to call the renowed composer and kumu hula, Helen Desha Beamer, her teacher. She was a teenager in the 1940s and part of a small group of girls who would head to Halehuki after school for hula. Halehuki was the beautiful home of “Auntie Helen” on the banks of the Wailuku River in Hilo. In our talk-story sessions in Hilo, Volcano, and Keaukaha, Auntie Marge exuded aloha for her beloved kumu. She and her schoolmates were among the last to formally study with Auntie Helen before she passed in 1952. Auntie Marge represented a glimpse into old-town Hilo and Hawaiʻi Island lifestyles and families in the 1930s and 40s.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Lauae Maluo Yung(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyAuntie Lauae was a firecracker of a kupuna always ready to sing, talk-story, and play music. Which we did a lot of in our oral history sessions at her homestead in Keaukaha! Auntie Lauae’s mama was a well-known kumu in Hilo in the 1930s and 1940s. Her name was Rose Kuamoo. Both mom and dad were talented musicians, so Auntie Lauae grew up surrounded by music and credited her ʻohana for all they taught and nurtured in her. Sending Auntie “snail mail” was a most memorable experience, because it was to her home on “Lauae Yung Avenue!” We learned in one of our interviews that her husband had nominated her as the name of their street when the Department of Hawaiian Homes was looking to name the new roadway. Auntie had lived in the Keaukaha homestead with her family since 1936.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Irene Lum Ho(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyAuntie Irene was part of our research on Maui hula lines. It was suggested we talk with her to try and find out more about Elizabeth Lum Ho, a Maui Kumu who would often come up in discussions with the island’s hula people. We were able to make contact and enjoyed a day of talk-story with Auntie Irene who was a most pleasant and enjoyable host! Elizabeth Lum Ho was her husband’s auntie, and being around the ʻohana, Auntie Irene heard about Maui families, hula folks, and kumu hula from across the island. We are grateful she shared her recollections and remembrances with HPS.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Kahili Long Cummings(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyThe garage! It was the place to meet and hang out with Auntie Kahili in Paukūkalo Hawaiian Homes, Maui for our numerous oral history sessions. She was nearly 90 when HPS first began talking story with her and she was sharp, engaging, and fun! Our videographer was often challenged when trying to frame her on camera, because she liked to lean over in her chair with her elbows on her knees, so you have to get low to be able to see her beautiful face in the viewfinder! Auntie Kahili “was” Maui through and through, from her special island sayings, to her way of speaking, to the twinkle in her eye when recalling experiences of her life and family; experiences that took place a stone’s throw from where we were sitting and talking almost 90 years later. Auntie Kahili was a master lauhala weaver and quilter and regularly shared her works of art during our talk-stories. What we remember the most about Auntie Kahili, though, is her love for her family and for hula, and the deep pride that filled her being. Her collection at HPS consist primarily of oral history materials and images.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Lehua Weatherwax(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyAuntie Lehua was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, but we met her in Kailua, Oʻahu, where she lived with her husband, Herbert Weatherwax, a revered Pearl Harbor survivor. Being from Hilo, she was fortunate to be a student of the renowned composer and kumu hula, Helen Desha Beamer. In the 1940s, she was part of a small group of girls who would study hula after school at Auntie Helen's beautiful home situated on the banks of the Wailuku River. In our talk-story sessions in Kailua, Auntie Lehua shared her memories of that beautiful time in her life. Even though it was many years ago, her gratitude for being with an elegant, enriching, and talented woman as “Auntie Helen” shone through.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Kahauanu Lake(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyWe were first introduced to “Uncle K” by his protege and hānai son, Walter Kawaiaea, but the names “Kahauanu Lake” and the “Kahauanu Lake Trio” were already well-known and appreciated by HPS as they were by countless hula people around the world because of their beautiful music for the hula. We wanted to talk with Uncle K about his connections with renowned Kumu Maiki Aiu, his musical work that we as dancers loved to hula to, and his role in making the ʻukulele a lead instrument in a Hawaiian musical trio. In oral history sessions we are typically able to learn and gain insights into the nurturing that kupuna received growing up which helped set them on their path in life. The sessions with Uncle K were no different in that regard and offered rich understandings and an even deeper appreciation for the legend that is Kahauanu Lake!Item Oral History Finding Aid: Robert "Lopaka" Kalani(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation Society“Uncle Lopaka” was a gentle, soft-spoken man whom we met and spent time with on his home island of Maui. While most meetings with our elders are inside, we always met outside in the elements with Uncle. Hearing his stories was like stepping back in time to the Maui of old, as he shared of his island ʻohana, childhood memories, hula influences and teachers, and opinions and thoughts on a variety of topics. To see him dance was to experience a flow of movement that hula dancers can only hope to achieve after years of study, yet it came to him naturally from a young age. Like many of the Kumu Hula we have sat and talked with, his talent was recognized early, and he went on to have an interesting and fulfilling life in hulaItem Oral History Finding Aid: Myrtle K. Hilo(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyWe met Auntie Myrtle through a mutual friend – 1950s Hula Nani dancer and HPS volunteer, Winnie Wong Naihe. At that time, they both lived in Waimanalo, and Auntie Myrtle invited us in to talk story. It was the start of an exquisitely enjoyable ride over a two year period. Auntie Myrtle was widely known and loved as a comic personality, full of kolohe (rascal) spirit and endearingly called “The Singing Cab Driver!” In our talk-stories, we came to see a different side of her, deeply rooted in love for her grandmother, Annie Hulama Holi, who raised her in Hauʻula, Oʻahu, and admiration for her parents and familyʻs talents which she strove to emulate. HPS took a road-trip with Auntie to Hauʻula so she could share more memories of her childhood, and we documented two performances she did with Kent Ghirard and the Hula Nanis at Lunalilo Home in Hawaiʻi Kai, Oʻahu and the Waikīkī Hawaiian Civic Club Lūʻau at St. Francis School in Mānoa, Oʻahu.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Dorothy Beyer(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation Society“Auntie Dottie” is a native of Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu, having grown up playing amongst the lōʻī kalo and streams of Haʻikū Valley. When we met her, she had already relocated to Hawaiʻi Island and was living in a beautiful home in Volcano named “Kahiwahiwaonalani.” Hula had always been a part of her life, seeing as her mother, Justina Kahiwa Johnston, was a Kumu Hula, and then she followed in her mama’s footsteps. Auntie Dottie had a wonderful implement collection, and she allowed HPS to visually document the pieces during our second visit. She taught hula throughout her life, first on Oʻahu and then on Hawaiʻi. In her twilight years when we met, she was working with senior citizens through Alu Like's Ke Ola Pono No Nā Kūpuna.Item Oral History Finding Aid: George Holokai(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyUncle George was a dear man that we had the pleasure of spending time with over the last five years of his life. His journey to becoming a respected Kumu and chanter was interesting and unique, and he shared details of his life and nurturing through a half dozen HPS oral history sessions and public programs on two islands. We were also invited to help document various activities of Uncle’s, including hula workshops, public performances, his grand 75th birthday celebration and the King Kamehameha Hula Competition tribute held for him. Born and raised on Oʻahu, Uncle George shed light on how it was his destiny to be with the hula. It truly was a privilege to have had the opportunity to gain insights into the man and Kumu he was.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Kent Ghirard(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyUncle Kent was the only kūpuna we interviewed that was not originally from Hawaiʻi, but his place in hula had been cemented decades earlier. We became connected to him through Auntie Nona Beamer who worked with him and his troupe in Waikīkī. He was 83 years young when we met. Uncle Kent had been captured by the sounds and movement of the islands at the young age of 13 on a visit with his family, the famous Ghirardelli chocolatiers. Uncle Kent felt his destiny was in Hawaiʻi and not running the family business in San Francisco, so he dedicated himself to the music and hula of the islands. The group he founded in the late 1940s was the Hula Nanis (hula beauties), and they became the premiere troupe of the 1950s. While he was not Hawaiian, most of his dancers were, and they and their families knew he was dedicated, honest, and earnest, and would do right by them. And he did, caring for them as a father figure, nurturing them as dancers and young women, and always paying them for the work they did through the troupe. Uncle Kent was one of a kind, and we are so grateful to have spent the last 11 years of his life with him. His love for the islands, his dancers, and the hula and music of Hawaiʻi never faded.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Edna Farden Bekeart(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyIt was a pleasure to meet and spend time with the delightful Maui native, Auntie Edna Bekeart. Two of her sisters - Irmgard Aluli and Emma Sharpe - were well-known Farden family members, but Auntie Edna led a less public life, primarily as a teacher. Yet, she had the family gift for composition, and she wrote songs alone and in collaboration with her sister, Irmgard. The many oral history sessions we did with Auntie over a period of four years helped shed light on not only this famous Maui ʻohana, but also the time period she and her many Farden siblings grew up in, and the Maui communities, people, and ways that shaped them. Numerous sessions were spent focused on Auntie’s beautiful compositions some of which have been recorded by artists such as Irmgard Aluli, Amy Hanaialii Gilliom and the group Paʻahana, to name a few.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Rhea Enos Akoi(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyHPS met Auntie Rhea through her friend and fellow Keaukaha kupuna, Auntie Lauae Maluo Yung. She had studied hula growing up and knew the “late greats” of Hilo and Keaukaha that we had hoped to hear more about, including Rose Kuamoo (Auntie Lauae’s mama), Helen Desha Beamer, “Baby Beamer” Kawohikukapulani Beamer Dahlberg (Helen Desha Beamerʻs daughter), and Rose Laanui, to name a few. Auntie Nona Beamer was present for the first meeting, and they shared some sweet moments together through talk-story and music. Subsequent meetings with Auntie Rhea brought us back to her home, as well as to a hula rehearsal for the kupuna performing group she belonged to. Auntie’s family was among the original Keaukaha homesteaders, and she wrote a book honoring their beloved ʻāina and community, “Kuʻu Home I Keaukaha.”Item Oral History Finding Aid: Nona Beamer(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyHow to offer insights into our time spent with Auntie Nona? Without her, HPS would not exist, and none of the work with other kūpuna (elders) would have happened! Auntie Nona was a fearless Hawaiian woman who faced many challenges in her life but persevered and continued to embody aloha through it all. She was loved the world over by those fortunate enough to meet and get to know her, take a workshop, ser her perform, become her student, listen to her CDs, or read her books. Her primary mentor was her beloved grandmother, Helen Desha Beamer (a.k.a. “Sweetheart Grandma”), and she was proud to be the eldest of 13 grandchildren. Auntie Nona was the ultimate teacher who loved and appreciated the earnestness which people of all background had for learning about things Hawaiian, but her greatest passion was in teaching children. Auntie was 77 at the time of HPS’s founding, and in those final years, she dedicated most of her time and efforts to ensuring critical native knowledge was captured and passed on through HPS. Her collection of papers, photographs, books, implements, textiles, and audiovisual materials now live in the HPS Archive.Item Oral History Finding Aid: Hilda Keanaaina(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyUncle George Naope told us of his friend from Kailua-Kona that we needed to meet, because she was also a student of two late great Kumu in his life, Lokalia Montgomery and Iolani Luahine. So began HPS’s journey with Auntie Hilda. She was soft-spoken and reserved, and had never done these HPS kind of interviews or panel discussions before. Through encouragement from Uncle George, she participated in two public panels hosted by HPS at the 2005 and 2007 Iolani Luahine Festivals in Kona, back when it was run by Uncle and Kumu Iwalani Kalima. We were also able to sit with Auntie for oral history sessions, as well. We treasured the opportunity to hear about Auntie Hildaʻs hula life as a Palace Dancer with Lokalia Montgomery and Iolani Luahine during the years they were each curators at Huliheʻe Palace in Kailua-Kona. We feel extremely privileged to have met and had time with this humble woman who deeply embodied her one hānau (birthplace).Item Oral History Finding Aid: Momi Aarona Kepilino(Hula Preservation Society, 2022) Hula Preservation SocietyAuntie Momi was an elegant woman of hula who was a joy to behold “in action.” She took great pride in being the longest student of the late great Kumu Maiki Aiu Lake at 35 glorious years! We met Auntie through a mutual friend, Kahauanu Lake (a.k.a. “Uncle K”), as they had known each other for decades through their mutual association with hula, music, and... beloved Auntie Maiki. The first sit-down with Auntie Momi was actually together with Uncle K, and they reminisced about days gone by, and the who, what, when, and where of the rich hula and music scene. Auntie Momi saved many tangible elements of her long life in hula – airplane tickets, receipts, photos, programs – you name it, Auntie kept it! Her scrapbooks were an irreplaceable treasure. We loved and appreciated Auntie's spirit and grace, and we are grateful she allowed us to gain insights into her memorable hula journey.