Every year at this time, I look back on the previous 12 months and review what I learned about Hawaii people, places and organizations in a two-part series.
Bob Sigall informed us about John Kalama, who was born in Kula around 1814 and settled in the then-Washington territory when he was in his teens (“From Lahaina to Washington with aloha,” Star-Advertiser, Rearview Mirror, Sept. 29).
I love finding stories that connect dots that are seemingly unrelated. This week’s column begins with the Pioneer Inn, which tragically burned down in Lahaina last month.
Ever since I was hired as a forester on Maui a short time before statehood, I have held in my mind that the two most noteworthy Lahaina icons are the sprawling banyan tree and its nearby neighbor, the historic Pioneer Inn.