Entries Tagged 'History' ↓

In this edition of Long Story Short, Leslie Wilcox talks story with a true Renaissance man. John Clark relates how learning to surf at a young age led him to become a waterman, lifeguard, fire fighter, historian, and writer. The author of a series of books on Hawaii’s beaches, John Clark took the innate curiosity that we all have and hunted down the source and mo’olelo, or stories, behind the names of Hawaii’s surf spots and shoreline landmarks. Find out how this descendent of a sea captain is doing his part to keep Hawaiian stories and characters alive.

 

 Long Story Short - John Clark - Keeping Hawaiian Stories Alive [26:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of PBS Hawaii.

Leslie Wilcox talks story with Barbara Kawakami who, just three months old in 1921, arrived in Hawaii with her family and a ship full of Japanese “Picture Brides”. These young women were about to enter into arranged marriages to plantation laborers. Barbara has devoted the last thirty years collecting the clothing and preserving the almost-lost accounts of first generation immigrants, many of them picture brides.

 

 Long Story Short - Barbara Kawakami - Remembering Japanese 'Picture Brides' [26:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of  PBS Hawaii.

A member of one of Hawaii’s most prominent kamaaina families, Sam Cooke shares his passion for the restoration of Hawaii’s cultural and historical treasures. A descendant of early missionaries who established a business empire with Castle and Cooke, Sam, along with his wife Mary, established the Manoa Heritage Center to promote the stewardship of ancient heiau located near their historic home in Manoa Valley.

 

 Long Story Short - Sam Cooke - Preserving Historical Hawaii [26:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of PBS Hawaii.

Maui-based kumu hula and Hawaiian cultural/language specialist Hōkūlani Holt talks story with Leslie Wilcox about growing up on Oahu and Maui, being hānai’d (adopted) by her grandparents, and growing up in a well-known hula family. Hōkūlani also talks about juggling her demanding yet fulfilling life as a kumu hula, Director of Cultural Programs at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, and her active roles in a long list of community organizations. Through it all she draws strength from her Hawaiian heritage and a family history of strong, independent women.

 

 Long Story Short - Hōkūlani Holt - Drawing Strength from Hawaiian Heritage [25:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of PBS Hawaii.

In part two of her interview with the Hawaiian language scholar, Leslie Wilcox talks with Puakea Nogelmeier about this thirty years of work perpetuating an appreciation of the richness and intricacies of the Hawaiian language and culture. They also discuss the herculean task of translating into English the 500 page “Epic Tale of Hi’iakaopoliopele,” and Puakea’s collaboration with others to translate into English many 19th and 20th century Hawaiian newspaper articles and put them online. Puakea also explains the true meaning of the word kaona (it’s not what most people think), and what it’s like to be the voice of The Bus.

 

 Puakea Nogelmeier on the Hawaiian Language [26:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of PBS Hawaii.

DeSoto Brown is a lifetime collector and Hawaiian historian who has the perfect job for someone with a passion for preserving the past: he is the Collections Manager at the Bishop Museum Archives. Descended from famous 19th century Hawaiian historian and writer John Papa I’i, DeSoto surrounds himself with personal and political possessions from Hawaiian Ali’i, as well as stacks of other materials representing Hawaii’s cultural and natural history.

DeSoto tells Leslie about starting to collect pieces of the past at the tender age of seven and how his passion has grown ever since. Lines are blurred between DeSoto’s professional and personal life, because collecting the past is what he loves the most – on and off the job.

 

 Long Story Short - DeSoto Brown - A Passion for Hawaiian History [26:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of PBS Hawaii

Only a few working female vocalists in Hawaii have achieved “diva” status.  Marlene Sai is one of them.  In the first part of a two-part series, Marlene Sai talks about being mentored by her uncle, Andy Cummings – legendary Hawaiian music pioneer and composer of the iconic song “Waikiki.”  Sai also talks about being discovered by Don Ho while she was still a junior in high school, and the golden age of Hawaiian music in Waikiki.

 

 Long Story Short - Marlene Sai - Hawaiian "Diva" - Part One [26:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of PBS Hawaii.

Nanette Napoleon is considered Hawaii’s leading expert on graveyards. A trustee of O’ahu Cemetery in Nu’uanu, she’s the author and photographer of a book on Hawaii’s oldest public graveyard. She gives walking tours of the site and she supervised documentation of more than 300 graveyards and 30,000 tombstone inscriptions throughout the state.

 

 Long Story Short - Nanette Napoleon - Hawaii's History Detective [26:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox is a production of PBS Hawaii.