Natural History

Shower Tree
(Cassia spp.)

Shower trees line Baldwin Avenue as you wend your way up from Paia to Makawao. Clouds of flowers in large grape-like clusters cover the tree in the spring through mid-summer, brightening the landscape and your journey. Sometimes, because of dry weather, the rainbows can bloom through October. A line of shower trees is a glorious sight.

Shower trees are considered one of the most beautiful of all tropical trees. They are members of the Senna subfamily of the Legume family, closely related to the poincianas, and they seem to grow best in the lowlands. They make wonderful shade trees.

The Golden shower tree (Cassia fistula) is the most common and is a native of India, where it is also known as the Indian Laburnum. The tree is also the national tree of Thailand, where it is often seen along roads and avenues of established towns like Kahului and Lahaina.
They grow to about 35 feet tall.

The Pink or Coral shower tree (C. grandis) is largest of the shower trees and is from tropical America. It grows to about 40 feet tall. It is the first Cassia to bloom in the spring and is covered with masses of at first pinkish-lavender blossoms that turn coral-pink. It has been cultivated in Hawaii since 1870 so at the end of March until May, many trees can be seen sprinkled throughout the island.

Other Cassia varieties are also found in gardens and public plantings. C. multifuga and C. siamea are yellow-flowering, while C. bakeriana. A native of Thailand, has pink blooms. C. javanica, less commonly seen, has pink and white flowers. The last is a late bloomer, reaching peak bloom in June. It is a smaller tree from Sumatra and Java. The tight masses of flowers are pale pink or white with yellow stamens and a green style. It is said to resemble the Mainland flowering quince or crabapple trees.

Crosses between C. javanica and C. fistula have produced the many hybrids called Rainbow shower. The trees, with blends of pink, yellow, lemon, bronze, pink, rose, and apricot, are a beautiful addition to the landscape. They are a seed-grown hybrid. Because of their hybrid nature, every tree is different. The Rainbow shower tree is the official tree of the city of Honolulu.
The flowers are followed by black cylindrical seed pods, as long as two feet,and contain as many as 100 yellow-brown seeds which are used by lei makers, embedded in a dark, sweet and sticky pulp. This pulp is used in some places in Asia as a purgative for intestinal cleansing. (The old name for Golden shower is "purging cassia.") In India the pulp is added to tobacco for smoking.

The Rainbow shower tree's popularity among Island gardeners and landscapers is due to its reputation for producing less seed pods than the Pink or the Golden shower. They are certainly less "messy."

All shower trees produce fine-quality timber and medicinal ingredients. Their leaves differ: Rainbow showers have dark green, oval leaves, Golden showers have longer, light green leaves and pink-and-white shower leaves are oval and fairly small.

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Arts & Culture

Lower Paia Stores And Shops Pt.2

In July, 1930, a fire broke out early on a Sunday morning in the new Tam Ho store building at Paia's main intersection. It started about 1 a.m. Hundreds of volunteers from the upcountry area rushed to help the firefighters as soon as they heard the news, but insufficient water pressure and the lack of fire hydrants allowed the flames to destroy the wooden framed structures in the immediate area before leaping across the highway. A plan to use dynamite to make a fire break was abandoned as futile after Deputy Sheriff Frank Silva and his men blew up one of the buildings.

By 5 a.m. the fire had destroyed some 15 stores and a number of smaller structures. The Paia police station was wiped out. The Maui News reported that the damages were estimated at $100,000 to $150,000 and that 150 persons were left homeless by the fire. It was devastating. The report said that total insurance on the buildings and goods carried by the merchants amounted to about $30,000.

Finally, a pump belonging to Maui Agricultural Company was used to pump water from the ocean onto the ruins of the business heart of Lower Paia. This prevented the wind from picking up the embers and scattering them all over the rest of the town. In all of this, the timely efforts of some men who stayed through the inferno wetting down burlap bags spread over the top of the Paia Mercantile building saved it from major damage. Arson was suspected.

During World War II, the independent stores profited when thousands of military personnel were stationed around the area. By 1941, there were 16,000 soldiers stationed in Haiku and it was a boom-time for all the merchants in the area. The concept of cash-and-carry stores probably got its start from the military use of cash for their purchases. Before then most merchants followed the plantation store policy of running tabs for their customers, which were paid off when the workers got paid.

In 1946, the infamous "April Fool's" tidal wave caused by a quake in Alaska damaged sections of Lower Paia, as well as all along the north shore and the east coastline of the island. Ten waves swept the coastline from Hana to Lahaina. On Maui, it left 14 people dead and two injured, 77 buildings completely demolished, 156 buildings damaged and 550 people homeless. Buildings and homes were washed off their foundations or smashed to splinters. Many of the residents had little or no warning of the incoming waves. At the time there was no system to track potential tsunamis or warn residents of low-lying areas to evacuate.

Paia was one of the areas of Maui hardest hit by the tsunami. The two-story Hew Building, on the makai side of the Hana Highway just as you enter town, once housed a store and restaurant belonging to Sing Cha Hew. At the time of the tidal wave, it was the family home. The Hews fled and returned later to find that a huge boulder had smashed into the downstairs. The Lower Paia Theater, which was located where the Paia public parking lot is now, was destroyed. According to the Maui News report, the town "took on the appearance of a war-blasted town in Normandy! Shattered stores lined the Hana Highway! Light and phone wires were down! Two residences straddled the street entering the town from Kahului!"

In the aftermath, rebuilding began with the help of grants from the Red Cross, the federal Reconstruction Finance Corporation and local banks. Military personnel and civilians banded together to help out with collections of money, food and clothing for people who had lost everything. The wave also inspired the creation of the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, based on Oahu, which tracks seismic activity and resulting waves around the Pacific. Sirens now warn residents to tune into their radios when the threat of a tsunami arises and unless the quake occurs immediately offshore, people have time for an orderly evacuation.

By mid-1961, the once-dominant plantation stores were demolished as the camps died and the decrease in the population in the areas surrounding Lower Paia was substantial. The town very nearly died. The population of Upper and Lower Paia in 1967 was an estimated 1,500 people, compared to 8,000 people in 1940. The newly elected County Chairman Elmer Carvalho called the town a "pocket of economic distress." It was through his efforts that Paia town became the beneficiary of a $1.5 million rebuilding program that attempted to rejuvenate the town. Many of the older independent merchants and storekeepers sold their businesses to a new generation of entrepreneurs during this period and the town went through a flurry of activity that never quite took off. The town limped along.

In the early 1980's windsurfers began to discover nearby Hookipa Beach, and Lower Paia was dubbed the "Windsurfing Capital of the World." Today Paia has many more windsurfers than sugar cane workers. They come from all over the world.

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Hawaiiana

MOLOKA’I

Now that we took our journey around Maui and through Lana’i, let's move on to Moloka’i.

Ho’olehua:
Swift, expert, strong

Kala’e:
The clearness

At one point, Kala’e was owned by King Kamehameha V and no one could go there without royal permission.

Kalaupapa:
The flat plain or the broad, flat reef

Kalaupapa Peninsula contains three land divisions, including Kalaupapa, Makanalua, and Kalawao. Although there are three land divisions, the entire peninsula is called Kalaupapa because it has been the center of the population since the late 1800’s.

Kalaupapa is the site of the Moloka’i Hansen’s disease (leprosy) epidemic. At the time of the epidemic, there were no cures, so those who caught the disease were removed from society as well as their families and isolated at the Kalaupapa Peninsula because its geography provided a perfect natural prison. In 1866, the first boatload of people affected with leprosy landed in Kaluapapa. Before sending people to be isolated at Kalaupapa, the Board of Health thought patients would be self supporting, but they were wrong. Most patients could not fend for themselves because they were too ill, so the Board of health tried to improve conditions by building a hospital and homes, but food, clothing, housing, and medical care were scarce because of the increasing number of patients being brought in. Seven years later, in 1873, a young catholic priest named Joseph De Veuster, also known as Father Damien, became the first resident priest on Kalaupapa so that he could help serve the 700 leprosy victims. What he did for the leprosy victims is legendary. He offered hope to those who were told they were going to die, organized schools, bands, and choirs. With the help of patients, he built houses, planted trees, and even built a water system. He was just like the patients; he did nothing to separate himself from his people. Then 12 years after going to Kalaupapa, he had caught the disease. He was able to help the leprosy victims for a total of 16 years until his death on April 5, 1889. Now Kalaupapa Peninsula is still home to several surviving leprosy victims, but remains closed to all outsiders to this very day. The only public access is through authorized, guided tours.

Kalawao:
Announce mountain area

Kalawao was the original site of the leprosy epidemic on Kalaupapa Peninsula until it was moved to Kalaupapa.

Makanalua:
Double gift

Kaunakakai:

Kaunakakai is abbreviated from Kaunakahakai. Kaunakahakai means beach landing.

Kualapu’u:
Hill overturned

Kualapu’u contains the Kualapu’u reservoir, which is the world’s largest rubber-lined body of water. This reservoir holds 1.4 billion gallons of water.

Maunaloa:
Long Mountain

It is said that hula was born on the slopes of Maunaloa, where the goddess Laka learned to dance. It is also said that hula went with her where ever she went. Now every spring there is an annual Moloka’i Ka Hula Piko Festival which commemorates this birth.

Kīpū:
Hold back

Umipa’a:
Stifle firmly

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Braddah-Nics Lexicon

STANDARD: I have to tell you this is NOT a good idea.
BRADDAH-NICS: You like lickin's, or what?

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD: Why are you being so obnoxious? I am getting angry at you
BRADDAH-NICS: You like lickin's, or what?

* * * * * * * *

STANDARD: When Dad finds out, he's going to be so-o-o angry!
BRADDAH-NICS: You like lickin's, or what?

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Local Grinds

Fried  Rice Moco

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 3 1/2 cups rice
• 1 packet of bacon
• 1 can of spam
• 1 Portuguese sausage
• Eggs
• 1 bunch of green onions
• Shoyu
• 1 small onion
• 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 2 packets of gravy

 

Procedure:

Start cooking the rice and frying the bacon. Cut spam, green onion and Portuguese sausage into small pieces. When bacon is finished, cut into small pieces. Fry the spam and Portuguese sausage next. When rice is finished, put into a frying pan and add about ½ to 1 cup of shoyu over rice and a small amount of oyster sauce for taste to your preference. Add in bacon, spam, Portuguese sausage, and green onion. The fried rice is now complete.

Take the 1lb. of ground beef and mix in an egg. Mix in panco bread crumbs, salt, and pepper for taste. Once mixture is complete make about 5 patties. In a frying pan add a little bit of oil and cook patties. While making patties you can start the gravy or make it after, following instructions on the packet. Once everything is completed, cook a sunny side up egg to top it off. Serve patty and egg over a bed of your fried rice. Top with gravy and enjoy!

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