Big Island sends five to the Paniolo Hall of Fame

KAILUA-KONA — Five of the Big Island’s top paniolo are being inducted into the Hall of Fame, including managers, ropers and other kahu pipi.

The Hall of Fame is maintained by the Oahu Cattleman’s Association “to recognize yesterday’s and today’s paniolo statewide who have contributed to keeping Hawaii’s paniolo heritage alive, and to honor those who made the paniolo culture legendary.”

The paniolo tradition began with five cattle given to King Kamehameha I by an English ship captain. Protected by a kapu placed by the king, they soon multiplied across the island.

In 1832, Mexican vaqueros were hired to herd the animals and train the locals in cowboy skills. Beef products soon became an important export, including to the California Gold Rush.

The Hall of Fame began in 1999 and has 137 people in it.

The free induction is open to the public and scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Sheraton Kona Resort and Spa at Keauhou Bay.

Lani Cran

Lani Cran grew up on Oahu, where her father was a ranch manager. She was a boarding school student at Kamehameha Schools. After graduation, she began to study animal nutrition at Washington State University. While she moved through the program, she took two years off to help her father at the ranch.

She spent a year in Washington working on her husband’s family farm, before returning to the islands. She worked to organize the Hawaii Cattle Producer’s Cooperative Transportation Division to assist ranchers transporting cattle to West Coast ports.

She and her husband, Bill, revitalized the old Kona Meat Co. plant, running it until the effects of Sept. 11, 2001, ended the business.

They worked full-time at Kapapala Ranch, and she became manager in 2004.

She has served as president of the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Association and with the Hawaii Cattle Producer’s Cooperative. She continues to serve her community and give her time to industry issues.

Godfrey Kahelelani Kainoa Sr.

Godfrey Kahelelani Kainoa Sr. started his career on the JK Ranch, his family’s 300-acre ranch at Nienie.

He began working as a toddler, the citation says, carrying buckets of nails for repairs. He joined the cattle drives from Kahua to Kawaihae at the age of 7.

At 18, his father died and Godfrey Kainoa became the head of the ranch. He was also working at the Kahua Ranch.

He moved on to Parker Ranch in 1972, working as a cowboy.

“As a skilled horse trainer he had a work string of 30 horses. He was fearless and had the ability to take horses from his bucking string and also use them to work pipi,” the release said.

He was also a rodeo rider in the ‘70s and ‘80s, named “all-around cowboy” in multiple Big Island rodeos.

Parker Ranch promoted him to foreman of the Keamuku and Kohala Divisions, where he ran a cow and calf operation of more than 10,000 head of cattle.

One of his projects in the Kohala region was the control of wild cattle out of the forest ranges of the mountains. He directed crews and traps to bring out 3,000 head of feral, marketable cattle. He said the effort was comparatively straightforward — going out with traps at night and setting them up. Then the cattle, spooked by the presence of humans, could be lead in.

They were long, exhausting nights he said, but very successful.

The effort certainly didn’t eliminate the presence of thousands of animals lurking in the mountains, he said.

He spent 28 years on Parker Ranch, returning to his home at Kahua Ranch, where he is livestock manager. He still maintains JK ranch as a cow and calf operation, with about 70 head.

“He deserves this recognition as a true paniolo with the art, skill and pride of profession that comes from hard work and the heritage of generations. His legacy will live on in the paniolo culture because many of the young men from his cowboy crews were trained by him and made men by him, by the likes of Godfrey Kahelelani Kainoa Sr., and his many talents,” the citation said.

He will be third member of his family to join the Hall of Fame, as his father and grandfather also hold positions.

Thomas Weston Lindsey

The event also honors Thomas Weston Lindsey, who was born in Waimea, riding for the Kahua and Parker ranches before W.H. Shipman Ltd.

One of his first tasks was to clear the loose cattle from Keaau to Pahoa to King’s Landing in South Hilo. Working with two men and a pack of hounds, he removed most of the herds in about three years, the citation reads.

Lindsey’s first management position was as foreman for the Keauhou and Ainahou ranches. When those were sold, he became manager of Puu Oo Ranch. He worked to reduce wild cattle mixing with the breeding herds, which he did with “his tough and able cowboys and specially bred dogs,” the citation said.

He worked on the “quiet and gentle manner” of the herds in moving them from paddock to paddock. He also selected heifers based on confirmation and attitude.

His conservation efforts included protecting rare plants and being a member and officer of the Mauna Kea Soil and Water Conservation District for 20 years. There he worked to improve pastures and water conservation, while introducing new grasses and legumes. Part of that was a system of improved grasses to aid in the conversion of yearlings to finished beef in the Keaau Paddocks.

He became an authority on the healing properties of native plants and discovered the Lobelia lindseyensis.

“Tommy Lindsey is remembered as a rugged and tough cowboy whose rich baritone voice and ukulele playing touched so many ears. He is remembered for his riding and roping feats, especially in the wild country, his ranching and managerial skills, his sensitivity, understanding and treatment of people and animals alike. He is remembered also for his continued self-improvement, always reaching to quench his ever inquisitive mind,” the citation said.

He died at age 70 and the award will be accepted by his niece, Edith Bertlemann. She and her brother, John Peiper, worked to make sure he was recognized.

“If we don’t, and we’re getting up there, he might never get in,” she said.

She remembers visiting with him in the 1940s and ‘50s, over summer break, where he would play guitar and sing.

“He was a lot of fun, one of our favorite uncles,” she said.

Henry Lulu Rafael

Henry Lulu Rafael was born in Kohala and worked with Kahua Ranch Ltd. for much of his career.

He moved and worked for other ranches, including a stint on Oahu.

He returned in 1946 to Kahua and worked his way up the ranks, finally becoming the cowboy supervisor.

There he was foreman for six summers for a young Tim Richards.

“He watched out for me,” Richards said, who is now a veterinarian specializing in herd health and cattle medicine.

Or, more simply stated, a cow doctor, he said.

Richards said Rafael was decades ahead of his time on working with cattle.

“I believe he moved the whole herd health movement forward,” Richards said.

Part of that was gentle care and personally giving the cattle Blackleg vaccinations when they were branded.

Richards, a veterinarian, said that was especially telling due to the lower respect for handlers on the ranch at the time. At the time, it was the “man on the horse with the rope” who was important, not all the other parts of the operation.

These vaccinations are now recommended by veterinarians and cattle management specialists.

He was also a competitor in races and rodeos, including earning the position of the 1956 Hawaii Saddle Club Big Island Rodeo Team Roping Champion.

“Though Henry was a man of very few words, an affectionate ‘Morning, Jack’ was his greeting to those that knew him best,” the citation said.

He was a man of “very, very, very few words,” Richards said, much like many of that generation of paniolo.

He lead by example, Richards said, which helped impress him with how to work with people and animals.

“(Rafael) was gentle but firm and this was reflected in his horses, the cattle, and the men that worked under him,” the citation said.

He regularly rode the ranch lands, checking on grass, water and herd conditions, continuing into his twilight years.

Although he retired in the early 1980s, he continued “checking” and riding the range part-time until his death in 1987 at age 72.

Greg Friel

Greg Friel’s career started in 1978 and included work at Kapapala Ranch in Kohala.

“The environment and locations have been as varied as the ownership structures, which range from a State lease, to a family trust, to a multi-national corporate owned ranch that has seen five owners in 71 years, and finally, to a ranch that has been owned and operated by the same family since 1888,” his citation said.

Unique among the entries, his citation includes his list of keys to success.

1) Proper animal handling is key. Greg’s early years were spent working with a lot of wild cattle that had been chased around a lot. The amount of time and energy it took to gather and settle these cattle was very costly. While roping these kinds of cattle might have been fun for a young man, there are less costly handling techniques used today.

2) Grazing management can play a larger part in the animal’s health than any of the vaccinations that are available. If an animal is stressed in any way, you may as well shoot the vaccine in the ground. Stressed wild cattle can die simply from stress so managing them quietly and gently is the best way to keep them alive.

3) Never stop learning. Learning from life is as important as learning from a textbook.

4) If you don’t love what you’re doing, you won’t ever be very good at it. Follow your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life.

5) Diversity is the key whether it’s in livestock, forages or crops. Mono-cultures never occur in nature and they shouldn’t be the models for a ranch.

6) Mentor the youth. They are critical if ranching is to have a future. Someone has to produce food for the people when we’re gone and right now the young people are not lining up to take our place.

Also honored will be Glenn Michael Souza of Maui, Charles Kaleoaloha Kahaleauki Jr. of Maui, Henry Edward “Bud” Gibson of Kauai and Oahu, and Walter Boteilho Sr. of Maui.