Hilo museum lands rare Hawaiian artifact
Three Hawaiian items, purchased at a Paris auction this past spring, were donated to island museums on Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai.
Wayne James Rapozo, formerly of Kauai and now living in London, purchased the three items from the Rainer Werner Bock collection in a spring 2017 auction by Aquettes Auction House in Paris.
Lyman Museum in Hilo received a moa pahee, or sliding dart, for Makahiki games.
“This moa pahee is a rare example of a game dart in excellent condition surviving in modern times,” Rapozo said in a press release. “Although Bishop Museum in Honolulu has several in their collection, it was Lyman Museum’s intent to have one in its collection. Lyman Museum was thrilled to help in reviewing the background and condition of this moa paheee with a view toward having one.”
Lynn Elia, registrar and collections manager at Lyman Museum, said this item was on a priority list for potential artifacts needed in their new Island Heritage Gallery.
“Artifacts such as these are an uncommon donation and are just as difficult to locate,” Elia said. “We had already decided to commission a modern replica when Wayne contacted the museum in April. At first, we thought Wayne’s call was a prank, but we’re so grateful that Wayne was genuine in his intention to locate and donate this item to Lyman Museum.”
Rotary annual Keiki Vision a success
Rotary Club of Kona visited Innovations, Makua Lani Christian Academy, Kahakai, Kealakehe, and Holualoa with Dr. Timothy E. Kale of All Eyes in mid-December to provide vision screenings for third-graders.
Dr. Modesto Bala and Jessica Joto from All Eyes also helped conduct the screenings. The class sizes for Kahakai, Kealakehe, and Holualoa were all in excess of 100 students.
For more information about this project, call Rotary Club of Kona president R. Hermann Heimgartner at 756-7022.
Wreaths Across America
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) held a “Wreaths Across America” ceremony at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery on Dec. 16, overlooking the beautiful waters of Kona.
The main speaker, CAP Cadet Second Lt. Alvarez from Kona Composite Squadron, spoke about how many of the veterans gave their lives so that we can live in freedom without fear—including the right to raise our families, travel without permission within and without our borders and the right to succeed in whatever endeavors we choose.
Alvarez also acknowledged the men and women today who currently serve in all branches of the military—reiterating the fact that these freedoms we hold dear today must be continually protected. Quoting President Ronald Reagan: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We did not pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Veterans who lost their lives protecting our freedoms were honored alongside those serving us today both domestically and abroad. The DAV/VFW provided the 21-gun salute/taps and retirement of colors. Wreaths were laid on the graves of servicemen and women of all branches of service, and another in memory of the POW-MIA veterans.
