The 1980s

The 1980s were difficult for the sugar industry. In the midst of these hard times, the community spirit prevailed, encompassing honoring the past, working together, gratitude and perseverance. 

1980

  • Newspaper articles or notices regarding the Hakalau area were infrequent, and were predominantly ads for real estate and land sales, obituaries, and notices about regular community activities such as Obon, Memorial Day observance, and community meetings.

1981

  • Honoring the past prevailed, as the community and many who had moved away celebrated Hakalau School, which closed in 1972.
The Honolulu Advertiser, July 12, 1981, accessed via Newspapers.com

1982

  • Hakushi Tamura, Minister at the Hakalau Jodo Mission from 1979-1996, shares his memories of Hakalau Upper Camp during the period of about 1982-1985, a period when most of the houses were vacant or had been moved or demolished:
O.K. about Hakalau camp. I don’t remember much but Hilo side of the church were empty lot which became like jungle, then cane field all the way till Hakalau intersection.

There were several houses between the church and manager’s house, which means Hamakua side of the church. One house across Hakalau Post Office, right corner of the road goes up to the church, Hawaiian man named Sam was there alone. One Japanese old lady named Sugino lived few lots(?) above Sam’s. I noticed several houses in the area but no one was there. Houses were demolishing.

The church road went up till the ditch behind the church, then went right side. There was a big jackfruit tree at the corner of the road. Hamakua side of the road became jungle, many tangerine trees, banana trees and other fruits trees. Which means once people lived there and planted fruits trees but they moved out from there and the place became jungle. A Japanese lady lived in the jungle named Kaneshiro, she moved to Pepeekeo later.
The road went in to the jungle toward manager’s house and there was a Japanese family house. Sugino family, they moved to Pepeekeo. His name was Shunichi “Wimpy” Sugino. One Sugino noticed earlier was Wimpy’s mom. In my memory, if I’m not wrong, Wimpy was the last one moved out from there, or Hawaiian Sam.

There were some houses below the post office. Portuguese family and Philippine family.

I don’t know how many houses were there. A Japanese lady named Tabata was there, if I’m not mistaken. She also moved to Pepeekeo.
  • The legacy of Hakalau School was shared with recipients of the Hakalau Reunion Scholarships.
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, November 2, 1982, accessed via Newspapers.com.

1983

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Hawaii Tribune Herald, February 23, 1983, accessed via Newspapers.com
  • Gratitude and perseverance...required qualities for infrastructure development. 
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, November 26, 1982, accessed via Newspapers.com
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, March 9, 1983, p. 26, accessed via Newspapers.com.

1984

  • Activities continued in support of community recreation.
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, February 15, 1984, accessed via Newspapers.com.

1985

  • New ventures in diversified agriculture began.
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, February 13, 1985, accessed via Newspapers.com
  • The Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge proposed and the Federal government set aside funds for land acquisition. The Nature Conservancy raised funds as well.
  • 1985 marked the 85th anniversary of the arrival of immigrants from Okinawa, a good time to share their history.
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, September 22, 1985, accessed via Newspapers.com.

1986

  • John A. W. Buyers (Doc Buyers), Chairman and President of C. Brewer and Company, Ltd., and a small group of investors, including  several directors and senior executives of C. Brewer as well as other individuals from Hawaii and the mainland purchased the principal businesses of C. Brewer and Company from IU International Corporation. They brought the company home.

1987

  • Perseverance and focus by the Hakalau community continued amid adversity.
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, August 24, 1987, p. 19, accessed via Newspapers.com.

1988

  • In the midst of economic decline, the community worked to retain its identity and pursued infrastructure development to support current residents and changing needs.
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Hawaii Tribune Herald, March 18, 1988, p. 10, accessed via Newspapers.com.

1989

  • Closure of the Hakalau Post Office was averted, reflecting a two-year effort on the part of Hakalau residents. Perseverance paid off.
Hawaii Tribune Herald, March 26, 1989, p. 6, accessed via Newspapers.com
  • The Hakalau Jodo Mission was dwindling. A list of Hakalau Jodo Mission members from the late 1980s (i.e., between 1985 and 1989) describes the membership remaining in this time.  It includes 80 persons, but, with wives included, probably represents about 140 members.  They were elderly -about 72% were age 65+ and about 28% were 80+. The majority were living outside of Hakalau: Hilo (37%), Pepeekeo ( 33%), Hakalau (26%).
For the Hakalau Kuleana, our responsibility is to care for the land, the people, and the culture. We are guided by cultural values of YESTERDAY: Engage in collective effort. Look out for each other. Honor hard work. Show respect for those who came before us. Aloha and Mālama `Aina. In 2021, Akiko Masuda added two more values to the list: Consistently show up. Whatever has to be done, jump in and do it!