makena august 2014

M A G A Z I N E

makenaM A K E N A B E A C H & G O L F R E S O R T | 2 0 1 4 i S S u E 2

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Welcome to

M A K E N A B E A C H & G O L F R E S O R T

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contents

26MAUI PROTEA NO KA ‘OIAnuhea Farm is one of many on Maui that grow the distinctive flower, whose origins date back millions of years and is today an important Island crop. BY TERI FREITAS GORMAN

34ARCHITECTURAL ODYSSEYFrank Lloyd Wright’s design for a home for Marilyn Monroe becomes the inspira-tion for The King Kamehameha Golf Club Clubhouse. BY ALLAN SEIDEN

FEATURES

V O L U M E 2 / I S S U E 2 /

makena beach & golf resort / maui, hawai‘i

makena

COVER CREDIT

©Bob Bangerter

2 0 1 4 V O L . 2

LAND OF MANY LIVESFrom sweet potatoes and taro, to sandalwood and sugar, to cattle and wine, the changing bounty of ‘Ulupalakua Ranch reveals the fascinating history of the ranch’s evolution. BY SHANNON WIANECKI

COVER STORY

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contents / M A K E N A B E AC H & G O L F R E S O R T / M AU I , H AWA I‘ I

DEPARTMENTS

7EDITOR’S NOTE

8PROFILE

AT YOUR SERVICE Classic-car lover and front desk agent extraordi-naire, Ron Chap-man is a man of many interests. BY BONNIE FRIEDMAN

12INDULGENCES GENTLE BREEZES, HEALING HANDSMakena Kai Day Spa offers sooth-ing treatments in a spectacular setting. BY ANU YAGI

16SENSE OF PLACE TELLING TALES OF GHOSTS & GODDESSESAuntie Kathy Collins brings the ancient tradition of talk story to the Makena Beach & Golf Resort. BY TERI FREITAS GORMAN

40ISLAND EMBRACE

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MVP is a Proud

sPonsor of

Les CLefs d’or usa

ADVERTISINGGroup Publisher

Kathleen M. [email protected]

Account ManagersDebbie DeMello

[email protected]

Sales CoordinatorKara Stoner

[email protected]

Advertising Sales(808) 955-2378

EXECUTIVEPresident

Donna W. Kessler

Vice President of OperationsAngela E. Allen

PRODUCTIONDirector of Production

Kris Miller

Product ManagerJasond Fernandez

Production ManagerBrittany L. Kevan

RetouchingJerry Hartman

EDITORIAL Chief Creative OfficerHaines Wilkerson

Senior Regional Editorial DirectorMargaret Martin

Design DirectorJane Frey

Photography DirectorSusan Strayer

Art DirectorMichelle Theis

Contributing WritersTeri Freitas Gorman, Bonnie Friedman, Allan Seiden, Shannon Wianecki, Anu Yagi

Contributing PhotographersBob Bangerter, Sue Hudelson

MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGYDirector of ManufacturingDonald Horton

Technical Operations ManagerTony Thorne-Booth

MORRIS COMMUNICATIONSChairman & CEO

William S. Morris III

PresidentWilliam S. Morris IV

Regional Vice President and PublisherPatti Ruesch

[email protected]

makena

Makena Magazine (Vol. 2, Iss. 2) is published by Where Hawaii, 1833 Kalakaua Ave, Ste. 810, Honolulu, HI 96815

Copyright© 2014 by Morris Visitor Publications. All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without the

express prior written permission of the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility to any party for the content of any advertisement in this publication, including any errors and

omissions therein. By placing an order for an advertisement, the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher against any claims relating to the advertisement.

makena beach & golf resort / maui, hawai'i

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E D I T O R ’ S N O T E

A prehistoric South African flower thrives on the slopes of Haleakalā. A design for a Connecticut home becomes the model for a golf clubhouse in Wailuku. A ranch in ‘Ulupalakua that once grew taro now provides wind power to Maui.

Hawai‘i’s history is full of such stories of transition and adaptation, the theme of this issue of Makena magazine.

‘Ulupalakua Ranch is indeed a “land of many lives,” having gone through numerous changes over the centuries. Shannon Wianecki explores the ranch’s fascinating history—its evolution from ancient sandalwood groves and koa trees to present-day cattle ranch and winery and its latest incarnation as a site of wind-driven turbines.

The strangely beautiful protea flower originated millions of years ago on the supercontinent Gondwana (which eventually became South Africa and Australia), but it wasn’t until 1964 that a professor brought protea seedlings to the Islands and discovered that Upcountry Maui

provided the perfect conditions for the plant. Teri Freitas Gorman takes us on a visit to Anuhea Farm, just one of many places where protea are cultivated.

How did a house design intended for Marilyn Monroe become the model for a golf clubhouse in Wailuku? Allan Seiden relates the story of how the actress and her husband, Arthur Miller, commissioned the design from Frank Lloyd Wright, but when the Millers’ marriage failed, the design was shelved. Purchased from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation at Taliesen West, the design was adapted to blend with its Island setting. The King Kamehameha Golf Club Clubhouse is a fine addition to Wright’s legacy.

Despite changing times, the Hawaiian people have held on to the rituals, music and spirit that define their homeland. One such tradition is talking story. Teri Freitas Gorman introduces us to Auntie Kathy

Collins, a master of the genre, whose repertoire includes tales of Hawaiian legends, ghosts and other fascinating stories, told around a campfire at the Makena Beach & Golf Resort.

Also at the resort we visit with Front Desk Agent Ron Chapman, a Kentucky native who fell in love with Maui on his first visit here 30 years ago; Bonnie Friedman informs us that Chapman’s love for Maui is nearly matched by his love for classic cars. And finally, Anu Yagi relates her relaxing and rejuvenating experience at the Makena Kai Day Spa.

We hope you find this issue of Makena magazine both enlightening and entertaining.—Margaret Martin

Transitions and Adaptations

©SU

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ELSO

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E ‘Ike Mai (Behold)

I luna la, i lunaNa manu o ka lewa

I lalo la, i laloNa pua o ka honua

I uka la, i ukaNa ulu la‘au

I kai la, i kaiNa i‘a o ka moana

Ha‘ina mai ka puanaA he nani ke ao nei

Above, aboveall birds in air

below, belowall earth’s flowers

inland, inlandall forest trees

seaward, seawardall ocean fish

sing out and sayagain the refrain

Behold this lovely world

—TRADITIONAL CHANT

Translated by Mary Kawena Pukui©The University Press of Hawai‘i

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P R O F I L E / TEXT BY BONNIE FRIEDMAN / P H OTO G R A P HY BY SUE HUDELSON

ost mainland transplants are seduced by the sun, the surf, the swaying palms. For Ron Chapman, it was written in the stars. When his stepdad passed away in 1984, he lured his mother—who had never traveled by plane—

from their home in Kentucky with a trip to Maui. “We stayed at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina,” he remembers. “The bartender took me for a drive along the ocean in an open-air Jeep. I looked up at the sky full of stars and that was it. I knew I was going to live here.” Three months lat-er, he was back. “I left everything I had and I didn’t know a soul here.” On the strength of his will—and his personality—he had a place to live and a job within weeks. His first job was at a retail shop in Kapalua. In short order, he discovered his “calling” as a front desk agent at the Sheraton Maui. “I was comfortable behind the desk,” he recalls. Almost two decades later, that has turned out to be quite the understatement.

Since 2000, Chapman has welcomed guests to the Makena Beach & Golf Resort with a big smile, kind words and plenty of useful information. He is the staff member mentioned most by name in on-line reviews. Comments like this one from a California guest:

“The front desk service was outstanding! I had a package to mail home and Ron helped me pack it and made sure it was mailed. Truly great service.” A tiny thing, really, but one that clearly had a big impact on the guest’s experience.

His supervisors echo the sentiment. “Ron truly takes the time to get to know personally every guest he interacts with, going above and beyond his normal duties. He truly embodies the spirit of aloha and the

M

Front Desk Agent Ron Chapman makes guests feel like family

At Your Service

“I try with every guest,

no matter how they

may be feel-ing during

my interac-tion with

them, to put myself in

their shoes and act

accordingly.”

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spirit of Makena,” says Hotel Manager Denise Hoopai. Chapman credits his mother. “She is the Rock of

Gibraltar. She taught me and my siblings to always treat others with respect, the way we would want to be treated. So I try with every guest, no matter how they may be feeling during my interaction with them, to put myself in their shoes and act accordingly.” He is now passing that philosophy on to his own children, all three of whom he’s been raising on his own since 2001. And he’s do-ing one heck of a job. The oldest, 24-year-old Desir’ee, is a working mother of four-year-old Isaiah. Chapman’s

“baby,” Chelsey, was nominated by former Senator Daniel Akaka for a prestigious scholarship at the United States Naval Academy (a recommendation letter, by the way, came from a hotel guest) and although not chosen in the end, the 21-year-old is studying nursing in Tuskegee. Son Joshua, 22, is right here at home at the University of Hawai‘i, Maui Campus, and is also on track to become a nurse; as is Joshua’s 21-year-old girlfriend, Briana, who lives with the Chapmans and who Ron considers his own. They live in a lovely home—which they were able to get, thanks in large part, to another hotel guest. “Getting that

Ron poses with his beloved 1937 Plymouth Coupe before taking it out for a spin. He also owns a 1965 Chevrolet Impala.

P R O F I L E

As if being a single parent with a demanding full-time job isn’t enough, Chapman is also a classic-car enthusiast.


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home gave my kids a future,” says Chap-man. “It showed them the goodness in people. It’s another example of why I am the way I am with our guests.” His children, by the way, think he’s quite a catch and have been trying to get him to try Internet dating. “I managed to avoid that by promis-ing them a puppy,” Chapman says with a laugh. The newest family member is Sophie the Australian bulldog.

As if being a single parent with a de-manding full-time job isn’t enough, Chap-man is also a classic-car enthusiast. His current labor of love is a 1937 Plymouth Coupe. He flew to Hilo to look at it and, not surprisingly, he and the owner became instant friends. So even though Chapman’s offer was far below what the owner hoped to get, he knew the right buyer was stand-ing in front of him. He’s also restoring a 1965 Chevrolet Impala. And somehow he finds time to run several times a week.

The place where he works is one of his favorite places on the Island. “Makena has a flavor all its own. It always has. And it’s been a blessing for me,” says Chapman. Makena feels the same way about him. “Ron is a person whose love of his job shows through the way he treats each and every guest,” says Hotel Manager Denise Hoopai. “Ron has the unique ability to make guests feel less like guests and more like family. Over the years he has created a network of long-time relationships with these guests.”

When asked about any particularly memorable experiences, Chapman is quick to answer and looks wistful. “The couple in 556. Every day the woman wore a scarf around her head and a hat over it. One day after I’d gotten to know her and her husband, I told her that not many people have heads with shapes as good as ours. [Chapman sports a shaved head.] The next day, she proudly came to the desk without a scarf or a hat. Sadly, she passed away soon after their last visit. Her husband actually had their travel agent come to the hotel to tell me. Those moments hit you because you realize you are remembered.” The same way Ron Chapman remembers every guest.


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I N D U L G E N C E S / T E X T BY ANU YAGI / P H OTO G R A P HY COURTESY OF MAKENA BEACH & GOLF RESORT

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Gentle Breezes, Healing Hands

nder cabana shade and around soft white sheets, the Makena sea breeze lilts like a patient melody. Cocooned in warm coconut oil therapy, I take each easy breath to the rhythm of nearby waves. Today the air is sweet with crisp

wapine (Hawaiian lemongrass), living lily blooms and sunshine. Massaged head-to-toe, smiling and smooth, I stroll off along the beach path like a feather floating.

What makes Makena Kai Day Spa unique is its all-outdoor loca-tion: two open-beam cabanas nestled among native naupaka on the edge of silvery sands at Maluaka (“Turtle Beach”).

“Here, wave sounds are real—no tape players,” says spa director Debbe Evans. “Then there is the gentle clacking of palm fronds as they sway in the breeze; the occasional mynah birdsong.”

At the welcome gazebo, guests are greeted with a cool, aromatic o-shibori and chilled water. As they sip the refreshing beverage, they sit back, relax and enjoy breathtaking views.

Cradling the horizon off Maluaka’s crystalline shores is an uncom-mon panorama: moon-shaped Molokini islet, the half-submerged crescent crater popular with snorkelers; uninhabited Kaho‘olawe; Lana‘i; and the rippled western range of our own Valley Isle. These nestled environs give Makena an elite, cozy aura.

With the spa’s seaside location (open 8 a.m. to sunset)—the weather sets the mood for massages at Makena Kai. Usually the sun beams bright around opaline clouds in a light cyan sky, melting to creamy twilight. The fresh scent left by a passing tropical shower—

U

Makena Kai Day Spa offers soothing treatments in an outdoor setting

Though luxurious, massage isn’t mutually exclusive of necessity. It is essential body mainte-nance.


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I N D U L G E N C E S

albeit rare, given the balmy norm—is delightful.Hawaiian lomilomi-style massage is Makena Kai’s most

popular offering—apropos as this flowing bodywork, often using forearms and elbows, echoes the rhythm of the ocean throughout the body. The art and science of lomilomi is carefully handed down like family heirlooms, and each practitioner exhibits nuance according to the traditions of her or his study.

Even guests who say they’ve enjoyed many professional massages—in locations around the world—say there’s nothing quite so restorative as lomilomi. With lomilomi among their many modalities, the staff customizes each guest’s experience; so even if you’ve signed up for lomilomi massage, if a Swedish or shiatsu technique will benefit you, the staff will incorporate it.

Though luxurious, massage isn’t mutually exclusive of necessity. It is essential body maintenance.

While every guest revels in relaxation, many also seek therapy for old injuries. Makena Kai’s skilled staff has many years of experience in the field. The therapists em-body the Hawaiian value of ho‘okipa—welcoming guests and anticipating their needs while ensuring their comfort, peace and restoration of balance while in the spa’s care.

The spa also offers prenatal, reflexology, deep tissue, Thai and sports massage. Session times are 25 minutes, 50 minutes or 80 minutes. Enhancements include hot

stone, aroma and scalp therapies, plus citrus-floral hand masks and invigorating foot polishes. Their crème de la crème spa package is aptly named “Na Lani Mea (Heav-enly Things)”—1.25 hours of crown-to-toe-tip bliss.

Reservations are made and prepaid through a resort concierge, freeing the treatment experience from mon-etary exchange and allowing for a focused, utterly undis-tracted ambiance. (And if guests prefer the total privacy of in-room massage, that is also available.)

Often, busy Island itineraries push us furiously astray from the tropical reprieve that we’ve come so far to find—and all before the jet lag’s worn off. So beginning your vacation, rather than concluding it, at this beach-side spa is the best way to align to Maui’s mellow ebb and flow.

Guests get up off the massage table and are trans-formed. They say, “I wish I’d done this sooner!” Those who think they will top-off their vacation with massage lament their wait.

The smart traveler’s secret to truly preparing for paradise is found on Makena Kai’s menu of exclusive treatments geared toward sun care. Imagine the hands of a professional massage therapist applying full-body sunscreen with reflexology—literally before you step onto one of Maui’s best beaches. Indulgent yet practical, a safeguard like this mitigates UV damage; though Makena Kai, of course, offers sunburn relief treatment, made with a soothing blend of aloe, noni and lavender.

Add to that the delicious warmth of coconut oil scalp therapy—which infuses hair root-to-tip with the ultimate Polynesian protection from saltwater—and you’ve set yourself up for the best beach day possible.

The unsurpassed locale of Makena Kai Day Spa makes real the classic fantasy of cabana massage on Maui. Calm-ing both mind and body, one experiences an ambrosial headiness following a spa pampering. This feeling lingers like a clement day’s last light—and is waiting, on the shores of Maluaka.

Calming both mind and body, one experiences an ambrosial headiness following a spa pampering.

ABOVE: Hot stones are used in several massage treatments.


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S E N S E O F P L A C E / T E X T BY TERI FREITAS GORMAN / P H OTO G R A P HY BY SUE HUDELSON

e sit around a crackling, popping camp-fire surrounded by the nostalgic aroma of wood smoke. The stars come into view over this idyllic evening in the Pu‘u Olai

Garden. Gary and Barbara from Illinois, Rob and Noreen from Utah and a family from Idaho make small talk and gooey s’mores as we wait to talk story with Auntie Kathy. If not for the ocean soundtrack and coco palms silhouettes against a fading sunset, it would feel like summer camp.

Just before 8:00, a golf cart arrives and a sprightly Asian woman, barely five feet tall, steps out. In her unexpectedly gravelly voice, she introduces herself as Auntie Kathy Collins, the storyteller. Then she alerts us that it will be “her best friend,” not her, who will tell tonight’s stories. She pauses, turns around and takes a long moment to trans-form. When she faces us again, she is Tita, a raucous local girl with serious attitude. She opens up her session with an explanation of her colorful vernacular.

“You see, Pidgin went come about cuz all dese diffrent guys from all dese diffrent countries went come togedda fo’ work on da sugah plantations ova hea. Now—how you goin’ tell dese guys when fo’ come work, what fo’ do when you stay, and when fo’ go home? Gotta get one common language …”

Once the audience syncs up to her Pidgin rhythm, Tita

enthralls us with a selection of myths starring Pele, the Hawaiian Goddess of Volcanoes. We learn of Pele’s origins in Tahiti and how she ended up living in Halema‘uma‘u Crater on the Big Island. We discover Pele’s competitive nature when she challenges two Hawaiian royals, Kahawali and Ahua, to a holua (sled) contest with unexpected results that are set in stone. And no night around the campfire is complete without a “chicken skin” story or two about the paranormal. Don’t worry, parents; Tita tells funny, G-rated ghost stories for keiki, saving the terrifying ones for all-adult audiences. She ends each and every incredulous tale with her catchphrase, “Hones’ promise.”

Is it over already? A master storyteller’s talent is judged by the silence of his or her audience. Our group was transfixed. Nobody checked iPhones, there were no side conversations. People didn’t want to leave. Gary from Illinois shared his review—two thumbs up. “There was enough English so that I could understand the story and the other words were like spices—they added extra flavor,” he enthused. “I loved it … so glad we came.”

Kathy Collins loves to perform for visitors and mainland audiences for whom Pidgin is a novelty. “The people who come to my talk story sessions are looking for an authentic cultural experience,” she says. “So it’s important that I

Telling Tales of Ghosts &

GoddessesTalking story with

Auntie Kathy Collins

W

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deliver exactly that. A lot of people are familiar with Hawaiian culture, but few know much about our local culture, so I love to educate and share so they understand Hawai‘i a little bit better.”

Baby boomer Kathy Collins was born in Chicago. Her family moved back to Maui when she was two years old. She attended Island public schools, including Baldwin High School where she discovered her passion for acting. “I love performing live and I have since high school—that’s when I got the greasepaint in my blood,” she confessed.

After graduation, she discovered an acute lack of acting parts for short Asian girls, so Kathy turned to broadcast-ing. After a series of jobs in Maui radio and Honolulu television, she returned to Maui in 1982 to work at KHEI radio. While there, she met Barry Shannon who became her husband in 1989. The newlyweds shared a dream of owning their own radio station some day. In 2002 their dream came true with the birth of Mana‘o Radio (91.5 FM), Maui’s eclectic, nonprofit, all-volunteer radio station. Kathy’s first CD release, “Tita Out,” won the 2005 Hawai‘i Music Award for Comedy Album of the Year. Life was good but their joy would be brief. Kathy became a widow in 2007.

Kathy’s alter ego Tita first emerged at Mana‘o as a two-

minute radio spot during which she told jokes and gave folksy advice. But it was Tita’s Pidgin rendition of “The Night Before Christmas” that launched Kathy’s career as a comic storyteller. Honolulu Youth Theater invited her to tell Pidgin ghost stories as part of their Chicken Skin night, and soon storytelling festivals all over the world came searching for her.

Jeff Gere, founder and producer of the 26-year Annual Hawai‘i Talk Story Festival, is perhaps the biggest fan of Kathy Collins. Since 2002 Tita has become a fixture at his popular Honolulu event each October. “Without ques-tion, Kathy is always one of the festival favorites,” shared Gere. “When a storyteller like Kathy performs, people are riveted. She knocks the room out. It’s wonderful because people are so distracted these days. Kids can’t pay atten-tion because of too much screen time. But when a master storyteller speaks, they focus. I think people are hungry for stories—our brains are wired for stories.”

Try go see Tita, eight night time, Thursdays in da Pu‘u Olai Garden at Makena Beach & Golf Resort. Get big campfire, nice kine chairs, and no need pay. But if you like, can buy s’mores, ono-kine marshmallow grinds dat goin’ broke da mouth. Bring da whole ‘ohana. Some good fun you folks goin’ have. Hones’ promise.

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LAND OF MANY LIVES T H E E V O L U T I O N O F ‘ U L U PA L A K U A R A N C H

text by SHANNON WIANECKI photography by BOB BANGERTER

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LAND OF MANY LIVES


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This mid-1800s building is believed to have been the office of James Makee, a Scottish whaler who pur-chased the ranch in 1856.


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A tour of this idyllic terrain reveals a history as compelling as the scenery.


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In the slanting afternoon sunlight, the pasturelands above Makena seem to glow. Gilded, rolling green hills march up the leeward side of Haleakalā, Maui’s mas-sive, dormant volcano. A tour of this idyllic terrain—known as ‘Ulupalakua—reveals a history as compelling as the scenery.

Originally, spectacular native forest populated these hills: fragrant sandalwood groves, koa trees and scores of other endemic species unique to the world, now known only from songs. Early Hawaiians farmed sweet potato and dryland taro here. ‘Ulupalakua, which translates as “breadfruit ripening on the back,” refers to the long distances the area’s first inhabitants would travel to fetch their favorite doughy fruit. After Western traders arrived, a brief but exacting san-dalwood harvest emptied the forest; by the 1840s hardly a sandalwood sapling could be found. Commercial farming began around the same time, when King Kamehameha III leased a chunk of ‘Ulupalakua to a prospective sugar farmer. For 10 years, L.L. Torbert tended 2,000 acres of waving sugarcane, but his thirsty crop was plagued by lack of water.

In 1856, Scottish whaler James Makee snapped up Torbert’s plantation at auction. Captain Makee threw lavish parties and the ranch became a destination for visiting dignitaries, including King Kalākaua. The king and his wife sailed to Makena aboard the first interisland steamship, the S.S. Kīlauea, and a torch-lit procession accompanied the monarchs to the ranch where they feasted until dawn. Suitably impressed, Kalākaua returned to ‘Ulupalakua so often that Makee built a cottage for him.

Makee solved the area’s water problem by building a reservoir. He also developed a break-water down at Makena to facilitate sugar shipments destined for the mainland. Through the late 1880s, Makena Landing served as Maui’s second-busiest seaport. It continued to see plenty of action as Makee’s successors shifted the ranch’s focus from sugar to cattle. Well into the 1940s, Hawaiian cowboys, or paniolos, would round up ranging cattle and drive them to a paddock at the seashore. The expert horsemen would lead the cows into the surf, then leave them to swim up to the waiting barge!

That was before Sumner Erdman’s time, though the current ranch owner grew up hear-ing tales of horses bred with longer legs for wading further out into the surf. Sumner’s father, Pardee Erdman, purchased the fabled ranch in 1963; the family has operated it ever since. Today, ‘Ulupalakua Ranch sprawls across 20,000 acres. When Sumner was a boy, between 15 and 18 paniolos worked the land; today six skilled ranch hands manage the herd of 2,300 brood cows.

Ranch operations have diversified with the times. Twelve years ago the Erdmans helped found Maui Cattle Company, a partnership of several local, family-owned ranches struggling to stay in the black despite the vaulting costs of raising cattle in Hawai‘i. By teaming up, the independent ranchers are better able to market their beef to Island restaurants. Maui Cattle Company pro-vides high-quality meat, pasture-raised on Maui without growth stimulants or antibiotics.

Naturally, Maui-grown burgers are on the menu at ‘Ulupalakua Ranch’s own pit stop. The ranch store and deli dates back 160 years, to L.L. Torbert’s time. The merchandise probably hasn’t changed substantially since the old days: cowboy hats, belt buckles, lo-cally made gifts, specialty jams and ice cream bars still tempt resident paniolos and visiting “dignitaries.” At lunchtime, the picnic tables outside fill up with old timers and malahini (newcomers) talking story and enjoying the spoils of the land.

BELOW: Wind-driven turbines on leased ranchland deliver 21 mega-watts of power to Maui's energy grid. OPPOSITE: Ranch Operations Manager Jimmy Gomes rounds up some of the herd of 2,300 brood cows.


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Pardee Erdman purchased the fabled ranch in 1963; the family has operated it ever since.


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The conversation may be even giddier across the street, where wine connoisseurs sample ‘Ulupalakua vintages. In 1974, Pardee Erdman thought he’d try his hand at growing grapes. He teamed up with California vintner Emil Tedeschi to plant several varieties on the volcanic slope. While waiting for the vines to mature, they tried a zanier experiment: pineapple wine. The tropical libation was a hit; it now accounts for the majority of sales at Maui’s Winery—the only commercial winery on Maui. King Kalākaua’s former cottage serves as the tasting room, where guests sample wine and bubbly made from red and white grapes, a delectable framboise and three pineapple wines: sparkling, dry and sweet.

The winery’s local pineapple source nearly dried up a few years ago when Maui Land & Pine-apple Co. ceased its agricultural operations. Pardee Erdman played a key role in assisting a new venture, Hali‘imaile Pineapple Company, get off the ground. While ensuring his fresh pineapple supply, he helped prevent a Maui agricultural tradition from going extinct.

An even more remarkable recovery is happening on the slopes above ‘Ulupalakua Ranch headquarters. In 1997, the Erdmans agreed to let biologist Art Medeiros conduct a grand eco-logical research project. Could ‘Ulupalakua’s once-magnificent dryland forest be restored to its former glory? Medeiros and a crew of volunteers sought to answer this aching question. They fenced a 10-acre plot, removed non-native pasture grass and planted hardy seedlings. To every-one’s amazement, it worked. Fifteen years later, rare Hawaiian trees are setting seed for the first time in more than a century. Native birds and insects have returned. The ‘Auwahi Restoration Project was so successful that the Erdmans designated another two plots, for a total of 184 acres.

“People think that cattle ranching is about raising cows,” Sumner Erdman recently told the Maui News. “It’s really about land and pasture management. We focus a lot on the native flora and fauna because of the critical role they play in the water and mineral cycles of the land.”

This far-reaching view led ‘Ulupalakua Ranch to engage in two significant partnerships. In 2009, the Erdmans worked with the Hawai‘i Island Land Trust to preserve 11,300 acres of pas-turelands and dryland forest habitat in perpetuity, the largest-ever voluntary easement donation in the state. They next leased a remote stretch of ranchland to Sempra U.S. Gas & Power for a wind farm. This installation helps the state meet its renewable energy goals—and ensures that ‘Ulupalakua Ranch remains profitable despite prolonged drought conditions.

“We’re living in a changed environment,” says Sumner Erdman, who sees more changes to come. “Hopefully the ranch will be here for another 100 years.”

BELOW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Volunteers hike to ‘Auwahi for-est (on ranchland) to clear it of invasive species. A ranch employee records the ethnobotanical use of native plants. OPPOSITE: The ranch encompasses 20,000 acres of idyl-lic terrain.


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“Hopefully the ranch will be here for another 100 years.”—Sumner Erdman


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text by TERI FREITAS GORMANphotography by SUE HUDELSON

MAUI PROTEA NO KA ‘OIT H E D I S T I N C T I V E F L O W E R T H R I V E S I N U P C O U N T R Y M A U I

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M A K E N A 27

MAUI PROTEA NO KA ‘OI


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Judy Mertens cuts through the tough woody stem of a pincushion protea before easing it into a saturated lump of floral foam tucked inside a hand-woven coconut basket. Her rustic garden shed is festooned with faded Tibetan prayer flags, fluttering in the morning breeze, dispersing good juju in all directions.

Her arrangement is a burst of red-orange fireworks in suspended animation. “I learned mostly by doing,” Judy explains while adding a lavender statice sprig. “I studied with Christian Tortu in Paris and later I took a wreath-making class at one of his shops in Hong Kong.” (A master floral designer, Tortu’s nickname is the Yves Saint Laurent of Flowers.) “I learned a lot about arranging by color, but protea stems are woody and stiff, so I had to develop my own techniques.”

Judy and her husband, Bill, own and operate Anuhea Farm, a 15-acre protea and asparagus farm in Olinda, Maui. The Hawaiian word anuhea means “cool, soft fragrance of an upland forest,” the perfect name for a pic-turesque farm sheltered by lemony eucalyptus trees. Bill has a degree in agronomy and worked for Libby, McNeil and Libby on Moloka‘i during pineapple’s heyday. Pine-apple eventually took him to the Philippines and to Hong Kong, but the lure of Hawai‘i brought him back for good

in 1994. Today the Mertens grow more than 25 varieties of protea and decorative foliage for wholesale and retail.

T H E H I S T O R Y O F P R O T E A I N H AWA I ’ I The first protea flowers arrived in Hawai‘i in 1964 when Dr. Sam McFadden, a visiting professor from the University of Florida, brought seedlings to the Islands to determine their suitability for local growing conditions. A year later, Dr. David Williams introduced 50 additional species and began experimenting with them at the Maui Agricultural Research Center located in Kula.

In 1967, Dr. Phillip Parvin, a horticulturalist with the University of Hawai‘i’s College of Tropical Agriculture, became the superintendent of the Kula Research Center. Phil Parvin’s legendary passion for protea earned him his reputation as the “father of Hawai‘i’s protea industry.” His hybridization of pincushion flowers (Leucospermum) re-sulted in hundreds of vibrant, multihued varieties unique to Maui. In 2007, a maroon-red pincushion was named the Phil Parvin in his honor.

By 1974, Maui’s first commercial protea farm had been planted in Kula. Shortly after, a horticulturalist named Jim Heid opened the state’s first protea nursery nearby. “A lot of the kama‘āina (locally born) farmers were curious about the

Above: Judy Mertens and a member of her farm crew inspect Cloudbank protea growing on Anuhea Farm. Opposite: King Protea.lLG


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The Mertens grow more than 25 species of protea and decorative plants.


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Proteas flourish in the porous, acidic soil on Haleakala’s slope.


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prospect of growing protea,” recalled Heid. “Some asked me to help get their farms started, and the Maui research station helped with pest management and growing advice. Eventually some of the farms got together and opened a co-op to help with marketing, packing and shipping. We were 30 minutes from farm to airport, so our flowers were always fresh and tip-top quality.”

According to Heid, protea heaven is real. It exists in Upcountry Maui between the 2,000- and 4,000-foot level. Proteas flourish in the porous, acidic soil on Haleakalā’s slope while the warm days and cool nights help them to thrive. The plants seem to prefer this microclimate to their native environment within South Africa’s Western Cape, where the average rainfall is 10 to 12 inches per year. Kula averages 30 to 34 inches. “Maui proteas get three times the rain and they do love the extra water,” explained Heid. “In South Africa it takes four to five years to bloom after plant-ing, but on Maui we’re cutting flowers within two years.”

It was Jim Heid who designed and planted Anuhea Farm for the Mertens almost two decades ago. “Our farm is getting older,” Bill Mertens says without emotion. “The average age of decline for most farms is about 10 to 12 years, yet some of our plants are 14 years old and still growing strong.” He inspects a California-bound Sunburst pincushion. Tapping the bloom on a sheet of white paper ousts a few hidden pests. Then he eyeballs the stem to ensure it is free of fungus. “Soon we’ll have to decide about

replanting protea because the future is uncertain,” he continues. “There’s a lot of competition from Central America and places where farm labor is much cheaper. They can sell a flower for 25 cents and we can’t compete with them on price. We compete with our quality

and the allure of receiving fresh flowers from Hawai‘i.”Anuhea Farm’s other competitive advantage is Anuhea

Flowers, a tiny, artsy floral studio run by Judy. Located at the end of a hidden garden path in Makawao Town, it is part flower gallery, visitor center and online sales hub. Judy splits her time between the shop and farm, but on packing days she will be found in the garden shed arranging flower baskets and making protea wreaths. “The best thing about cut protea is they don’t die, they dry,” Judy half-jokes.

On this day, Judy and Bill oversee orders for gift boxes destined for morning FedEx pick up. They chat and chuck-le with their loyal farm crew of 15 years. The workers trim, inspect and carefully wrap each protea blossom as though it was blown from glass. Each long-stem flower is gently laid in a box padded with shredded paper. Judy watches over the process and nods in approval.

As a final touch of aloha, Judy places a multipanel fold-out, illustrated by Maui artist Deybra Fair, with detailed instructions on how to unpack and arrange the protea. Tomorrow somewhere a lucky person will open a box of Maui protea with delight. And their flower arrangement will make Christian Tortu proud.

ABOVE: Mertens shows off one of her spectacular flower arrangements. Oppposite: Pink Torch Ginger.

P R OT E A : T H E P R E H I S TO R I C W O N D E R F R O M D O W N U N D E R

The forerunner of today’s protea emerged some 80 million years ago on the supercontinent Gondwana. Over eons, the land mass drifted

and separated into Antarctica, South America, Africa, India, Australia and many of the South Pacific islands. Wild protea can still be found in

many of these places, but South Africa and Australia are best known for commercial protea cultivation.

Carl Linnaeus, the famed botanist, first classified 24 protea species in 1735. Today scientists have identified more than 1,500. Varied and

uniquely spectacular flowers range from humongous king protea, to bottle-shaped banksia, to furry minks, to explosive-looking pincush-

ions. Did you know even the macadamia tree is a kind of protea?

G


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The plants seem to prefer the area’s microclimate to their native environment in South Africa.


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T H E C R O S S - C O U N T R Y J O U R N E Y O F A F R A N K L L O Y D W R I G H T D E S I G N — F R O M M A R I LY N M O N R O E T O T H E K I N G K A M E H A M E H A G O L F C L U B C L U B H O U S E

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ARCHITECTURAL ODYSSEY

T H E C R O S S - C O U N T R Y J O U R N E Y O F A F R A N K L L O Y D W R I G H T D E S I G N — F R O M M A R I LY N M O N R O E T O T H E K I N G K A M E H A M E H A G O L F C L U B C L U B H O U S E

text by ALLAN SEIDEN photography by BOB BANGERTER

PICTURED: The design of The King Kamehameha Golf Club Clubhouse is perfectly adapted to its Maui setting.


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“No house should ever be on a hill or on any-thing. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it.”

— Frank Lloyd Wright

If architecture is sculpture on a grand scale, few architects have been as influential in proving that point as Frank Lloyd Wright, one of the most admired American architects of the 20th century. His rise to prominence brought with it a new architectural vision. Taking the concept of form following function, Wright went one step further, also integrating the setting to create the harmonious balance that defines his design used in Maui’s King Kamehameha Golf Club (KKGC) Clubhouse and other buildings.

In Fallingwater, the Wright-designed home cantilevered over stream and waterfall, Wright provides this aesthetic synthesis in a Pennsylvania forest. At Taliesin West, Wright’s home and workplace, low-slung buildings hug the Arizona desert. In New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a widening spiral draws the viewer up a broad ramp, effectively integrating art and architecture. At The KKGC Clubhouse, Wright’s design adapts perfectly to the setting. The Clubhouse gently rises from a hillside, offering panoramic views of Haleakalā, a green sea of sugar cane and Maui’s beach-lined coast. Distinct, yet barely intruding on the West Maui Mountains, it reveals Wright’s architectural ideal.

“No house should ever be on a hill or on anything,” Wright wrote. “It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together, each the happier for the other.”

There’s an interesting story behind Wright’s design and how it made its way to Maui 34 years after Wright’s passing.

It began in 1949 as a design for a private home called Crownfield, which was never built, then modified twice for other potential buyers before Marilyn Monroe and Arthur

Miller considered it in 1957 for a home they planned to build in the Connecticut woods. When their marriage failed the following year, the plans were again shelved and ended up at Taliesin West, where the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation continued his work after his death, in 1959.

Enter Howard Hamamoto, Pundy Yokouchi and Takeshi Sekiguchi. It is 1988 and these three partners are planning an exclusive golf club on a Maui hillside at Waikapu. Fans of Wright, they are visiting Taliesin West, hoping to find an unused Wright design that can be modified to become the golf club’s clubhouse. Crownfield, with its flowing, futuristic shape and adaptable scale, proves the right choice. The plan offers the look and feel of a grand manor house rather than an impersonal commercial structure. Sculpted in soft lines, it is perfectly suited to the

FROM LEFT: The Clubhouse and golf course; a terrace’s flowing curves. OPPOSITE: Stained glass (or “light screen,” to use Wright’s term). (LEF

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Maui setting—open to ocean and sky, free of the confines of forest and city, at one with its setting.

With plans carefully modified by architects at Taliesin West to suit a grander scale, The KKGC Clubhouse retained the key elements and proportions of Wright’s original plan. To keep the scale true to Wright’s design and create a more intimate rise from the hillside, half of the three-story clubhouse was built below ground.

The KKGC Clubhouse opened in 1993. The structure is centered on a circular core, with rounded skylights that provide natural light, making the sky an architectural element. Their iridescent stained glass comes from the same source used by Wright. Clubhouse facilities are housed in two curving wings, with terraces and intimate, people-friendly niches for socializing and relaxing.

“We see ourselves as stewards of a Maui treasure,” says Rick Castillo, PGA, Director of Golf. “I receive all kinds of compliments. When people enter the building they’re impressed with the architecture and the Hawaiian art. It’s something that local people and our visitors readily appreciate.”

A walk through The KKGC Clubhouse reveals the attention to detail that was Wright’s enduring standard. The porte cochere, topped by a graceful circular roof, offers a preview of the fluid lines that Wright had in mind.

The front doors, their glass insets etched in Wright-

designed geometrics, open to an entry with a luminous, circular, stained-glass ceiling that is Wright’s abstract take on butterflies. The curving flow of the exterior is matched within—rooms in harmonious interface, incorporating the mix of comfort and utility that Wright considered crucial.

The Waikapu banquet room, with its giant skylight and circular bank of windows, takes in the panoramic setting. An oval skylight provides light to the curving stairway that leads to The Clubhouse’s middle level, where the Wai Kahe Restaurant, pro shop, cart barn and women’s locker rooms are located.

Wright’s influence is dramatically evident in the jewel-like art-glass panel, 10 feet in diameter, that lights the upper level, inside the main front doors, taken from a pattern Wright used in his own home. His geometric designs, which influenced cubist painting and sculpture, are found in the leaded-glass windows, glass partitions on the main stairwell and in the elevators.

Wright’s turn-of-the-20th-century modernism flows beautifully into a late-20th-century structure whose lines are more futuristic than traditional. It is a wonderful blend of styles that adds to The Clubhouse’s impact, appeal and architectural value—a worthy addition to Wright’s legacy.

“We see ourselves as stewards of a Maui treasure.” — Rick Castillo,

Director of Golf

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Main stairwell with skylight and portrait of Wright; roof detail; exterior showing circular design.


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I S L A N D E M B R A C E

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Ka Wai Mapuna

(The Water Spring)

Ka wai mapunapuna la

E naue malie nei i ka la‘i

Lipolipo launa ‘ole la

Kauwahi ‘ale ‘ole iho

Ia ‘oe ka ‘uhene i ka wai

Ka nene li‘ili‘i i ke kulu aumoe

Ho‘olai‘i Kaua‘ula la

Kalele nu‘a i ka palai

From the sparkling water spring

Glide on so smoothly,

Of the deepest blue without compare

Roll on without a ripple.

This tune is for you, O water.

Slowly luring us in the late night

Kaua‘ula reposes peacefully

Upon a thick bed of ferns. —BY QUEEN LILI‘UOKALANI

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makena august 2014

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