Hawai'i Ways, Hawai'i Days
A stop in Kapa'au may be eye-opener
By Suzanne Sasaki
Special to The Advertiser
The town of Kapa'au in the district of North Kohala on the Big Island could be described as a "blink and you've passed it" place, but its dusty facade hid some fascinating attractions for me growing up there in the 1950s and '60s.
My favorite place was the Bond Memorial Library, a small, gray building that reminded me of a fairy-tale cottage. Ms. Maeda was always more than willing to help you find books, and sometimes acted as an unofficial censor. When I was in high school, I requested a copy of "Peyton Place." She looked sternly at me over her glasses and asked, "Do you have your parents' permission to read that?" Of course I said yes. She then led me to the librarian's office where I presume all the risqœe books were kept, away from the accidental pawing of curious adolescents. Ms. Maeda frequently kicked off her shoes and walked around the library barefoot, and liked to nibble on soda crackers, which sometimes came spewing out of her mouth when someone told her a joke.
Across the street from the library is the original statue of King Kamehameha. As children, we'd try to peer under his malo, but always kept an eye peeled toward the police station next door for fear Officer Glory or another police officer would nab us for hooliganism. My dad sometimes threatened to have us locked up in the station's one-cell jailhouse if we were particularly naughty.
Sakamoto Store was in a sagging, false-fronted wooden building. Inside, there were some slightly rusty canned goods on shelves, a large bottle of pickled pigs' feet, which I think stayed there for years, and bolts of vintage aloha print fabric. The fabric was carefully covered with sheets of plastic, but unfortunately most had termite holes drilled clear through. They also carried old-fashioned kerosene lanterns, which evoked a frenzied buying fit among my Honolulu relatives when they spotted them.
Silva's Appliance store was next to the library. Sometimes my brother and I would tag along with our dad to see the latest in washers and refrigerators, and Mr. Silva would offer us Popsicles or ice cream. I still remember the shining, white gas stove my dad bought as a surprise for my mom from Silva's Appliance. Before that, cooking had been done on a kerosene stove with two lantern-like chimneys, and baking was accomplished by hauling a rectangular oven compartment on top of the stove.
Dr. Charles Silva, the dentist and a territorial senator, was not related to Mr. Silva of Silva Appliance. He had a wall full of equipment, including hefty pliers, which looked more like building hardware than dental tools, but thankfully I did not have any of them applied to my teeth. My cousin JoJo was less fortunate. Our Uncle Tamo said JoJo could be heard screaming from across the street when she visited Dr. Silva.
Holy Bakery is also in Kapa'au. They are famous now for their buttered fruit pies, but I still remember the sticky goodness of their cinnamon bread and bread pudding, and the delicious smell of their fresh bread, wrapped in blue and white waxed paper.
The entire community lined up at the Kohala Hospital dispensary for polio shots, and later for the vaccine-in-a-sugar-cube. My friend's mom worked here and would sometimes bring home colorful expired pills to display, until my friend lectured her on the dangers of having unknown medicines on bookshelves. I greatly admired the nurses at Kohala Hospital, who at that time still wore the starched white caps and uniforms of their profession, and I sometimes dreamed of being a nurse.
The library, King Kamehameha statue, Kohala Hospital, and Holy Bakery are still in Kapa'au. Sakamoto Store and Silva's Appliance have been refurbished and house new tenants. Kapa'au can still be passed in a blink of the eye, but I think it's worth slowing down for, to visit and chat with new residents, and fondly recall the past.
Suzanne Sasaki lives in Honolulu.
