Del Monte variety garden moving
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Del Monte Pineapple Variety Garden, a fixture on a triangular lot north of Wahiawa for about a half-century, is being moved to a smaller spot a little off the tourists' beaten path because the company's lease on the land is ending.
The garden, which showcases different varieties of the fruit, occupied the northern corner of a quarter-acre field at the junction of Kamehameha Highway and Kauko-nahua and Kamananui roads.
Stacie Sasagawa, a human resources manager with Del Monte, said a smaller version of the garden will be planted at the company's offices in Kunia.
Last week, crews from Del Monte bulldozed the site after seedlings representing the varieties had been moved to the nursery at the company's Kunia offices, said Sasagawa, who has been planning the garden's move.
Sasagawa said the company hopes to have the seedlings ready for transplanting and the new garden prepared near the end of the year. It's uncertain how large the area will be, but it will probably accommodate a smaller sampling of the varieties previously housed at the old location, she said.
The move is part of the company's plan to leave the 2,200 acres of land it now leases from the George Galbraith Trust. That trust is set to dissolve in 2007, but Del Monte has given notice that it will vacate by June 30.
The garden is the first "tenant" on the leased acreage to go. About 300 residents of Poamoho Camp, who are former and current pineapple plantation workers, have been given eviction notices. However, Local 142 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents pineapple workers, has been negotiating with Del Monte.
Only bulldozed furrows of red earth remain at the garden site, which was a popular stop for tourists visiting O'ahu's plantation district or heading for the North Shore. Visitor John Goff, who stopped off at the nearby Dole Plantation Hawaii visitor center yesterday, said he was disappointed when he learned the attraction was moved.
"I have a buddy who was here a week ago and saw it," said Goff, of Flushing, Mich. "We were together on Saturday and drove past there. It was dark but he said he was sure it was there.
"When I told him, he said, 'No way.' It's a bummer."
Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.
