In 1964 or thereabouts, as a nervous high school student, I participated in a speech competition at the old Maui High School in Hamakuapoko. It was, I think, the only time I was ever on the campus. and by then the place was aging and run down. But I remember gazing at the vine-covered, arched front corridor and thinking how beautiful it once must have been. I dreamed, then, of traveling in Europe, and the stucco and tile Charles Dickey-designed Mission-style building made me think of Portugal and Spain.

Maui High closed in 1972, and the building, erected in 1921, has stood derelict ever since. But for the past three years, an organization called Friends of Old Maui High School has been working to preserve and renovate the building, which will become the Patsy T. Mink Center for education and training, honoring the life of the 1944 Maui High graduate and longtime congresswoman. They recently received a $246,000 federal grant to begin cleanup work. In keeping with the intent of the center, the cleanup project will incorporate a training component, so participants become qualified to work in future historic preservation work.

Meanwhile, MHS alumni from all years (1913-1972) are planning a homecoming — a mass reunion set for Sept. 14-16, 2007. The three-day event will include individual class gatherings, entertainment, a lu'au, historical displays and memory walks around the campus — and opportunities to talk story about a favorite subject of Islanders: cafeteria food.

A Maui girl but not a Maui High alumna, I'm doing my part by asking this question: Anybody out there got any Maui High food memories to share? Recipes from those hard-working cafeteria ladies?

Friends of Old Maui High president Barbara Long says several recipes always come up in conversations with old Silverswords: tomato-soup salad dressing, a hamburger-macaroni casserole, and those fabulous pies, particularly cream pies.

Long said the cleanup crew just found the campus mango orchard, and the trees are still producing. She's eager to find someone who could make Maui High mango products for sale to help the restoration cause.

For information on the Friends group and the 2007 reunion, go to www.oldmauihigh.org or call (808) 877-2524.

Now for new recipe requests:

Oatmeal-raisin cookies: For Yvonne Ohira, who has tried many recipes but hasn't found a home version crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside like the ones at Cookie Corner, McDonald's and KFC.

Braised short ribs with Spanish sauce: For Nora Kido.

Havana squares: For Kathryn Laurel, who says "it's a sort of spice sheet cake with a powdered sugar topping. "It almost tastes like it's made out of fried donut crumbs."

Send recipes and queries to Wanda A. Adams, Food Editor, Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.

For more information about our 150th anniversary cookbook, call 535-8189 (message phone; your call will be returned). You can pre-order the cookbook online.