"Coco Palms"

I do not usually post about my office's real estate listings.  But this is a special situation.  The property is owned by a good friend --and some of the finished carpentry work on the home was done by another.  Plus I believe it represents an outstanding buying opportunity for the right purchaser.  And not only that, it is walking distance to an "almost secret" white sand beach.

                                               

Known as “Coco Palms,” it is located on 1.4 acres and is a planned twelve-unit Polynesian-styled residential complex zoned 'Hotel and Resort'.  Cantilevered over an ancient fishpond located in the center of the property is a completed thatch-roofed three bedroom, three bath model unit. The property has a total of twelve Condominium Property Regime ('CPR') units with plans included in the sale for the eleven additional units.

Located by the beaches in Keaukaha, just three miles east of downtown Hilo, the future potential uses for this property are many.  You could live in the model home and enjoy the large natural fishpond all by yourself.  Or build a few units -- or build all eleven. (Plans are included for eleven other homes similar to the model home.) They could be used for friends and family or for vacation rentals – or you could build them and sell them.  As the new owner you would control the density and the build out.

The model home is environmentally conscious with a solar hot water system. And, obvious attention-to-detail is evident.  Spanning the Oceanside length of the main living level is a spacious ten feet deep lanai with ceiling fans and a granite counter outside of a kitchen pass-through. Inside a great room opens to a gourmet kitchen with granite counters, a cooking island and bar, Koa veneer kitchen cabinets and top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances.

                                               

Call me if you would like to learn more.  Land ownership is fee-simple and its listing price is $995,000.  The Big Island real estate market is gradually starting to improve, so with low interest rates, now might be the time for you to invest in this very special place.

               Wes Davidson, MBA, SFR, Realtor(S)

               Hilo Brokers, Ltd.

               400 Hualani Street, Suite 296

               Hilo, Hawaii 96720

               wes@hilo-brokers.com

               www.WesIsland.com

    http://www.WesIsland.blogspot.com

               Office: 808.969.9400 x19

               Cell: 808.315.5760 (preferred)

               Fax: 808.969.7900

Sugar Cane in Hawaii

By the mid 1800s, the Hawaiian kingdom’s economy was not very bright.  Sandalwood, (wesisland.blogspot.com) an important trade item, was almost gone from the forests of Hawaii.  And whalers who wintered in Hawaii and restocked their boats were fewer in number; partially because the need for whale oil had diminished as petroleum became a source of fuel for lamps.

RagTime

The Great Mahele of 1848 allowed for the private ownership of land for Hawaiians and foreigners for the first time. Many American and European businessmen quickly gained control of large tracts of land that led to the development of agriculture and especially the sugar industry in Hawaii.

Sugar was brought to the islands by the early Polynesians who chewed on the plant as a source of energy and food.  In 1778, when Captain Cook happened upon the Hawaii islands, the lands were already abundant with sugar cane.  The first serious sugar plantation was at Koloa, Kauai in 1835 by Ladd and Co.

In September 1835, Ladd & Co., began the first major Hawaiian sugar plantation. Hooper, Brinsdale, and Ladd managed to do something that no one else had previously done in Hawaii. With the help of missionary settlers, they obtained the first major land lease in Hawaiian history.  The lease comprised 980 acres in Koloa, Kauai, which was set aside for sugar cane production. The lease ran 50 years at $300 per year.

Sugar Mill

The missionaries were bent on making farmers of the Hawaiian natives so Ladd & Co. fell nicely into those plans. By employing Hawaiian natives, they would be teaching them the skills missionaries felt were so necessary.  However, perhaps not so surprisingly, native Hawaiians were far from eager to work the fields and the native population had been reduced to 70,000 people by the 1850s, diminished greatly by disease. Ladd history

Sugar meant plantations and mills and the need for workers. Plantation owners turned to workers in devastated areas of the world that were ravaged by wars and famine initially in China, and then Japan, the Philippines and Portugal which explains the rich, varied racial make-up of present-day Hawaii.  http://www.hvcb.org/media/bigisland/

Sugar Cane Production

The Big Island's lava soil and regular rainfall offer ideal conditions for growing sugar cane.  Ah Kina, a Chinese planter, began raising cane at Amauulu above the town of Hilo in 1851.

Among the biggest producers of sugar cane was the Pepeekeo Sugar Company not far from where we now live along the Hamakua Coast. When it was established in 1857, it was named Metcalf Plantation after the owner Theopilus Metcalf.  When Metcalf died in 1874, the new owners of the plantation changed its name to the Pepeekeo Sugar Company.  http://www.hawaiistateinfo.com/pepeekeo.php

In the early 1960’s Hawaii produced a million tons of sugar cane annually.  One of every twelve workers participated in the sugar industry.  And these workers were among the highest paid in the world.

Ocean Vodka

Ultimately cheaper sugar from the Caribbean and other locales doomed Hawaii’s sugar cane industry.  The last plant closed on the Big Island in 1996.  However, the islands still possesses a rich agriculture industry, with large amounts of papaya, vegetables, coffee beans, flowers, and macadamia nuts still being grown and produced.  Hawaii Island is also known as the Orchid Isle due to its large production of tropical orchids. http://pinanius.org/tag/island-of-hawaii

Music: The Ukulele in Hawaii

My last piece discussed the slack key guitar…but what about the uke or ukulele? From the Honolulu Advertiser (October, 1953) over 50 years ago:

“Sing Hawaiian songs or dance the hula without ukulele accompaniment. Isn't there something missing?”

A ukulele, also spelled ukulele, looks like a small, four-stringed version of a guitar. The “uke” is tuned and played just like a guitar, with tuning going from the top string to the bottom string using G C E and A on the piano, though the ukulele is usually tuned an octave higher than the guitar. The ukulele comes in four types, or sizes: the soprano, the concert ukulele, the tenor, and the baritone. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-ukulele.htm

Painted Ukulele

When the ship the 'Ravenscrag' arrived in Honolulu in August, 1879, it was carrying over 400 Portuguese immigrants from the island of Madeira to work in the sugar cane fields. (Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago and one of the autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands.)

It had been a long and hard journey of over four months and some 15,000 miles. In celebration of their arrival, Joao Fernandes borrowed his friend's braguinha, jumped off the ship, and started playing folks songs from his native land on the wharf.

The Hawaiians who came down to the dock were very impressed at the speed of this musicians' fingers as they danced across the fingerboard and they called the instrument "ukulele", which translates into English as "jumping flea". http://www.pedalsteelguitar.net/histeel.php>

Uke CD

Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele

Though primarily cabinet makers, Nunes, Espirito Santo, and Dias followed an ages-old European tradition prevalent in their profession: that of turning their woodworking skills to the craft of stringed-instrument making, or luthiery. Augusto Dias was listed as a “guitar and furniture maker” in the 1884- 85 Honolulu City Directory. http://www.ukuleleguild.org/history.php

This may help explain the shop here in Hilo in the picture below:

Credit: Jay Johnson (Butchy Fuego)

The ukulele received royal acclaim with nobles such as King Kalakaua, Queen Emma and Queen Lili'uokalani playing this instrument. This in turn may have made it more accepted by the people of Hawaii

It was around 1915 that the ukulele's popularity migrated to the mainland. A Hawaiian music craze had hit starting in San Francisco and made its way across the country causing ukulele sales to rise. The craze even swept across the ocean to the UK. http://www.ukes.com/ukelele_history.html

In the 20’s, mainland manufacturers such as Gibson, Harmony, Regal, National, Dobro and Martin were mass-producing ukuleles by the thousands. Martin produced their first uke in 1916 based on the Nunes design. Many Hawaiians prize their Martin ukes, and have been heard to speak of its special tonal qualities to this day.

In the 40’s and 50’s, the British music hall great George Formby and the American Arthur Godfrey kept the little instrument in the mainstream. Great players like Roy Smeck and Eddie Karnae kept playing fabulous music with the uke. But even with the arrival of Tiny Tim in the late 60’s the popularity of the uke seemed to recede into people's closets and by the early 70’s, Kamaka was the world's only manufacturer of ukuleles.

Kamaka Ukes/Guitars

Today we are seeing resurgence in popularity of Hawaiian Music and the ukulele. Hawaii is home to several luthiers who have turned their talented hands and eyes to the ukulele.

"My Dog Has Fleas" is being heard by another generation throughout Hawaii. There is The Ukulele Festival here in Hawaii, which features many of the world's finest players, there are schools such as Roy Sakuma's Ukulele school (http://roysakuma.net/ ) and Mainland events from all over including Northern California's Ukulele Festival and the Uke Expo in Massachusetts. This instrument seems to be here to stay.

“The ukulele - it's light, very portable and brings a smile to just about every person that hears its beautiful melodies.” http://www.ukes.com/ukelele_history.html

One of my favorite ukulele songs is by “Iz” (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) doing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” If you haven’t heard it before, please give it a try.

This rendition was used to close Tim Russert’s funeral, and when the parishioners went outside – there was a rainbow over Washington DC. (You can see news coverage here: Tim Russert Funeral)

Myself, Gary Fujihara and Fred Hee

Also, a shout-out to my ukulele instructor, Macario who also took the above picture for an article about the Hilo Guitars & Ukuleles store in downtown Hilo.

David Douglas (Douglas Fir) and Hawaii

Living in Connecticut some time ago we always looked for Douglas Firs this time of year for our Christmas tree (“Doug-fir” to my son). Probably as a reaction to growing up in Ohio and having sparse balsam fir trees all my early life (think Charlie Brown trees), I grew to prefer the lush, long-needled Douglas Fir for the holidays.

Moving to Hawaii I was surprised to learn that David Douglas, for whom the tree is named, died here on the Big Island at the young age of only 35. On July 12, 1834 while trying to explore Mauna Kea he fell into a bullock pit, or was pushed, and then died from wounds from being gored by a steer either already in the pit or one that fell in later.

His life is venerated by many, particularly by botanists of all stripes, and by his native Scotland and those of Scottish descent. In fact, there is a marker indicating where his death occurred erected in the 1930’s by the Robert Burns Society of Hilo. It is called Kaluakauka ("Doctor's Pit" in the Hawaiian language).

David Douglas Memorial, Hawaii Island

Photo: Gordon Mason

The circumstances around his passing are confusing because before beginning his trek he was alerted to the location of the three bullock pits on the trail, and he had already passed two. Some think he may have been examining the third and accidentally fallen into it. Others think that his host the prior night, a “well-known scoundrel,” may have followed him and robbed Douglas of his gold – which he was known to carry with him – before pushing him into the pit.

We do know that Douglas was expected back in Hilo to again stay with the Lyman’s, one of the earlier missionary families. Virtually all visitors to the island ended up at the Lyman’s sooner or later, at least for dinner, including Mark Twain and the many whaleboat captains who used Hilo’s harbor for provisioning.

David Douglas had been with the Lymans prior to his successful climb over Mauna Loa and was expected to stay with them on his return from Mauna Kea.

His remains were salted and sent to Oahu for an autopsy which proved to be inconclusive. Douglas was then buried at Kawiaihoa Church in Honolulu, where a plaque commemorates his achievements.

Douglas accomplished an amazing amount in his short life, for instance, he introduced more North American plants to Europe than anyone else (more than 250). There are about 50 plant species and one genus (Douglasia) bearing his name. After his death, the great tree of western North America was given the name Douglas fir. Kathleen Airdrie

A documentary film, Finding David Douglas, about the life and achievements of Douglas has just been completed and its United States premier will be Thursday, April 8, 2010 at the World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, Oregon – time to be determined (http://www.ochcom.org/).

So heads up to all our friends in Portland! All pictures from Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission website.

Our First Visitor

Another break from the moving saga…..

My brother from Phoenix was our first visitor from the mainland and we hope only the beginning of a tidal wave (poor choice of words (?) perhaps) of such company. Devany's brother and wife are coming in late July for a stay. We understand from other longer term residents that such connections become more frequent given Hawaii’s obvious drawing power. Now if we can only get my son in New Jersey who has a fear of flying to visit us, that will be really something.

WesIsland and Uncle Chuck at Akaka Falls

In Hawaii the term Uncle or Auntie is one of affection and respect, not necessarily specifying a blood relative. We call Chuck “Uncle Chuck” for the same reason although he’s really my brother.

We did only a fraction of the things we considered during Chuck’s almost two week stay. The major distraction was what seemed a minor home improvement project that ended up consuming the better part of almost four days and requiring help from not one, but two friends. It sounded simple. Our front door (a French door) had no screens so we went to Home Depot and bought two retractable screen doors that rewind into themselves – sort of like roller blinds only vertical.

It turned into a semi-nightmare since the instructions were indecipherable and both of the doors had manufacturing flaws – one so bad it had to be returned. Our one friend, a handyman extraordinaire, looked at the directions and thought that a licensed contractor would probably have problems. Our other friend, a structural architect and finished carpenter who had installed three of these doors, saved our bacon by spending almost two hours correcting the flaws in the doors design (and some of the work my brother and I had done – to be fair). Anyway here it is – and we love it – no more bugs in the house!

The Door – Finally

.Short of that distraction, we went to Akaka Falls, the Tsunami museum, the farmers’ market, Laupahoehoe Point, the ‘50’s diner, the Laupahoehoe train museum, downtown Hilo and Kona, several parties (including a True Blood viewing (a TV series running on HBO)), a performance of Hawaiiana at the Palace Theatre, and, of course, numerous trips to Home Depot and Ace Hardware.

Laupahoehoe Point

A good time was had by all and we look forward to many more visits from Uncle Chuck and others. It’s good to get touched by the spirit of Aloha.