Performance of “Two Roses and a Thorn” - Sat. Nov. 13

A Performance of “Two Roses and a Thorn”
Saturday, November 13, 7:00PM

The Kona Historical Society is pleased to have Aloha Performing Arts Company artistic director Jerry Tracy reprise his one man performance in order to share the humor and insight of Mark Twain, as Twain recalls his visit to Hawaii and specifically the Big Island in 1866. Interlaced with comments on current events, local and nationwide and the “goings on” in the Kona district during his visit, Mr. Tracy has cleverly woven Twain’s stories of visiting with royalty in Honolulu, swimming at Kealakekua Bay, planting the Mark Twain Monkey pod Tree at Waiohinu, sailing from port to port on inter-island transport ships along the coast, through the district and around the island on horseback, culminating in a visit to the “Great Volcano of Kilauea.”

Also on the playbill for the evening, an original play, Tea for Two at Kalukalu, developed and produced by the Kona Historical Society, written by Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl and Kona historian Maile Melrose.  The setting is mauka Kona 1890 when Miss Ella Paris, the unmarried daughter of the American missionary Reverend J.D. Paris, pays an afternoon visit to Mrs. Elizabeth Greenwell, wife of the Englishman and entrepreneur H.N. Greenwell, who is, as usual, minding their store at Kalukalu.  The women interlace 19th century humor, news and gossip of the day (“Did you hear about that fellow Mark Twain?”) as they sip tea and eat Kona oranges.  Co-starring in this delightful glimpse into old Kona are UH Hilo Theater Department’s Artistic Director, Jackie Pualani Johnson as Miss Ella Paris, and veteran Kona actor and Greenwell family descendent Maile Melrose in the role of her great grandmother Mrs. E.C. Greenwell.

Adults $15 and Senior and children under ten $10.  Make your reservations now for this, sure to sell out, one night only performance by calling KHS at 808-323-3222 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              808-323-3222      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit Aloha Performing Arts Company at http://www.apachawaii.org for tickets.

This performance was made possible through funding by the County of Hawai`i, Dept. of Research & Development and the Hawai`i Tourism Authority.

Phillip Gordon: The Web and Indigenous People

To view lecture (51 min.) online, visit YouTube

By Melissa Rand, UH Museum Studies Program
In September, we welcomed Phillip Gordon of the Australian Museum of Sydney to lecture on the museum’s work with indigenous groups.Gordon, a Goorang Goorang Aboriginal person from Central Queensland, serves as the Aboriginal Heritage Officer at the Australian Museum. The presentation was co-sponsored by HMA, Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program at the University of Hawai‘i, and Bishop Museum. He discussed the importance of cultural institutions building strong working relationships with Indigenous groups in order to foster successful cultural heritage projects. Consultation between the museum and an indigenous group should be the first step toward assisting these groups in gaining access to their cultural heritage. He also emphasized that such projects must be reciprocal in nature, in that the Indigenous groups should benefit in some significant way from the project. Gordon shared with the audience a number of successful web-based collaborative projects between indigenous Aboriginal groups and museums in Australia. One interesting project was the Ara Irititja Project.  The project assists Anangu Aboriginal people living in remote areas of Central Australia in retrieving and repatriating lost photographs, films, sound recordings and objects. These items are digitized and uploaded to computers in work stations located within Anangu communities. People in the community are then able to view the materials, edit and add data—which is collected and stored. For museum personnel working with indigenous people, Phillip Gordon’s lecture reinforced the fact that cultural institutions must learn to respect Indigenous people’s right to have access to their cultural property. Museum professionals should actively seek useful and sustainable ways to assist Indigenous groups in gaining access to their cultural heritage. A video of the lecture will be available on YouTube. DVD copies of two projects from the Australian Museum: Keeping Culture: Achieving Self-Determination Through the Development of Aboriginal Cultural Centres and Keeping Places; and Indigenous Objects of the Hunter Valley from the Morrison Collection can be borrowed. Contact the following:  Stacy Hoshino of HMA at hawaiimuseums@gmail.com; Noelle Kahanu of Bishop Museum at nkahanu@bishopmuseum.org; or Melissa Rand of the Museum Studies Program at UH at museum@hawaii.edu

Lyman Mission House Restoration Complete

Koa furniture crafted by Hilo Boarding School students
is featured in Rev.Lyman’s barter room

By Barbara G. Moir, Ph.D.Curator, Education & Operations, Lyman Museum
The restoration and up keep of historic houses can amount to a costly, exacting, and ongoing labor of love for those who undertake such efforts. For the past eight years the staff of the Lyman Museum in Hilo, assisted by historical architect Spencer Leineweber and several top-notch contractors, have worked to restore the adjacent Lyman Mission House (the oldest frame structure on the Big Island) to its mid 19th-century appearance and functions.Most of the work was carried out in 2002—2005, but following an extensive period of research and planning the final phase of the process was completed in 2010 when a small wing of the House resumed its former identity as Rev. David Lyman’s office and “barter room.” Added in 1845 to the 1839 Mission House, this two-room wing or annex was the locus of considerable activity.  Rev. Lyman’s role as principal of the Hilo Boarding School meant long hours of administrative work in his office. Adjoining this room was another in which cotton cloth, Bibles, candles,nails, and other desirable goods were stored and accounts kept. Currency was scarce in Hilo in the mid 1800s, so people bartered goods for the other things they needed.  The Lymans traded cloth and other items for school and family necessities. The office is arranged as if Rev. Lyman has just stepped out.  The barter room is stocked with trade goods, and one section of the room showcases exquisite koa furniture built by the Hilo Boarding School students.  A special (and possibly unique) exhibit reveals the different stages of preparing and finishing a plaster wall.  Sarah Lyman had originally finished the interior walls of the House with lime plaster, patiently patching the cracks caused by seismic tremors until a very powerful earthquake in 1868 destroyed most of the work. Thereafter Sarah papered the walls over stretched muslin. Enjoy this remarkable view of Hawai‘i’s history next time you’re in Hilo!  Complete tours of the Lyman Mission House are given Monday—Saturday at 11:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. and are included in the cost of Museum admission.  Visit www.lymanmuseum.org

New! Island Innovation Fund

This new fund is administered by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF)to provide new opportunities for innovative approaches to long standing social issues for Hawai‘i based nonprofits that now face growing resource constraints as they try to fulfill their missions. The rapid advancement of new human capital strategies, technological advances and networks illustrate the need—and opportunity—for innovations the non-profit sector. Innovations have the potential to generate significant impact in a given field or the entire nonprofit sector by transforming how organizations work or deliver services in response to larger forces. The Island Innovation Fund’s website will be a platform for new ideas and a way to encourage a culture of non-profit innovation through a new funding opportunity. HCF’s first online grant application targets nearly $3M over three rounds. Applications and awards will be posted publicly to share and improve ideas. Funded organizations will participate in sector discussions and share progress online. Not all good ideas maybe initially funded, but will have a chance to develop further. A multi-phased online grant process will launch this fall with awards of up to $100,000 expected in 2011. Online application launches on November 1; organizations have one month to submit innovations. HCF invites the most compelling concepts to submit full proposals in January-February 2011.  Finalists make public presentations and a panel of expert judges selects winners by March 2011. Application is available at www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org

WMA Survives (and Thrives) to Celebrate its 75th Anniversary

 Tory Laitila, Kristin Keller, Malia Van Heukelem,and Sharon
Tasaka arrive for the 2010 Western Museums conference.

By Kippen de Alba Chu, HMA Liaison
Portland, OR - The “City of Roses” proved the ideal setting for what became the pivotal and most important meeting in the history of the Western Museums Association. Started in 1935 and formally established in the 1940s, WMA became the largest regional museum association in North America. However, the recession over the last couple of years took a heavy toll on the association’s finances. Things came to a head at the 2009 Annual Meeting in San Diego, when the WMA Board of Directors made the painful decision to lay off the remaining two staff members and convert to an all volunteer organization.  The fall of 2009 was a difficult chapter, as board members openly questioned the viability of continuing WMA and whether or not we would be able to celebrate the 75th Anniversary in Portland. Thanks in large part to the commitment and hard work of the WMA Executive Committee, the 2010 Annual Meeting that just concluded was a resounding success! Not only did WMA manage to survive a very difficult year, but it did so as part of a strategic shift that ultimately all regional museum associations face. Portland became a rallying cry for WMA, and the theme of  “75 Years: Reflecting on the Past, Envisioning the Future” became the mantra. Thus, through the adversity of decimated travel budgets, museum mergers, closures, and layoffs, the 2010 Annual Meeting exceeded all expectations and provided WMA with a secure financial footing going in to next year’s meeting in Honolulu. So please mark your calendars for September 23 - 26, 2011 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Under an unprecedented partnership with co-hosts HMA and PIMA (Pacific Islands Museums Association), WMA will go beyond its regional boundaries to embrace arts, cultural, and historical organizations throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Globalization is real within the international museum communities. Standards and best practices, along with issues and challenges, show remarkable commonalities across national borders, yet we can all learn from innovative local solutions. O‘ahu will live up to its nickname as the “Gathering Place”and provide the venue for what we envision as the future of WMA in the 21st century.

Large Number of Attendees Makes the IMLS Connecting to Collections Workshop a Success!

Building a Culture — Collections Care in Hawai’i, was an HMA annual meeting post-conference free workshop, on May 22nd in Bishop Museum’s Paki Hall from 9:00am to 1:30 pm. As part of the IMLS grant awarded to HMA, Project Director, Lynn Davis, and Project Facilitator, Barclay Ogden, of University of California, Berkeley, conducted an interactive presentation. Through working groups made up of over 70 statewide archivists, registrars, librarians,collection managers and conservationists, they collectively identified preservation needs faced by diverse collections throughout the islands,and they all examined common issues they encounter. A post-workshop survey has been emailed as a follow-up, and the next workshop will be conduct-ed in January 2011.  For more information, contact Teri Skillman at skillman@hawaii.edu or by calling (808) 956-8688. A debt of gratitude goes out to Drew Chamberlain and Chuck Crimson, of Hawai‘i Restorative / Belfor, for under-writing the workshop and Teri Skillman for her work in coordinating and managing the event.

AASLH Award to Kaua‘i Japanese Stone Lantern Restoration Project

Congratulations to Larry Dill, Pat Pannell and Rayne Regush of the Kapa‘a Business Association, and Leadership Kaua‘i on earning a 2009 Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State and Local History for the Japanese Stone Lantern Restoration, Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i.

AASLH and OMA Annual Meeting September 22-25, 2010 in Oklahoma City, OK

Choose from over 80 sessions and workshops that will show you the latest in developing, delivering, and marketing history. Four days in Oklahoma City with insightful and thoughtful programming given by leaders in the history field. This year, we’re focusing on how changes in direction can refresh and reinvigorate your institution. Learn new and innovative ways to tackle:
- Financial sustainability during tough economic times
- Creative fundraising ideas
- Visitor experience and value
- Effective Web presence
- Cutting-edge digitization projects
- Family and school programming
- Special collections care…and more! Visit http://www.aaslh.org for information on registering and to download the preliminary program with the full list of sessions, speakers, and workshops.

Register by August 6 to receive the Early Bird Rate!! Sessions Include:
Sept 23—Getting a Second Wind: Making the Most of Community Outreach
Sept 24—Advocacy for History Organizations
Sept 25—We Just Don't Have the Money: How to Protect Visitors, Staff, and Collections with Reduced Staff and Budgets

October 27-30, 2010 “I/O: The Museum Inside-Out/Outside-In” Museum Computer Network – 38thAnnual Conference, October27-30, 2010, Austin, Texas

It’s official, 2011 WMA Meeting to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii

2011 Western Museum Association Meeting
September 23-26, 2011 Hawai‘i Convention Center, Honolulu, HI
Co-sponsored by Western Museum Association; Hawai‘i Museums Association; and Pacific Islands Museums Association with major assistance from the Hawai‘i Convention Center / SMG and Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.

It’s official the Western Museums Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting will be an international event. The WMA will be joined by the Hawai‘i Museums Association and Pacific Islands Museums Association in co-hosting WMA’s 2011 Annual Meeting. This will be a unique opportunity for WMA and fellow museum professionals to meet and exchange ideas and best practices with colleagues near and far, and to see Hawai‘i in a whole different light! The 2011 WMA Annual Meeting is being held two months prior to the conveningof the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Honolulu, which brings together the leaders of the 21 economies in the Asia – Pacific region. WMA is taking advantage of this exceptional occasion to gather the diverse museum community and their associations from throughout this important and expansive geographic area to meet face to face, network, and foster greater collaboration across national borders. According to Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of  ‘Iolani Palace (Honolulu), and WMA board member, “WMA is mirroring APEC with the specific purpose of encouraging greater cooperation in arts, culture, and indigenous issues while at the same time highlighting the economic benefits of cultural and heritage tourism and the role that museums can play in this fast growing segment of the global economy.”
To learn more about the WMA 2011 Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawai'i visit www.westmuse.org.

Hawai‘i Museums Association Recipient of Groundbreaking IMLS Grant

Hawai‘i has a rich cultural heritage that is cared for by museums, arboretums, archives, libraries and other institutions. The significance of these diverse collections and the challenges associated with caring for them was recognized by a grant from the Institute for Library and Museum Services (IMLS) awarded to the Hawai‘i Museums Association (HMA). The project director, Lynn Davis, Head of the University of Hawai‘i Library’s Preservation Department, sees this grant as an important step in creating a sustainable and collaborative culture to care for irreplaceable cultural heritage collections statewide. The Hawai‘i grant has been cited as being groundbreaking for bringing together people responsible for caring for cultural heritage collections from diverse institutions on all islands. This is an innovative model for building a sustainable response to collection care issues. A survey will be conducted as part of the grant, and a report o f the findings will be made at a second workshop in January 2011.This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S.Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. For more information, contact Teri Skillman at skillman@hawaii.edu or by calling (808) 956-8688.

Save the Date: The Web and Indigenous People by Phillip Gordon

Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Bishop Museum, 6:00 to 7:30 pm  Refreshments served 5:30 pm.
Co-sponsored by HMA, Bishop Museum, and U.H. Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program.

Phillip Gordon, Aboriginal Heritage Officer, Australian Museum, will give a free lecture titled, The Web and Indigenous People:The Future is Here. The innovative web-based project, in partnership with theWonnarua Nation Aboriginal Corporation, provides digital access to an important indigenous cultural collection held at the museum and a web-based platform designed to promote local intergenerational experiences of the collection. By delivering specialized new media skills (video production, web 2.0 programs), and by promoting the cultural transmission of intangible cultural heritage and supporting the development of local identities and community relations, this project hopes to facilitate social transformation in the Singleton Region. It also involves offering high school workshops where indigenous students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the online collection and engage with their culture through new media and the web.

Great Moments in History… and We Slept Well

HMA members touring the deck of the USS Missouri.

By Kristin Keller, Hawai‘i State Library

After the annual Hawai‘i Museum Association Conference on Friday May 21, 2010, a group of conference attendees met at the USS Missouri for a sleep over arranged by Michael Weidenbach, curator of the USS Missouri Memorial Association. Somewhere in between picking up bed linens, choosing which “coffin bunk” to sleep in, and a tour of the cold water “head,” it became evident this was not going to bean average museum conference site visit. Our stay mirrored the overnight program offered to school groups on the ship. An excellently narrated tour of the decks and exhibit areas was followed by an equally satisfying meal in the crew mess hall. Our official tour ended after sunset, at which point Michael Weidenbach handed out flashlights to anyone willing to explore the bowels of the ship further on a special “curator’s tour.” This overnight adventure gave attendees a thorough appreciation for the historical significance of the USS Missouri, the enormous ongoing effort to care for and present it for the public… oh and also bragging rights, because, after all, how many civilian scan say they’ve slept in the spot where World War II ended?