Treasures in Our Backyard - Blossoming in the Moment
By Jan Wizinowich
The wisdom and beauty of Hawaiian Culture lives on in quiet acts of Aloha and through the daily endeavors of many people in Hawai`i Island communities. In Waimea, Kuʽulei Keakealani and Pua Case are two people who have worked tirelessly to facilitate a sharing of the many quiet endeavors that contribute to what makes life here special. Their latest project is a four part series of “talk story” sessions entitled “Treasures in Our Backyard”, which is taking place through the generosity of ʽIke Hawaii and four families who have lived the Hawaiian life style and made special contributions to the Waimea web of culture. The first of a series of these “talk story” gatherings took place at the Berdon ʽOhana farm.
If you’ve lived here long enough to see a parade or a high school graduation will have noticed the gorgeous lei gracing our graduates, the vibrant hat lei of the Paniolo, and the exquisite haku lei of the paʽu riders as well as the abundant flowers that grace almost all events. This beauty encourages us to be present in the moment and to connect with the deep wisdom of the natural world; this is central to the Hawaiian way of life. The Berdons are a family who, through multiple generations, have made this the center of their lives.
If you’ve lived here long enough to see a parade or a high school graduation will have noticed the gorgeous lei gracing our graduates, the vibrant hat lei of the Paniolo, and the exquisite haku lei of the paʽu riders as well as the abundant flowers that grace almost all events. This beauty encourages us to be present in the moment and to connect with the deep wisdom of the natural world; this is central to the Hawaiian way of life. The Berdons are a family who, through multiple generations, have made this the center of their lives.
Kuʽulei, Aunty Tootsee The weather is surprisingly dry and sunny when we arrive at the Berdon Mānā Road farm, a sprawling verdant 30 acres dotted with many treasures. We gather on the grass and Kuʽulei introduces Aunty Tootsie. “This is a dear, dear aunty to me although, not a blood relation, still it really doesn’t matter. I grew up watching her dance hula. Her niece is my best friend so our families just connected. Our prom pictures, when we were getting ready for prom was at grandma’s house. In grandma’s yard by the protea is where we posed in our gowns and then off we went to our senior prom. What we wanted to capture was families, our treasures that are right in our own back yard, Hawaiians who partake, who live in a particular custom or tradition. For Aunty it is flowers, lei.”
As we walk among the unique collection of protea, Aunty gives us a little history. “That’s another facet of my Hawaiian family. My mom, Bernice was born in Waipio Valley; her parents were 100% Hawaiian taro farmers and then they came here to be vegetable farmers.” Bernice and her husband Alfred took over the farm 57 years ago when Tootsie’s grandfather left to be a kahu. While they primarily grew vegetables, Tutu Bernice soon began growing and selling flowers and lei. “Mom opened the first flower shop in Waimea. It was there by Sure Save, Ben Franklin, called Bernice's Flowers.”
As we walk among the unique collection of protea, Aunty gives us a little history. “That’s another facet of my Hawaiian family. My mom, Bernice was born in Waipio Valley; her parents were 100% Hawaiian taro farmers and then they came here to be vegetable farmers.” Bernice and her husband Alfred took over the farm 57 years ago when Tootsie’s grandfather left to be a kahu. While they primarily grew vegetables, Tutu Bernice soon began growing and selling flowers and lei. “Mom opened the first flower shop in Waimea. It was there by Sure Save, Ben Franklin, called Bernice's Flowers.”
The flower shop was sold when Tootsie was still in high school, but 32 years ago she decided that she wanted to be in the flower and lei business. “Back in the day it was really different. Tropicals were not so big. Lots of carnation. Mom grew many of her own flowers.” Growing what you need is a philosophy that is in evidence. “The more you raise, the less you need to purchase. Everywhere on the farm you’ll see lehua of every color and we raise our own foliage. Just trying to stay alive in this economy.”
The knowledge of growing and lei craft, Tootsie got from her parents, “My mom and my dad are the farmers and the teachers. I also learned many, many things from Marie McDonald (“Ka Lei”), my neighbor. She is such a loving, giving person.” The lei tradition was passed to Tūtū Bernice from her father, “My mom learned to make an akulikuli lei because papa just made them do it to wear on his hat. Just to wear around town.” Now, Tootsie’s parents live right down the road and Tutu Bernice, who is 80, may have a slipping memory but she has certainly not forgotten how to make lei.
The Berdons are living more of a lifestyle than running a business. Everyone has kuleana and much of the day revolves around that. “I come out and pick every day. We’re just done with the holiday season and everything is kind of picked out. Now it’s time for manicuring.” There are a couple of stunning protea called Regina and Andrea that were obtained through bartering with Australia by the Protea Association. “I don’t think any other farm has this. Also we have monstera, succulents; we have a little bank of succulents. My husband’s the one who comes out in the afternoon and plants all kind of fun stuff.”
The knowledge of growing and lei craft, Tootsie got from her parents, “My mom and my dad are the farmers and the teachers. I also learned many, many things from Marie McDonald (“Ka Lei”), my neighbor. She is such a loving, giving person.” The lei tradition was passed to Tūtū Bernice from her father, “My mom learned to make an akulikuli lei because papa just made them do it to wear on his hat. Just to wear around town.” Now, Tootsie’s parents live right down the road and Tutu Bernice, who is 80, may have a slipping memory but she has certainly not forgotten how to make lei.
The Berdons are living more of a lifestyle than running a business. Everyone has kuleana and much of the day revolves around that. “I come out and pick every day. We’re just done with the holiday season and everything is kind of picked out. Now it’s time for manicuring.” There are a couple of stunning protea called Regina and Andrea that were obtained through bartering with Australia by the Protea Association. “I don’t think any other farm has this. Also we have monstera, succulents; we have a little bank of succulents. My husband’s the one who comes out in the afternoon and plants all kind of fun stuff.”
Deedee (Jill) Our next stop is the central hub, a large shed that contains the office and the packing operation. Behind the counter we find Jill (Deedee) and her friend Kelsey. “Hello girls. This is Kelsey and Jill. Jill is my daughter and this is where it all happens.”
Behind them on the wall is an enormous white board, covered with work orders. Deedee gives her manaʽo about the work they do and how she got involved, “I went to Florida, to the University of Miami and that’s where I had my daughter. I had a guy ask me if we wanted to sell flowers. I talked to my friend and asked her, ‘Do you really want to sell flowers over here in Miami because we can do that at home’. I came back, but I didn’t do it right away. I was teaching at Waiʽanae and that was really difficult.”
So Deedee (Jill) and Kelsey came to Waimea. “I told her, ‘Just come home, give it a year and if you don’t like it you can leave.’ Well she’s been here three and a half years so I guess she’s here for good.”
Deedee has a deep appreciation for her ʽohana and the ʽaina. “I’ve gone all over the world and I’ve never seen an akulikuli lei. It’s something my grandma does as a hobby. A kind of ‘I just do this to pass the time activity’ and it’s really an art and she doesn’t know how special it is. My Mom’s been doing it for 35 years and she doesn’t know how special it is. And so I just decided that it was time that somebody that knew how special it was would come here and make it special for everybody, to remember that this is where we came from and years of family history that I didn’t see going to waste. Make beautiful things with beautiful resources. That’s the Hawaiian way. It’s all just to say aloha.”
Behind them on the wall is an enormous white board, covered with work orders. Deedee gives her manaʽo about the work they do and how she got involved, “I went to Florida, to the University of Miami and that’s where I had my daughter. I had a guy ask me if we wanted to sell flowers. I talked to my friend and asked her, ‘Do you really want to sell flowers over here in Miami because we can do that at home’. I came back, but I didn’t do it right away. I was teaching at Waiʽanae and that was really difficult.”
So Deedee (Jill) and Kelsey came to Waimea. “I told her, ‘Just come home, give it a year and if you don’t like it you can leave.’ Well she’s been here three and a half years so I guess she’s here for good.”
Deedee has a deep appreciation for her ʽohana and the ʽaina. “I’ve gone all over the world and I’ve never seen an akulikuli lei. It’s something my grandma does as a hobby. A kind of ‘I just do this to pass the time activity’ and it’s really an art and she doesn’t know how special it is. My Mom’s been doing it for 35 years and she doesn’t know how special it is. And so I just decided that it was time that somebody that knew how special it was would come here and make it special for everybody, to remember that this is where we came from and years of family history that I didn’t see going to waste. Make beautiful things with beautiful resources. That’s the Hawaiian way. It’s all just to say aloha.”
Tootsie We journey on to find more treasures. Kahili ginger is growing along the trail and a heifer and calf munch peacefully. Coming through an opening in a row of trees, we stand before a huge, neat field with pristine rows of lettuce. “This is my brother’s. He just grows three kinds of lettuce and radish. Enough for him to survive and he’s good at it. The land is so big so he rotates and he doesn’t have to spray. No pesticides.” Bordering the vegetables are the akulikuli beds. “The girls and I have just started to get into it since Xmas is over, these two patches. We normally plant a little section just this big every year and that’s all we really need.”
Pua shares her manaʽo about what we are seeing here and how it connects with our daily lives. “Waimea, if you’ve been here all your life, for those of us growing up here 50 years ago and even before that, everybody at an event had a lei on. Every paniolo, every cowboy. You no go rodeo without flowers on your hat, a hat lei with fresh flowers. In today’s lifestyle we don’t have time or our kids don’t know how, which is part of why we are doing this. Today’s Waimea is extremely different in the flower, in the lei. Very few Hawaiians especially in Waimea that at every event has a lei on. The exception to that is Aunty Maile Napoleon who lives by the park. No matter what event, she will have a lei on and everyone in her entourage will have made a lei and have a lei on. If she knows you’re going to be someplace. Like the opening of the film festival she couldn’t stay but she came to the opening just to put a lei around my neck. She just honored what we were doing. And one of the oldest lei that our people have worn is the akulikuli and this is where it all begins.”
Pua shares her manaʽo about what we are seeing here and how it connects with our daily lives. “Waimea, if you’ve been here all your life, for those of us growing up here 50 years ago and even before that, everybody at an event had a lei on. Every paniolo, every cowboy. You no go rodeo without flowers on your hat, a hat lei with fresh flowers. In today’s lifestyle we don’t have time or our kids don’t know how, which is part of why we are doing this. Today’s Waimea is extremely different in the flower, in the lei. Very few Hawaiians especially in Waimea that at every event has a lei on. The exception to that is Aunty Maile Napoleon who lives by the park. No matter what event, she will have a lei on and everyone in her entourage will have made a lei and have a lei on. If she knows you’re going to be someplace. Like the opening of the film festival she couldn’t stay but she came to the opening just to put a lei around my neck. She just honored what we were doing. And one of the oldest lei that our people have worn is the akulikuli and this is where it all begins.”
Akulikuli lei Living from the land is an important aspect of aloha, but the Hawaiians also celebrated life by creating beauty from the incredible resources that surrounded them. This is a tradition that has been carried on by the Berdon ʽOhana, but is also slowly being lost. “Back in the day, everybody had akulikuli. You could go to the airport and pick. Around the health center, all over Waimea. We really need people to plant and make use. That’s the only way we’re going to get people to wear more lei.”
The idea of creating and protecting island resources is vital to maintaining our aloha lifestyle. Kuʽulei who lives this lifestyle every day, shares that, “Perhaps you might see me, my kids, my dad, my sister in a parade and we’re wearing these lei. Hands down, every parade we going to be there and we’re going to need lei. Quite honestly, we don’t make them. It’s a phone call to Aunty Toots or we going to our other resources who we know are the lei people. The Bertelmann ʽOhana. Those are the people that put our lei together for our horses, for our bodies to be adorned with them. Perhaps in our little yards we can start growing the things we need. And that is how it should be. Not just utilizing the resource and then what?”
The idea of creating and protecting island resources is vital to maintaining our aloha lifestyle. Kuʽulei who lives this lifestyle every day, shares that, “Perhaps you might see me, my kids, my dad, my sister in a parade and we’re wearing these lei. Hands down, every parade we going to be there and we’re going to need lei. Quite honestly, we don’t make them. It’s a phone call to Aunty Toots or we going to our other resources who we know are the lei people. The Bertelmann ʽOhana. Those are the people that put our lei together for our horses, for our bodies to be adorned with them. Perhaps in our little yards we can start growing the things we need. And that is how it should be. Not just utilizing the resource and then what?”
The Berdon ʽOhana also has ocean roots. Have you ever seen any Aliʽikai boats cruising around, hauling in fish? Well here’s the story of their origin:
Aunty Tootsie’s dad, Alfred was born in Kawaihae, where his dad was a fisherman. “In the 1930’s he owned 7 sampan fishing boats. The men would go out in the morning and hook aku and all of that and come in and my papa would distribute all around the island. Back then the roads was crazy and it took him the whole week to deliver all that fish.” When Papa died young, making it necessary to sell the business, a seed was planted. “My dad grew up a fisherman and it was always deep down inside he wanted to eventually build a fishing boat for Hawaiian waters. He would sit at night drawing his dream boat.” And eventually that dream was realized. “My brother took over the vegetable farm and we traveled to Seattle and we went and visited boat shops and he found out how to do it all. He came home and built the mold and Dad built Aliʽikai boats for many years.”
The first chapter in these “talk story” sessions closes and Pua reflects about the “treasures in our backyards” that are the webs of culture that really define this place. “Every family in Hawaiian Homes that dates back has a story like that. And when you get to know people or you just pass by and ‘I know that’s the Berdons and I know where to get a lei if I need one’, or you see them at the Saturday market and you have a relationship. That’s what it’s all about is relationships.”
There is so much old knowledge that has been lost and we don’t’ even know we’ve lost it. There is a legacy of knowledge and wisdom before our very eyes that we can’t see or appreciate. “Right here in this village are people that are every day doing unbelievable things and we don’t even know about it. The root and the core and the foundation of Waimea are the Hawaiians who live here. Even their own children and grandchildren don’t know. Everybody doesn’t still cook in the imu, everybody doesn’t raise their own food, everybody doesn’t play music in the garage at night. For us, this is a treasure.”
Aunty Tootsie’s dad, Alfred was born in Kawaihae, where his dad was a fisherman. “In the 1930’s he owned 7 sampan fishing boats. The men would go out in the morning and hook aku and all of that and come in and my papa would distribute all around the island. Back then the roads was crazy and it took him the whole week to deliver all that fish.” When Papa died young, making it necessary to sell the business, a seed was planted. “My dad grew up a fisherman and it was always deep down inside he wanted to eventually build a fishing boat for Hawaiian waters. He would sit at night drawing his dream boat.” And eventually that dream was realized. “My brother took over the vegetable farm and we traveled to Seattle and we went and visited boat shops and he found out how to do it all. He came home and built the mold and Dad built Aliʽikai boats for many years.”
The first chapter in these “talk story” sessions closes and Pua reflects about the “treasures in our backyards” that are the webs of culture that really define this place. “Every family in Hawaiian Homes that dates back has a story like that. And when you get to know people or you just pass by and ‘I know that’s the Berdons and I know where to get a lei if I need one’, or you see them at the Saturday market and you have a relationship. That’s what it’s all about is relationships.”
There is so much old knowledge that has been lost and we don’t’ even know we’ve lost it. There is a legacy of knowledge and wisdom before our very eyes that we can’t see or appreciate. “Right here in this village are people that are every day doing unbelievable things and we don’t even know about it. The root and the core and the foundation of Waimea are the Hawaiians who live here. Even their own children and grandchildren don’t know. Everybody doesn’t still cook in the imu, everybody doesn’t raise their own food, everybody doesn’t play music in the garage at night. For us, this is a treasure.”
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