Kaua‘i Museum Reaches 60 Years

By Léo Azambuja

The staff at Kaua‘i Museu, left to right, back row, Shop Manager Michiru Umezu, Executive Director Chucky Boy Chock and sales staff Kuulei Keaweamahi; front row, education staff Lyah Kama-Drake and head of maintenance Bud Keaweamahi. Photo by Léo Azambuja

This December, the Kaua‘i Museum will be reaching its diamond jubilee, an impressive milestone for an organization that has been a champion of local culture, history and art since day one.

“We have the privilege of telling intriguing and in-depth stories of every ethnic culture that have contributed to our way of life here on Kauaʻi and Niʻihau,” Kaua‘i Museum Executive Director Chucky Boy Chock said.

During the plantation days, when sugar dominated the island’s economy — which also included pineapple and rice crops — many immigrants poured on the island, coming from all corners of the world, China, Portugal, Japan, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Korea, Germany, Norway, Russia and a few others. Although there is rich documentation at the museum of this diverse ethnic contribution, Chock says most visitors favor the Hawaiian stories, both pre-contact and modern Hawai’i.

“There’s a plethora of untold stories that continue to evolve as we research the history of the (Hawaiian) royal families and the makaʻāinana, or commoners.”

The Kaua‘i Museum first opened its doors on Dec. 3, 1960, but the work that led to it started much earlier.

On Feb. 3, 1922, the Board of Trustees of the Kaua‘i Public Library Association received a letter from Emma Mahelona, disclosing a $75,000 donation to build a library in memory of her late husband, Albert Spencer Wilcox. The building, designed by renowned architect Hart Wood, was dedicated May 24, 1924.

Three decades later, in April 1954, Juliet Rice Wichman became chair of a museum committee that also included Dora Jane Isenberg Cole as a member. Together they were instrumental in raising funds to erect the William Hyde Rice building for the Kaua‘i Museum, right next to the library. Wichman would be the first museum executive director and Cole its first manager when the Kaua‘i Museum first opened in 1960.

In 1969, the library moved to its current location on Hardy Street, and the museum took over the Albert Spencer Wilcox Memorial building, renovated it and reopened it in 1970 as part of the expanded museum.

Chock said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 60-year celebration took a back seat. But once things are normalized, and there is a vaccine available, the museum, will move forward with the celebration.

When the local government first imposed a lockdown to slow down the spread of COVID-19 back in March, the Kaua‘i Museum closed temporarily, like most of the island’s non-essential businesses. The museum would only reopen in September. But this didn’t mean there wasn’t work being done, as the museum is looking sharper than ever.

“There was an upside to the shutdown,” Chock said. “We got to do things that we normally couldn’t, like painting and deep cleaning.”

For many decades, the Kaua‘i Museum had a strong emphasis on the island’s plantation culture. After all, much of the modern local culture of today was shaped by the influence of the many ethnic cultures that came to Kauaʻi to work in the plantations.

“It was really the plantation life, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s just how it was, it dominated the stories,” Chock said of the museum’s past focus on the island’s plantation era.

Today, however, it’s a different story. The fruits of a process that started only a few years ago are clearly noticeable. The main gallery of the museum tells the story of King Kaumuali‘i, his legacy and his lineage. A replica of Kaumuali‘i’s royal cape, several paintings portraying him, his family and events that shaped his life and kingdom, artifacts from those days, everything takes visitors back to a time when Kaua‘i was still untouched by the Western civilization.

“It’s important to note that our people of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau have embraced the Kaua‘i Museum by leaps and bounds in recent years. Our local visitor count is off the charts, including our public and private school students, which number in the thousands since 2016,” Chock said.

He joined the museum as a volunteer about 10 years ago, helping with the popular festivals organized by the museum. At that time, he had no idea he would eventually become the museum’s director.

“I just loved helping,” Chock said of his time as a volunteer. For him, becoming the museum’s director was never on his radar. But over the years, he said, his love for the organization only increased. “I’ll be here until they throw me away,” he said, laughing.

The shift to turn the museum’s main gallery into an exhibit telling the story of a time when Kaua‘i’s last king, Kaumuali‘i, was still alive started to take shape about six years ago.

“It’s what the visitors wanted,” Chock said of the museum’s patrons. At least three out of five comment sheets were asking for more native Hawaiian stories. They wanted to know more about what was happening on Kaua‘i during Kamehameha the Great’s quest to conquer all islands. Why is Kaua‘i regarded by many as an island never conquered? Why did Kamehameha use diplomacy rather than war to bring Kaua‘i into his kingdom? Was he afraid of Kaumuali‘i, who was the nephew of Kamehameha’s most formidable enemy, Kahekili? Or was he afraid of Kaumuali‘i’s late mother, Chiefess Kamakahelei, notoriously famous for praying people to death? After all, Kamehameha endured two botched attempts to conquer Kaua‘i by force — losing many warriors — before entering an agreement in which Kaumuali‘i would serve him as a vassal king.

All these stories, and many more, are there in the museum’s main gallery. The prolific collection of Evelyn Ritter’s paintings helps to unravel the rich history being told by the museum. Ritter donated dozens of her paintings to the museum over the years.

“Every painting here tells a story,” Chock said. “They have the visuals for the visitors to the see, it really helps us. Thanks to Evelyn (Ritter), she was a big part of this.”

The main gallery also showcases several paintings from the late Hawaiian artist and activist Laka Morton, hundreds of original artifacts from old Kaua‘i, spanning from utensils and archaeological findings from before contact with the Western civilization to many items that belonged to the Hawaiian monarchy.

Two daily tours, one starting at 9 a.m. and another at noon, spend a whole hour in the main gallery. Chock himself conducts the tours, sharing his rich knowledge of that time. You’ll also see priceless Ni‘ihau shell lei, wooden bowls, Hawaiian games, poi pounders, kapa cloth and many other pieces and bits of old Hawaiian culture, while learning how those things incorporated into the Hawaiians’ daily life.

“It’s an ongoing transition. Every day it’s something new. We are always trying to improve on the storyline,” Chock said. Many people, even locals, he said, don’t realize the extent of the legacy that Kaumuali‘i left. Princess Kekaulike, Princess Poʻomaikelani and Queen Kapi‘olani were his grandchildren. Kekaulike’s son, Prince Kūhio, would go on to create the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act passed by U.S. Congress in 1920.

“Today, if we were a monarchy, it would be Kaumuali‘i’s line that would rule,” said Chock, explaining that Kamehameha’s lineage ended with the death of Lot Kapūaiwa, Kamehameha V, on Dec. 11, 1872. King Lunalilo succeded him in January 1873, but died  from tuberculosis a year later.

King Kalākaua succeeded Lunalilo, reigning from February 1874 until his death on Jan. 20, 1891. His wife was Kapiʻolani, Kaumualiʻi’s granddaughter.

“Why does he marry her? To boost his power, because Kaua‘i chiefs are the ones with the high-ranking bloodline,” Chock said.

The second part of the tour goes to the William Hyde Rice Building, where several different exhibits tell the story of Kaua‘i from the plantation days until the modern times. There are exhibits showcasing daily life during the plantation era, its workers and plantation owners, the early cowboys, the missionaries’ contribution, war stories, the surfing culture, scientific facts about the island, our fauna and flora, and much more. There is enough to get lost there for a full day and still want to come back for more.

Because of the pandemic, the Kaua‘i Museum is operating on a limited schedule, on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are discounts available for residents, seniors and children. Guided tours are included in the admission, and available at 9 a.m. and againg at noon.

The Kaua‘i Museum is at 4428 Rice St. in Lihu‘e. Call (808) 245-6931 or visit www.kauaimuseum.org for updated information.