Man, I have not blogged since 2019? Hmm...I wonder what happened. 

Well, the first thing is that in the middle of the Hawaiian Mission Houses New England tour of My Name is Opukahaia, let's say around October 16th, I got a call from a management company about the Senior Curator position at Bethel Center for the Arts, the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival. 

So, that happened. We moved to New York in January 2020, and then...you know. Now I have a job where I do stuff that I can't really blog about until after it happens, and then I am on to the next thing already, so, sorry.   

I have thought several times that I should go back and finish where we were with the tour. Maybe I'll do that just for the record.  

24 hrs in Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine, is the farthest north we are going. And it was quick. we drove 4 hours up from Connecticut, following the Language Symposium at the Piquot Museum.

We had an early performance at the Maine Historical Society, checked into a fantastic Airbnb that was downtown, and then set out to find Lobster Rolls.

Someone at the performance gave us a heads up about a place called the Highroller Lobster Co. A Lobster Roll is basically lobster shoved in a bun and covered with butter. After getting a Lobster Roll we checked out and I Yelped the best Lobster Bisque in Portland.

It was at the same place.

We ate twice.  

Portland is a compact town with lots going on. We saw a band, walked the wharf, had Blueberry Cider.

The next day we got up and had Lobster again. This time on the dock at the Portland Lobster Co.

I was hoping to get Lobster when we were in Maine. Check and Check.

With that done, we headed 4 hours back down to Connecticut.

Second Week: Mass Humanities

In partnership with the American Antiquarian Society and with support from Mass Humanities, Hawaiian Mission Houses presented a weeklong program entitled "Encountering History using Innovative and Disruptive Narratives."

It was a humanities discussion panel series that was held in four locations: Phillips Academy Andover; Williams College; the American Antiquarian Society; and the Congregational Library at 14 Beacon Street.

The discussion panels explored new texts and current research in response to the bicentennial of the Congregationalist mission to the Sandwich Islands.

The discussion panels of recognized humanities scholars, including Dr. Noelani arista who traveled with us all week, were organized around the presentation of "My Name is ʻŌpūkahaʻia," which set the tone into a narrative of Hawaiian agency.

The best panel was at the American Anitquarian Society, in Worcester, MA, where the brilliance of the questions was only second to the brilliance of the answers.

It was here that Dr. Arista stated that the near exclusive use of English sources in the writing of Hawaiian history and the lack of use of Hawaiian language sources, a source base that is the largest archive of indiginous language in the world, has resulted in a historiography that would be like if "the history of the American Revolution was only written from French sources."

The best thing about the week of panels were the scholar dinners. These had been written into the grant, but only happened at Williams College and the Congregational Library.

Before the panel at Williams we went to dinner at the Williams Inn. Food and discussion was great, a little combative, and the bill was $314.00.

I only thought this dinner cost a lot until we went to Dolce Vita in Boston. Someone on the panel knew the owner. Great Italian food just kept coming out of the kitchen. I picked up a tab of $585.00.

This was a great week, with great discussions, and great places.

First Week: Connecticut

First week of New England Tour of "My Name is ʻŌpūkahaʻia" was spent crisscrossing Connecticut. The tour started in Goshen, on September 29, 200 years to the day that Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston were ordained as ministers to go to Hawaiʻi.

This performance was a Sunday morning service. Everyone came to church in Aloha shirts, which was pretty cool.

Peter Young, the President of the Hawiian Mission Houses and a Hiram Bingham decendant gave a very emotional "testimony" of the fact that without Goshen Congregational Church he would not "be" (Hiram and Sybil were introduced at Gashen, 10 days later were married, got on a ship to Hawaiʻi, and concieved his ancestor on the 165 day voyage).

Three days at Yale followed, including an amazing lunch at Edwin Dwight College, a first for me! and two days of Pizza, evidently New Haven is known for its pizza.

A stop at Sturbridge Village, an amazing third person interpretive village in Massachusetts, but on the border of Connecticut.

And then Cornwall Congregational Church, where ʻŌpūkahaʻia died and was buried.

"There was only one week in Connecticut?" is how Poʻai just characterized it.

Traveling Exhibit just Popped Up

One of the key elements shipped to Columbus was a traveling exhibit providing information on Hawaiian Mission Houses as a National Historic Landmark; our signature program History Theatre; a brief history of ʻŌpūkahʻia.

I have a process of exhibit development that attempts to be inclusive, transparent, and that tries to draw on the strengths of a team-based approach to visitor engagement. But to me, it is just fun. 

A small exhibit with limited text is very challenging. Expressing key ideas in the fewest amount of words is a lot about iteration and editing. In this case, we posted the size and scale of the proposed exhibit panels in the hallway of the offices at Hawaiian Mission Houses. We established themes for each panel and then for several days, everyone on staff had an opportunity to post images, propose text, and propose edits. This was accomplished by physically writing on, or taping things to, the mock ups. Occasionally, a hallway meeting would be held, consensus would be achieved, and we would go through another iteration of the panels. Then, the process of editing would begin again.  

The three panels, a tryptic if you will, were produced as pop-up banners; easy to travel; easy to set up.    

You can see above the process; the banners when they arrived in Columbus; the banners at the New Haven Museum; the banners at Phillips Academy Andover.  

Columbus: A Music Town

I never realized how much Columbus is a music town until I moved to San Diego. I assumed that Southern California would have a new and dynamic music scene. But, in fact that describes Columbus. Growing up there you take it for granted. When I return, however, I take advantage of how unusual it is.

Though here for a short time, I caught Jazz Night at Brother Drakes and Hoodoo Soul night at Rumba Café. Also, I guess, Last Big Town met after 15 years and played for about 5 hours Monday night. I have not picked up a guitar in a couple years. This was one of the highlights of my visit.

Jazz in Columbus is amazing to me. With signature programs at Capital University and Ohio State, I think the town churns out excellence by the year. Every time I am in town I feel like I hear the best jazz I have ever heard. Always new. Always fresh. Always super cool.

Columbus, Ohio

One week after Huakaʻi, I have arrived in Columbus to prep for the New England Tour.

The New England Tour?

Oh, Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives is touring a Hawaiian Cultural program throughout New England from September 29 - October 23. I have been shipping things to Columbus for several weeks and I am borrowing a sound system from Jared. I have not been home to see family for more than two years. I was able to see Jamey do a five minute standup set, hear Jared play, and meet the Chipotle lunch crew. Who, I guess even after 20 years, can be counted on to be at Chipotle in German Village on Wednesday!

Columbus has changed every time I return. So many micro breweries. Maybe cause its so cold!

The Big Bang

Well, the Big Bang Theory is not something I have talked a lot about. But. Throughout this blog it has played an important part. In the Turks and Caicos we did not have TV, only DVDs. And watching sitcoms over and over became a past time. The Big Bang Theory became an easy favorite. But what I discovered is that the Big Bang theory is an easy television show to watch in the background. We watched it over and over and over.

It never raised its voice. It laughed. But not too loud. It argued. But never yelled. It was consistent. With a volume level that allowed one to fall asleep to its consistent idiosyncratic banter. All the while it continued to play throughout the night.

Every Christmas season I have waited for the Black Friday sales of the Big Bang Theory DVDs at Target in order to collect the next and next and next season. After amassing each season, I have watched each season after season after season.

During the four months I was in Alaska in 2016, I watched the Big Bang Theory every night. I would put a DVD in my computer and watch four episodes until I drifted off. I watched 10 seasons. Three times. Then I watched every episode of every season in reverse order. Season 3, where both Bernadette and Amy are introduced is clearly the best season, so I watched it again, and then again. 

During the final season, which ended tonight, I moved to Hawaii and lived in an apartment for a year without television. I have not seen a single episode of the final season. Season 12. Maybe this is for the best. I can leave this part of my past behind. 12 years from leaving Ohio. 12 years of Big Bang Theory.

Or maybe it is part of a larger plan, where I binge watch the Big Bang Theory until the final season is released and then...I watch that over and over and over again...

until I fall asleep.

Only to wake up in the new reality of a new sitcom. 

“Jane, stop this crazy thing...called life.”

Out and About

It has been a long time since I have been to gate B in the Charlotte airport. 

I am waiting to board a flight to Washington DC but they are also boarding to Montego Bay, Cayman Islands, and Barbados. Wouldn’t that be nice!

I have been at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum over the weekend. Sorted our Cali Wrangler that is currently in Chicago, hiked Tumco, had a beer at the a Great Escape, and escaped. 

This week I will be in Washington; next week in Boston. We are preparing for probably the biggest thing I have done in my museum career...a band tour!

Christmas and New Years

Christmas 2018 was spent in Hawaii.

The lead up to Christmas in Hawaii was full of events and celebrations. At the Hawaiian Mission Houses the season begins with Honolulu's oldest craft fair, which we host the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The first reference to the craft fair was in 1844 as a "Fancy Fair" offering local made crafts to whalers. The annual City Lights Parade party was next, which we hosted on December 1. The Honolulu Marathon was the next weekend. Then we had a large Candle Light Tour at the Mission Houses, followed by the Parade of Lights in Kaneohe Bay, followed by a staff Christmas party at Kualoa Ranch, followed by Christmas hiking, followed by Christmas.

All three boys plus their wives or girlfriends were here the week after Christmas through the New Year. With just the one Jeep and eight of us in the apartment, a lot of our time was spent at the Ala Moana beach or other places we could walk. It is weird, but I do not have a single picture in my phone from that week. Maybe, a defense mechanism. What I wish I had was a picture of all the shoes at the door. Maybe then you could empathize. 

We spent New Years Eve in a destination where 75,000 people come to spend New Years Eve. But, we can see that from our apartment. So it is both good and bad, because...we were so close to this huge, monster party in Waikiki that it didn't make any sense to go. The boys went down, Deneen and I partied at home on our lanai.

And that, as they say, is how we started our second year in Hawaii.

Huakaʻi

Huakaiʻi is the annual fundraiser for the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives. It is done in a dinner, program, and live auction format, and was hosted at the historic Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki.

At the Imperial Valley Desert Museum we created an annual fundraiser, as a wine tasting, and watched it grow over a three year period. Huakaʻi is in its seventh year. The first five years the fundraiser was done on site at the Mission Houses. Last year, the event was moved to a new, much more glamorous location, and saw large growth. This year, our goal was to grow the event even more. The program was to honor the work of Tahitian Missionaries who came to Hawaii to help with the translation of the Bible. We had two historical characters developed through our History Theater and a Tahitian band, Mana Tahiti, who were amazing.

We special ordered a rainbow to be placed over Diamond Head. Right at sunset. It worked perfectly as a selfie station. It will take a week or more to do all the bookkeeping for the event, and because there is so much work leading up to Huakaʻi several staff people have taken vacation days this week. But, it was a great event to be a part of. See you there next year. 

Furniture from Trash: Part 2

I struggle whether to think of myself as having a skill at making furniture from trash, or just being cheap. After I got married, I made a bed frame for a water bed that I bought for 1 cent. Deneen and I slept in that bed for nearly 20 years.

In the desert, I made a headboard out of an 8-foot pallet that had been used to ship part of the "Land of Extremes" exhibit. This bed was made from two twin beds put together. It was huge, and the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in.


On September 20, 2016, I wrote a blog about getting a pick up load of trash to make furniture for my unfurnished apartment in Alaska. The score was two signs that had been up at the Unalaska United Methodist Church. These made a fantastic Unalaska coffee table, and a pretty cool bar table. Out of pallets, I made a side table/bar and couches.

The couches were not comfortable. But at least they made the apartment feel like it wasn't empty. Cause you know, it was empty.

I never posted pictures of what the furniture looked like. Alaska was a hard four months. But looking at the furniture makes me a little nostalgic. Richard Barnes, who lived with me in this apartment, is now in Hawaii. He told me that when museum staff moved out of this apartment they sold all the furniture to other people.

I hope they didn't sell the couch. It was not very nice. But I am happy that the tables survived. I really thought they were cool.

One man's trash is another man's furniture!

Hurricane Lane

It is different being back somewhere where you watch Hurricane Central instead of the heat index.

A couple weeks ago we were watching Hurricane Hector as it developed into a cat 5 storm. Though it looked absolutely massive in the satellite image, it did not affect anything here. It just went south.








Tonight, I am waiting on Hurricane Lane. It was a cat 4 storm yesterday, but is now a cat 3. It is south, but not enough south. We initiated our emergency plan at the Hawaiian Mission Houses. In the 1821 House we moved artifacts into the center of rooms and covered them with plastic.

I thought the rain would start at 8pm, but so far it has been a beautiful day. I decided to stay overnight at the museum, but it has been pretty anticlimactic.


I was looking through this blog this evening. I remember being in many storms in the Turks and Caicos, but I hardly wrote about any of them. I went back through the Atlantic Hurricane Seasons to see what I would have experienced.

Tropical Storm Ingrid was in September 2007, mentioned in my second blog post. Hurricane Noel, came through the TCI on October 29, I had just left for Columbus to get Deneen and the boys. On December 11, we ate dinner outside during Tropical Storm Olga, the last storm of the 2007 season. I remember it as one of the best dinner experiences I have ever had. Deneen remembers it as the day we left our kids at home alone during the hurricane.  2008 was one of the biggest hurricane seasons on record. On August 15th, I was in the house on GT during Tropical Storm Fay. I wrote a blog being thankful for the water. Dave Horn came to visit Grand Turk on August 16th. He stayed for a week.  On August 28, I left Grand Turk to get Deneen and the boys who were off island for the summer. In the next ten days, Grand Turks was hit by Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Hannah, and then Hurricane Ike tore the island apart on September 7th. So, I went through three storms with very little comment. And the other three storms changed the rest of our lives. 

Update: Lane stayed at sea, moving at about 2mph, and was continually downgraded all day. Friday evening it was just a tropical storm and that did not even make landfall in Honolulu. Everyone is glad we prepared for an emergency that never came.

Kerplunk House on Designboom

Last year at the Hello Wood Art and Architecture Festival in Hungary, Lucas and I had a long conversation about "typology."

By definition: a classification according to general type, especially in archaeology, psychology, or the social sciences. 

This past year we have seen several projects built or conceived that, when I put them together, look very similar, like a typology. Though each was a unique project with its own complex issues to solve. Including Cathedral Village, which was submitted for Hello Wood: Cabin Fever

Kerplunk House, at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum.
Photo: Breyden Anderson

Ghost House, at the Space Saloon art and architecture camp in Morango Valley.
Photo: @-danielshwartz

Furniture from Trash

In 2016, when I went to Alaska, I moved into an unfurnished apartment and then built furniture out of pallets I found. This was discussed in a blog post dated September 20, 2016.

When I moved to Hawaii I moved into an unfurnished apartment, but I decided I would buy all new furniture. But it soon became apparent that I like the furniture I had built from trash more than the furniture I could buy. So, as I walked back and fourth to work, I began looking for discarded materials.

What was needed first was a very large pallet, not the usual ones you see. I found one in front of a Japanese restaurant that was being remolded. It had originally had kitchen equipment on it when it shipped to Hawaii. Perfect for a headboard. Others followed. And soon I had the makings of a set.

For several days I worked in the small wood shop at the museum, cutting, sanding, painting, sanding, and varnishing. Before Deneen arrived, I had put together a more than functional bedroom.

Her first week here we happened to walk by a Sears appliance store and happened into a $4,000 display mattress that was 75% off. An extra 10% "if we bought right now" was an offer we could not refuse and our functional bedroom has become quite nice.

And, the only cost was a 75% off mattress. 

Making Connections

Last week the Maile Wreath, the newsletter of the Hawaiian Mission Houses, was completed and mailed. This was the first issue I had to write something for and I though a few people would enjoy it. 

As I am very new to the Hawaiian Mission Houses, and new to Hawaii, I have spent my first few weeks trying to make connections. I have been meeting individually with trustees and have found that I have lots of connections here - from families who owned property in the Imperial Valley, where I have just come from, to the many connections to Ohio, where most of my family still lives.      

    

The connection that has perhaps been the most surprising is my connection to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. When Samuel J. Mills shared his vision for foreign missions with his friends, James Richards, Ezra Fisk, John Seward, and Luther Rice, the five college students formed a secret society that they called “The Brethren.” It was not long after this that Mills, Rice, and Richards moved to Andover Seminary where The Brethren was reorganized and new students recruited, including Adoniram Judson. It was within this small group of friends that Henry Ōpūkahaʻia became a catalyst.

Adoniram Judson became one of the first five missionaries to be sent out by the ABCFM. Arriving in British India right at the beginning of the War of 1812, this original mission faltered and Judson moved on to Burma as a Baptist missionary. He studied the Burmese language, wrote a Burmese grammar book, and translated the Gospel of Mathew. In 1817, a printing press was sent to Burma and Judson oversaw the first materials printed in Burmese in Burma.

The history of Adoniram Judson was a fixture in the mission-oriented American Baptist churches pastored by my father. Judson University is an American Baptist college where my father served as a trustee, where all four of my siblings attended, and where all three of my children graduated. This past September, my family received a Legacy Award from Judson University. Connections are important, I am glad to have made this one.  

Spring Break

Well, Spring Break came a went - rather quickly. Deneen was here for a visit. We had a great week of trying out local restaurants, swimming in our pool, and finally eating at a table.

The Metal Punch Folding Patio Bistro set from Target served as the perfect place to have dinner on the lanai.













And an even better place to watch the fireworks over Waikiki Beach that happen every Friday night at 7:45pm.

Hale Pili

The construction of the Hale Pili began last week.

In Hawaiian, "hale" means house and "pili" is a type of grass. The hale pili is a traditional grass house that was the standard building typology in the Hawaiian Islands. The hale pili has been a project in the process of planning or permitting for more than three years. But my experience is that the project has gone very fast.

In one week, we had a traditional blessing ceremony, started excavation, visited another hale under construction, secured traditional wood, completed archaeology, completed the framing, and poured concrete.

The hale will be built over the summer as a community-oriented project trying to engage people in the process of traditional construction techniques.

The major component will language instruction. At the IVDM we called this "situational fluency" and it was a way of teaching traditional language through traditional arts. The hale will also become a new space for programming, hopefully, traditional craft programming and language instruction.

This is a small project that should result in a big summer!

Baby you're a firework

Last night, I was invited to a dinner party on the 32nd floor of the Pinnacle. That is probably unimportant. Though, unbeknownst to me, it was also the night of the 24th annual Honolulu Festival that ended with a very large display of fireworks. It was very cool.

Tonight, I updated my new Instagram account and reviewed the posts from this last year. I also did our taxes yesterday.

When I look at Instagram, I am amazed at both how fast 2017 went and what the year entailed. Deneen and I were traveling nearly once a month throughout the entire year. Martin and Kelsy hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. Lucas and I built two large inhabitable art projects. Davis spent three months in Yellowstone National Park.

When I review it, the year looks nuts.

On December 11, 2016, I returned from Dutch Harbor, Alaska. We were in Columbus in March. Martin and Kelsy came to the Imperial Valley for Coachellain April, then the next week we put them on the Pacific Crest Trail. Deneen and I flew to Chicago in May for Lucas's graduation. I was in St. Louis the following week for AASLH. And that week we put Davis on a train to Yellowstone. At the end of June Lucas and I went to Budapest. Then at the end of July we were in Columbus, again, where both Deneen and I celebrated our birthdays. The last weekend of August I interviewed at the historic site of Woodstock - Jared drove 11 hours to meet me and we saw Sting (a highlight of the year). In September we accepted th eLagacy Award at Judson, in Chicago, and then I went to Austin for the AAM conference. In October, back to Columbus again. In November, Deneen and I interviewed in Hawaii - the weekend after Thanksgiving. Lucas left for Japan. Martina  and Kelsey came for Christmas. And then I moved to Hawaii!

The year has been nuts!

Starting from Scratch. Part 4

On September 9, 2007, this blog began with a post called "Starting from Scratch." That post was repeated on October 1, 2011, when we moved to El Centro, and again on September 20, 2016, my 30th day in Alaska.

This is the fourth move in last ten+ years to a remote location where I came with nothing but a suitcase. This is actually my favorite part. The idea of rebuilding your life from scratch is intoxicating to me. It allows you to separate your needs from your wants - but more than that - it allows you to really appreciate your "wants" when you get them.

The last 30 days have not have been comfortable. I did not really like where I lived. But it allowed me to look for an apartment. When I moved to Alaska it was really different - there was one apartment available. It was too expensive and unfurnished. And no fun.

Yesterday, I signed the lease on a the place we are renting in Hawaii. It is too expensive and unfurnished. But unbelievably FUN! It is so close to the beach that State Farm would not give me renters insurance; across the street from a brand new grocery store that has a wine bar in the center; a block from the "Ward" district; has a heated pool, hot tub, weight room, and a wood shop; and the lanai looks down the crescent shaped sandy beaches of Waikiki.

Also, it has two bedrooms. Not at all what we were expecting to get. More than we need. But exactly what I wanted.