Hui Mo‘olelo

Gracie Delos Reyes & Kaliko Storer of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. This mo‘olelo explores the life and community contributions of Gracie Delos Reyes, a Texas native who found her permanent home and ancestral-style roots in Lahaina after arriving as a "free spirit" twenty-two years ago. The narrative traces her evolution from a newcomer sleeping on the beach to becoming an integral part of the multigenerational Delos Reyes ohana, emphasizing how the local paddling culture and the mentorship of elders provided her with a sense of identity and belonging. A significant portion of the dialogue focuses on the Kiaulu Initiative, a grassroots reforestation project led by Gracie and her husband to create environmental fire breaks while reclaiming the "thriving ecosystem" that existed before plantation-era land use. 

Namea Hoshino & Kaliko Storer of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. Here, Namea Hoshino reflects on his deep genealogical roots and upbringing in the heart of Lahaina. He describes a childhood defined by a landlocked family parcel hidden behind commercial buildings, where navigating through parking lots and sensing the natural rhythms of the ocean and church bells created a unique sense of place. The conversation transitions from personal nostalgia to Hoshino’s professional commitment to Hawaiian cultural restoration, specifically his expertise in traditional kalo (taro) cultivation and his efforts to verify and preserve ancestral plant varieties. Hoshino advocates for a future centered on agricultural self-sufficiency and reforestation rather than a dependency on tourism, emphasizing the responsibility to pass down indigenous knowledge and a strong work ethic to the next generation.

Eddie Pamat & Kaliko Storer of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. Through a nostalgic lens, Eddie Pamat describes a childhood defined by communal values, hard labor in agricultural fields, and the distinctive sensory details of old Maui, such as the scent of plumeria and the sight of sugar cane ash. The conversation maps the cultural geography of the region, documenting vanished landmarks like Nagasako Supermarket and local hangouts while emphasizing the deeply rooted connections between families. The mo‘olelo serves as a testament to resilience, expressing a profound desire to see displaced families return so that the social fabric and unique charm of Lahaina can be restored.

Haunani Tolentino Roback & Kaliko Storer of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. Here, Haunani reflects on her transformative years as a student boarder at Lahainaluna High School, where daily life was defined by strict discipline, manual labor and communal responsibility. Her story captures a unique cultural landscape through vivid descriptions of school traditions and agricultural work that fostered a deep sense of alumni pride. Ultimately, Roback highlights the necessity of preserving these local histories, urging younger generations to learn from their elders to ensure the community’s legacy survives.

Emmanuel Manny Borromeo & Kaliko Storer of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. Here, Emmanuel Borromeo reflects on his transformative years as a student border at Lahainaluna High School during the mid-1990s. He describes a rigorous, military-like routine defined by manual labor on the school farm, where he developed a lifelong work ethic and deep sense of discipline while tending to the swine and crops. Beyond the chores and sports, Borromeo emphasizes the protective bubble of aloha provided by the Lahaina community, recounting fond memories of surfing with local families and the unique sensory details of the town before its recent tragedy. He advocates for a recovery led by local voices, warning that the future of Lahaina must be shaped by those who truly understand its culture rather than by external economic interests.

Rae Kahaialiʻi of Lahaina & Kelly White

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. Here, public art administrator Kelly McHugh-White sits down with Lahaina native Rae Kahaialiʻi to reflect on the vision and responsibility of memorializing the devastating Maui wildfires. Grounded in an initial consultation with Nā Kūpuna o Lahaina, who have emphasized that the Memorial must be a place of remembering and not recreation, and must be led by the land and informed by direct engagement with families, the dialogue explores how a memorial can honor those who perished while acknowledging the unrecorded grief carried by the wider community. Together, they consider how a memorial might move beyond monumentality to become a space of humility, inclusion, and shared healing that resists division and supports Lahaina’s collective identity as the community shapes the next chapter of its history with care for future generations.

Sharise Nālani Dudoit & Emma Patao of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of richly detailed talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. 
Here, Lahaina Intermediate School student Emma Patao sits with Sharise to reflect on her life in Lahaina, describing a profoundly connected community defined by its safety and multi-generational roots. She highlights the transition from a lush, green landscape once dominated by sugar plantations to a modern environment that has become increasingly arid and vulnerable. The narrative emphasizes the importance of family landmarks while celebrating a childhood of freedom where the town's geography felt like an extension of the home. Sharise characterizes Lahaina's identity through its unwavering spirit of aloha, portraying a culture that remains generous and welcoming despite the challenges of tourism and environmental change.

Uncle Lee Aoki & Emma Patao

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. 
Here, Lahaina Intermediate School student Emma Patao sits with Uncle Lee Aoki, who paints a sensory portrait of a town defined by the aromas of the sugar mill and the rhythm of the sea. He recounts personal milestones, such as overcoming seasickness to gain his father’s trust as a skilled fisherman, while highlighting the close-knit spirit of a community where neighbors of all backgrounds supported one another through shared labor and bartered skills. Aoki honors the town’s vanished geography by naming beloved local businesses and family-run eateries of his youth. Emma's talk-story serves as a vital preservation of cultural memory, capturing a time when collective generosity and multicultural harmony were the cornerstones of daily life in Hawaii.

Rick Hartman & Emma Patao of Lahaina

This recording is part of Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, our 2025–2026 gathering of talk-story recordings created to inform future public artwork, support collective healing, and provide trusted, community-informed guidance for the Lahaina Memorial Project. 
Here, Lahaina Intermediate School student Emma Patao sits with her grandfather, Rick Hartman, who reflects on his upbringing in Lahaina, emphasizing how the sensory memories of plantation life and the industrial scents of the sugar mill defined his sense of home. He describes a tight-knit community structured around iconic local landmarks such as Mala Wharf, family-run businesses like his father’s laundromat, and the Lahaina Yacht Club. Hartman highlights the spirit of aloha through the hospitality of neighboring families who welcomed him into their lives, illustrating a time when the town’s small population fostered deep personal recognition among all residents. Emma's talk-story documents a disappearing era of intimacy and connection that existed before the town’s modern expansion and devastating 2023 fires.

Trinity, Kyla, Nayah & Noelle Storer of Lahaina

This talk-story is a contribution to Hui Mo‘olelo: Lahaina, a foundational archive supporting the town’s rebuild following the 2023 wildfires. These sessions serve as living resources of community knowledge, helping to ensure that Lahaina’s heritage and traditions directly inform future projects like the Lahaina Memorial, the Royal Complex, and the Commercial Core. Through nostalgic reflections on daily routines and shared local haunts, this group of friends defines the authentic spirit of aloha as a protective, interconnected culture that stands in contrast to modernization and displacement. By listening, you are engaging with the seeds of collective healing and future public art, ensuring the Lahaina of tomorrow remains rooted in the memories and resilience of its people.
If these stories move you or spark a memory of your own, we invite you to be a part of this living history by visiting mauipublicart.org.