as told in “The History and Legends of Manoa Valley,” Pan-Pacific, vol V, no. 1, April-June 1941. The menehune are said to have built a small heiau and further up the valley from Puʻu Pueo, in a place called Kūkaʻōʻō. While all versions of this legend credit the menehune with the construction of the heiau, […]
Charles Montague Cooke Jr., always called Monte, was born in Honolulu in 1874 in the old frame house at what was once part of the Honolulu Mission Station and is now the Mission Houses Museum. Events surrounding his birth may suggest one of the reasons for his attachment to the Hawaiian culture and why he […]
From Paintings, Prints, and Drawings of Hawaii from the Sam and Mary Cooke Collection by David Forbes (2016): Lila Cooke lived at Kūaliʻi until her death in 1970. She left her home to her son Charley, and she left her garden (which included Kūkaʻōʻō Heiau) to her daughter Carolene. Sam talked his father into letting […]
These oral histories are the result of a community project that launched in 2021. “Japanese in Mānoa at Mānoa Heritage Center,” includes community members that grew up or spent a significant amount of time in Mānoa Valley and they established a project goal: “to collect and compile resources that preserve the cultural heritage of the […]