Hawaii’s
Back yard
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi
STAR-BULLETIN
Flowers wrapped in wet newspaper got information to the queen.
Treasured stories of
Hawaii’s past are revealed
in walking tour
Michele Hanakaulani Fellezs loves telling the story about a brave youngster she calls "little boy Wilson," whose mother was a lady-in-waiting for Queen Lili'uokalani.
In 1895, the deposed Queen was imprisoned in Iolani Palace after an unsuccessful counterrevolution to restore her to the throne.
Little boy Wilson often would come to the palace with a beautiful bouquet of long-stemmed flowers, wrapped in damp newspaper, for the Queen. A guard would deliver the flowers to Lili'uokalani who would, in privacy, carefully unfold the precious paper she was denied by her captors and read about what was going on in what she still regarded as her beloved kingdom.
Little boy Wilson -- John Henry Wilson -- grew up to become Honolulu's longest-running mayor, serving terms from 1920 to 1926, 1929 to 1930 and 1947 to 1954.
The Wilson Tunnel on Likelike Highway, which links the city to Windward Oahu, is named after him.
Such mo'olelo, treasured stories of Hawaii's past, fascinate Fellezs, a docent at Iolani Palace and Washington Place, who launched the Talk Story Walking Tour by Mo'olelo last month.
The half-day tour focuses on Downtown Honolulu's Capitol District, where 28 historical points of interest -- including museums, memorials, monuments, buildings and statues -- are located.
"The idea has been lingering for years and I cannot claim it as being mine," Fellezs says. "I was inspired by fellow docents, Jim Bartels (the late curator of Iolani Palace and Washington Place) and Glen Grant (the late historian, author and teacher). One day I woke up and thought, if I could do anything I wanted what would it be? And this it, sharing Hawaii's rich history in a walking tour that links as many historical sites as possible."
Fellezs has partnered with four other docents to lead the Talk Story Walking Tour, but during this introductory phase, she has been the one taking out most of the groups.
"My stories vary each time," she says. "No two tours are exactly the same; the last thing I want to do is to be robotic. People need to know this is not only a tour for visitors; local people have so much to gain from it as well.
"I know there are many kama'aina (Hawaii residents) who haven't been to Iolani Palace or any of the museums downtown, and who don't know much about Hawaiian history. I know this because I used to be one of them."
STAR-BULLETIN
Walking tours by Mo'olelo begin at the Kamehameha I statue outside Aliiolani Hale.
DURING THE TOUR, Fellezs sometimes will share mo'olelo about her own life. She was born on Oahu and, like many children of Hawaii, she is of mixed ancestry; her mother is Hawaiian, her father is a Caucasian from Michigan. Fellezs was barely a year old when her family moved to Michigan, and she recalls never quite feeling at home there.
"My mother was a graduate of Farrington High School, grew up in Kalihi and loved to surf in Waikiki," Fellezs says. "She was really homesick living in Michigan, and in 1974, my family took a vote -- should we stay on the mainland or move back to Hawaii? We sold everything and came back here."
Fellezs worked for 17 years as a library technician, updating tax, law and technical in-house libraries for corporate and government offices, but she feels she has found her true calling with Mo'olelo.
Spend time with her and she'll spin story after wonderful story about Hawaii and the colorful characters who shaped its history.
One of her favorite tales concerns Queen Lili'uokalani's penchant for animals. "She kept dogs, birds and at least one tortoise at Washington Place, her residence near Iolani Palace," says Fellezs. "She would allow children to ride him in the yard. He was gentle and friendly, but he was so big and he moved so slowly that when he occasionally wandered onto Beretania Street, traffic was held up for hours as men tried to coax and move him back into the yard."
It's impossible for Fellezs to cover all the stories about the sites visited during the Talk Story Walking Tour, but she hopes the four hours she spends with participants somehow makes a difference. "I appreciate the opportunity I have to share important information that impacts people's perspectives about Hawaii," she says.
"If what I say helps them develop respect and understanding for the Hawaiian people, events that took place in Hawaii in the past and also what is happening now, then I feel I'm making a meaningful contribution. I can't think of anything more rewarding than that."
Talk Story Walking Tour by Mo'olelo
Place: Meet at the Kamehameha I statue fronting Aliiolani Hale. The tour covers 16 sites in Downtown Honolulu, including Aliiolani Hale (the Judiciary Building), Iolani Palace, Washington Place and the Hawaii State Capitol.Time: 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays
Cost: $55 per person, including a copy of Mo'olelo's "Historic Honolulu Capitol District Walking Tour Guide," a 42-page, self-guided tour booklet that includes a map, a historic events timeline and information about 28 sites within the one-mile Capitol District. The guide is available at retail outlets, including Native Books Na Mea Hawaii at Ward Warehouse, the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel's General Store and Island Art Galleries at Aloha Tower Marketplace. You can order the booklet on Mo'olelo's Web site. The price is $6.95; add $1.55 per book for shipping and handling to mainland destinations; there is no charge for mailing locally.
Restrictions: Groups are limited to 10. Children must be at least 5 to enter Iolani Palace. Children cannot be carried in the palace, and strollers are not allowed. Also, bring photo identification.
Call: 845-4242; reservations are required at least 72 hours in advance
E-mail: Moolelo@hawaii.rr.com
Web site: www.talkstorywalk.com
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Walking tour guide booklet
contains interesting tidbitsFollowing are a few intriguing tidbits from Mo'olelo's "Historic Honolulu Capitol District Walking Tour Guide" booklet:
>> Kawaiahao Church was constructed with 14,000 coral slabs quarried from Oahu reefs lying 10 to 20 feet underwater. Each slab weighs more than 1,000 pounds.>> Built in 1821, the Frame House at Mission Houses Museum is the oldest wooden structure in Hawaii. It was built with pre-cut wood shipped from Boston.
>> Honolulu Hale, City Hall, opened in 1928. Its wrought-iron door pulls are stylized replicas of lei palaoa, garlands made of sperm whale ivory and human hair that were a symbol of royalty. The design of its courtyard is based on the Bargello, a 13th-century Florentine palace.
>> The original 8-foot-6 bronze statue of Kamehameha I by Thomas Gould, a Boston sculptor, was cast in Italy in 1880, but was lost at sea en route to Hawaii. It eventually was recovered and placed at Kapaau in North Kohala on the Big Island, near the warrior king's birthplace. A second casting of the statue was unveiled in front of Aliiolani Hale in 1883. A third casting stands in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., and a fourth, a replica of the other three, overlooks Hilo Bay on the Big Island.
>> King Kamehameha V financed the construction of the first Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which welcomed its first guests in March 18, 1872. A first-class hostelry in its day, it boasted electricity, a bar and a bridal chamber with a private bath. Now known as the Capitol One Building, this stately building houses government offices and the Hawaii State Art Museum.
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Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based free-lance writer and Society of American Travel Writers award winner.
