Newsmaker
Monday, March 29, 1999
Name: Laurie Lucking
Education: University of Minnesota
Position: Cultural resources program manager, U.S. Army Garrison
Hobbies: Mother of 3 teen-age sons
Laurie Lucking considers getting Schofield Barracks on the National Register of Historic Places in July 1998 as her single greatest achievement as cultural resources manager for the U.S. Army Garrison in Hawaii. Helping history live
"Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield and Fort Shafter are like little microcosms of history," said Lucking, who was selected as the Army's top cultural resource specialist for 1998.
"Schofield Barracks is like a living museum of Army installation planning, and represents the history of the military in Hawaii."
Constructed between 1914 and 1945, the 353 buildings and structures at the Wahiawa Army post were based on plans drawn by Gen. M. Macomb in 1912. The buildings were organized into contiguous sections, each with a rectangle headed by a loop. The rectangles contained the barracks and administration buildings, while the loops contained the officers' housing.
The Schofield Barracks Historic District encompasses three family housing areas, five quadrangle barracks, a health clinic, theater, chapel and Conroy Bowl.
Other major projects Lucking has directed include the surveying of more than 8,000 acres of government land for archeological sites, and the identification and protection of Hawaiian cultural sites in and around the Makua Valley training area.
As cultural resources program manager, Lucking is charged with protecting and preserving cultural resources, while allowing uninterrupted training of soldiers in Hawaii at Schofield Barracks, Fort Shafter and 24 smaller installations covering more than 156,000 acres on two islands.
She currently is directing integrated cultural resources management plans for the Ukanipo Heiau at Makua and the Bob Cat Trail Habitation Cave at the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area, which would allow public access to these sites. She also has worked to develop a cooperative program between the native Hawaiian community on the Waianae coast and the Army to open the Ukanipo Heiau for cultural purposes.
Lucking will receive her national award at a luncheon in Washington, D.C., on April 26.
Gregg K. Kakesako, Star-Bulletin
