BARRY MARKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN Demolition contractors raised a collar with cables that helped bring down the Kahuku Sugar Mill smokestack yesterday.

Plantation era symbol
topples

Crews bring down the smokestack
at the old Kahuku Sugar Mill, which
dates to 1890

For Alfred Maghany, Kahuku Sugar Mill's 150-foot smokestack was the last standing icon of his hometown's sugar plantation past.

And now it's gone.

Maghany, 75, was among the more than 50 Kahuku residents, passers-by and former mill employees who gathered yesterday to see the smokestack come down at about 3 p.m. after a six-hour delay.

The work nearly finishes off the demolition of the mill, which is the first step in cleaning up the site. All that's left are a few large boilers and a lot of debris.

Several who attended yesterday said they had hoped the smokestack could somehow stay, if only to remind island youth of Hawaii's bygone plantation economy.

"The old generation's just fading away," said Maghany, who was born and raised in Kahuku and started working at the mill when he was 19.

He spent 22 years at the mill, working alongside his father and older brother.

Many brought their cameras and video recorders yesterday to chronicle the demolition. Some made a day of it, setting out lawn chairs and bringing the kids.

"It's going to go. What can we do?" said Angel Ramos, who worked at the mill from 1949 to 1971 and showed up with his daughter and granddaughter. "Our icon's not going to be there. ... The heart, it's still here."

The sugar mill was built in 1890 and stopped operating in 1971. It was closed to the public three years ago because of health and safety concerns.

The property's former landowner, Campbell Estate, has contracted Tetra Tech Inc. to clean up the site.

KAHUKU LANDMARK COMES
TUMBLING DOWN

BARRY MARKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN Animation | Some Kahuku residents watched reverently while others cheered yesterday when the smokestack of the old Kahuku Sugar Mill was pulled down after three tries.

The project, which includes demolishing the mill and removing chemicals from the site, is expected to be completed in 12 months. Earl Philips, Tetra Tech construction manager, said the mill was structurally unsafe and contained asbestos and lead-based paint.

The mill property -- which also includes a gas station, bank and several other businesses -- is now owned by Young Kim, a businessman who splits his time between the islands and Utah.

Kim's representative, Tobey Bohnet, said yesterday that there are no immediate plans for the site. But he also said Kim has "development plans for the future."

But those who came to watch the smokestack fall yesterday had their own ideas about what should be put in its place.

"They should make a museum or something," said Loke Tuighmala, a longtime Kahuku resident.

Construction worker Albert Pao, who said he brought the second-to-last load of sugar into the mill before it shut down, agreed.

"It's just like part of your life," he said. "It's a landmark."

Demolition crews had trouble yesterday putting a collar around the smokestack to bring it down. The smokestack was originally set to be destroyed at 9 a.m., but didn't come down until just after 3 p.m.

Donald Hurlbut, president of the Kahuku Community Association, stayed there the whole time.

"I would say it's an end of era," he said. "It's a symbol. That smokestack is a symbol in Kahuku. ... This is the last piece of old Kahuku."

Aiea resident Bill Johnson also stopped by yesterday, but he wanted to show the mill to a friend visiting from Texas and was surprised the smokestack was coming down.

"An old landmark is gone," he said as he readied his camera for a shot. "I hate to see the old stuff go."