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TI: So describe a kenjinkai picnic. What would that be like? Where would, like, where would the picnic be, and what would you do?

HH: Oh, the picnic, well, we have, in Hilo we have what you call Onekahakaha Beach, and there's a stage over there. And so they would, you'd bring your own lunch, dinner, lunch more, and the kids would swim and then they'd have a program on this stage.

TI: And what kind of program? What would they do on stage?

HH: Oh, they had tap dancing and they had all kinds of stuff, but that was more for adults and the kids had games going on.

TI: And describe the food. What kind of food would people bring?

HH: Rice balls with whatever you eat at home, you know. Vegetables.

TI: Now was it the type of picnic where people brought their own food and ate their own food, or did people share?

HH: I think mostly they ate their own, but they did share if you brought plenty. Otherwise you would bring only enough for your family. You got big families now. And you know why. [Laughs]

TI: Well, on the Kona side they said the reason why was because they needed more farmhands. At least that's what they said on Kona. [Laughs]

HH: Oh, that's, that's...

TI: Because there we interviewed one family that had eleven kids and the other one had, I think they had eight kids also.

HH: Wow. Well, I didn't... they could feed 'em with a farm.

TI: They didn't mention birth control, though.

HH: They didn't?

TI: About, at these kenjinkai picnics, about how many people would be there?

HH: Quite a bit. Maybe in the hundreds. And you would lay a mat and you would have your food, and your family would come to eat whatever. And each family had their mat. You just, just put it on the sand, and... it's a gathering place there. But they would have shave ice and they would have sodas, you know, from the kenjinkai. It's organized.

TI: And you mentioned the kids would just go play, so what would you do when you were a child? What kind of play would you do?

HH: They had that, Onekahakaha Beach had a puddle where it was safe for young kids, and then you can -- just waist high -- and so you would kind of swim. You'd swim, actually. And then you would have games. They would organize games for the kids.

TI: Okay, good. Now was there ever a community event where the whole community would come together, and... can you recall anything like that?

HH: Mostly, well, it's too big if you do that, so they do it by...

TI: By kenjinkai or smaller groups.

HH: Smaller groups. Small, but it's big enough.

TI: Okay. How about, like, sporting events? Was, were there sports that were important to everyone?

HH: Yes. There's, they would have what they call "Lincoln wreckers," and they would have area where they had football and baseball, and you would have your rivalry between, you know, the wreckers and then the Lincoln guys. So they, they had a kinda organized kinda rivalry, but this is done by volunteer work, I think.

TI: And how about, was there ever, like, competitions among other islands, like someone from Oahu or Kauai?

HH: I don't, I can't remember, but I don't think so 'cause too difficult to cover the transportation.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.