Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [385]
Meanwhile, the ranch continued its efforts to find the crop for Moloka’i. Cotton, rice and numerous grain crops all took their turn biting Moloka’i’s red dust. Finally, pineapple took root as the crop most suited to the island’s dry, windy conditions. Plantation-scale production began in Ho’olehua in 1920. Within 10 years, Moloka’i’s population tripled, as immigrants arrived to toil in the fields.
In the 1970s, overseas competition brought an end to the pineapple’s reign on Moloka’i. Dole closed its operation in 1976, and the other island giant, Del Monte, later followed suit. These closures brought hard times and the highest unemployment levels in the state. Then cattle raising, long a mainstay, suddenly collapsed as, due to a controversial state decision in 1985, every head of cattle on Moloka’i was destroyed after an incidence of bovine tuberculosis. The majority of the 240 smaller cattle owners then called it quits. The Moloka’i Ranch still owns some 64,000 acres – about 40% of the island – and more than half of the island’s privately held lands. What will happen with these fallow holdings is the question of the moment; see the boxed text, opposite.
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MAUNALOA
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In the 1990s, the Moloka’i Ranch bulldozed the atmospheric old plantation town of Maunaloa, leveling all but a few buildings. New buildings mimicking old, plantation-style homes were erected. This drove up rents and forced out some small businesses, again provoking the ire of island residents.
Ironically, the new development is now all but closed. Shuttered are the hotel, luxury beach campsite, cinema and even the local outlet of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Attractions are few, unless you’re an urban planner doing research. The gas station is open just a few sporadic hours a day while the Maunaloa General Store (8am-6pm Mon-Sat, to noon Sun) has a limited selection of pricey groceries and alcohol. But there is one excellent reason to visit the quiet streets, one that will literally blow you away…
Big Wind Kite Factory & Plantation Gallery (552-2364; www.bigwindkites.com; 120 Maunaloa Hwy; 8:30am-5pm Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun) custom makes kites for high fliers of all ages. It has hundreds ready to go in stock or you can choose a design and watch production begin. Lessons are available, lest you have a Charlie Brown experience with a kite-eating tree. There’s a lot of other goods to browse as well, including the island’s best selection of Hawaiian-themed books. Artworks, clothing and crafts have providence from just down the road to Bali.
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KALUAKOI RESORT AREA
You can almost picture this place when times were good. A low-key resort fronted a perfect crescent of sand while upscale condos lined the fairways of an emerald-green championship golf course.
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TOO QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Even before Moloka’i Ranch began efforts to develop its lands on the West End in the 1970s, local people weren’t so fond of the company. They resented the ranch for restricting access to land, which in turn restricted a number of traditional outdoor activities and visitation to sacred cultural and historical sites. And few were impressed by the Kaluakoi Hotel, which was built on Kepuhi Bay.
By 1975 feelings had mounted to such a degree that people took to the streets, marching from Mo’omomi Beach to Kawakiu Beach to demand access to private, and heretofore forbidden, beaches on the West End. The protest was successful and convinced Moloka’i Ranch to provide public access