The 40th Reunion of the Kaunoa School Class of '57 was, by all accounts, a smashing success. Traveling the farthest to attend the events on Maui August 9 and 10, was Fred Lillie, all the way from Queensland, Australia. From the mainland came Sally (Liggett) Elgin, Susan (Fukutomi) Mihata, Marie Ann (Wells) Feola, Larry Hughes, Eugene de Laveaga, Linda (Kwon) Quist, and Kent Carlson. Darwin Hamamoto, Shirley (Kodani) Cavanaugh, Fae (Ching) Carlson, Ronald Tam, and Steve Knox came from Oahu and Shirley (Murdoch) Gunderson from the Big Island. Maui attendees were Gaylord Kubota, Carole (Hironaka) Toy, Jim Bruce, Bunky Gannon, Camille (DuBois) Lyons, Ann (Okamoto) Figge, Bill Bates, Prudence Ota, Douglas Bell, Norman Stubbs, and Henry Meyer.
The reunion was made particularly special by the participation of former teachers and staff, including Mr. Tavares, Mrs. Romanchek, Mr. Roy Shimada, and, all the way from Bradenton, Florida, Ms. Parker.
The first event was a Saturday afternoon lunch under the monkeypod trees at Kaunoa. After classmates reacquainted themselves, some after 40 years, Ms. Parker gave an inspirational talk about how her experiences with our second grade class had such an impact on her future. Although she taught only one year at Kaunoa, her first year out of college, and spent just two years in Hawaii, her life was forever changed! A Maui News feature writer covered her story which appeared on the front page of the Sunday Maui News the following day.
Following the Kaunoa gathering, the gang went to Maalaea Harbor and enjoyed an evening sail around Maalaea Bay filled with great live music, good food and lots of talking story.
Food and hoomalimali were again in abundance all day Sunday at the Luuwai residence at Makena Landing when old friends gathered again to relive the past, enjoy the present, and look forward to the future.
By the time classmates began to leave Sunday afternoon, talk of a future reunion had already begun. Before anyone gets carried away, we need to recognize and thank those on Maui who had to do all the hard work. Mahalo nui loa to Gaylord, Carole, Jim, Bunky, Camille, Ann, Bill, and Prudence for the great job!