Steel Birds

story by Dennis Hollier photos by Sergio Goes         The skies of Hawai‘i teem with helicopters. Behind my home in Windward O‘ahu, I can hear the tour birds thrum in the mountains, looking for waterfalls in the hanging valleys. Over Kane‘ohe Bay and along the North Shore, the big military choppers thump-thump-thump up…

Bee Beautiful

story by Dennis Hollier photo by Gerlinde Gorla   When Anthony and Gwen Maxfieldmoved into their Pupukea home eighteen years ago, there were already bees on the property and it seemed perfectly natural for Anthony to step into the role of beekeeper. Thus began an apiary relationship that culminated last year when the Maxfields and…

Art of the Warrior

story by Dennis Hollier photos by Chris McDonough   Manny Matos presses his forehead against the gray trunk of an old kauila tree. He closes his eyes and mutters a little prayer under his breath. His right hand is wrapped around the slender trunk, as if around the neck of an old friend. In the bright…

Hawaii Seed Savers

  story by Dennis Hollier photos by Chris McDonough The great wiliwili tree in my front yard is blighted. Its crown bristles with dried twigs. Leaves still grow on the lower branches, but in twisted, stunted bunches. They’re gnarled and pocked with galls. The old tree is dying — another victim in a statewide epidemic of…

Crack Seed Stories

The Sweet (& Sour) Life  story by Dennis Hollierphotos by Kyle Rothenborg   The kid comes into the Crack Seed Store with an order that he can’t fill in a standard grocery store. “Mixed arare and li hing mui sauce,” he tells the owner, K.P. Young. “In separate bags, though—I don’t like the cracker getting all…

Ohana Style

  ‘Ohana Style  story by Dennis Hollier photo by Brad Goda   “No more fried chicken,” 78-year-old Nadine Tokuzato tells the fourth customer in a row at Waikane Store. “Got sushi, though.” She gestures through mosquito netting into what appears to be the family kitchen. There, her sister, Makiko Gishi, sits at the kitchen table laconically…