Pau Hana Years.

A new day for older Americans.

A time for living.

Your host, Bob Barker.

Hi and welcome to the program for and by the senior citizens of Hawaiʻi.

Today, Pau Hana Years is again on the beautiful lush Garden Isle.

Today we're at Kamakani School on the west coast of Kauaʻi and this is Ellie Lloyd, the Executive Director of the Kauaʻi Committee on Aging.

Ellie, what are we going to observe here today?

Well, Bob we are at Kamakani School and we have members of our Kamakani Senior Center and our aide Dorothy Delacruz who works for the county Committee on Aging and they are teaching the children at Kamakani School various ethnic and cultural programs of dancing and crafts and our seniors feel it's very important important that these crafts and dances be perpetuated to the youth.

In other words a learning experience between the youth and the elderly.

Now we're in a Kamakani School classroom and this is Dorothy Delacruz Committee on Aging as the Dorothy who were the teachers of the Japanese dancing we just saw They were Mrs. Sumi Kato, Mrs. Tsuya Oasa, and Mrs. Aiko Fuji.

And they are seniors from They are seniors from the Kamakani Senior Center teaching the children how to dance the Japanese dance.

And what's taking place here in this classroom?

We are now into the crab net making with these seniors teaching the children and how to make crab nets.

The, this is all volunteer work, isn't it?

Yes, this is all volunteer, these seniors are very glad to come in and help their children.

And do you find that the children are reacting to the help of the seniors, well?

Yes, they are very interested in the crab net making, the dancing and whatever we can teach them.

I'm going to step over here and find out what's taking place right here.

And listen to the conversation.

No can make.

No can make pass dis one.

Make easier.

So that you, you make good, see?

Must hold it as one though, like that.

Too much.

A little bit hard dis one, the number two.

Because too much work ah?

One time like this, make like this, like that.

The first time make like that.

Dorothy, do the, do the seniors communicate in English all the time?

Or do they use their own language too?

They speak in the way that they can and fortunately, the children are able to understand them.

Do many of the children that speak in this case Filipino, as some of the children that come from Filipino families do speak and where there is any difficulty I step in?

You act as interpreter, huh?

Here we have another operation.

They're gonna to cut one, like this Just like that.

Just like this.

Son, what are you going to do with that net?

After you get through with it?

What are you gonna do that net?

I don't know You gonna catch anything?

I think so.

You think so?

I think so too.

And this is certainly a very good example of the children and what should we say grandparents?

Senior of grandparenting age getting together and learning properly from each other?

Yes.

I think this is a very fine program where we can communicate with the small ones.

I think the seniors probably learn a little bit too from the children.

Oh, yes.

They try their best to speak English and they are learning a little, too.

Okay now we'll move to another section of the classroom.

And this is another Kamakani classroom we're invading.

And we have the principal of a school a James Yasuda.

James, how do you as principal feel about the seniors coming in here to work with the children?

Well I really welcome the seniors coming in to work with the children they're a, they have a lot of talent that is untapped.

And we look to them for the kind of help that you see here like kite making and crab net making.

And this is the kind of thing that we have difficulty finding resources for to teach in the classroom.

And I think our seniors have them.

And I also feel that students benefit not only by learning the craft by the association with the seniors, Do you think that children liked the relationship?

I think they enjoy it.

We've had this going on for a while now.

And I haven't heard of one complained by the kid or about what they're doing or who they're working with.

They seem to enjoy it.

The students are just very eager when they hear that the seniors are coming over.

I guess they sort of feel it's a grandparent relationship, in a way.

Possibly, and I think this is the kind of relationship that we have to reestablish.

I think in the past that a lot was handed down from the grandparents to the children.

And now maybe we're kind of lagging behind in this area.

And this is a start again of bringing this back.

Very good.

Thank you very much, James.

Now we're going to talk to Basilio Fuertes who is a senior here involved with teaching kite making, right, Basilio?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

I'm Mr. Fuertes.

How do you happen to be involved with kites?

Are you an old time kite maker?

I was a kite player, ka-- kite player in the Philippine Islands when I was small boy.

Oh, you were?

So I had brought this type of craft to the, to Hawaiʻi and let these children know about it because I know kite, kite is one of the most important talent in this generation.

I just want to let the children know that kite playing has been the discovery of electricity by Benjamin Franklin, according to the stories concerned.

Yeah, yeah.

So by having this kite making and at the same time we have the light around, children will have to go back to the knowledge that they get from the one who discovered electricity to lighten the world.

Now what materials do you use in making kites?

We have the special bamboo to avoid from breaking.

Now these bamboos are special for making kite because there are other bamboos where the joints are stiff and when you bend them they broke, they are broken.

But these bamboo are not that type.

And where did you say this comes from?

This bamboos are special bamboo from different parts of this island.

Oh, from a different part of this island.

We cannot make any kind, any kind bamboo because the joints are stiff and then when you bend they are broken.

You find many children wanting to get into this kite making class?

They are very much interested.

We started this about a year ago and they asked the children write us a thanks of letter.

They expected us to be back that's why we are back over here.

By the way, I understand you are in another activity with seniors, senior activity, in a gardening project right?

Yes, we have gardening project we have a hat weaving lauhala project.

So these are all the projects of the elderly in connection with the RSVP, RSVP, Retired Senior Volunteer.

Thatʻs correct.

Well we're going to have a look at that gardening project a little bit later on.

Now I want to step over here and see what's happening over here, in this department.

This looks like a very colorful kite.

Are you making this kite?

Or are all of you making it together?

We making it together, sir.

All together.

Well then who gets the kite after it's finished?

Do you have any fights over who gets the kite?

No.

You all gonna share the kite?

Is that right?

Yup.

What is this material is this paper or cloth you're putting on here?

Paper?

Paper, tissue tissue type paper, huh?

Yeah.

What is this material right here?

Is that is that paper or is that, this looks like cloth.

Plastic paper.

Oh, very, very fancy.

And then if I can step around here, I think we have another one over here that's elaborate in another way.

And this is made out of plastic right?

Is this a plastic plastic background?

Plastic bag.

And it has printed on it keep Hawaii clean, can do.

Very good.

This plastic bag was given to the Four H boys, By the way youʻre Mrs. Fuertes arenʻt you?

Thatʻs right.

You help your husband in these projects.

Yeah, in everything.

In everything, a huh?

Very, very nice.

Now Dorothy, we're going to have another dance number.

What will it be this time?

It will be called Carinosa and it's led by Mrs. Fran-- Philomena Francisco and the children are just starting to learn, so they're not very good at it but they are learning.

Well that's what we want to watch, we want to watch them learn okay.

This is Home Nani, Waimea housing for the elderly a project of the Hawaiʻi housing authority.

And here again is Basilio Fuertes who is chairman of the residence of Home Nani.

And also Kauaʻi's Outstanding Senior Citizen of the Year, right?

That's correct.

Now, Basilio, we are here in the middle of a beautiful lush garden.

How did this garden project of the senior housing come out, about?

Come about for the encouragement of the building of elderly home whereby there should have somewhere to stay where they have their own place to live in.

Now usually over here, there is no place as it is now our elderly home over here is no place for gardening.

So the cultivation of this land is the prospective to get some land where the old people to live and reside the place for the gardening.

Now this particular land here did not belong to the housing project, did it?

It did not.

It is through by the help of Mr. Roland Gay, the housing administer of the County of Kauaʻi that he give it to us from in honor of Mr. Daniel Nagata of Honolulu.

Now, it was not good necessarily a good garden plot when you first saw it, was it?

It was kind of foresty and it was there were many riders inside but it was cleaned by the job corps and then at the same time helped by Mr. Castle, Jim Castle and the Castle Rock Company has given us some of the bags and the mud press for cultivation.

And then you prepare the soil and got it in good shape for gardening, huh?

With our hands, we prepare the soil we make bamboo fence over here, because we thought that the bamboo fence could be equitable for the protection of animals coming and destroy our plants.

Is this bamboo fence sort of a typical Filipino fence?

That's correct.

I brought here the typical Filipino friends across the Pacific from the Philippines to Hawaiʻi.

Now what type of crop?

How long you had it, by the way?

How long have you been doing it here?

We have had about a year already.

And then we have been harvesting our peanuts and we have been harvesting our long beans and our cabbages and this is the second crop now that we have over here and this land.

How many people work in the garden project?

Usually most of our people working over here, but some of them are handicapped.

So most of the time where I make myself as the mother red hen to help them out, prepare this garden.

But you're sort of the boss of the thing, aren't you?

Well, something like that.

Do you, are you getting enough of a crop that makes all the work worthwhile?

Well, I had more than enough.

More than enough.

More than enough.

We intend to sell these crops and at some time with the money we'll have get together on a special holiday Christmas and Thanksgiving and New Year.

But we have not come for selling yet because the first crop that we get, we give out for the purpose of giving them what we can do and show them that we are willing to help them in the meantime that will help us when we are in need.

I understand that the recent senior camping project you provided all the vegetables.

That's correct and all the senior camping this year in (inaudible) Ha'ena, we give them vegetable from our garden.

Do you uh...

It's free, they all free.

Do you find the seniors in the housing project here are really eating the vegetables?

That's one of the problems is getting seniors eat vegetables, isn't it?

They do.

They do?

They love to eat the vegetables.

Now let's talk about some of the individual crops you mentioned peanuts, do peanuts grow here easily?

Yeah we have had peanuts over there and then we planted peanut that side and we'll have a picture of harvesting the peanuts and then we'll have some more peanuts over there that we're not selling the peanuts because we intend to have them in the future.

You're gonna have more, more probably.

We get this lettuce over here we get these heads cabbage over here.

We get this corn, this is second crop for the corn, right there.

Second crop on the corn?

We have planted the corn the other side and then we have second crop coming up.

That's sweet corn I presume.

Yeah, sweet corn.

Not corn for horses, sweet corn.

Sweet corn.

Good for the old people.

Nice, sweet, and soft.

Soft, soft one.

And then what are some of your other things that you're growing.

We have also this eggplant, all gone.

Tomatoes.

And we have this this is the third crop for the, what we call daikon, radish.

Oh yes.

Then we have the bell pepper over there but it's not turning good.

And I think we need some more fertilizer back to improve this one.

Now, do you, do you use a lot of fertilizer?

Do you have to use much fertilizer in this soil?

Not in this soil because this is a new soil but in the meantime we'll be using fertilizers whereby we can have our plants grow well.

We have also banana somewhere that come from the extension, experiment station and then we had to experiment, experiment these bananas because there's a lot of good bananas so we have four of them given by the University of Hawai'i.

Oh, have they produced anything yet?

Not yet, they are growing.

And you also have an arbor over here that I see some gourds in, huh?

You're growing gourds?

Yes my wife wanted to have some kind of flower plants around the around the roads so that make it more beautiful.

So as a matter of fact she is busy on this flower planting with the wāhines, with the ladies.

And then back over here this arbor back here where the, or the, the other bottles hanging with the gourds.

No this our white squashes.

Oh squash, oh that's why you have these.

Now you must remember, Bob that will get the Filipino superstition.

Formerly this place over here doesn't bear fruit so I hang all these battles in all these things and later on the fruits come in.

This is a Filipino style, you know, Filipino superstition.

Now, I don't understand what do the bottles do hanging?

The bottles encourage the plant to produce fruits The bottle encourages the plant to produce fruit.

That's right.

Well now there's, there's quite a theory these days that plants understand and you can talk to plants and get them to grow better.

Do you talk to your plants?

Bob, usually early in the morning I come early in the morning before sunrise I come here in the morning and then I talk to my plants, say how are you doing, I say don't worry we're giving you something so that's why we get all these things.

Do you ever hear them talk back to you?

Well, I have a sign that I can hear them.

Do you think they understand the bottle business, huh, the squash?

Well the people over here did not understand, they thought I was crazy, Bob.

But when the flowers were coming they say I'm right.

You're right, after all.

Now, I see you watering that.

Did you put water in the bottles?

Or is that... No, no, no, no, no.

That's from the rain.

That's, that's from the rain then.

Well now, do you have plans for any expansion of this garden?

Or is this the limit as far as size is concerned?

As far as size is concerned the, the, all the people we get over here they encourage me to get the other side over here Bob but it is not worthwhile because I have only the one who's working hard I cannot depend from these people over here that might have heart attack over here that will be a problem.

Sometimes they can't work I suppose, don't feel good.

While most of the world that they come over here that pick up the wages over here and, and harvest.

But for the preparation and planting myself and my wife do the work.

Well now it's fairly warm here to the people work here all day long or when do you work?

Well we usually walk early in the morning before sunrises and then about five o'clock in the afternoon when we come over here.

Gets pretty warm here on this side of Kauaʻi.

That's correct.

Summer especially, huh?

This area is warm.

Have you tried some crops here that you've decided this is not the right place or this is not the right crop for, for this garden project and you give up on them and try something else?

Not so far, Bob, but I have a son who is now in the University of Hawaiʻi specializing in agriculture, I get advice from him.

Oh you have a son in...

He tested the soil over here and tell me, Daddy for this kine tree (inaudible) it works, you know.

He will be graduating this June.

That's a big help for my, to me.

Sure, sure, sure.

Do you have any plans to put something in here that you don't have in now that you want to look forward to in the future?

Yes we are trying to plant over here string bean where we can commercialize the products after all.

String beans?

String beans.

Now I heard... And tomatoes, too, eggplant, you know.

What about insects or bugs?

Do you have any problem with those over here?

We have a problem over here and then my wife is trying to do all what she can to solve the problem.

Well, usually it does not work good, but it, it helps a little bit.

And you're getting a lot of people working here that probably wouldn't be having any kind of an activity if they didn't have this garden project.

Right?

That's correct.

We want them to keep on moving and then I told them the more you move, the more you are healthy, and come over and then come and do some exercise.

Oh Basilio, you're to be congratulated.

I think it's a wonderful project and thank you very much for telling us about it.

We hope that the prospective and any of this project will be successful run whereby Mrs. Lloyd is working hard for more home better home for the elderly with a garden and with something for them to have the sunshine, Bob.

Thank you very much.

And that's Pau Hana Years for today.

A visit on the west coast of the Garden Isle of Kauaʻi.

This is Bob Barker leaving you with a thought from Basilio Fuertes.

You must never stop being interested enough to take part in the life of the people around you.

Deep in December it's nice to remember, although you know the snow will follow.

Deep in December it's nice to remember without a hurt the heart is hollow.

Deep in December it's nice to remember the fire of September that made us mellow.

Deep