By Way of Introduction 
So many of us who stay at Hoyochi Nikko return year after year. And it got us to wondering about its history. Thanks to Peter Stursberg, son of the property owners when it was a home before it became a resort, we have lots of photos and stories to share. Thank you Peter!

 

In the beginning …
There was a house, purchased by the Stursbergs in the 1960’s, which they enjoyed for years. The Stursberg clan 1969 (left to right): Dick, Marg, Marg’s mom Florence, Peter, Janet.

 

Dick & Marg, with the empty lot behind them and no Kuleana yet.

 

This was taken from the area that is now the upper driveway entrance and walkway to the pool. The sugar cane fields come right down to the road, which was the ONLY road north of Kaanapali. After the Honoapiilani highway was built, this road was renamed Lower Honoapiilani.

 

The Mustang would be where the stairs to #205 are today.

 

Far south end of the lot, where 101/201 are today.

 

Stairs are on the left and there is no sand on top yet.

 

Peter’s sister, Janet. The stairs to the ocean are right behind her.

 

There is another house to the south of their property, where Hale Mahina is now. Obviously, the original seawall looks quite different.

 

The boundary between the two properties is where the seawall comes up about a foot. At this time the other property was an empty lot.

 

There was a beach in the late 1960’s, which disappeared in the 1970’s. Kuleana hasn’t been built yet.

 

Peter’s mom and grandma standing at the edge of their lot, looking into the empty lot, which would later become part of Hoyochi Nikko.

 

Photo from the empty lot looking south.

 

A goofy photo of 16-year-old Peter in 1969 when there was just a house. Peter says he never got very skilled at surfing.

 

Inside the Family Home

Master bedroom.

 

Living Room

 

Kitchen with a view

 

Bar

 

Hoyochi Nikko (“Resort of the Sunbeam”)
In 1973 Peter’s parents and business partners purchased the adjacent land and built Hoyochi Nikko. Peter says the name was chosen, in part, to honor his father’s Japanese grandmother. The fellow walking past the pool is Fred Paquette, who with his wife Filly, were the managers. Peter took this shot from a stepladder on a Kuleana lanai in the mid 70’s to create a free postcard for guests to send to their friends and help advertise this little-known destination in the process.

 

When Peter lived in #202, from 1976 – 1981, there was never a beach and the palm trees were small.

 

The old BBQ and rocky beach.

 

Before the highway was built, the cane field came all the way down to Lower Honoapiilani Road. Peter said it was quite the sight when it was lit on fire. In the 1980’s, the land  was subdivided and housing built.

 

Sales brochure.

 

2018 Hoyochi Nikko
Thanks to guest Chad Berndt for this aerial shot via drone.

 

For this final installment of Textures, Surfer Sue here represents all the cheerful, interesting souls we’ve met here.

David and I met “Surfer Sue” (as her name tag proclaims), a bright, perky woman at Teddy’s Bigger Burgers. When I stepped up to the counter to order I was so struck by her happiness that when she later stopped by our table to comment “You seemed to have liked the food” I mentioned she seemed so remarkably happy. She just smiled and said, “As long as I can get out on a surf board, I’m happy.” So surf? She looked to be in her late 60’s, early 70’s and she was strong and agile and working in a fast food restaurant. When was the last time you saw a worker truly happy in such a place? We got to talking and she told us she was originally from Washington, DC but the first time she landed on the tarmac in Hawaii she felt she was home. She does stand up paddling now and loves that she can see what’s beneath the water in a way she couldn’t when she surfed.

David and I left feeling privileged to have met her, as we have with so many, many people in Hawaii.

A hui hou!

I was going to write a sweet little story about how beautiful sunflower crops have begun to replace the now defunct sugar cane fields. But in doing just a little research, the truer story is actually brutal, far-reaching, deep, complicated, and intensely political. And I don’t feel it is my story to tell, but I’ll try.

The short, ugly story is: American businessmen wanted the Hawaiian lands to grow their crops. In 1893 American businessmen took the land in a coup d’etat using the US military without the approval of the US government. American businessmen still have their land and water rights. Hawaiians were stripped of just about everything. Sound familiar? President Bill Clinton apologized to the Hawaiian people, but more than words, they want their sovereignty. This effort, no surprise, has been protracted and controversial.

But sovereignty aside, Kaniela Ing, Democrative state representative for Maui who chairs the office of Hawaiian affairs, is resolute in his view on the sugar lands, as quoted in The Guardian: “This is an opportunity for these historically greedy missionary families who created the sugar industry to … give back what is owed to the people of Maui. This is not too complicated. When you take something from someone the moral thing to do is to give it back.”

No surprise, I’m rooting for the Hawaiians and the land.

Aren’t they a cool plant? We have a banana tree outside our building that is just about ready to harvest. Melody, our property manager, says she likes to cut them down and then offer them to the guests. Hope we’re still here when that happens.

The first Hawaiians brought them from their home islands and found they grow easily here. It takes a couple years for a plant to produce its first bunch, then one or more bunches each year thereafter. There are about 100 varieties on Hawaii alone.

My favorite banana dish in the whole world is (drum roll here) … Leoda’s banana cream pie. Make sure you stop by their place at 820 Olowalu Village Road if you’re in the area for delicious, delicious food. And pie!

One of the lovely beauties of Hawaii is the trade winds. Almost ever-present, it is the softest of breezes—a kiss—that keep everyone so comfortable, even with relatively high humidity.

Of course the Hawaiians named these NE to ENE prevailing winds long before white people arrived. But we know them as “trade winds” because the English-speaking, ship-sailing, cargo-bearing travelers relied on them for navigation and swift passage in the subtropics.

Trade winds are the most common winds here—90% in the summer and 50% in the winter. When there are no winds at all, the air feels heavy and humid. Then there are the beastly Kona winds, blowing from the opposite direction, and bringing heat, humidity, stormy weather, and/or vog (volcanic fog) to the islands. No surprise, everyone eagerly awaits the quick return of the blessed trade winds.