Last remaining hale pili is being rebuilt

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Preservationist championed isle landmarks

NANCY BANNICK / 1926-2008
Preservationist championed isle landmarks


Preservationist championed isle landmarks
By Susan Essoyan sessoyan@starbulletin.com
Nancy Bannick's legacy lives on in the charm of historic Chinatown, the wide-open feel of Kapiolani Park and the sounds of violins at Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Without her dogged advocacy and personal generosity, they literally might not be there.

The journalist, preservationist and patron of the arts will be remembered at a service Thursday at 3 p.m. at Central Union Church. She died Tuesday at age 81.

"I've never encountered anyone who as a purely private individual has had such an impact on the community they live in," said Michael Titterton, president and general manager of Hawaii Public Radio, one of Bannick's many causes.
Bannick had been ill for several months, but to the end, she was placing calls and pecking at her typewriter despite the pain in her hands, plugging the Honolulu Symphony as well as efforts to keep the Ossipoff-designed Hawaii State Medical Library from the wrecking ball.

Bannick was born in Iowa and grew up in Rochester, Minn., where her father was a surgeon at the Mayo Clinic. She graduated from Stanford University with a journalism degree and moved to Honolulu in 1950, where she joined the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
As Hawaii editor for Sunset magazine from 1952 to 1974, she spotlighted what was distinctive about the islands, and she went on to devote her life to Hawaii's special nature.

"She was an early preservationist before it was front-of-mind for a lot of people," said Kiersten Faulkner, executive director of Historic Hawaii Foundation, where Bannick was a charter member.

Bannick led the battle to block bulldozers from destroying Chinatown "back when no one thought Chinatown was worth saving," said Wes Kinder, her friend and neighbor for 50 years in a building bordering Kapiolani Park. "She never gave up on the Natatorium even though it didn't look promising. With Nancy, there was no such thing as 'can't do.'"

A board member of the Kapiolani Park Preservation Society, Bannick was passionate about keeping the park free and open to the public as intended by King Kalakaua, without allowing the commercialism of Waikiki to encroach upon it. She loved the gnarled beauty of its thornless kiawe trees, some nearly 100 years old, said horticulturalist Heidi Bornhorst.
Bannick helped persuade officials at City Hall to create a concert hall and later pumped life into the Honolulu Symphony when its future was in jeopardy. A charter supporter of Hawaii Public Radio since it was launched in 1981, Bannick also is credited with helping keep it alive through some tough years.

"She was a tiny person, but she was huge in determination," said David Cheever, a fellow preservationist and co-author. "She was brusque, and some people could be offended by that. I don't think Nancy had any time for herself. She didn't have time for anybody who wasted her time."
A talented writer and photographer, Bannick was co-author with David and Scott Cheever of "A Close Call: Saving Honolulu's Chinatown." She was also the chief contributor to "Pohaku: The Art and Architecture of Stonework in Hawaii."

"She lived modestly, but she gave generously to all causes," said Kinder, a retired architect who worked with Bannick to preserve Diamond Head from development and often swam with her.

"Not only did she give money, she gave time. She worked and worked and worked. If you wanted something done, you gave it to Nancy."

Other nonprofits Bannick supported included Chamber Music Hawaii, Hawaii Opera Theatre and the Contemporary Museum.

"In all honesty, we're still trying to adjust to the reality of a world without Nancy in it," said Titterton. "When you're around somebody like Nancy, it's like the sun coming up in the morning. She was a force of nature, an absolute force of nature."



Obituary: Nancy Bannick / 1926-2008 starbulletin.com News /2008/02/24/

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Upcoming AASLH Professional Development Opportunities

Check out these upcoming March workshops that provide excellent opportunities to learn new techniques and improve the care of your archives and collections!

Online Course: The Basics of Archives
Date: March 10 – April 11

Participants proceed at their own pace through this online workshop that covers the basics of archives management and practices including acquiring collections, processing, housing and preservation, and providing access.

Registration is limited! Sign up by March 1 to guarantee a spot.

Digitization and Museums: Bringing Your Collections Into the 21st Century
Date: March 12 - 14
Location: Nevada State Museum
Carson City, NY

This 3-day workshop allows you to explore new technologies in museums with in-depth training on digitizing your collection. Day 1 is an introduction to issues surrounding the digitization of primary source materials. Day 2 focuses on basic digital imaging techniques. Day 3 is an introduction to creating metadata for digital objects. The workship is presented in partnership with CDP@BCR. Instructor: Leigh Grinstead, Collaborative Digitization Project at BCR.
Registration Deadline: Feburary 14, 2008

Questions? Contact Bethany Hawkins at 615-320-3203 or hawkins@aaslh.org for more informatin.

King Kamehameha IV Cloak Returns to Palace

HONOLULU, HI—the Daughters of Hawai‘i, caretakers of Queen Emma Summer Palace in Nu‘uanu, will soon be unveiling the full-length ‘o‘o (yellow) and ‘i‘iwi (red) feather cloak of Alexander Liholiho, King Kamehameha IV. The Daughters will hold a ceremony at the Palace on Saturday, February 9th, at 1:30 PM to commemorate this special occasion. Hawaiian protocol will be used for the occasion under the direction of renowned Kumu Hula Kaha‘i Topolinski. The event is open to the public, with light refreshments to follow the ceremony.

Although the exact origin of the cloak is unknown, it is believed to have belonged to Peleioholani, the early 18th century King of O‘ahu and Moloka‘i. The cloak was eventually given to Kamehameha the Great, until it was passed to King Kamehameha IV and his consort, Queen Emma. The cloak was willed to the Daughters of Hawai‘i in 1959 by Alice G. Hite, a long-time member of the organization, whose husband had purchased the cloak in 1947 at a London auction.

For the past two years, the cloak has been at the Bishop Museum under the care of conservationist Valerie Free, who has cleaned and restored the garment. After the ceremony on February 9th, the cloak will remain on display at Queen Emma Summer Palace.

The Daughters of Hawai‘i, a membership-based organization founded in 1903, have dedicated themselves to perpetuating the memory and spirit of the Hawaiian culture and language for over 100 years. The Daughters care for and operate both Queen Emma Summer Palace in Nu‘uanu and Hulihe‘e Palace in Kailua-Kona.

For additional information, please contact the Daughters of Hawai‘i at (808) 595-6291.