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July 15, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Silversword Inn

Haleakala National Park was originally a section of Hawai‘i National Park. Hawai’i National Park was established by Congress in 1916 to include the Haleakala volcano on the island of Maui and the Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes on the island of Hawai‘i.

(The bill to designate Haleakala Section as a separate National Park was introduced in Congress and approved in 1960. The formal dedication for Haleakala National Park was held on July 1, 1961, at the summit in the Haleakala Visitor Center parking lot. (NPS))

Between 1934 and 1941 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) operated work camps at Haleakalā. The CCC was a federally funded work relief program designed to generate income for young unemployed men during the Great Depression.

At Haleakalā National Park the CCC was engaged in a variety of projects. CCC enrollees removed invasive plants and feral animals such as pigs and goats and constructed a number of trails and structures in the park.  They had a base camp at Pu‘u Nianiau.

In 1940, “the Army sought sites on both Haleakala and Mauna Loa for ‘unspecified defense installations.’ A ‘thorough’ study was referred to, but only the very tops of both peaks were surveyed. It was determined that the ‘two sites selected in the National Park offer the only sites which are suitable for these proposed defense purposes.’”

“The National Park sites were ‘not only the most suitable but also the only acceptable sites.’ The Mauna Loa site was approved by the National Park Service for Army use in November 1940, but no work was ever done there by the Army.” (Jackson)

“By April 1941, the War and Interior Departments had worked out an agreement for the use of the area. A Special Use Permit was signed on April 29, 1941, covering a six acre installation site at Red Hill, and the Army agreed to use for its base camp the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp at the 7,000 foot elevation which would be vacated by the CCC in May 1941.” (Jackson)

The Pu‘u Nianiau area of Haleakala National Park was used by the US Army as a base camp from 1941 to 1946 for facilities being operated at the summit of Haleakala.

After the Army’s departure, base camp buildings were used in 1947 for the ‘Haleakala Mountain Lodge’ by Robert “Boy” von Tempsky who held a concession with the park.

Mr. von Tempsky offered saddle and pack trips through the crater as well as bus transportation from docks, landing fields and hotels in Maui.

The name of the facility was changed to the ‘Silversword Inn’ under new operators in 1958. “Just above the park entrance, Silversword Inn, a National Park concession, offers meals, rooms, souvenirs, horseback riding and guided horseback trips into the crater.” (The silversword (ʻāhinahina) is a rare plant (one of the rarest species in the Hawaiian Islands) found on Haleakala.)

“Haleakala Crater is a favorite with those who like the back-country; its inspiring scenery and restful solitude are great reward for time and effort. The National Park Service maintains three cabins on the crater floor and 30 miles of well-marked trails for hikers and horseback parties.” (Hawaii Nature Notes, NPS Haleakala Guide, 1959)

The Silversword Inn in the park closed in 1961 (the concession agreement expired and, after a national advertisement, no one bid for the construction and operation of a new 30-room lodge. (Star Bulletin, Sept 4, 1961).

Shortly after, the news reported, “Hale Moi‘ Lodge at Kula will now be called Silversword Inn”; the property had been run by Glenn and Cathy Simons and was subsequently operated by Florence Ellis.  The Elisses “formerly operated the Haleakala National Park lodging and restaurant concession as Silversword Inn.” (Honolulu Advertiser, March 16, 1962)

Just the year before, Hale Moi Lodge had “Opened on a small scale by Glenn and Kathy Simons … The first of six chalet-type studio cottages under construction has just been completed and the others will follow.” (Star Bulletin, March 27, 1961)

Then, in the early-1970s and beyond, the property was plagued with litigation – there were transfers of ownership, defaults and bankruptcy.  At one point, the Court started a filing asking “Who owns the Silversword Inn?”

“This seemingly innocuous question has been litigated vigorously for nearly two decades in various bankruptcy proceedings and in the state courts of Hawaii.” (US Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit)

Later, as part of the County’s Community Plan that included the Kula area, Maui County designated the “Silversword Inn Project District 2” allowing 12-hotel units and Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Tourism Research Visitor Plant Inventory report notes such.

But the name (and ownership) of the place changed again and searches for the old name and address (15427 Haleakalā Hwy) lead you to Kula Sandalwoods Café & Inn.  It notes “Our Tradition – Hospitality 60 years of Aloha” with its restaurant and “6 comfortable hillside view cottages”.

© 2023 Ho‘okuleana LLC

Filed Under: Economy, General, Buildings Tagged With: Maui, Haleakala National Park, Silversword, Silversword Inn, Haleakala Mountain Lodge, Hale Moi Lodge, Kula Sandalwoods Inn, Hawaii, Haleakala

February 19, 2015 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

ʻEke Crater

Early Hawaiians considered ʻEke Crater (also called Puʻu ʻEke, Mauna ʻEke and (rarely) Mauna Eeka or Eeke) near the summit of the West Maui Mountain to be Heaven’s Gate, or a doorway between the physical and spiritual worlds. (West Maui Watershed)

“Mauna ʻEke is the name given to the circular range in the bosom of which lies the valley, whose sides, moistened with mists and trickling streams, are perennially green.”

“Ferns and convolvuli adorn the precipices ; shining leaves, delicately stemmed, tremble and gleam with every breath of wind.” (Twombly, 1900)

Maui is the second largest island of the archipelago, its oldest volcano (West Maui Mountain or Mauna Kahalawai) ca 1.3-million years old, East Maui Volcano (Haleakalā) ca 750,000-years old and considered active (last historical eruption in 1790.)

“You can see why, in 1841, the captain of a whaling vessel wrote, ‘See how that east part of the island rises abruptly into one high mountain, while the west section, though rugged, is not so lofty.'”

“‘Mauna ʻEke, on the west, is little more than five thousand feet high, while Haleakala, on the east, runs into the clouds nearly twice as far. But you will find that the more lowly of the two mountain masses has wilder scenery to offer.'”

“‘East Maui has wonderful attractions, but I find keener and more lasting pleasure in climbing up and down the ridges thrust out as ʻEke reaches down to the sea.'”

“(T)he wild valley and its surroundings have been left unchanged. In fact, everything must look much as it did when the first Polynesian migration entered Maui long centuries before America was discovered”.

“(Y)es, hundreds of years before the Norman Conquest of England – that is, unless ʻEke has been in eruption since then. If so, the lava long ago disintegrated into the richest sort of soil.” (Paradise of the Pacific, 1929)

ʻEke Crater is an extinct volcanic dome with eroded sides and gently concave summit. The summit bog is underlain by a clay hardpan over a compressed lava core and is characterized by numerous pits and open water ponds. (Powell)

Towering at nearly 4,500 feet in elevation, the name ‘Crater’ is quite deceiving, as no visible crater remains today. The mountain is actually the remnants of an eroded volcanic cone.

Measuring 1,600-feet in diameter, its rock core provides a moist impermeable surface on which unique montane bog communities thrive.

Highlighting and adorning its surface are mirrored pools of water with shimmering ʻEke silverswords and Nohoanu (a Geranium.) While beautiful, it is dangerous and riddled with sink holes and lava tubes. (West Maui Watershed)

The ʻEke silversword is endemic to the summit and ridges of ʻEke and Puʻu Kukui. It is described as a “branching, dwarf shrub” and “creeping profusely over the ground and progressively dying back at the base, thus isolating the branches into independent plants.” (Powell)

Nearby is Kiʻowaiokihawahine (Violet Lake.) The lake is small, only 10-20-feet in size, and formed in the boggy areas near ʻEke Crater and Puʻu Kukui.

Puʻu Kukui is considered the 2nd wettest spot (behind Waiʻaleʻale, Kauai,) and it and ʻEke Crater are often hidden in the clouds.

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© 2015 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Eke-Crater
EkeCrater
Eke
Eke crater, 2.8 miles away in a straight line.
Eke_Crater
Kiowaiokihawahine (Violet Lake)
Kiowaiokihawahine (Violet Lake)-Starr
Eke_Silversword
Branched_Eke_Silversword-Powell
Eke Silversword in flower
Eke Silversword
Eke-West_Maui_Silversword-TNC
West-Maui-NAR-Map-Eke_noted

Filed Under: Place Names Tagged With: Hawaii, Maui, West Maui Mountain, Eke Crater, Silversword

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