Hana Gymnasium Named For Parley Kanaka'ole
In a quietly dignified ceremony held this past August 13th, the previously unnamed Hana School gymnasium was dedicated in honor of the school's former vice principal, Parley Jansen Kanaka'ole, (now deceased). An artist, poet, historian, composer, fisherman, farmer and Hawaiian linguistics expert, Parley was also a past vice-president of the Hana Cultural Center, and had played a leading role in the archaeological mapping projects undertaken under a grant from the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program.
Dignitaries speaking at the ceremony included representatives from the State Department Of Education and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, their words praising a man who gave endlessly of his time and talents to the Hana Community. One of Kanaka'ole's sons, Kema Kanaka'ole, recently took his father's place as a member of the Hana Cultural Center Board of Trustees.