ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2019 – 7
HONORING HULU KUPUNA THOMAS HASHIMOTO OF HĀʻENA, KAUAʻI FOR HIS UNSELFISH AND UNWAVERING SERVICE TO HIS ʻOHANA (FAMILY) AND HIS KAIĀULU (COMMUNITY) – LEAVING A LEGACY OF ALOHA FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME
WHEREAS, Thomas Hashimoto was born on July 13, 1934, in Hāʻena, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi to his parents, Joseph Mahiula Hashimto, Sr. and Dora (Poe) Hashimoto; and
WHEREAS, Thomas Hashimoto was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, John (Jack) Hashimoto, George (Gabby) Hashimoto, Joseph Mahiula Hashimoto, Jr.; sister Violet Hashimoto Goto; sisters-in-law, Florence Kaala Hashimoto and Helen Hashimoto; son-in-law, Howard “Kachi” Yokotake, Jr. and nephew, Thomas Kaina Hideo Hashimoto; and
WHEREAS, Thomas Hashimoto is survived by his wife, Annie (Tai Hook) Hashimoto; children, Thomasine Leilani Romas, Valerie Ann Leolani Yokotake, Haven Iwalani Dawbarn, Taryn Nalani Hashimoto, Dancette Lani Green, Kimberly Wailani Tai Hook and Shann Anolani Hashimoto; fifteen grandchildren; twenty great-grandchildren; and nieces, Junedale Ualani Hashimoto and Jodi Keala Hashimoto-Omo; and
WHEREAS, since he was nine years old, Thomas Hashimoto farmed with his father in Hāʻena and took care of the loʻi kalo which is now known as Hāʻena State Park, a place filled with ancient loʻi that produced food for the families of Hāʻena for over 600 consecutive years and the average corm would measure over 18” long and 10” in diameter; and
WHEREAS, in 1950, Thomas Hashimoto worked as a private caretaker for Mrs. Juliet Rice Wichman and ʻOhana estates in Hāʻena, Līhue, and Kōkeʻe until her passing in 1987; and
WHEREAS, in 1951, Thomas Hashimoto enlisted in the Hawaiʻi Army National Guard and served for 18 years, in 1968 was called to active duty stationed at Schofield Barracks on Oʻahu, and worked his way up to Artillery Sargent specializing in calculating the angle and ordinal direction it took to loop a shell into a distant target; and
WHEREAS, in 1954, Thomas Hashimoto married Annie (Tai Hook) Hashimoto; and
WHEREAS, in 1962, Thomas Hashimoto’s bartending career began at the original Happy Talk Bar in the Hanalei Plantation and also served up drinks at the Anchorage in Hāʻena, the Lanai Bar and Restaurant in Princeville and in 1994, he ended at the Happy Talk Lounge at the Hanalei Bay Resort; and
WHEREAS, in 1969, Thomas Hashimoto began his employment with Limahuli Valley, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, in 1998, Thomas Hashimoto was integral in organizing the Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana, a non-profit organization that connected with the native community in Hāʻena that lived there prior to 1955 called Hui Kūʻai ‘Āina, and its mission statement stated their dedication to perpetuating and teaching skills, knowledge, and practices of our kupuna through the interpretation, restoration, care and protection of the natural and cultural resources that are located within the Hāʻena State Park; and
WHEREAS, in 2009, Thomas Hashimoto retired as Foreman from National Tropical Botanical Garden – Limahuli Garden and Preserve with 40 years of hard work and dedication; and
WHEREAS, in 2013, the ʻAha Moku Advisory Committee was confirmed pursuant to Act 288, Session Laws of Hawai‘i 2012, and Thomas Hashimoto was selected to serve as the Kauaʻi Poʻo for Moku o Manokalanipō; and
WHEREAS, in 2013, Thomas Hashimoto was a founding member and an active member along with his wife and other family members of the ʻAhahui Kīwila Hawaiʻi o Moʻikeha, a Hawaiian Civic Club on the island of Kauaʻi; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, Thomas Hashimoto worked closely with and in collaboration with Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA) on the Hāʻena Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) that was approved by the State of Hawaiʻi Board of Land of Natural Resources (BLNR) and included a package of fishing rules proposed by Native Hawaiian subsistence fishers for the rural north shore Kauaʻi community of Hāʻena to govern fishing in the six square mile area; and
WHEREAS, Thomas Hashimoto shared his passion for his culture by teaching and making throw nets for his keiki, extended ‘ohana, and people who befriended him and often he gave his throw nets away manuahi (for free); and
WHEREAS, in 2016, Thomas Hashimoto was formally honored as a living treasure of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau during the annual Kauaʻi Museum Nā Hulu Kūpuna Makamae luncheon; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, Thomas Hashimoto was prominently featured in the film, The Hoaʻāina of Hāʻena speaking about his work on the Hāʻena State Park loʻi restoration and Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area rules; and
WHEREAS, on February 12, 2019, Thomas Hashimoto peacefully passed away at his daughters’ home in Kilauea; and
WHEREAS, on Saturday, July 13, 2019, Thomas Hashimoto’s celebration of life “Paʻina” was held at Waiʻoli Huiʻia Church in Hanalei; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana, an organization that Thomas Hashimoto founded was awarded the Equator Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme to recognize outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and
WHEREAS, the Equator Prize was awarded to Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana for their innovation in co-management, co-governance and use of indigenous and local knowledge, and Thomas Hashimoto would have been humbled and honored that the quiet, determined struggle to preserve and pass on the knowledge that resided with him and a number of the founding kupuna of E Alu Pū has been lifted up and recognized globally; and
WHEREAS, the phrase “hana ka lima, ʻai ka waha” (work with the hands, so that the mouth will have food to eat), was a saying often repeated by Thomas Hashimoto, who learned it as a youth, from his father and which saying exemplifies the true character of our kūpuna.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Club at its 60th Annual Convention in Lahaina, Maui, in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau, this 16th day of November 2019, honoring hulu kupuna Thomas Hashimoto of Hāʻena, Kauaʻi for his unselfish and unwavering service to his ʻohana (family) and his kaiāulu (community) – leaving a legacy of aloha for the generations to come; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to ʻAhahui Kīwila Hawaiʻi Moʻikeha, Moku o Manokalanipō Kauaʻi Council of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Hui Makaʻāinana o Makana, ʻAha Moku Advisory Committee, Kauaʻi Museum, Kauaʻi National Tropical Botanical Gardens, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA), the Hashimoto ʻOhana, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House subject matter committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of Welehu and the rising of Lāʻau Pau on the 16th day of November 2019, at the 60th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Lahaina, Maui.
Hailama V. K. K. Farden, President
