Sunday, June 10, 2012 was a beautiful day to celebrate the 90th birthday of Estelle Kahawaiola'a Halualani Drew which was held at the SHOPO Hall (Oahu). The gathering included many family, friends, classmates, Estelle Ohana and her only living brother Arthur Halualani. Estelle has three children, Randy, Marlene and Elmer Drew (photo above). There were an estimated 500 people that attended and special guests former Mayor, Mufi Hanneman and OHA Trustee, Haunani Apoliona stopped by to wish Estelle a Happy 90th birthday.
The family traces its history back to a Kohala man, Komomua, and his marriage to a high chiefess of He’eia, Koa’o Moku Moku o He’eia, in the 1800s. Estelle Drew and Loretta Morgan (sisters) are of the Jones line in this family; other clans include the Adams, McCabes, Rowans, Sylvesters, Scotts and Wongs, the Komomua family branching out as men from many places married in. During their childhood much of the extended family lived in the Haiku area, on a single stretch of road. “There was my grandfather and grandmother and all their children. My father bought the property next to that. And so on and so on,” Drew says. “Actually, our family was big enough to be called a tribe,” adds Morgan.
It was a community of small farms growing pigs, chickens, taro and flowers. A stream ran through the land, bringing fresh springwater and a supply of freshwater opae, or crayfish. “Above, we used it for drinking water, below you bathe and wash dishes,” Morgan recalls. Their parents, Solomon and Lillian Jones Halualani, had five boys and three girls, plus one adopted girl. Their grandparents had 20 children, biological and hanai. “Hawaiian-style,” Drew says, start with your own kids, “then you adopt.” The family traces and history information was provided by Estelle Drew and Sister Loretta Morgan (who passed away on April 30, 2010) to Betty Shimabukuro. Photos and Video "click here."
