Timeless Magic, 1965 - 2015
23 MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL child catching mamo fish and menpachi and sometimes a ama crab in this unspoiled place She also remembers the war years from 1942 44 when Smart leased land to the U S military for Camp Tarawa and almost overnight Waimea welcomed 50000 marines into the small ranch town Down makai troops also occupied the coastline and beaches for amphibious training exercises at Hāpuna and Kawaihae Gun placements studded the rocky promontories on either side of Kauna oa Bay and up and down the Kohala coast manned by local families in case of Japanese invasion by sea Rockefeller had been invited to Hawai i by Governor William Quinn who had been impressed by LSRs resort at Dorado Beach Puerto Rico to tour potential development properties in the islands Quinn and others could see not only the inevitable decline of the century old sugar cane economy in the state but the vast possibilities of the visitor industry already booming in Waikīkī The grandson of John D Rockefeller Sr co founder of Standard Oil and one of the scions of the family fortune by the time he got to Hawai i LSR had already built successful resorts on agricultural lands in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean A known conservationist as well as venture capitalist LSR put his money where his heart was investing in beautiful places protecting and enhancing the environment At Caneel Bay in the U S Virgin Islands for example he acquired hundreds of unspoiled acres and donated them to the National Park Service And he would do the exact same thing just up the highway from Mauna Kea donating substantial funding to assist in restoring the sacred Hawaiian site Puukohola Heiau now a National Historic Site As a young man he studied philosophy and was fascinated by the potential of East meeting West in art philosophy and business He was excited about and involved in the airline industry and his resources and influence were vast Who better to help lead Hawai i into a new American era With a small entourage Quinn and LSR flew over several sites Above Hawai i Island he would have seen miles and miles of empty lava fields blackbrown rock and scrubby kiawe trees But when he saw the beckoning white crescent at Kauna oa and gem like turquoise bay he asked if he could go in for a swim They landed at the WWII vintage airfield in Waimea and took a long jaunt down the jeep trail to the beach Void of people void of any sign of civilization he looked up at the mauna and knew this was it Decades later when asked if he could have built the hotel anywhere else he said Oh I doubt it Mauna Kea was the right spot
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