Wahiawa kids use photography to see through eyes of kupuna

Wahiawa, long associated with pineapple and the military, often gets a bad rap for crime and homelessness. But listening to the stories of some of its eldest residents provides a much different picture of the Central Oahu town.

Cody Cacatian, a 16-year-old Leilehua High School student, learned about Wahiawa after interviewing his grandparents for the “Crossing Bridges” project sponsored by ProjectFocus Hawaii, a nonprofit program founded by photographers Laurie Breeden Callies and Lisa Uesugi to enhance children’s lives through photography.

Nineteen area students representing Leilehua, Wahiawa Middle School and Island Pacific Academy worked with 24 kupuna to create an oral history and photo exhibit, which will be on display at Leilehua’s library Monday through Dec. 20. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m; guests must check in at the administrative office before entering the library.

“Crossing Bridges” refers to both the bridges leading into the town and the project’s intergenerational nature.

Many of the students were partnered with nonrelatives. The kupuna shared childhood and family memories and posed for photos.

Among the subjects are 94-year-old Josephine Honda, whose husband founded Honda Tofu Factory, and who still drives and stays fit with aquatic exercises. Another old-timer, Alfred Tagudin, sold newspapers as a kid, shined shoes for 15 cents, and recalled the blackouts during the war, when residents had to carry gas masks everywhere they went.

Cacatian, along with his sister Kayla, a 13-year-old middle-schooler, queried their 74-year-old grandfather, Raymond Higa, and 73-year-old grandmother, Gerilyn Higa, and learned that the couple met in seventh grade and began dating as juniors at Leilehua. Raymond was in the school band and a member of the rifle team, and Gerilyn was a majorette.

The Higas have long ties to Wahiawa. His father worked as a train operator at the Wahiawa train station, and her mother owned Bea’s Beauty Center.

The interactions benefited both the seniors and students, according to Callies. “Bridging the gap between youth and kupuna is critical to preserving the legacies and history of Hawaii’s bountiful past,” she said.