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Ever since I was hired as a forester on Maui a short time before statehood, I have held in my mind that the two most noteworthy Lahaina icons are the sprawling banyan tree and its nearby neighbor, the historic Pioneer Inn.
As we grieve over the Pioneer Inn being reduced to ashes due to the horrific Lahaina inferno, how many are aware that a sister Pioneer Inn was constructed in the state of Washington?
As a tribute to the heritage of John Kalama, a full-blooded Hawaiian who moved from Lahaina to Washington in 1830, the building was constructed to reflect the architecture of the Lahaina Pioneer Inn. The Washington Pioneer Inn opened in April 2018 as the McMenamins Kalama Harbor Lodge.
As the longtime planning and rebuilding of Lahaina progresses, I visualize that the aged banyan tree will regain its health and vigor, and that nearby, a new Pioneer Inn will be built that echoes the look of the past. After all, it has already been done once — in Washington.
Ralph Daehler
Ewa Beach
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