HONOLULU (KHON2) — Families are being reunited with loved ones, and what was once breaking news is being brought back to life by a man who got his hands on a piece of Hawaiʻi’s past.
The Kailua Historical Society is a place where the past continues into the present on a mission to make Hawaiʻi’s lively past a living history. One employee is making those dreams a reality.
Robert Clancey is the archivist at the Kailua Historical Society, on a mission to reunite family and friends with pictures from Hawaiʻi’s past.
“I came across three boxes of negatives. I go, ‘What are these?’ And it turns out they’re boxes of negatives from the late 1960s, the late 1970s,” Clancey said.
These negatives belonged to newspapers. The Sun Press, The Pali Press and The Windward Sun Press, all weekly publications that captured Hawaiʻi’s headlines once upon a time.
“Everybody that I have photos of was probably in an article or featured in some kind of story… They’re a business, or they’re active in the community, or they’re a volunteer, or some kind of group or organization,” Clancey said.
Clancey took it upon himself to turn these negatives into a positive.
“I digitized all these photos; they’ve been in a closet for 50 years, they’re collecting dust,” Clancey said. “These pictures need to get back to the families, the kids, the grandkids, the husbands, the wives, the uncles, they need to get back to the loved ones.”
He has developed 300 to 400 photos so far by hand.
“Imagine an unexpected, priceless gift received after 50-plus years. Guilty of idly scrolling Facebook out of habit, I found Robert’s posting with an archive photo of my mom,” Malia Ogoshi said. “After a full, beautiful life, Jennie [Kau] left the planet at age 100 in 2021. The photo is especially treasured because our family has no copy and no recollection of the particular photo. A dedicated teacher who loved her profession, there are no photos of her in her ‘professional’ role. A most caring and generous gift!”
Facebook has been the main way Robert has connected with people across Hawaiʻi, even the country.
“I just wanted to share what an amazing gift that Robert has given to the community, especially for those of us who have had to move to the mainland for economic reasons,” John Gibo said.
John Gibo is just one example of being able to get in touch with parts of his family’s past and be able to share it with the present.
“I saw that post and he had my grandfather’s name on his list,” Gibo said. “My grandfather was former Representative and Senator Ralph Ajifu. Seeing my grandfather brought so much joy to my heart and being able to share that with my son is an even bigger blessing. It was also amazing to see some of my uncles in the photos with my grandfather.”
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Looking to reconnect with a part of your past? Check out the Facebook post where you can find the list of names in the photographs. You can also find the information on the Facebook groups Remember Oahu from the Past, You Know You From Kailua If… and U Know U from Waimanalo When U.