Voices of Hawai‘i - Vol. 2

Preserving Island Culture One Story at a Time

In this second volume of her unique anthology of the Islands, Jane Marshall Goodsill shares the stories of those who perpetuate the traditions of the Aloha State—kumu hula and pā‘u riders, surfers and scientists, artisans and craftspeople, soldiers and builders, farmers and foresters, and so many others. Each of them has a fascinating tale to tell, from the battlegrounds of old Hawai‘i to the golden age of Waikīkī to the seminal years of the 20th century Hawaiian Renaissance. 

For Jane Marshall Goodsill, Voices of Hawai‘i began as a labor of love. A kama‘āina accomplished in the art of oral history, she began interviewing Island residents who had known her late father, a partner in a venerable Honolulu law firm.

But avocation soon became vocation. As Goodsill’s joy in recording these life stories grew, so too did her pool of subjects: business executives, war veterans and POWs, retired plantation managers, Island entertainers, conservationists, taro farmers, educators, broadcasters, retailers, ranchers, activists, judges, journalists and so many others. Taken together, their oral histories told a fascinating, behind-the-scenes tale of Hawai‘i’s journey from the World War II era into the 21st century.

Contributors include:

Dee Balfour • Billy Bergin • Patricia Bergin • Bobby Camara • David Carlson • Allen Chong • Gerry DeBenedetti • John De Fries III • Frank De Lima • David Kāwika Eyre • David Gomes • Andres Harnisch • Fred Hemmings • Geraldine Herbert • Roen McDonald Hufford • Milton I • Irving Jenkins • Earl Kawa‘a • Kimo Keaulana • Karen Kuckhan Kehl • Tai Lake • Libert Landgraf • Lorna Larsen-Jeyte • Karen Lau Lee • Rose Lee • Rich Matsuda • Thor Minnick • Robert Mist • Ralph Moberly • Ku‘uipo Morales • James Nakata • Henry Ng Lee • Barbara Nobriga • Marvin Puakea Nogelmeier • Brook Parker • Barton Potter • Cynthia Punihaole • Nina Keali‘iwahamana Rapozo • Joe Recca • Kilin Reece • Dede Reiplinger • Theodore Sakai • Carole Sakata • Rick San Nicolas • Steve Siegfried • Cha Thompson • Pomaika‘i Toledo • Joseph Curtis Tyler III • Suzanne Vares-Lum • Dean Wilhelm • Michele Wilhelm • David Yearian • Tim Yee • Dave Young

Author: Jane Marshall Goodsill
Hardcover; 216 pp.
Release Date: November 2022

So much of Hawai‘i’s history would be lost without these types of anthologies. People tend to think that Hawai‘i evolved on its own, without realizing the “behind the scenes” (and often uncelebrated) hard work of people like Marshall Goodsill and others.

—Raymond K. Okada, trust and estate litigation attorney