Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 00, Number 1, 1 June 1982 — PARKER-KIPIKANE FAMILY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PARKER-KIPIKANE FAMILY

In 1809, a young sailor from Massachusetts named John Palmer Parker landed on Hawaii'sshores,andafter a few more seafaring years, settled here, marrying the Hawaiian chiefess Kipikane, great granddaughter of Kamehameha the Great. Together, John and Kipikane founded the famed Parker Ranch on the Big Island and had three children, John II, Ebeneezer, and Mary Ann. On the recent June 1 1 th Kamehameha Day weekend, descendants fromthis uniongathered from all parts of the islands and the mainland to pay tribute to their ancestors and to share good fellowship at a festive family reunion in Waimea, the hub of Parker Ranch activity since 1835. The gathering, according to family organizers, was a historic one, the first since the passing of the Parker patriarch in 1868. It was also a fitting occasion for Kamehameha Day, since the great Hawaiian chief was not only Kipikane's great grandfather but also responsible for starting young John Parker's cattle ranching career, having retained Parker's services as manager of his wild cattle in Waimea during the latter part of his reign. The reunion had all the ingredients for a good oldfashioned party, and that's exactly what the relatives did onee kinship had been renewed with long, lost family members. For some there was even that unexpected moment of surprise when running into a friend or acquaintance who they never knew was related. But, there were many magic moments during the weekend activities, whieh were blessed intermittently by the misty kipu'upu'u rain that has become a Waimea trademark. ('a'ole pau) (to be continued)

State Representative and Lieutenant Governor candidate John Waihe'e joins other members of the ParkerKipikane ohana, including OHA trustee, Walter Ritte, Jr., and Georgiana Padeken, director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, during the ohana's recent KamehamehaDay reunion in Waimea. From left to right: Bern Parker, "Unele" Harry Purdy, GeorgianaPadeken, Waihe'e, Walter Ritte, "Aunty" Harriett Purdy, and Stephen Morse.