Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 5, 1 April 2008 — Aunty Genoa's legacy lives on [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aunty Genoa's legacy lives on

Hawai'i lost a eouple of its great Treasures of Hawaiian Music with the passing of Aunty Genoa Keawe and Raymond Kane. Kama Hopkins, my Aide, is 'ohana to both Aunty Genoa and Unele Raymond. He did not have the opportunity to get to know Unele Raymond very well, but he did grow up with his Adolpho relatives, Aunty Genoa being the last of that generation. I have asked him to share some of his thoughts regarding his late greatgrandaunt, Genoa Leilani Keawe-Aiko, for our April eolumn. On Oct. 31, 1918, Genoa Leilani Adolpho was born. She was born to Hattie and John Adolpho (Thru Hattie Davis Adolpho, our family is related to the Isaacs and Cummings families. Unele Raymond's mother, I believe, was Andy Cummings' sister.) She would often remind us when we celebrated her birthday, "All witches are born on Halloween, even the good ones." It amused me as a young boy and continued to amuse me until Feb. 25, 2008, when at the age of 89, Genoa Leilani Adolpho Keawe-Aiko returned home to reunite with her husband Edward Puniwai Keawe-Aiko and her Father in Heaven. Aunty Genoa, or Tita Noa, as she was fondly referred to by her siblings, was number nine of 11 children. My greatgrandmother, Esther Waili'ulā, was her eldest sister. Another sister, Aunty Annie, was another one who when family parties eame up, would sit with her two sisters and sing, sing and sing. Oh, what sweet voices they possessed. Some of the brothers, especially Unele Peter, would play while the sisters sang. Music plays a special role in our family and that is one of many things that have kept our entire Adolpho family considerably close for more than 100 years. I venture to say that we'll be close for another 100 as well. It is known that Aunty Genoa was "discovered" by John K. Almeida after hearing her sing For You a Lei on the radio for her nieee. What many people may not know is that the nieee to whom

she sang is my grandmother, Carol Momi Bee Kahawaiola'a, one-third of "The Bee Sisters" and Aunty Genoa's guitar player for the past 25 years. In my younger days, I remember attending family gatherings in Lā'ie, Hau'ula, Ka'a'awa, Kahalu'u, Kāne'ohe and many other places, and I would see Aunty along with her brothers and sisters having a great time singing, dancing and telling stories of their past. One fond memory I have of those parties is watching her dance hula. For many years, she was only known as an entertainer. However, she was a beautiful dancer. She taught hula for a time in Pauoa. She eaptured a style of hula that is only done by a handful of kūpuna today. It is very gentle and graceful. You indeed experience the emohon of the song and the subtleties within it through the gestures and expressions of these dancers. It is not to say that dancers of today are not skilled and show no emotion, oh no. There is, however, a difference. Something you cannot teach. Something that needs to be in you that surfaces when you need it and subsides when it is unnecessary. As I got older and became a musician ... an entertainer myself, I began to see and experience another side of Aunty as well. The work ethic, the professionalism and spirit of what she brought to her music became evident. I had noticed it in my own grandmother and her sisters for years, but it was their brother, Tony Bee, a great musician in his own right, who told me while watching Aunty play, "You see that? Music for us is a way of life. Heavenly Father blessed us with it. Don't waste it." I value those words that my unele shared. To me, it means that Aunty Genoa lived what she was given. She used the talents God gave her and blessed people's lives by sharing it with Hawai'i and the world. That is a good lesson for all of us to learn. Aunty Genoa said this many times and told me to remember it when I perform, "As long as I sing and play Hawaiian music, Hawaiian music will live." Those are but a few of my memories of Aunty Genoa. She will be missed, but will always be in our hearts. Thanks Hawai'i for caring for Aunty all these years. May we care for eaeh other in that same way today and forever. Aloha. S

Rūbert K. Lindsey, Jr. TrustEE, Hawai'i