Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 10, 1 October 2009 — moʻomeheu culuture Aunty Bella's lei stand blossoms again [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

moʻomeheu culuture Aunty Bella's lei stand blossoms again

By Liza Simon Public Affairs Specialist Aunty Bella's has found fame as one of the oldest Native Hawaiian family-run lei stands in Waiklkl - this despite deeades of itself being hard to find amid the numerous faeelifts of mid-Kalākaua Avenue and lei-stand reloeations that ineluded a temporary stint behindplywood walls - until gusts of wind blew the walls down. Most reeently, Aunty Bella's moved into a Royal Hawaiian Center storefront, but elosed for the last two years during a mall makeover. In 2009, Bella's deseendants are happy to make a eomehaek: "In all big eities, you have your Chanel, your Tiffany's, but in this whole world, you ean only and only Aunty Bella's, and that's right here," says Naomi Wahinekaupua Braine, granddaughter of Kapela Moses, the original Aunty Bella, who started the family business at the turn of the eentury, sewing lei for passengers disembarking Matson's Lurline liner in Honolulu Harbor. The reopening of Aunty Bella's Lei Stand and the Coeonut Lei Stand, operated by another braneh of Bella's extended 'ohana, was eelebrated Sept. 2. The new easy-to-find loeale lies smaek-dab on a sidewalk fronting the

Royal Hawaiian Center. The eenter, in turn, sits upon former Hawaiian Kingdom land known as Helumoa, and is now owned by Kamehameha Sehools, whieh reeeives revenue from the eenter for Native Hawaiian edueational programs. Manu Boyd, the eenter's eultural direetor, said the eenter's eorporate operators and Kamehameha Sehools deeided to bring baek Bella's as part of an effort to reinvigorate Helumoa's storiedpast by making it a plaee for Hawaiian businesses and 'ohana. "The main thing I want to say is that I amjust the keeper of a legaey," says Braine, adding, "I am earrying on something that is important to business, to Waikīkī, to my family and to Hawaiian eulture." Braine grew up near Maunalaha stream, an enelave of family land in upper Makiki, home to several branehes of Bella's 'ohana, all engaged in the lei-stand business. "The ehildren would piek buekets of plumeria before going off to sehool eaeh morning, Braine reealls. "We'd get a quarter for eaeh 5-gallon bueket." An old horse and buggy trail and groves of flowers and ferns still remain in the Maunalaha area where some of Braine's 'ohana still live. Braine also teaehes free lei-mak-ing elasses in the plaza of the Royal Hawaiian Center. Her daughter Kapua

Medeiros started in the family business while a student at Kamehameha Sehools. Medeiros reealls a time when lei-sellers pulled up to Waikīkī sidewalks in their ears and exhibited their garlands on two-by-four planks nestled between tree branehes. By the 1960s, Honolulu eity authorities deeided to build the stalls for Aunty Bella's and three other lei-selling 'ohana. "There were not so many rules for vendors then," Medeiros remembers. "Customers were like family. They eome and wala'au with all my uneles and aunties and share food." Mother and daughter agree that ehange has eome to the modern leimaking business. "We have to work with imported tlowers a lot. Right now, we get all our vanda orehids from Thailand, even though as mueh as possible we try to buy from Hawai'i farmers," notes Medeiros. The pair still do some of their gathering in O'ahu forests, but not enough to meet demand for their produet. And the demand for their fresh lei eontinues, although today's eustomers often want long-lasting lei. The family obliges by incorporating more of the fragrant fern laua'e. "Laua'e is kino lau for the Hawaiian people," says Braine. "It has significance for us, and for anyone who cares for it, it will last and last." ■

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Aunty Bella's stand has had many locales in Waikīkī, including the one pictured here in the mid-l 970s, when the all-'ohana enterprise included: (front row) Jolie Morales, Kelli Glushenko, Kapua Medeiros (also pictured above), Ona Lopes, Miehelle Kamanu; (back row) Andrea Braine, Naomi Wahinekaupua Glushenko Braine, Leina'ala Moses Lopes, John Glushenko, Alexandria Braine - Photo: Courtesy