PVS Newsletter / Nana (February-March) 1994
President's Annual Message: The Quest for Education
by Myron "Pinky" Thompson
Aloha to all of you in our PVS ohana. These are exciting times and the challenges which face us today are complex and profound.
As many of you may know, this past year saw the launching of the canoe Hawai'iloa. We labored long and hard to bring life to the newest member of our canoe family and through that effort, we crystallized the vision which will carry us into the future.
Next year, Hawai‘iloa, Hokule‘a and a host of other canoes from across the Pacific will sail from Nukuhiva, Marquesas Islands, to Hawai'i as we commemorate an early traditional migratory route left untraveled during our Voyage of Rediscovery.
In and of itself this is an important undertaking, but we have now set our sights on a voyage to which there is no end-a voyage of education.
Our intended landfall? A safe and healthy Hawai'i which can be used as an example to ways in which we can work together to create a safe and healthy world.
We have often talked about the lessons which can be learned from the ancient Polynesian explorers-lessons about courage, about ingenuity and enterprise, about working together collectively for a common goal and about striking that critical balance between the needs of humanity and the limits of nature.
These lessons are embodied in traditional Hawaiian values, values which consciously or not we have internalized and perpetuated over the years. As is stated in our vision statement these values include:
- Aloha 'Aina: to understand the interdependence of humanity and the environment
- 'Imi 'Ike: to seek knowledge
- Lokomaika'i: to share with each other
- Malama: to care for each other
- Na'au Pono: to possess a deep sense of justice which fosters positive relationships among people.
Ho'olokahi describes our vision-to bring about unity and harmony among humanity, nature and spiritual forces.
How do we achieve this? By working with the most influential decisionmakers in our state-the children of Hawai'i. If we can sustain in our children the exhilaration of exploration and the thrill of discovery, if we can teach them that with determination they have no limits, if we can instill in them a respect for the environment from which we draw life, then truly, we will attain our mission and reach our destination: a safe and healthy future for Hawai'i.
But how do we reach such a lofty goal? As we always have, working cooperatively with each other and in collaboration with those groups and Individuals who have similar goals.
We've already forged a strong partnership with the state Department of Education and we are in the process of cieveloping a leadership program in which students will explore the environment and make discoveries about how to best survive in it, both with and without technology.
From there it is hoped the students will learn how to protect the environment from overuse and overconsumption. Collaborative efforts are also underway with the University of Hawai'i, Kamehameha Schools, the Bishop Museum, and the Hawaii Maritime Center.
We're starting to network with Hawaiian and Native American groups on the West Coast and are exploring ways to involve them in our educational effort. Many of you are already familiar with the work that we have done with the National Academy for Space Aeronautics, or NASA. Truly, we are facing our most ambitious and important voyage as our focus shifts from open ocean saing to education.
The path which lies ahead is a difficult one and I chaflenge all of you to join in this journey. Together with a clear sense of vision and a shared purpose, we will be successful in contributing to a safe and healthy future for Hawai'i.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your contributions over the years and for the important part each of you will play in the future.
1992 Voyage, No Na Mamo, “For the Children”: 3. Sailing in the Cook Islands; Pacific Islands Arts Festival and the Gathering of Polynesian Canoes at Rarotonga.
In Memoriam: Ray Lanterman, by Lee Kyselka
Ray Lanterman, who headed the Polynesian Voyaging Society's Membership Committee, died January 24, 1994, after a long siege with emphysema. Ray's friend, Artie Mcnair, was sitting with him and suddenly noticed that Ray was no longer breathing--quiet and peaceful, ust the way he would have wanted it.
For nearly a decade Ray had taken the responsibility of contacting members, keeping you all up on your curren status as well as the current ventures of he Hokule‘a. Even to the last day of his ife, after he started hallucinating from ack of oxygen, PVS was on his mind.
Ray reached out his hands grabbing from the air pieces of information of interest to him over his nearly seventy-eight years of life. He would see the tower of Pisa over on the wall and argue with Will about the designer, was it da Vinci or Leonardo? He pulled things from drawers of his imagination, reminding us once again where to find important information about the membership. Ray's frustrated look as he tried to solve the invisible puzzle in his hands prompted Will to help. He got hs hands into the act. Ray laughed, 'How did you do that?" "It wasn't easy," Will said. Ray smiled and laid back on his pillow to rest again.
Ray was one of the few graphic rtists in Hawaii in the 40's. Our assocation with Ray began years ago when we were working on the book North Star to Southern Cross. That book gave him the opportunity to do what he had always wanted to do--scientific illustrations. Over the years we spent hours together working out the details. His drawings, lively and brilliant, have been praised in Scientific American and by astronomers, particularly his drawings on precession.
Ray spent his last 50 years in Hawai'i. He was one of the few soldiers present at both Pearl harbor and D-Day in Normandy.
His painstaking attention to detail had its humorous side. Scarcely ever did a typographical error slip past him; an absent hyphen was of concern. During his last week I sat taking dictation from him so Jarnell would have the membership list in the best possible shape. He was reading what I wrote--the words were upside down for him and yet he shouted using what precious little bit of breath he had, "No, no... 'New Member' must be hyphenated," in the New Member kit to be sent out.
A wonderful metaphor, a hyphen, a bridge to take you from one place to another. The membership was a bridge, something he could still do before he transferred on to quite another place.
We benefitted from his meticulousness with data and remember him as the keeper-of-the-hyphen.
PVS Officers and Board of Directors
Officers: Myron "Pinky" Thompson, President; Kapua Lindo, Vice President; Virginia Elliott, Treasurer
Directors: Gilbert Ane, Moku Froiseth, Wally Froiseth, Harry Ho, Rey Jonsson, Eric Martinson, Jerry Muller, Laura Thompson, Michael Tongg, Nathan Wong, Bob Worthington, August Yee
Consultant: Ben Finney