We think Jane Austen would have enjoyed strolling through Honolulu’s Foster Botanical Garden as much as we did, marveling at it’s amazing specimens from around the world — Indonesian black pepper vine growing on a Gold Tree and the waxy flowers of the Cannonball Tree from the Guianas (pictured), not to mention the largest, sticky-sapped Chicle (as in Chicklets) in the United State; Sausage Trees from Africa, an offspring from an ancient Sri Lankan Bo Tree; Macadamia from Australia; and Hawaiian Candlenut, Breadfruit, Loulu and Hala. Watch our Instagram for more photos.
The agrarian Knightly brothers certainly would have followed with interest the rearing of endangered Double Coconut (Coco-de-Mer) trees using pollen sent from the Singapore Botanical Garden. And surely Marianne wouldn’t have objected to hothouse flowers as marvelous as these orchids the size of a teacup saucer. Take your own virtual tour of the garden which dates from 1853.
We had so much fun, we plan to visit the other four botanical gardens on O‘ahu in the coming year. Watch the coming events or email JASNAHawaiiNei@gmail.com if you’d like to join us.
In the wake of the deadly and devastating wildfires on Maui in August, Hawai‘i JASNA member Stacey Gomez Chaleff (pictured with niece Stacia Arnold, of California) is busier than ever at the Maui Humane Society, where she has been a volunteer since 2022.
Fortunately, both the Pu‘unene Humane Society facility in central Maui and Stacey’s home in Wailea to the south were outside the fire zones.
As surgical intake ambassador, Stacey normally helps with the spay/neuter program for pets and feral cats and does “not very glamorous” but necessary support tasks. Since the fires, it’s been all hands on deck with the facility accepting and distributing pet food and supplies, tending injured animals and trying to reunite lost pets with their families. In addition to generous donations from the community, hundreds of volunteers—many of them first-timers—have shown up each day to help, she reports. “In addition, the community heeded the call to clear the shelter, immediately fostering the animals, to make room for the injured and lost animals that turn up each day since the fires.”
It’s just part of a broader effort to assist in recovery from the fires, which killed at least 115 people, left hundreds unaccounted for and leveled the historic waterfront town of Lahaina. “The outpouring of love and support for all of those affected has been overwhelming in the best way,” Stacey says. “Everyone is doing whatever they can and it’s beautiful to see.” (See the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for ways to help.)
Continued support is needed to help affected families care for their pets. Make monetary donations to the Maui Humane Society, or check out its Amazon wishlist. “And if you are on island, you can support our animals by taking a shelter dog out for the day through our Beach Buddies program or visiting with kitties in our Cat ‘Ohana,” Stacey added.
Lack of pet housing is a major reason animals end up in shelters or cannot be adopted, Stacey says. She cannot have pets where she lives now, but previously had a rescued poodle mix “an older gal, who was my very best friend. I look forward to seeing her again at Rainbow Bridge some day.” In the meantime, she treasures the volunteer shifts when she gets to help socialize puppies, playing with them, holding them, letting them know human hands are friendly.”
Discussion of crowded candlelit ballrooms in Northanger Abbey with JAS New Zealand reminded me of these photos from the 2022 JASNA tour to England. The chandeliers in the Assembly Rooms were converted to electirc lights and stored away for safety during WWII bombings. That’s King George III and family in the portrait. Note the high windows so the riffraff couldn’t look in.
Join the JASNZ book discussion, covering three chapters a week at 9 p.m. Tuesdays Hawai‘i time. Find out how.
Take our survey to help determine the books we will read and discuss during the coming year. Join JASNA and designate Hawaii as your region to ensure you are on the mailing list for in-person and/or online discussions. Already a members of another JASNA region? Email jasnahawaiinei@gmail.com with your name, region and contact information.
The Austens were snowed in when Jane was born in December 1775. In Hawai‘i, we’re just snowed under by the busy holiday season, so we follow the family’s lead and celebrate the April baptism for our annual tea. It was a cozy, scrumptious, fun get-together in downtown Honolulu with a challenging quiz supplied by Gretchen and lots of good chat.
On Saturday, June 25, we will discuss Teenage Writing by Jane Austen, Katherine Sutherland and Freya Johnston, editors, via Zoom at 1 p.m. Hawai‘i Standard Time. In these stories, written “to be shared and admired by a named audience of family and friends … devices and themes which appear subtly in Austen’s later fiction run riot openly and exuberantly across the teenage page. Drunkenness, brawling, sexual misbehavior, theft, and even murder prevail. It is as if Lydia Bennett is the narrator.”
Like the Steventon congregation, whose recognition of Jane Austen’s birth and baptism was delayed by a December snowstorm, we will celebrate Jane Austen Birthday in April. Join us for tea at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1 at Tea at 1024 in Honolulu.
Cost is $40 standard or $45 gluten free menu. RSVP by March 15 by email to JASNAHawaiinei@gmail.com and pay at the door with cash or check payable to JASNA Hawai‘i. The restaurant is located near Chinatown at 1024 Nuuanu Ave.
On Feb. 18, members and guests discussed Ted Scheinman’s Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan via Zoom. Reactions were mixed, with some wondering if the title was likely suggested by the marketing department and others noting that their expectations might have been different had they noticed the “Literary Criticism” designation on the back cover before they began reading.
Before Colin Firth there was Laurence Olivier. Like the 1995 mini-series, the 1940 black and white film spurred interest in Austen’s novels. Hawai‘i JASNA members were joined by fellow Janeites from as far as St. Louis and Montreal on Jan. 21 to discuss the merits of various screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and debate the best Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. The group was united in one opinion: whatever one thinks of the opulent costuming and highly emotive acting in the 1940 MGM film, we might never have had the subsequent productions without it.
Members Gretchen, Donna and Cheryl enjoyed front row seats for Koa Theater’s production of Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice in December. Directed by Kelsey Baehrens with intimate, minimalist staging, the “bold, surprising, boisterous and timely” comedic take offered a fun, fresh approach blending period-dress and traditional language with modern sensibilities and amazingly quick on-stage costume changes. We look forward to more “theater for community” at Koa Theater.
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