These organizations will receive grants from the fund this year:

• Salvation Army – pre-school keiki lunch program
• HOEA (Hawaii Ohana for Education in the Arts) – hands-on art workshops for grade school children
• KARES (Kohala Animal Relocation and Education Service) – animal food and veterinary services
• Family Support Hawaii – help for individuals in need on the Big Island

In addition to the fund-raising campaign, Clark Realty Corporation matches the donations of agents and staff up to $100 per year per person. The matching funds go to the Community Fund’s endowment and allow the Fund to grow, providing additional money for charitable donations.

As in past years, clients and friends of Clark Realty Corporation also supported the program. Substantial donations to the Community Fund came from groups such as Title Guarantee Escrow & Title Services, The Julia Burke Foundation and P & P Processing as well as numerous gifts from individuals. All donations to the Clark Realty Corporation Community Fund (CRCCF), a 501-C-3 corporation, are tax-deductible.

Established in 2005, Clark’s Community Fund has made quiet contributions to many Big Islanders through organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Kona Adult Day Care, YMCA and Family Support Services of West Hawaii.

“Our team members are very community-conscious,” says Putman D. Clark, President of Clark Realty. “When a family or group needs help, we hear about it. Applications for Community Fund awards are submitted by our agents and staff and are chosen each year by representatives from each office or department. That means everybody in the company is involved. We think that’s important, too.”

Although Clark’s annual fund raising campaigns typically run from the late summer to December, tax-exempt donations are welcome all year long. Further information on the fund and how it works can be found at clarkhawaii.com/crccf.

Clark Realty Corporation is the largest real estate brokerage on the Big Island and fifth largest in overall sales volume in the state. With offices in Kailua-Kona, Keauhou, the Kohala Coast, Kamuela and Hilo and more than one hundred and fifty agents and staff, Clark Realty offers complete coverage of the Big Island in all aspects of real estate.

Our thanks for information, countless courtesies and historic photos of Camp Tarawa and its people go to Alice Clark, Chair, Pacific War Memorial Foundation.

Waimea in December 1943

If you’re familiar with Waimea (Kamuela) today, it’s hard to imagine what it must have been like at the end of 1943.

When December began, Waimea’s population was approximately 400 residents, mostly Parker Ranch employees. Within two weeks, its population had swollen to more than 25,000, mostly U.S. Marines, survivors of the Battle of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands.

Without fanfare, truckloads of Marines, sailors and soldiers rolled into Waimea and, with the support of Parker Ranch, set up an enormous tent city on 441 acres of ranch lands. Things happened that way in the middle of World War II.

Largest Marine Corp Training Camp in the Pacific

For rent of $1 per year, Parker Ranch had leased to the U.S. Government 40,000 acres of ranch property for what would become the largest Marine Corps training camp in the Pacific. Before the end of the war, more than 50,000 U.S. military personnel would pass through its main gate.

They named it Camp Tarawa and in the months that followed, the young Marines billeted there healed their wounds, regrouped and began training for the biggest, fiercest battles of the War in the Pacific. Thus it was that Parker Ranch became the temporary home of boys from all over the United States, and Waimea’s residents – many of Japanese ancestry – took them into their hearts and homes.

Mainland Innovations Introduced to Waimea

The troops brought with them new ideas, new technology and “mainland” skills, introducing electricity where there had been only kerosene lamps and building reservoirs and roads where there had been none.

The Marines even built an ice house where cooks made ice cream for the troops and for the local children who were attending classes in garages and private homes, their school having been requisitioned for military use.

Favorite mainland recipes were introduced to Waimea so the soldiers could have a occasional taste of home.

Waimea residents may not have realized it then, but their quiet paniolo community was about to get very busy.

Censored: “Pineapple” and “Aloha”

The location and mission of Camp Tarawa were highly classified. Censors literally snipped any hint of their whereabouts from the boys’ letters home. Words like “pineapple” and “aloha” presumably found their way into the wastebasket because one small slip could jeopardize the missions that lay ahead. What they had to do promised to be plenty difficult without a security leak.

Looking at the old photos from Camp Tarawa days, it’s a shock to see how young they were, these boys from the Mainland. Just kids, most of them looking like they belonged in letter sweaters, not battle fatigues.

The first group of Marines – the Second Division – arrived in December, 1943, back from the Battle of Tarawa. Until they shipped out in the spring of 1944, they trained endlessly for the amphibious landings and assaults that lay ahead, using ranch land and other Big Island locations such as Hapuna Beach for their exercises. In the process, they developed new strategies that would affect the outcome of the war. The skills they honed at Camp Tarawa would serve them later in Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa.

The Battle of Iwo Jima

The second group — the Fifth Division — arrived from California in the fall of 1944 and trained until late December, 1944. When they left Camp Tarawa, it was to fight the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the most decisive and bloodiest battles of World War II. Expected to take a mere three days, the capture of Iwo Jima took thirty-six days. More Marines died there than in any other battle in the Pacific.

For most Americans, the now-famous image of the American flag being raised on Iwo Jima has become an icon of World War II. The Marines who raised that flag trained at Camp Tarawa. And it was to Camp Tarawa that the survivors returned, to heal and rest. The people of Waimea welcomed them with open arms.

In a gesture of their profound appreciation, the Fifth Division presented A. H. Carter, manager of Parker Ranch, with a copy of the famous Iwo Jima photo. On it were the signatures of more than 60 survivors of the Battle of Iwo Jima. And once again, the Marines began training, this time for the invasion of Japan. Instead, the war ended with Japan’s surrender and the men of Camp Tawara shipped out for the last time. Neither they nor the people of Waimea would ever be the same.

Camp Tawara: Memorials and Landmarks

There’s a memorial now at what was the camp entrance, just outside Kamuela on Highway 190. Dedicated in 1998, it captures the importance of the camp with an evocative narrative about those who trained there.

The building used for the USO – Bob Crosby and the Bobcats played there, Joe DiMaggio came to call – is still around. It’s now Parker School. The old hotel and public school that had been converted to a hospital and nurses’ quarters were returned to civilian use as Waimea School.

The ranch owner’s home, transformed to Division Headquarters and provisioned as the Officers’ Mess, is presently a Parker Ranch museum. Historic Pu’u Opelu is open to the public at various times throughout the year.

The signed photo of the Iwo Jima flag-raising is now in the national collection of the U.S. Marine Corps.

What remains of Camp Tarawa today is largely in the mind’s eye, images from old black and white photos superimposed on green ranch land. But there are also indelible memories — of friendships made, of kindness shown by Big Islanders and soldiers alike and especially of the enormous sacrifice of all those young men so far away from home with such a terrible job to do.

When you come to think of it, that’s quite a lot.

Additional Resources

• Read the History of the Pacific War Memorial Project
• Tarawa On the Web: A Tribute to the 2nd Marine Division of WWII
• iwojima.com
• PBS.org’s American Experience: War Letters

Arabel L. Camblor, R, ABR, GRI, ePRO, CRS

Kailua-Kona, HI | Media Release

Arabel Camblor, R, has been appointed Broker-In-Charge of Clark Realty Corporation’s Hilo office.

Camblor has been an agent in the Hilo office since 2004 and succeeds Adele Eggel, R, who has held the position since 1995. Under Eggel’s leadership, the Hilo office has grown into the largest in the Clark chain. Eggel will remain an active member of Clark’s Hilo sales team but will now be able to spend more time on her own business and personal activities.

Camblor has a distinguished record of service to the real estate community, both in Hawaii and nationally. She has chaired the Hawaii Island Board of Realtors’ Education Committee for six years, was HIBR’s Realtor of the Year in 2006 and President of HIBR in 2009.

Currently serving the Hawaii Association of Realtors as Treasurer-Elect, she is also a member of the National Association of Realtors’ Professional Standards Committee and past Chairperson of the HAR Education Committee.

Camblor has also been an active volunteer in the broader Big Island community. She is a past director of the Hawaii Island YWCA and is active in her church.

“We are very fortunate to have Arabel on our management team,” said Putman D. Clark, president of Clark Realty Corporation. “Her extensive experience in all aspects of real estate, her years with our company and her knowledge of the East Hawaii community will make this leadership transition a seamless one.”

Staying ahead of trends while remaining true to Hawaii’s unique culture is a crucial part of Camblor’s philosophy. “I believe that we best serve our clients by maintaining our professionalism through education and aloha,” said Camblor.

Clark Realty Corporation is the largest non-franchise real estate brokerage in Hawaii and fifth largest in the State in over-all sales. With six offices, more than one hundred thirty agents, eight full-time property managers, a commercial property division and twenty-three administrators and staff, Clark Realty offers a full spectrum of real estate services to the Big Island.

More information about the company’s services, management team and activities can be found at www.clarkhawaii.com

Kona

Greg Gerard, R Company Top Achiever Top Achiever – Kona Office

Derinda Thatcher, R 2nd Top Achiever Kona Office

Waimea

Barrie T. Rose, R(S) Top Achiever Waimea Office	Juanita Montgomery, R 2nd Top Achiever Waimea Office
Leslie M. Agorastos, R Top Achiever – Combined* Waimea Office	Regan K. Matsumura, R 2nd Top Achiever – Combined* Waimea Office

*Based on combined sales from Clark Realty Corp. & Parker Ranch Realty

Kohala Coast Mauna Lani

Al Knauf, R(S) Top Achiever Kohala Coast Mauna Lani

Rick Oliver, R 2nd Top Achiever Kohala Coast Mauna Lani

Hilo

Christine Makaweo, R Top Achiever (tie) Hilo Office	Linda West, R Top Achiever (tie) Hilo Office
Arian Pierce, R(S) 2nd Top Achiever Hilo Office	Dayna Oda-Kell, R(S) Agent’s Agent Hilo Office

Keauhou

Charlene A. Davis, R(S) 2nd Company Top Achiever Top Achiever – Keauhou Office

Eddie Underwood, R(S) 2nd Top Achiever Keauhou Office

Clark Realty is conducting a Sell-abration with several open houses being held on Sunday, February 28 – from 12noon to 3pm. First-time homebuyers will find this weekend marks the final days for taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit. The official deadline for an accepted offer is April 30th, 2010. The escrow can be completed shortly after that time.

First-time buyers who have been virtually locked out of homeownership opportunities for more than 5 years now have the added advantage of historically low interest rates and prices that have been dramatically reduced over this past year. Agents have already noted a brisk uptick in the market and expect this improved climate to continue as the national economy continues to stabilize.

A preview of listings and associated location maps are available now at http://www.clarkhawaii.com/sellabration.

New address for Waimea staff and agents only:

Clark Realty Corporation
67-1185 Mamalahoa Hwy., Suite E128
Kamuela, HI 96743

Our phone number hasn’t changed – you can still reach our Waimea Sales and Property Management offices by calling 808.887.0887.

The clients and customers of Parker Ranch Realty will continue to receive the same dedicated level of service from their favorite agents, while enjoying the added advantage of a larger marketing network and increased support services.

Welcome new agents. We’re excited to have you join our team and look forward to working with you!

Leslie M. Agorastos, R	Regan K. Matsumura, R
Cheryl A. Langton, R(S)	Heather M. Cole, R(S)
Paula L. Beamer, R, GRI, ABR, ePro	Alexander G. Smith, R, GRI
Stephen L. Hooper, R(S)

Just in time! Clark Realty is conducting a massive Sell-abration with over 35 open houses being held on Sunday, September 27th – from 12noon to 3pm. First-time homebuyers will find this weekend marks the final days for taking advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit. While the official deadline for completing a sale is not set to expire until November 30th, 2009, it typically takes a first-time buyer 60 days to complete the sales process from the day the sales contract is approved.

First-time buyers who have been virtually locked out of homeownership opportunities for more than 5 years now have the added advantage of historically low interest rates and prices that have been dramatically reduced over this past year. Agents have already noted a brisk uptick in the market and expect this improved climate to continue as the national economy continues to stabilize.

A preview of listings and associated location maps are available now at http://www.clarkhawaii.com/sellabration.

Between Kamuela and Hilo, there’s a very good highway. So good, in fact, that it’s easy to focus on “getting there,” wherever “there” is, and drive right by some of the most interesting historic villages in the state.

In recognition of the cultural riches tucked away along the Hamakua Coast, Hawaii County has designated this stretch of road a Cultural Corridor and has posted road signs proclaiming it the “Hilo-Hamakua Heritage Coast.”

It certainly qualifies. From Honoka’a to Hilo, former sugar plantation villages still cling to the hillsides, unwilling to let go of their way of life despite the demise of the sugar industry.

In its day, Honoka’a was the third largest town in the Islands, according to Hal Hisa Yamato, a Honoka’a native and historian. Because of its position along the Coast, it functioned as the hub of Big Island sugar activity. Honoka’a followed only Honolulu and Hilo in population during the 1930s, Yamato explained. Now one of many communities re-inventing its economic base, Honoka’a shows the pride its residents have for its place in Island history.

As nearby sugar landholdings were sold off during the last decade, the resilient Hamakua residents have shown remarkable adaptability. Small farms with diversified crops have sprung up, continuing the area’s agricultural tradition and providing an economic lifeline for its communities.

Though the crops may be new and the farms smaller, the old ways are still evident. You can see it in the gentle pace of the village shop keepers, the friendly familiarity of neighbor with neighbor and the vestiges of sugar cane that now edge the fields it once dominated.

A short detour off Highway 19 brings visitors to Honoka’a's main street where shops and services flourish. A busy bakery, antique and gift shops, real estate offices, a bank and a hardware store dot Mamane St. from one end to the other.

Mid-way along Mamane St., the United Methodist Church, built in 1927, is an inviting oasis on a warm afternoon and seems as comfortable as Grandmother’s front porch. At the far end of the street is the Country Store, featuring all manner of goodies in a building the occupants say takes lots of TLC. But with a sensational ocean view and favored status in their home town, it’s worth the extra effort it takes to be there, they’re convinced.

Before leaving Honoka’a, tradition requires a stop at Tex Drive-In, back on Highway 19, for a Big Island malasada. First brought to the Islands by Portuguese immigrants, these sugary treats are an Island favorite. If anyone questions local residents’ high esteem for the humble malasada, Tex Drive-In sells about 60,000 a month, according to Manager Yasha Pulin, a testimony to their popularity.

So when you’re driving the Hamakua Coast, take your time, cruise a little – Hawaiian style – and you’ll find a part of Hawaii you never see in the travel posters. It’s where old Hawaii still lives.

Directions: Take Highway 19 to the Hamakua Coast and follow the signs to Honoka’a. It’s definitely worth the trip.
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Our annual photo contest has once again produced some amazing photos of our beautiful Big Island. Winners have been selected and you can preview them at http://www.clarkhawaii.com/slideshow/.

Prints of the winning photos are being readied now and will be displayed in Clark Realty offices in Kona, Keauhou, Waimea and Hilo until next year at this time. We hope you enjoy them!