Da'
Hawai`i Seniors Club
Who
| What | Where
| When | How
| Background
Who:
Club Founders:
Da' Hawai`i Seniors Club was founded
in April, 1998, by a group of friends -- all former
Hawai`i residents who now live in Southern California -- and
headed by two Big Islanders, Bennie Cabalona, originally from Mountain
View and Fely Fagaragan, originally from Pahala.
Fely Fagaragan |
Bennie Cabalona |
They saw a need to bring
together former islanders living in their immediate community, as well
as those from surrounding areas. They did something about
it.
These days, mahalo to their
foresight, initiative and leadership,
they created a friendly, social setting that rekindles, revives
and keeps The
Spirit of Aloha burning brightly.
Da'
Hawai`i Seniors Club's Board of Officers, 2008:
President |
Edna Ethington |
1st Vice President (Program Chair) |
Genevieve Choy |
2nd Vice President (Membership Chair) |
David Ethington |
3rd Vice President (Public Performances) |
Hedy Harrison-Anduha |
Recording Secretary |
Heidi Nakamura |
Treasurer |
Karen
Richards |
Corresponding Secretary |
Ruth Goo |
Historian and Assistant |
Gene Parohinog & Danny Chang |
Sergeants
at Arms |
Ernie Okamoto & John Fagaragan |
Supplies
Chairs |
Martha Tamashiro
& Ruth Barnes |
Ohana
Care |
Janet Higa & Florence Adones |
Parliamentarian |
Hedy Harrison-Anduha |
Refreshment Coordinators
|
Anne Ohara
& Jean Kitajima |
Newsletter Editor |
Winona Chang |
Advisor and Alternate |
Fely Fagaragan & Karl Swope |
>>
Da'
Hawai`i Seniors Club's Board of Officers, 2007
Da'
Hawai`i Seniors Club Membership:
The membership is mainly composed of expatriates
who left Hawai`i and transplanted themselves in the suburbs of Southern
California. The reasons for leaving our native land
and taking up residence on the Mainland are myriad; for most, economic.
>>
Honolulu
Star-Bulletin's "Brain Drain" Series
Let it be known that while
they may
live over 2000 miles away from their archipelago homeland of Hawai`i,
they have
never renounced their homeland. Still imbued with Hawai`i's
mana,
their hearts and souls remain steadfast in their allegiance to
Hawai`i.
The following are Hawai`i high
schools represented by the membership of Da' Hawai`i Seniors Club:
The non-Hawai`i reader might
ask, "What about college?" Nevah mind,
college. In Hawai`i, it is FAR more important and
informative to ask, "What high school you
grad?"
Followed by: "What year
you grad?"
Hawai`i people are inclusive
and Da' Hawai`i Seniors Club membership includes those who are
Hawaiian-at-heart or -by-marriage-or-close-association. There's a fair number
from California, and a few as with roots as far away as
Washington, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
There are several members
from islands that lie beyond our fair islands, including
Okinawa, Japan and the Philippines. There are two
adventuresome souls who are from Germany and South Africa!
About 115 of the members are
from Cerritos; 110, from the surrounding areas.
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What:
This is a non-profit social
club.
Da' Hawaii Seniors Club provides a
venue where new and old residents formerly from Hawai`i can meet
bi-monthly. Its members gather to enjoy one another's company, as well as Hawai`i's
food, "talk story," crafts, mele (song) and hula
(dance), while creating fellowship, a sense of `ohana (family)
and lives filled with le`ale`a (fun-loving joy), love, laughter and
The
Aloha Spirit."
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Where:
Cerritos
Senior Center at Pat Nixon Park
12340 South Street
Cerritos, CA 90703
Directions:
From the 605 Freeway, exit South Street and travel east for
about a mile. Pass Norwalk Boulevard. Make a right turn on Ely
Avenue. The Center parking lot is located on the left side.
>> Yahoo
Map to Pat Nixon Park
(562) 916-8550
Photo courtesy of The City of Cerritos
>> Photo
Gallery of CSC
>> More
CSC information
Hours of operation:
Mon, Wed, & Fri: 7:30 am - 4:30 pm
Tues & Thurs: 7:30 am - 9:00 pm
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When:
Bi-monthly meetings:
2nd Thursday, 1:30 - 4:30
pm
4th Tuesday, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
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How to Become a Member:
Following the guidelines of
the AARP in establishing its criterion for senior citizen
status, members must be 50 years and older.
In typical Hawai`i style,
word gets around. Da' Hawai`i Seniors Club is flourishing.
It is so popular, these days, that its present membership fills the meeting
room to full capacity, and new members are added only as openings
arise.
Those interested should ask
to have their names put on a waiting list. Residents of
Cerritos are given first preference, as is fair.
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Background
on Cerritos and the Cerritos Senior Center:
About twenty years or more ago,
a number of former islanders moved into a bucolic Southern California suburb with the lofty name of
The City of Cerritos.
Back then it was hardly a city.
Instead, located in the middle of
what was known as Dairy Valley,
home to 100,000 cows on more than 400 dairies, it was "wa-a-a-y
out there in the boonies," just far away enough to feel like
country, yet close enough to commute to the hustle and bustle of
Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Cerritos was known for its "cow-pie smells so
stinky that passers-by would pinch their noses and hold their breaths" as they drove
by on the freeway on the way to Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm in adjacent
Orange County.
For years, while raising their
families in tracts wedged between cow pastures, these Cerritians paid
-- and still pay -- city taxes.
In time, the cows moved out
to the hills of Chino. And so did the smells. And
property values soared.
What a difference 20 years
makes!
These days, The City of Cerritos has grown into its
name, evolving into a robust and thriving master-planned suburb
known for its green, open spaces. (Its planners set a goal
of preserving an acre of parkland for every 100 residents)
Cerritos is, however, far more than
just another city. Thanks
to enlightened city leadership, its
faithful citizenry are being repaid in full with blessings unforeseen,
as Cerritos matured into a caring
community that is uniquely
sensitive
the needs of its elders and committed to lifelong
enrichment.
"The city has
a reserve of $150
million, which generates interest payments of
$11.5 million dollars a year. They are putting some of
these extra funds to build an addition to the (present) senior
center. As a tax-paying resident for almost 20 years, I'm
happy to see my tax dollars are going to good use. I
approve! " ~ Cerritos
taxpayer
The Cerritos
Library 2002
The titanium-clad, most state-of-the-art library in the
world
Not
only blessed with the beautiful and innovative Cerritos
Library and
internationally-acclaimed Cerritos
Performing Arts Center, its citizenry has been gifted
with a world-class Cerritos
Senior Center with the mostest, just for us seniors.
Sensitive to the
needs -- and growing political clout -- of its vigorous senior
population, age 50 and older, The City of Cerritos created a
focal point for its community involvement in 1994. For the
members of Da' Hawai`i Seniors Club, the most spirited and lively senior club, bar
none, the invitingly attractive senior center is now home away from
their island home.
It is a gathering place where
its members can practice the
Hawaiian values of our youth: `ohana,
kōkua,
mālama,
hānai, `olu`olu and "no
make kāpulu.". These values are not
translatable into English, as they mean far more than their
English counterparts. They need to be lived, if they are
to be preserved.
The members of Da'
Hawai`i Seniors Club now live these values together, ensuring their
preservation for the generations to come. Toting their `ukulele,
guitars, they greet each
other with Aloha with smiles from their hearts, ready to sing,
hula, "talk story." and share their tasty potluck
dishes.
Even
if Da'
Hawai`i Seniors Club members are an ocean away from their homeland, when these keiki
o `ka `āina (children of the land) hui (get
together), they are home once more in the islands with their hearts, minds, and spirits.
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© 2002, AD
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