On November 3rd, I boarded a Cessna with a handful of other excited museum, library, archive, and cultural resource professionals from around the Pacific. We were headed to Kalaupapa National Historical Park (NHP), to attend a three-day National Park Service (NPS) training: “Preventative Care and Remedial Conservation Techniques for Archival Collections and Wooden Artifacts.” UH Manoa students were among the participants, along with specialists from the Honolulu Museum of Art, ꞌIolani Palace, Kona Historical Society, and National Parks in American Samoa and Guam.
As we departed Oꞌahu, I was reminiscing about my journey to the park with AHA back in 2011. Museum Curator, Scott Williams, was our host and provided an orientation of the park, the new Cultural Resources facility, and some of the museum collections.
My attention was quickly drawn out the Cessna window as the Molokaꞌi North Sea cliffs came into view. It was more breathtaking than I had remembered; although this was the first time viewing from that vantage point. In my first visit, the adventurous archivists had flown topside and hiked down the 3.5 mile trail. The trail scales 1,600 feet of vertical sea cliffs, with 26 switchbacks, and it was an amazing introduction to life on Kalaupapa.
As we now approached the runway for landing, I was grateful for the opportunity to experience Kalaupapa from the air. After all, when you can witness things from varying points of view, there is often an enhanced understanding and appreciation for the beauty that is….
If you look closely, you can see the trail switchbacks winding down the pali. Photo Credit: R. Jones.
Coming in for landing with Makani Kai. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Aerial of the settlement. Photo Credit: NPS/S. Lee
“Kalaupapa… is a place where past suffering has given way to personal pride about accomplishments in the face of adversity. It is a place where each of us can reconsider our emotional and physical responses to people with disfiguring disabilities or illnesses. It is a place where the land has the power to heal—because of its human history, natural history, and stunning physical beauty.” –NPS GMP/EIS
Kalaupapa NHP’s Hansen’s disease (leprosy) population, both surviving and deceased, with its material culture, oral histories, and intact physical community, is one of the only of its kind in the U.S. The settlement is still home to several surviving patients that reside in the community on a part-time or full-time basis. Kalaupapa NHP honors the mo’olelo (stories) of the isolated Hansen’s community by preserving and interpreting its sites and values.
The park is also an extensive and valuable archaeological complex with a number of archaeological resources, a vast variety of site types, and an extensive time range of habitation and land use. The role of the peninsula as a place of exile from 1866-1969 contributed to the preservation of the pre-contact archaeological complex. According to NPS, Kalaupapa remains one of the richest and least disturbed archaeological landscapes in Hawaiꞌi.
As part of continuing efforts to preserve objects of social and cultural significance, KNHP arranged for two conservators from Harpers Ferry Center (HFC) to work on-site for one month with a major task of cleaning and stabilizing the altar at St. Philomena Church. Carrie Mardorf, Chief of Cultural Resources, with sponsorship through Pacific Historic Parks, also arranged for the conservators to teach a three-day workshop to allow museum students and professionals from the Pacific Islands to learn about preventative care and conservation techniques for museum objects.
The training was held in the Cultural Resources building, which houses state of the art curatorial facilities to preserve and conserve objects, artifacts, and archive materials that tell the stories of Kalaupapa NHP and its residents. The collection storage and research facility, called Hale Malāma, was not fully completed back when AHA visited in 2011; so it was a privilege to see the result of phase II.
Photo Credit: NPS/S. Williams
Front entrance to Hale Malāma Cultural Resources Facility. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Scott Williams reports that the museum collection, first managed in 1987, contains over 350,000 objects and archival documents, primarily representing the late twentieth century experiences of residents within the Kalaupapa Settlement. A growing portion of the collection is comprised of archaeological assemblages and representative natural specimens as management continues to inventory its resources. Roughly 300,000 items have been accessioned and cataloged into the Interior Collections Management System. For several years there was no full-time museum staff to process the items. Right now, Scott is the only museum employee; however, the Museum Technician position will be filled in February.
The mauka wing has a lab and curatorial storage facility, which holds rows of books, archives, archaeological collections, and personal objects, that all tell a story of Kalaupapa’s history. The mauka lab is used for accessioning, cataloging, and conservation work; in addition, it contains two large chest freezers. The wing also holds a large back-up generator that proved very useful during our stay; although, in darkness we learned that the generator is solely for climate control and not lighting.
Mauka Storage Area. Photo Credit: NPS/C. Mardorf.
These battery operated eyeglasses (Model MK II Sonicguide) from the park’s museum collection are special because they assisted blind patients’ mobility. One signal transmitter, two receivers (located on the bridge) and tubes that carried audible tones produced from the receivers to hearing aids helped patients’ awareness of objects in their travel path of up to twenty feet! Photo Credit: NPS
For many Hansen’s Disease patients who had lost full use of their hands, opening flip top cans could be challenging. These flip-top can openers were made by Kalaupapa resident Kenso Seki. Kenso was a skilled craftsman, despite having lost full use of his hands. He would never allow the disfiguring effects of Hansen’s Disease take away his or anyone else’s independence. He often made and gave away tools which helped people in the settlement maintain their independence. Photo Credit: NPS
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The makai wing holds a storage facility for over-sized objects such as furniture, lighting fixtures, and antiquated medical equipment. This wing also contains a lab for processing and conservation work and allows for new collections to be brought in without affecting other collections. I was highly impressed with the large walk-in freezer, which we also noted had a safety feature so that you could not lock yourself inside.
Makai Lab Area. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Carrie Mardorf shows off the walk-in freezer. The large freezer allows staff to freeze sizable furniture pieces and large amounts of materials at once. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Curtis Sullivan conducted a damage assessment on the autopsy table. As a conservator, he would not clean the table because the remnants are part of the object’s history. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Makai Storage Area. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
We were fortunate to have two highly informative and engaging HFC specialists lead the training. Theresa Voellinger is the Photograph and Paper Conservator for all of NPS; and Curtis Sullivan is the sole Wooden Artifacts Conservator. They carefully balanced lectures with hands-on opportunities to work with the museum collections.
Theresa covered the history of paper and photography; as it is important to know what an object is made of and how it is made to properly care for it. We learned some surface cleaning techniques for archival collections and were able to clean some of the Park’s collection.
Theresa shows participants how hand-made paper can be identified using a light table. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Particpants were able to handle various film formats from Theresa’s personal collection. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Theresa demonstrates cleaning techniques on archival collections. Photo Credit: NPS/S. Williams
Theresa also taught us countless great tips and tricks for handling and caring for a variety of objects, including distinguishing cellulosic film and polyester film. After learning about long-term preservation strategies for film-based photographic materials, we tried out our new skills and prepared some of the park’s cellulose film for cold storage. The micro-climates we created will allow the boxes to be placed in a frost-free freezer.
After we prepared cellulosic film for cold storage, we proudly posed with our finished products. Pictured left to right: Jill Sommer, Charise Michelsen, Joe Leleua, Nina Peck, Megan Ramsey, Celeste Ohta, Joy Holland Cesca, Amanda Lei Perron. Photo Credit: NPS/C. Mardorf.
The completed cold storage; boxes carefully placed in the freezer. Photo Credit: NPS/C. Mardorf.
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When caring for wood objects, Curtis explained the usefulness of understanding the nature of wood and the variation of wood grain from various sawing techniques. As both a wood craftsmen and a conservator, Curtis seeks to understand how a piece was selected. The boards a woodworker may have chosen for decorative or aesthetic purposes may be unstable and difficult to conserve. Conservation of wooden materials at Kaluapapa has been challenging due to the environmental conditions and termite infestations.
Participants compared wood grain. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
For stability, lumber needs to have been properly dried prior to use in the construction of an object. Curtis let us try out his scanner to determine moisture content. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Curtis demonstrates the nature of wood. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Curtis Sullivan demonstrates cleaning on one of the park’s pieces. If mineral spirits don’t work to clean a piece (it often won’t), Curtis carefully works with soap and deionized water. For our work, we had to settle for distilled water flown in to Kalaupapa. Photo Credit: NPS/S. Williams
Charise Michelsen carefully tests the piece. Notice her PPE, which not only protects her but keeps her from leaving fingerprints on the piece. Photo Credit: NPS/S. Williams
We also had the privilege of seeing the work that Theresa and Curtis had completed at the park. We did a site visit to Kalawao and St. Philomena (Father Damien’s Church). Father Damien, one of the most famous caregivers at Kalawao, is buried in the churchyard at St. Philomena. Damien was 49 years old when he died on April 15, 1889, with Mother Marianne at his bedside. His remains were exhumed in 1936 and reburied at Louvain, Belgium. In 1995, a relic composed of the remains of his right hand was returned to his original grave at Kalawao. In 2009, Damien was canonized a Saint in the Catholic Church.
Kalawao View. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Participants enjoying the view at Kalawao. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Churchyard at St. Philomena Catholic Church. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Celeste bonds with Church kitty.
St. Philomena Catholic Church. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
St. Philomena Catholic Church. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Just one of their many projects during their stay, Theresa and Curtis worked tirelessly as a team to stabilize and clean the surface of the church alter. Loose pieces were secured, termite damage was repaired and surface grime was removed.
The current altar in St. Philomena Church is almost 100 years old with the earliest known image dating back to 1918. Prior to 1918, the altar had different configurations but some elements, which date back to 1894, were reused to build the alter you see today. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Conservator Supplies. Flaking paint and gold leaf was consolidated with Paraloid B-72 lacquer. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Church Kitty keeping a watchful eye. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Inside the old section of the church. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
If you have questions about KNHP collection accessibility, a portion of the collection is accessible for research to the public on-site and electronically. Many materials have been digitized for access (NPS Web Catalog) for users off-site or those who can’t travel to park; however, some content is sensitive and requires restricted distribution. Copyright and permissions issues also limit distribution of some materials.
On behalf of all of the participants, I extend a huge Mahalo out to the NPS staff for being our hosts, teachers, and friends: Carrie Mardorf, Scott Williams, Theresa Voellinger, and Curtis Sullivan. We walked away with more than I could ever articulate in a blog post.
I leave you with the beauty that is… Kalaupapa…. Respectfully, Jill Sommer
View from the Pali trail. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
View from the Pali trail. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Rainbow over the settlement. Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Photo Credit: J. Sommer
It was a little windy. Pictured left to right: Megan Ramsey, Jill Sommer, Charise Michelsen, Celeste Ohta, and the lovely Joy Holland Cesca.
Photo Credit: J. Sommer
Association of Hawai'i Archivists 