To remember our happy
hours of story-telling,
this printed fragment
is in gratitude dedicated
to my grandmother,
Harriet Kamakanoenoe Hapai.
THE WAILUKU.
Fed from the great watershed of Hawaii far up the densely wooded flanks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea—often snow-capped in winter—the Wailuku River roars through the very center of Hilo, principal town of the Island of Hawaii.
There are many vague stories as to why the Wailuku River was so named. In the Hawaiian tongue Wailuku means literally "destroying water."