LIHU‘E — “We kept the pueo,” said Chris DeAnda, the artist who headed up restoration efforts of the wooden county seal.

“The pueo was the amakua of Mayor Maryanne Kusaka,” DeAnda said. “She said she discovered the pueo on the backside of the seal when it was being worked on originally and whenever she was stressed, she could come out on the lanai and see it.”

The original seal was created from wood that was blown over when Hurricane ‘Iniki blew through the island in 1992, DeAnda said.

“Over the years, it had become weathered and worn and it was time to get it refurbished,” he said.

Getting the aid of a Big Island artist, Gary Dimond, the pair worked through the process of restoring the seal over the past several weeks.

“We spend a lot of time waiting,” DeAnda said. “A lot of the coatings were applied and you had to wait until it dried properly before applying the next coat.”

When word of the work went out into the community, there were a lot of people who came out to offer help, Dimond said.

“This was truly a community affair. Vic “the Barber” DeAnda came through with a lot of the logistical help since he lives here. He made the arrangements for the compressor, the ladders, sawhorses, and a lot of different tools besides spending hours working with us,” Dimond said.

DeAnda said Joe Sullivan of Rare Woods in Paradise heard about the project and offered wood so the project could be done properly. Doug Haigh’s uncle brought over an assortment of bromeliads so the area could be landscaped.

“We even had some left so we could discard the original paneling that was used at the base and make a hardwood flooring,” DeAnda said.

In addition to the flooring, the pair created a shingled roof that would help protect the seal from the elements.

DeAnda said he’ll be back on the island to work on restoring the dragon on a building in Kapa‘a.

“That sculpture is under roof so it won’t need as much work as the seal that was exposed to the elements,” DeAnda said.