Anna Sloggett was 106 years old when she died Jan. 2.
She was born in Lihu‘e in 1906, the year before the first Kaua‘i resident bought one of those “new-fangled contraptions,” an automobile.
Anna was already in school when the Historic County Building was completed across the street from her grandparents’ house, and she’d begun to read before electricity came to Lihu‘e.
The “Hawaiian Homes Commission Act” had been established before she graduated from Kaua‘i High.
Anna became a teacher and influenced countless lives with her creative and dedicated educational skills, her wonderful sense of humor and her abiding love of life.
Her students, her family and all who were privileged to call her a friend will carry her legacy with them.
But if we as individuals can continue to live through those we touch, how do we do the same as a society?
How can we protect, preserve and perpetuate those things that make Kaua‘i uniquely itself, that help explain who we are as a culture?
Congress provided the first legal tool long ago.
“An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities” was passed in 1906, the year Anna was born.
Other legislation followed, including the National Preservation Act of 1966. Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i also include preservation laws on the books.
In addition to legislation, a large body of standards has been developed over the years to guide the protection, rehabilitation and treatment of cultural and historic sites.
The subject has become complex and rich enough to be a dedicated profession, with experts who have received postgraduate training.
Kaua‘i has not yet included a historic preservation planner in its Planning Department, but it’s particularly important to do so now, because the county recently inked contracts with consultants to begin the long awaited Lihu‘e and South shore development plan updates.
As they go through the process of constructing blueprints for the community’s future, our consultants and planners should have thoughtful expertise about how the physical embodiments of our past fit vibrantly into the whole picture of where we should be headed.
In addition to participating in regional plans and the Kaua‘i General Plan update, a preservation planner would create an inventory of cultural and historic sites countywide, then develop and coordinate a management plan for our heritage resources.
He or she would review permit-related activities and provide technical assistance to the Public Works Department, County Council, and boards and commissions; make recommendations based on nationally recognized standards; and coordinate funding for preservation projects.
Importantly, that person could also devise effective communication plans and initiate public involvement programs, both to insure the harmonious protection of our heritage resources and to prevent misunderstandings and unnecessary controversy.
The concept of a historic preservation planner in our county government is not original: Maui hired one years ago. Other communities have greatly benefited from the work of such an expert. Filling that position is no longer a luxury. Even with our strained financial resources, it should become a primary concern before precious places are lost forever.
In her 106 years, Anna Scott Sloggett experienced almost unimaginable changes.
Kaua‘i has experienced them too — for centuries past. That past is a prologue to our future.
Now is the time to make its wise preservation a priority.
