Happy Camper for Sunday, March 28, 2021

Find above the first front page photograph published by The Garden Island writer and photographer Dennis Fujimoto: a devastating house fire in Niumalu, nearby where the Anheuser-Busch warehouse is now. Taken Thursday, Oct. 14, 1965, Fujimoto and his brothers were driving to class at Kaua‘i High School when he heard the sirens. With an hour to spare before classes started, they followed the trucks down by the harbor, watching firefighters contain the blaze in under 10 minutes. “We went down and there it was,” Dennis recalled on Saturday, the day of his 73 birthday. “Bang, bang, bang, and that was it.” Fujimoto started contributing to the sport’s section of The Garden Island in the fifth grade, but none made it to A1, above the fold. “I was doing Pop-Warner and the AJA and all that,” The Happy Camper said. “This was the first time into hard news.” TGI sends a sincere thank you to Kaua‘i Community College Head Librarian Bob Kajiwara, those who checked their archives, and everybody else who made this possible for helping us get a digital copy of this front page. And an even bigger thank you, and happy birthday, to Dennis. Mahalo for all you do.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

From left, Kaua‘i High students Pepper Page and Eva Israelsen and mentor Seth Womble make up a Nirmana scene at the mural developing outside the future offices of Hawai‘iUSA Federal Credit Union at Kukui Grove Center in Lihu‘e.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Artist Patrice Pendarvis, right, gets help from The Crooked Surf in talking about the Ha‘ena scene, with Dorothy Nakazawa Friday during the farmers’ market/craft fair at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach Resort in Waipouli.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

David Chung and his The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center crew get time for a quick doughnut (it’s Daylight Donuts!) and sips of water between cars Friday during the ARC monthly collection at the Kaua‘i Resource Center on Ahukini Road past Lihu‘e Airport.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Kaua‘i Hemp Co.’s Makayla Tompkins (she works in the lab) and Cale Akuna have a lot of information compared to just looking at products on store shelves Friday during the monthly farmers’ market/craft fair at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach Resort in Waipouli, coordinated with the county’s Kaua‘i Made program.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Lloyd Kajikawa is the immediate past president, and Rowena Cobb is the emeritus (she said she is a “guest”) Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank Board members as recognized by the board being led by Donna King at its meeting held at the Hokulei Village Shopping Village in Puhi.