Pine a vital part of Maui
Pine a vital part of Maui
If sugar was king on Maui, pineapple was the crown prince. Fields of pineapple covered Haiku, surrounded Pukalani, ran up the mountain in lower Kula and occupied thousands of acres in West Maui. There were two canneries in Haiku, one in Kahului and another at Lahaina. Thousands of Mauians spent time in the fields and on the lines in the canneries.
When Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. absorbed Maui Agricultural Co., the Paia-based plantation's pineapple operations were spun off into Maui Pineapple Co. by A&B executive J. Walter Cameron and his son, Colin.
The Haiku fields became small landholdings when the Dole and Hasserot canneries closed down. Pukalani Terrace sprouted. Coastal fields in West Maui became Kapalua Resort while the family-owned company became Maui Land & Pineapple Co., a developer of resort property, a small shopping center in Napili, the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center and small residential subdivisions in addition to growing and canning pineapple.
During peak harvest times, Maui school kids worked in the cannery and fields. Mormon youngsters and the first of today's Hispanic residents were brought in for field work.
Maui Land & Pineapple Co. fell victim to foreign competition, the premature death of Colin Cameron and disinterest on the part of the third-generation inheritors of the company. AOL founder Steve Case bought controlling interest and brought in David Cole, another dot-com pioneer. Cole closed the cannery, concentrated on the fresh-fruit trade, invested in the Superferry and launched development plans for housing and the resort before leaving at the end of 2008.
Today, Maui Land & Pine is land rich, cash poor and $90 million in debt. The prospects of all those thousands of acres going fallow bring tears to the eyes of those Mauians who spent their working lives with the company, and should be a concern for everyone who wants to see the island maintain open space.
Last week, the ML&P directors agreed to continue growing and selling pineapple and expressed confidence the company's financial challenges can be met. All of Maui should want the company to succeed and continue being an integral part of island life.
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.
