Masons trained in traditional Hawaiian protocols have completed extensive repairs to deteriorating rock walls in Kalaupapa National Historic Park and Kahaloko Cemetery on Molokai.
The crew, which included park employees and masons from national parks on the Big Island, repaired collapses along the north, south and west walls of the cemetery.
The rock walls surrounding Bishop Home, the former home for nuns and girls within the settlement, also were repaired.
Article Photos
Hawaii Island drystack mason Johnny Labrador sets in pohaku, or rock, on an east wall of the Bishop Home at the Kalaupapa National Historic Park. The restoration work took place from Aug. 26 to Sept. 8.
Park officials said the masons follow traditional Hawaiian protocols to repair walls, such as regarding the rock, or pohaku, as living entities and working as a group to pass rocks by hand.
Park officials said the repair work was "timely with the upcoming canonization of Mother Marianne, and enhances the aesthetic setting while restoring the historic integrity of the area."
The park held an opening and closing ceremony for the restoration work, which took place from Aug. 26 to Sept. 8.
