In celebration of the 2023 Summer Reading Challenge!

In pre-war and the World War II years of the 1930’s to 1950’s, Hawai‘i entered the world scene. From the popular radio show, “Hawai‘i Calls” hosted by Webley Edwards and the appeal of Hawaiian music on the mainland which featured such legendary artists as Gabby Pahinui, Johnny Alameida, Alfred Apaka, and the hapa-haole music of R. Alex Anderson.

The World War II years, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, were an era of dramatic transition and change culturally, socially, economically, environmentally and politically. How those changes affected the lives of ordinary residents during that era were recorded and published by the Center for Oral History. Their words will be dramatically interpreted by narrators from the Statewide Cultural Extension Program Readers’ Theatre Ensemble with a sampling of music from that period.

Readers’ Theatre Ensemble members:
Nyla Fujii-Babb, Joseph Miller, Janine Oshiro, Dann Seki, and Bailey Matsuda

Sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i. This is a production of the University of Hawai‘i Outreach College’s Statewide Cultural Extension Program with funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the University of Hawai‘i.

Photos provided by the University of Hawai‘i Center For Oral History.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity should contact library staff as soon as possible. Advance requests 48 hours or more before the event are encouraged, but not required.