HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1134.003 2012-2014P /PWPRG
Murashige, Laura
From: Dorothy Kalua <kaluaaq @hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2014 7:28 AM
To: Council Testimony <7)
Subject: FW: Testimony in support of Bill 316 & Resolution 566 14 - c
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From: kaluaaq @hotmail.com
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.us
Subject: Testimony in support of Bill 316 & Resolution 566 14
Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2014 14:51:25 -1000
For the record, this written testimony is offered by Joe Tateyama of Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii, a graduate from the
Class of 1958, Pahala (now Ka'u) High School.
I heartily endorse the proposal to name the new Ka'u Shelter and Gym after former Ka'u High and Pahala
Elementary School Principal, Mr. Laurence J. Capellas, Sr. His major contributions to Ka'u, the Big Island and
the State of Hawaii as an inspirational educator is worthy of such honor. It has been many years since he was
reassigned as Principal of Hilo High School in 1959 and many may have forgotten about the presence he had in
Ka'u. I understand that there are many who are now rekindling the memories of his accomplishments and I
applaud their efforts. Mr. Capellas is truly deserving of the recognition for his successes. As for me, I would like
to reminisce about the profound impact he has had in my life. On a very personal note, I attribute my
successes as an extension and direct influence of Mr. Capellas' efforts to inspire students to achieve lofty
goals.
I began school in the first grade in 1946 just as Mr. Capellas started his term as the new Principal of Pahala
High and Elementary School. I was a shy and introverted youngster who knew very little of the world outside
the camp in which I lived. No one in my camp attended my class so I was lost in a new environment of
strangers. At the first recess period when we were let out of class to play in the schoolyard, I was so terrified
at not knowing what to do or having any playmates that I started crying. Mr. Capellas happened to come by
and observing my distress, he put his arm around me and asked for my name and what was wrong. I
blubbered out my name and that I didn't know anyone. I wanted to go home. He noticed a couple of boys
looking at our interaction and asked for their names. He then introduced me to Norman Teramoto and Tommy
Silva and told me to play with them. This may seem like a small incident but it started a unique relationship
with Mr. Capellas.
A year or two later, Mrs. Capellas put together an operetta based on "Hansel and Gretel" and recruited a few
elementary school students. I was selected as one of several gingerbread men. When curtain time came, I was
nervous and felt like throwing up. As if on cue, Mr. Capellas noticed my distress and asked if I was all right.
After determining the cause of concern, he calmly told me that it was a common feeling for first time
performers. He told me to just pretend I'm a gingerbread man and have fun doing it. Mr. Capellas had such a
Comm. Na. //
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Ref. Date NOV 6 2014
settling effect by just talking to me that I went through the play without a hitch and, I might add, without
puking my guts out.
Several years later, Mr. Capellas organized the first Little League baseball team in Pahala. I loved the game of
baseball but the tryout ended in a dismal failure as I was not selected for the team. I shed some tears in
disappointment. Mr. Capellas noticed and was right there to offer words of encouragement. He advised me to
never give up as there would be other opportunities in the future. Sure enough, the next year saw the
formation of the first PONY league team in Pahala and I was selected for the all -star team. Subsequently, I
lettered for 3 years on the school varsity baseball team. Mr. Capellas encouraged me to participate in other
sports activities but I was not that gifted as an athlete. That still did not discourage him from utilizing me as a
spotter to help him announce football games as well as the official timekeeper for basketball games. I was
always impressed with his reporting of live game activities.
I once asked him how he became so adept at announcing sports activities, or making daily talks to the
students over the public announcement system. He answered in his truly inspirational style, that all you have
to do is become passionately involved in your daily activities such that you just want to tell everyone about it.
Advice like that served to allow me to be more of an extrovert as I found that the more things that I found of
interest, the easier it became to get involved in any discussion that may be taking place. Now, some people
say that I talk too much!
Mr. Capellas understood that I came from a relatively poor family of seven children with very limited
opportunities to attend college. My older brothers each enlisted in the military services after high school as
the financial burden was too extreme to attend college, or even a technical school. Mr. Capellas must have
recognized the potential that I possessed as he always praised me for having the intellect to continue on to
college. He insisted that education was the key to success in one's adult life. He inspired me with that thought,
and there was no question in my mind that I would pursue a degree in engineering. Through scholarships and
working my way through college, I graduated with honors from Oregon State University with a bachelor's
degree in chemical engineering. In fact, Mr. Capellas hired me to my first job as a summer recreational aide
while in high school. That started me on the path to earning and saving money for college. The job involved
coaching our Little League baseball team which was right down my alley as far as work was concerned.
As I reflect back on my elementary and secondary school years, Mr. Capellas was the prime motivator (you
might call him my mentor in current times) for all my successes in high school, and later in my life. From that
shy, introverted young first grader that he met on my first day of school, I was transformed to earn the
crowning achievements of being selected as the Student Body President, class valedictorian and a "Real
Trojan" designation upon graduation.
While pursuing my engineering degree, I enrolled in the U.S. Army R.O.T.C. program and earned a commission
as a second lieutenant in the Chemical Corps. There was a draft in those days so I elected to pursue an officer's
commission instead of being drafted as a private and wasting all that effort to earn my degree. The Chemical
Corps realized my potential for success and offered me an opportunity to pursue a master's degree if I elected
to remain in service after my initial 2 -year obligation was over. I took note of Mr. Capellas' advice that
education was the key to success and remained in the Army to eventually earn a master's degree in Chemistry.
That keyed my successes in the U.S. Army earning many military awards until retiring as a lieutenant colonel
after 20 years of service. My achievements include the completion of higher level military schools such as the
Army Command and General Staff College, Armed Forces Staff College and the Defense Systems Management
School's Program Managers Course. The top achievements in my career were assignments as the Deputy
Commander of an Army base and as Director of Engineering & Logistics at another. Eventually, I worked for
the County of Kauai and the State of Hawaii in a second career and retired as an Environmental Engineer from
the Department of Health. These successes in my life are directly attributable to Mr. Capellas, who similarly
affected many others in the community to achieve goals that otherwise might never have been sought.
His energy and enthusiasm were contagious. I know that others will note his many accomplishments during his
tenure in Ka'u, and those alone should justify the petition to name the new facility after him. He truly
embraced the community that he joined upon being assigned as the school's Principal. Our Class of 1958
thought so much of him that he was our honored guest at our 40th Anniversary celebration. In vivid form, he
continued in his natural style to recall his memories of our class activities and expressed how proud he was
upon learning of the successes of students who grew up under his stewardship. One of the central themes he
espoused was his thoughts of Ka'u as a community. He stated that he always felt that we were not Pahala
people, Naalehu people or Waiohinu people — we were Ka'u people. His vision of renaming the school as Ka'u
High and Pahala Elementary School came to fruition in his 13th and last year as Principal in Ka'u. It was a
fitting conclusion to his unifying efforts for the Ka'u community.
Mr. Capellas was a true inspiration and deservedly earned the honor of having the new Ka'u Shelter and Gym
named after him. His emphasis that education was the key to success is overshadowed by his personal
mentorship that was a key to my successes. His major contributions as an educator is worthy of a facility
bearing his name; one that will stand to serve a community that he had served so well.
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