I support converting the old Pu'unene Sugar Mill into a museum. I hereby petition Mayor Arakawa, the Maui County Council, and Alexander & Baldwin company to take steps to make this happen. I am a Maui resident (full time or part time).
We have a golden opportunity to preserve and honor the heritage of the sugar industry in Hawaii. Let us create a museum from the sugar mill. The mill is filled with huge, awesome machinery which could be shared with everyone by creating a museum at that site. Let's remove the building and leave just the machinery in place as an outdoor museum. Put in sidewalks leading through it. Add a few trees and gardens. Perhaps a restaurant too. Place signs indicating the function of the machines. Have photos of workers doing their jobs, both in the mill and in the fields. Tell the story of the mill, of the workers, and of plantation life. Honor the way of life and an industry that soon will be no more in Hawaii.
This would be a wonderful educational experience, and would surely become a major tourist destination on Maui. This is the last chance to do this; we should not let it slip through our fingers.
Please join other Maui residents in encouraging Mayor Arakawa, the County Council, and the Alexander & Baldwin Co. to pursue a course to convert the Pu'unene sugar mill into a museum.
We have a golden opportunity to preserve and honor the heritage of the sugar industry in Hawaii. An outdoor museum featuring the machinery of the mill would be a wonderful educational experience, and would surely become a major tourist destination on Maui. This is the last chance to do this; we should not let it slip through our fingers.
