About
In the depression era 1930’s, Hawaii’s golden Kona
Coast was a world apart. Despite hardships and racial barriers Kona’s
intense natural beauty, cosmopolitan mix of cultures and inclusive
Hawaiian values were mingling, creating combinations and possibilities
unheard of in mainland USA. The Island’s peoples had begun
to overthrow the reproachful strictures of the missionary era and
find fresh ways to live and love. Little by little, old Hawaiian
ways could be openly treasured again. Images of surfers and Hula
gave a weary world something to dream of. Celebrities, seekers and
sages of all kinds began finding their way to the big Island and
with them the first waves of tourists. From Kona’s beaches
to its mountainsides the ‘paradise present’ exerted
its spell, transforming all who heard the call.
Inspired by the ‘never-to-be-read’ personal memoirs
of a young American woman drawn to Kona by accident in the 1930’s,
Kona Diaries chronicles a quest for independence, love
and identity that spans the generations. Writer and producer Tom
Eshelman has assembled a powerhouse support team
to track down and piece together the story and share it with a wider
public. Watch this space for updates.
Print and spoken word versions of the Kona Diaries are
slated for production in 2009 or 2010.
Kona Diaries team Members
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 Tom
Eshelman
Author and producer Tom Eshelman was born in Honolulu
and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii where he first learned of
the Kona Diaries story.
Tom has long been collecting photographs and stories relating to
Hawaii. Recently retired as a radiologist, he can now devote considerable
effort into the telling of this special story. He asks that those
with special memories and stories of the time period 1930-1960 submit
those thoughts to us in the contact
section, where some of these submissions may be used in this project. |
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Meagan Casavant
Tom's granddaughter, Meagan Casavant, was born in Canada, north of Montreal. She moved to North Carolina with her parents, Gilles and Christine, in 1994.
Meagan has developed a keen interest in the Kona Diaries story. She is helping with research and is of considerable help in moving the story along. |
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Andrew
Muir
Andrew Muir, a talented Canadian creative writer, was instrumental in getting this project off the ground with contribution of initial chapters.
Andrew has worked with various advertising and design agencies,
directly with client companies’ CEOs and senior managers,
to produce dozens of strategies, ad campaigns and strategic communications
products including direct mail campaigns, commercial Web sites and
collateral materials. |
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Mikki Blaes
This web site was designed by the Gordon Group in Ottawa, Canada but is now maintained by Mikki Design. Mikki Blaes, who lived on the Big Island of Hawaii for 15 years, skillfully and seamlessly maintains this site. |
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