A look at Kalaupapa through the years
































































































Courtesy Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa
In 2016, members of Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa join hands in a circle of remembrance at the site designated for a future memorial located on the former grounds of The Baldwin Home for Men and Boys in Kalawao. January has been declared Kalaupapa Month to commemorate the estimated 8,000 islanders who were banished to the isolated Molokai peninsula after being diagnosed with leprosy from 1866 to 1969.Courtesy Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa
Monica Bacon poses at the grave of her great grand-uncle, Ambrose Hutchison, a Kalaupapa patient and community leader in the late 19th and early 20th century whose family name is misspelled on his tombstone.Courtesy Ka ‘Ohana O Kalaupapa
Monica Bacon places lei at the grave at the grave of her great grand-uncle, Ambrose Hutchison, a Kalaupapa patient and community leader in the late 19th and early 20th century.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
A worker in Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Rea's Store in Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
A car in Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on Oct. 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on October 7, 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen in 1963.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Kalaupapa is seen on February 18, 1989.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
An undated photo shows the hospital for Hansen's Disease patients at Kalaupapa on the Island of Molokai.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
St. Francis Church in Kalaupapa in 1977.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Terence Knapp paused by the monument to Father Damien on Aug. 29, 1976.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Ben and Zilpah Kahikina relax in their van by the beach, one of their favorite places, on April 13, 1992. Beh who is blind, said he still feels like an inmate at times. He has lived there since 1945.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Nursing supervisor Fe Carpenter watches the news with Alice Kamaka in Kaluapapa. Kamaka, 86 at the time of this photo in 1992, lived in Kalaupapa for 73 years.STAR-ADVERTISER FILE
Clarence Naia with his dogs Hale and Whitey. Naia came to Kalaupapa in 1951.COURTESY PHOTO
Father Damien de Veuster with Hansen's disease patients circa 1876 in Kalaupapa.COURTESY PHOTO
Father Damien de Veuster, on his deathbed at Kalaupapa in April 1889.COURTESY PHOTO
Father Damien de Veuster, laid out at St. Philomena Church, in Kalaupapa in April 1889. Mother Marianne Cope is at right. The Royal Order of Kalakaua is displayed at bottom left.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
An image of Kalaupapa as seen from the sea is photographed at the Hawaii State Archives on Sept. 2, 2009.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa and his wife, Ivy, were two of 14 patients still living at Kalaupapa in September 2011. The couple are pictured leaving St. Philomena church in Kalawao where Father Damien once preached to individuals exiled because of Hansen's Disease.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa and his wife, Ivy, were two of 14 patients still living at Kalaupapa in September 2011. The couple are pictured by Father Damien's grave at St. Philomena church in Kalawao.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kalaupapa patient Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa greeted Hawaii state representatives Faye Hanohano and John Mizuno upon their arrival at the settlement's airport on Sept. 13, 2011.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
State Rep. Faye Hanohano addressed Kalaupapa patients, residents and National Park Service employees during a community meeting held on Sept. 13, 2011.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
An image of Kalaupapa is photographed at the Hawaii State Archives on Sept. 2, 2009.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa stood at the original pews of St. Philomena church in Kalawao where Father Damien once preached to individuals exiled because of Hansen's Disease. Kahilihiwa, photographed in 2011, explained that the holes in the floor board were used by patients to expel mucus coughed up while they were attending Damien's service. Kahilihiwa believes that the patients used leaves rolled into tubes and inserted into the holes as funnels. It is said the hole in the immediate foreground was used by Father Damien after he contracted the disease.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
An image of Kalaupapa is photographed at the Hawaii State Archives on Sept. 2, 2009.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa and his wife, Ivy, were two of 14 patients still living at Kalaupapa in September 2011.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
An image of the landing field near Kalaupapa is photographed at the Hawaii State Archives on Sept. 2, 2009.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
An image of Kalaupapa is photographed at the Hawaii State Archives on Sept. 2, 2009.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa and Hawaii state representative John Mizuno prepared proclamations to be presented to the patients of Kalaupapa on Sept. 13, 2011.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
An image of Kalaupapa with a handwritten date of 1956 is photographed at the Hawaii State Archives on Sept. 2, 2009.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii state representative John Mizuno addressed Kalaupapa patients, residents and National Park Service employees at a community meeting held on Sept. 13, 2011. Rep. Mizuno and Rep. Faye Hanohano presented proclamations which recognized the patients for their courage in the face of adversity.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kalaupapa patient Glori Marks expressed her concern about plans by the United States Postal Service to discontinue the settlement's post office service during a community meeting held on Sept. 13, 2011.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kalaupapa patient Clarence "Boogie" Kahilihiwa attended a community meeting held on on Sept. 13, 2011.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii state representative John Mizuno presented a proclamation to Kalaupapa patient Glori Marks at a community meeting held on Sept. 13, 2011. Rep. Mizuno and Rep. Faye Hanohano presented proclamations which recognized the patients for their courage in the face of adversity.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
The Roman Catholic clergy waited for mass to begin at St. Philomena Church in Kalawao on Nov. 7, 2009. A celebration was held in honor of the canonization of Saint Damien with a mass held at Philomena, the church where Damien once held services with patients. The mass was followed by a luau in Kalaupapa. Pictured were Chancellor of the Diocese Walter Yoshimitsu (Honolulu), Deacon Bill Bothe (Oakland), Bishop Clarence "Larry" Silva, Father Felix Vandebroek (Kalaupapa) and Randall Watanuki.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Bishop Clarence "Larry" Silva administered the eucharist at St. Philomena Church in Kalawao on Nov. 7, 2009. A celebration was held in honor of the canonization of Saint Damien with a mass held at Philomena, the church where Damien once held services with patients. The mass was followed by a luau in Kalaupapa.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hands were lifted as the rain kept at bay during an outdoor mass at St. Philomena Church in Kalawao on Nov. 7, 2009. A celebration was held in honor of the canonization of Saint Damien with a mass held at Philomena, the church where Damien once held services with patients. The mass was followed by a luau in Kalaupapa.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
A bust of Saint Damien in St. Philomena Church in Kalawao.CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Bishop Clarence "Larry" Silva prepared for mass inside of St. Philomena Church in Kalawao on Nov. 7, 2009. A celebration was held in honor of the canonization of Saint Damien with a mass held at Philomena, the church where Damien once held services with patients. The mass was followed by a luau in Kalaupapa.