For over 150 years, tourists have been drawn to the active volcanoes on Hawaii island. As far back as 1865, visitors would often take a boat from Oahu to Hilo (a trip that took two to four days), then ride a horse or carriage up to Kilauea Crater (eight to 12 hours) to see one of the great wonders of the world. They could stay at one of the oldest hotels in the islands, Volcano House.

This week a new eruption briefly took place about a mile south of Halemaumau Crater. I asked my readers about their volcano experiences. Here are some of them.

Viewing platform

Mike Winchatz said, “Many years ago, in the 1960s while I was a UH student, several fraternity brothers and I visited the Big Island. I was too young to rent a car, so I shipped my Chevrolet Impala convertible to the Big Island.

“I remember sleeping in the car that night in the parking lot immediately adjacent to Halemaumau Crater. The top was down, and the sky above me was all aglow.

“I stood on a wooden platform and looked straight down into the lava-filled pit. It was mesmerizing.

“Then, a couple of years ago, while on the Big Island, I again visited the park and listened to the visitor center’s park ranger share some Halemaumau history.

“He held up a piece of charred wood and described it as all that was left of the wooden viewing platform that had collapsed into Halemaumau — that same wooden platform that I had so confidently stood on so many years ago!”

Blackout

“My earliest recollection of Mauna Loa is from 1942,” Ken Fujii said. “At that time, we on the Big Island were under blackout conditions due to the war in the Pacific, and no lights were allowed to be visible from private homes.

“The military surmised that every little light on the ground could serve as a signal to the enemy to target the area for bombing runs or other invasive activities.

“One time my dad was on the porch of our home smoking his Camel cigarette, and that tiny lit cigarette caught the eye of a roving Army patrol driving past our house. The jeep immediately turned into our driveway, and two young soldiers shouted, ‘Hey you, are you trying to send a signal to the Japs?’

“My dad was both embarrassed and infuriated by the accusation since he had no such treasonous motivations. And we were sure that the flashlights being used by the soldiers created more illumination than his cigarette.

“One evening in late April 1942, as our family was sitting on the porch of our home, we spotted a glow in the direction of Mauna Loa in the distance.

“We immediately knew what it was. Living in Hilo, everyone knows that a glow in the direction of Mauna Loa heralded an eruption.

“That glow in the night sky brought a smile to my dad’s face as he remarked that the military can’t control Madame Pele. She can light up the sky whenever she wants to, blackout or no blackout.

“We sat watching the glow in the sky increase in size, from the small glimmer on the horizon until late night when one-third of the night sky was a bright orange-red color.

“The 1942 eruption was in the Northeast Rift Zone, which faces Hilo. Its night sky was particularly lit up by the volcano.

“It was bright enough for us to eat a late-night snack of apple pie with coffee or milk that my mom served us on our front porch. That night, no Army patrol came around as my dad basked in the glow of Madame Pele and smoked his Camel cigarettes.”

Lava flow

Wendy Tolleson said, “When I first started working for the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division, our crew was asked to do emergency archaeological work and map Wahaula Heiau.

“It was the largest luakini heiau (involving human or animal sacrifice) in the islands before it was covered by the same lava that overran nearby Kalapana.

“We were excavating the (site) with the lava right at the top of the 5-foot wall. We were scrambling to get the data from the excavation before the lava started moving again.

“We had just finished when the lava started dripping over the wall right into the excavation! It was moving so slowly that we didn’t bug out. Instead, each team member stood by the flow to have our pictures taken with it. The lava was red hot, so 10 seconds was all one could stand.

“When we finally had to leave at the end of the project, the only way out was along a narrow trail running along the steep cliffs. The lava was 2 feet away from us but moving very slowly.

“We all took out our hand axes, dipped them into the lava and pulled out a glowing, viscous chunk. I quickly pressed a nickel into mine. I still have it sitting on my shelf as a memento of one of the most exciting, dangerous and nerve-­racking archaeology projects I have ever done.

“Pele has not come for me. Instead, I hope she feels blessed that someone kept a part of her from one of the most spectacular sites in Hawaii.”

Night Kilauea Iki died

“Kilauea Iki erupted in the Volcanoes National Park in late 1959,” Roy H. Doi said. “The eruption lasted only about a month, but it was spectacular. It was just about the time my friends and I got our driver’s licenses and were able to borrow the family cars.

“On that night in December, looking for something to do, we piled into a couple of cars and decided to go see how Kilauea Iki was doing. It had been fountaining for about a month, and some of us had already seen it a couple of times.

“When we got there, we parked off the road on the backside of a fountain that was spewing lava hundreds of feet in the air. It lit up the sky and was so warm that we were all comfortable wearing T-shirts, shorts and rubber slippers.

“We decided to play trumps (a popular card game back then) on the hood of the car.

“After about 60 minutes it started to get really dark and cold. At first we couldn’t figure out who turned off the light and heat, until we realized that Kilauea Iki’s fountaining had stopped.

“We couldn’t see the cards and the temperature was dropping, so we got into our cars and went back home to Hilo.

“For us this was just something that we did as teenagers growing up on the Big Island. No big thing.

“Whenever there is a volcanic eruption, I remember the night Kilauea Iki died. I get a little cold just thinking about it.”

Front hot, back cold

Bobbi Green lived on the Big Island. “We had a family vacation home and would drive from Kohala whenever there was an eruption.

“I remember standing at the rim of the crater. There were no fences or barriers then. Our fronts would be so hot, and our backs were freezing cold.”

Pele’s hair

Greg Lui-Kwan said, “I am the third of 10 children born and raised in Hilo by my parents, Valentina and Benedict Lui-Kwan. Growing up in Hilo, my mom always made sure that we went to all of the volcanic eruptions that were accessible.

“In January 1960 an eruption took place in Kapoho Village. In a matter of two weeks, the village was covered with lava.

“As we approached the lava flow in our family car, my mom said, ‘OK, kids, when we get out, be careful. In addition to the cinder flying in the air, there is also Pele’s hair.’

“I was 10 years old at the time and asked my mom what that was. She said, ‘Pele’s hair is like sharp needles made of volcanic glass. If you get it in your eyes, we might not be able to get it out.’

“Somehow we survived, and have enjoyed experiencing many volcanic eruptions over the years.”

Bob Sigall is the author of the five “The Companies We Keep” books. Contact him at Sigall@Yahoo.com or sign up for his free email newsletter at RearviewMirrorInsider.com.