KAPAA >> Kapaa residents are trying to preserve the history of the Kauai Island town with a book.

Marta Hulsman, site manager for the Kapaa Neighborhood Center, has been listening to the stories of the town’s seniors for the project, The Garden Island reported Wednesday.

She’s learned about the pineapple cannery and how Kapaa was swamp land in the early days. “It all started with poi. Then the Chinese came, and there was rice. We keep uncovering more and more stuff,” Hulsman said.

The town was also an entertainment center for immigrants who worked nearby. “There were pool halls, alcohol, women and three theaters,” Hulsman said.

But the committee compiling the book has had trouble finding pictures, in part because many people’s photos have been washed away in hurricanes.

The committee has been relying on images from the Kauai Historical Society and the Kauai Museum, but this effort costs money.

Hulsman is asking people to contribute images, postcards, maps and drawings if they can.

They are banking on the hope that people will be curious about the history of Kapaa. “We think people will want to get the book and see photos and say, ‘Look, that’s my aunty in the picture,’ ” Hulsman said.

Proceeds from sales will benefit the Kapaa Senior Center.

The book is a way to preserve the town’s legacy. “If we don’t do this, our kids won’t know any of this history,” Hulsman said.