Although the Makawao History Museum measures just 353 square feet — the size of an average living room — it covers several decades of Upcountry Maui history. Yes, its exhibits are simple and modest, but even without special lighting and high-tech gadgetry, it does a commendable job of honoring the people who lived, worked and played in the area from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s.

In late September 2013 the Maui County Department of Planning provided $15,000 in seed money for what was then called the Makawao History Project. A seven-member board of directors was formed, and grant writer Cheryl Ambrozic was hired as the project coordinator.

The group obtained a month-to-month lease for a 1,200-square-foot space on Makawao Avenue on Oct. 15, 2013, and began gathering and organizing photos and artifacts later that month. Design and installation of displays began Nov. 1, and, amazingly, the project opened two weeks later, drawing about 200 people.

Being away from the heart of town, however, there was little foot traffic after that. "We were lucky if 20 people walked in on any given day," Ambrozic said. "We had a lot of space, but the location wasn’t ideal."

In January 2014 the board voted to change the attraction’s name to Makawao History Museum, which suggested more of a sense of permanency. In October the museum moved to a building on Baldwin Avenue, Makawao’s main street, that dated back to 1929. It was originally a one-room house whose occupants shared a bathroom with residents of other small houses around it.

"It’s one-fourth the size of our first location, but our curators/creative directors, Darrell Orwig and Cherie Attix, have used the space so efficiently it feels quaint and homey rather than cramped," Ambrozic said. "More than 100 people walk in every day now because we’re right by shops, restaurants and other businesses."

The board, five advisers and two dozen volunteers operate the museum, united by a common goal to help preserve the rural character of Upcountry Maui, promote awareness of the area’s history and collect, evaluate, document and protect its cultural resources. Items are arranged in five sections: Pineapple, Paniolo (Cowboys), Cultures, Makawao Town, and Schools and Churches. Most are on loan from or have been donated by families who’ve lived in the area for generations.

In the Paniolo exhibit are boots, spurs, saddles, bridles, branding irons and a door that museum adviser Judy Mertens salvaged when Maui Land & Pineapple demolished its two mule barns in Haliimaile three years ago. Even with chipped planks, faded paint and rusty screws, locks and hinges, it is one of the museum’s most prized pieces.

The Pineapple section includes gloves, a woven hat, a planting knife, kau kau (food) tins and a bango (meaning "number" in Japanese), a metal tag on which was printed an identification number. The bango system helped plantation managers keep track of workers from foreign lands whose names were strange, hard to pronounce and even harder to spell. Workers presented their bango, not their name, for all plantation transactions, including collecting pay and charging purchases at the store.

Makawao Town focuses on businesses. One favorite here is a circa 1973 photo of Violet Komoda, proprietress of Komoda Store and Bakery, bringing groceries to Antone Freitas, who’s on horseback.

"Regular customers like Mr. Freitas would call the store and place their orders on credit," Ambrozic said. "By the time they rode their horse to town, Violet would have everything ready and would meet them outside the store. They didn’t have to get off their horse; Violet would pack their orders in their saddlebags, and off they went."

Planned for the museum’s Cultures corner is a series of exhibits themed "Makawao Medley: Ethnic Diversity and Its Effect on the Community." The first exhibit, spotlighting the Hawaiians, will open in early April. It will be on view for two months, followed by displays on the Chinese, Portuguese, Japa­nese, Filipinos and, featured together, the Puerto Ricans, Koreans, Germans, African-Americans, Scots and Spanish.

The opening of each exhibit will include a "talk-story" session with Maka­wao kupuna (elders). A project to record the recollections of those living treasures is scheduled to start in July. It’s an important effort, Ambrozic points out, because history is essentially stories about people, places and events.

"A number of times, residents have seen photos of their families at the museum, which often sparks wonderful memories," she said. "Many of them offer new information and are excited to bring their memorabilia. We’ve met visitors who have ties to Makawao and want to reconnect with acquaintances to reminisce about the old days. We encourage people to ask questions and write comments on our bulletin board. Preserving history begins with sharing."

Enjoy more of what town has to offer

Gail Ainsworth, the Makawao History Museum’s director and a retired librarian at the University of Hawaii’s Maui College, wrote the text for “Discover Historical Makawao,” a fold-out map for a self-guided walking tour of town. The brochure includes background information on each historical building and is available for a $2 donation to the museum.

In the works is a project to install a plaque on each building inscribed with the year it was built and who occupied it. Most of the buildings date to the 1920s to the 1940s.

The 130-page “Look What’s Cooking in Maka­wao” contains 190 recipes from residents and business owners in Makawao. The cookbook is available at the museum for a $20 donation and can also be obtained via mail order to Hawaii and mainland addresses. Specify the number of books you’re ordering, and add $6 for shipping and handling per book.

Make your check pay­able to the Tri-Isle RC&D Council, and write “For the Makawao History Museum” on the memo line. Mail the check to P.O. Box 733, Makawao, HI 96768. The book will be mailed when the check is received.

Tax-deductible donations to the museum can be made the same way. Tri-Isle (tri-isle.org) is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to “protect, preserve and develop island communities with a focus on Maui County through the implementation, management and fiscal sponsorship of innovative agricultural, civic, cultural, economic and environmental projects.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.