Dear Friends:

The 1968 Gannenmono Memorial at the entrance of the Moiliili Japanese Cemetery commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of the first 150 immigrants from Japan to Hawaii. After this wave, many other immigrants arrived from Japan, building the infrastructure of what would become the State of Hawaii. The cemetery itself was opened to the public in 1908. There are two thousand gravesites and approximately ten thousand lives are remembered here.

The local community of Moiliili and Honolulu generously gave donations in 1968 to create this historic Memorial. It could not have been built without great community support. We are honoring the legacy by pointing out that the memorial is now in disrepair. There are great cracks and spalling in the concrete. It needs to be completely refurbished and coated. We propose to do so by soliciting donations toward the estimated cost of $30,000. We have a contractor willing to begin the work at the start of the new year, if we make a commitment now.

Please participate in this community project by mailing your generous tax-deductible donation

coordinator, Laura Ruby, 808-366-0847, lruby@hawaii.edu.