Carolyn Sugiyama Classen

Carolyn Sugiyama Classen’s family has always been a large part of the fabric of Kohala and she describes the businesses and roles that her family members played in the community. Her father, Frances, was the local dentist. Carolyn describes the hardships that Japanese endured during World War II when many were sent to internment camps. While she moved away from Kohala, she could still see the drastic changes that the closure of the plantation had on the community. And yet the enduring values of the town persist. She closes with advice for the next generation about the importance of education, as this was the way in which she and her family, over generations, rose out of their humble beginnings as plantation workers to playing important roles in the history of Kohala.