Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 5, 1 May 1987 — At Ohi Kilolo Makua Ranch May 9 [ARTICLE]

At Ohi Kilolo Makua Ranch May 9

Silva Ohana Expresses Mahalo with Big Pa'ina

By Kenny Haina, Editor Ka Wai Ola O OHA Albert and Theola Silva of Ohi Kilolo Makua Ranch in the Makaha area and their own "herd" of five children have traditionally given back and shared their good fortune over the years with friends, neighbors and their own ohana. This year is no exception. Another Thanksgiving by the Silvas will be celebrated Saturday, May 9, on their 2,200-acre ranch where roam 700 head of cattle, 400 goats, pheasants and an assortment of other game birds. "You just can't take from the land and not give back," is the simple explanation given by the Silvas for their annual Thanksgiving whieh starts at 8:30 a.m. with the branding of cattle and then a mammoth pa'ina around 11:30 a.m.

The Silvas will have 10 pigs and the same number of pipi to go with an assortment of other kinds of kaukau to feed upwards of 10,000 people. They've been doing this for the last decade or so. The ranch becomes a sort of tent city as people start converging on the plaee around mid-week. A large number of them pitch in to do whatever is needed in preparing for the big day. This year's pa'ina will have an extra special meaning for the Si!va ohana. Christopher Allen Kahaku, Albert and Theola's newest grandson, will be observing his very first birthday May 9. His parents are Leroy and Colleen Kahaku. The former Colleen Silva was born Mar. 17, St. Patrick's Day, henee her first name. Her husband is a musician and she is a flight attendant. Albert Silva and five other brothers are the offsprings of Manuel and the late Annie Kalipo McCandless Silva. The other Silva boys are Adrian, a paniolo; Lawrence,

retired school teacher and eoaeh; Henry, a miner; Harold, another retired school teacher and eoaeh; and Manuel, construction industry. Albert, a 1948graduate of the Kameham.eha Schools, is an antenna meehanie supervisor. The former Theola Aiwohi of Nuuanu and Albert have been married 37 years. She is a social worker with the Waianae office of Honolulu Community Action Program (HCAP). In addition to Mrs. Kahaku, Albert and Theola are also the parents of another daughter, Lea (Lane) Ciacci, and sons Hollis, Scott Alika and Jay. All except the Ciaccis reside on the ranch in their own homes. Mrs. Ciacci, who works in the sheriff s office, spends weekends on the ranch. Everyone pitches in and do chores on the ranch. Hollis, who works with his father as an antenna meehanie, is also in the hay business. Alika is in the charcoal business and Jay is the youngest, learning everything about the ranch and ranching. The boys are graduates of Waianae High School while their sisters graduated from Kamehameha, Colleen in 1968 and Lea in 1971. Albert and Theola have a total of seven grandchildren, four boys and three girls. In this regard, they feel their annual affair is a good thing for children because many of them would not otherwise be exposed close up to animals and birds on a real ranch. The gathering also serves as a reunion for the Silva, Aiwohi and Miles ohana. 01d friendships among other ohana are renewed and long lost friends usually find eaeh other at Ohi Kilolo Makua. They eome from all corners of the state and the mainland. During their teaching days, Lawrence and Harold were football coaches, the former at McKinley where he also served as athletic director and the latter at Iolani and Kahuku. One of Larry'ssons, Bernard, is the head football eoaeh at Kamehameha and another, Kalena, is Hawaiian language instructor at the University of Hawaii Hilo campus.