KUTV Story

I believe this story aired back in 2002 when I was working for KUTV (CBS). Please forgive the extra video at the end of the story....

The Beginning....

Let me give some history to what I'm trying to do here.

About 12 years ago I started to pursue a career as a "TV news cameraman" or photojournalist. In '97 I grabbed a Sony Betacam and talked my younger brother Garrett into going to Iosepa with me. I think later that day at Iosepa I realized that this story needs to be told in a long format or documentary. That's when I planted the seed in my head and started thinking about what it would take to accomplish such a task. Back then I thought it would be easy....shoot some video.... have someone narrate and "abracadabra".... movie magic is made. Well... after researching this for the past 10 years I can say it's not that easy.

Iosepa is in Skull Valley, Utah about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. From 1889 to 1917 it was home to some 250 (estimate) Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. My great-grandfather John K N Mahoe was among those who originally settled there. The Hawaiians were converts to the LDS church. They received special permission from the Hawaiian monarchy to leave Hawaii and come to Utah for their faith. Originally they arrived in Salt Lake City but they found it hard to find jobs and mix in with the new culture. A committee was formed to find a suitable place for the Islanders to work and live. Skull Valley was chosen and Iosepa was built.

I did my Eagle Scout service project there in 1989 and have always felt close to Iosepa. There is a special aloha spirit that exists there. Every Memorial day weekend hundreds gather there to celebrate those who lived and died at there. Many who attend have family ties and there and many do not. What everyone shares is the aloha spirit and a common interest to not forget those who sacrificed so much for their faith.

As a storyteller, I believe this story needs to be told. There are too many people who don't know of Iosepa. I want to share that story in a documentary. I've created this blog to share my progress in making a documentary about Iosepa.

I will try to post some stories I've done......