WAIMEA — The Waimea Senior Center has been enlivened with new red and white curtains, compliments of a new class that started this past June.
And if you stop by on Tuesday mornings, you will find a hub of activity — sewing machines humming, piles of fabric waiting to be assembled and prototypes of their latest project creating decorations for the upcoming Senior Christmas party.
The class instructor, Ann Hanneken, moved to Waimea and joined the Waimea Senior’s Club three years ago. Outgoing County Councilwoman Margaret Wille made funds available to the Center and they decided to purchase three state-of-the-art Bernina sewing machines.
“We got the sewing machines and decided to do projects. Right now we’re doing water bottle holders for the Christmas party to give away when the old folks go see Santa,” Hanneken said.
But the class isn’t just for women. Three men — Tony Ancheta, Henry Wong and Llewellyn Kumalae — are lifelong learners who recently joined the sewing class.
“These three men are very enthusiastic,” said Waimea Seniors Club President Pat Lewi.
“We had a lesson on the machines and did simple projects so they can get the feel of it. The men are wonderful. They’ve really gotten into it,” Hanneken added.
All three men are getting in touch with a distant legacy they remember from their childhood, watching grandmothers and mothers sewing.
“My mom used to teach us boys. We had the old treadle sewing machine. My dad worked for the sugar industry and we had a large family. My mother always sewed,” Ancheta said.
A Honokaa native, he worked for Hamakua Sugar until it closed down and then retrained as a certified nurse’s assistant in Hilo.
“I worked on the Hamakua Coast serving the community doing home health care and I got experience in hospice,” Ancheta said.
Retired after 16 years at North Hawaii Community Hospital, he was looking for his next learning experience.
“In life you never stop learning. If you do nothing you get nothing. I like learning new things and being part of a community I can give back to. You are only limited by your curiosity. I’m learning something new and it’s fun,” Ancheta said.
Henry Wong is a retired chef who has lived in far flung places. Born in Hong Kong, he grew up in the Bahamas. Then in 1990, he was living in Toronto when he won the immigration lottery allowing him to enter the U.S. and selected Hawaii as his destination.
“I worked as a chef in the resorts and retired from the Fairmont Orchid five years ago,” Wong said.
After retirement, he wanted to reconnect with his roots and was looking for Cantonese speakers and a mahjong game and found the latter at the Senior Center.
“I saw this ad and I called and Pat she said, ‘come by. We play every Thursday. We don’t make appointments on Thursday and we tell people not to call us on Thursday,’” Wong said.
So when the idea for the sewing class came up, he said, “Why not? I want to show the public that this isn’t just a woman’s club. I’m not shy about it.”
Like Ancheta, sewing was in Wong’s roots.
“My grandmother used to sew and I grew up watching her. She always told me I should learn to be independent because I’m not going to always have someone there to help me. I’ve done my own hand stitching and then I bought a machine and it sat in my closet for two years,” he said.
Retired from Hawaiian Telephone, Kumalae has been part of the Waimea Seniors Club for about six years.
“One day they offered this for the men and I thought I’d try. It just was something new and different and they were willing to let us men come,” he said.
Kumalae grew up in Honolulu but then he met and married his wife, Celeste, a Waimea girl, and they moved back home in 1968.
After he retired from the telephone company, Kumalae did some substitute teaching before joining the Waimea Seniors Club.
“After I worked with the younger folks, I decided I would do something with the older folks,” he said.
Growing up, Kumalae watched his mom sewing.
“I just did sewing with a needle but my mom had an old sewing machine that you peddle with your feet. But they brought in all these machines and they do everything. It’s interesting and I enjoy it. They tell me, ‘now that you’re learning to sew, you got to sew for your wife,’” he said.
For now, the class is sticking with simple projects that give back to the community.
“What we’re doing now is for the club’s Christmas party. It’s usually held at the Marriott. We have over 100 members. We cut all the materials last week and now I’m on the machine. Ann is really a good teacher,” Kumalae said.
The Waimea Seniors Club is also on the go.
“At first I thought you’d just come and talk story and there wasn’t much to do, but this club is really active. Once a quarter the men plan an activity like fishing or just going to the beach for a picnic,” he said. “In addition to the sewing class on Tuesday crafts day, the club goes bowling, ground golf at the park, line dancing, ukulele and of course mahjong.”
Info: Call Pat Lewi at 885-4307