Patrons to the Kaua’i Museum are welcomed by the silent warmth of the ikebana floral arrangement that is an extension of the affection of its creator, George Earl Langan of Wailua. Retired for 17 years, Langan is a weekly visitor
Patrons to the Kaua’i Museum are welcomed by the silent warmth of the ikebana floral arrangement that is an extension of the affection of its creator, George Earl Langan of Wailua.
Retired for 17 years, Langan is a weekly visitor to the museum, where he arrives with his arsenal of flora and foilage that grows in his backyard. He embelishes the delivery with his sense of individuality that overflows from his arrangements and becomes part of the museum visitor’s experience.
“He’s a volunteer,” Carol Lovell, the museum’s director points out. “He comes and does his thing every week, and the visitors love it.”
A stage play could not be choreographed more timely as Bellevue, Wash. visitors Michael and Peggy Corwin and Stan and Helen Freemen wrapped up their museum tour by stopping by the main entrance to chat with Langan about the heliconia that screamed for attention with orange-red hues that seemed a bit more intense as the afternoon sun saturated the aging blooms, while a video camera recorded the exotic flora as part of a trip’s memorabilia.
Langan’s creativity with flowers did not blossom until after he retired from the Postal Service, where he was a computer programmer responsible for the nation’s accounts receivables for the mail carrier service.
“My neighbor was with Safari Helicopters and asked if I could do some of the flowers for them,” Langan said with a smile as bright as the setting sun.
That neighborly request started a 15-year affair with the many exotic tropical flowers that grow in Langan’s Wailua backyard.
“I used to do the Safari Helicopters flowers every week. A coffee shop in the Coconut Marketplace had good coffee, and I used to do flowers for them in exchange for coffee, too. The people in the jewelry store in the Marketplace were nice, so they ended up with flowers, too,” he said.
His circle of deliveries grew with his budding talent, which Langan says he acquired through a process of trial and error and watching the demonstrations at the annual Kaua’i County Farm Bureau Fair.
When his wife needed the services of the day care unit at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Langan provided them with arrangements until her passing three years ago.
At one point, Langan was delivering as many as 15 unique arrangements a week.
“If there were not quite enough flowers to create the arrangements, there were always neighbors who were willing to share,” Langan said. And he could return the favor with gifts of oranges, or other fruits and produce, pointed out.
But flowers aren’t the only gifts Langan provides, as he is quick to come up with tales of his past if one takes the time to chat.
“My wife was on Ford Island the day they dropped the bombs at Pearl (Harbor),” Langan said, his eyes twinkling as he recollected the memories. And, there is the time he spent time chatting with author James Michener’s chauffeur while his wife was tending to other chores.
As Langan wrapped up his weekly arrangements, he was quick to note that he had one more stop before the sun set. Oranges from his backyard needed to be dropped off at Kaua’i Economic Opportunity.
“I don’t like to see things go to waste,” he said.
Staff photographer Dennis Fujimoto can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253).
