An Army of one
When asked what Dimples Kano did as a volunteer at the Kauai Salvation Army, Major Mario Reyes thought long and hard. Finally he answered, “What did she not do?”
He then began describing a few of the countless things that Kano achieved over the four decades she served as a volunteer at the Kauai Salvation Army.
“For many years, she was the recording secretary for the board,” Reyes continued. “I was impressed that she took notes by shorthand, a craft that I thought was totally lost. And then she used a manual typewriter to record her notes, even up to our last meeting of 2013. She kept very accurate records, and she kept them up to date.”
A familiar name on Kauai, Yoshiko Dimples Kano is synonymous with compassion and deep humanity. From Thanksgiving luncheons to organizing volunteers to working on the Salvation Army serving line, Kano has been for decades the heart and soul of the organization’s community work. At nearly 89 years old, Kano retired from the Salvation Army advisory board at the end of January, leaving a void that officials say will be hard to fill.
Kano is a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Kauai Salvation Army and was honored at a dinner at Hanamaulu Cafe on the last night the historic restaurant was open for business.
“I’ll still be involved, so I don’t know that I will be missing anything,” says Kano brightly. “Volunteering seems to be my hobby.”
Born in Lihue in June of 1925, Yoshiko Dimples Kano moved to Kapaa after getting married in 1947. A widow for the last 20 years, she juggled motherhood with active community work, raising four children amid meetings and a career in real estate.
She recalls Ken Harding recruiting her as recording secretary for the Kauai Salvation Army nearly 40 years ago.
“They didn’t have anyone who could do the clerical stuff,” I was the only office-trained person, so when Ken asked, I said, sure.”
“Soon after I came aboard, I was the recording secretary. That was the biggest duty, to take minutes of the meetings and to make sure that copies of the minutes went to the headquarters in Honolulu. I’m one of a handful who remembered to send the minutes.”
The meetings were held once a month but would get reduced toward the end of the holiday season, she said, making it 11 meetings a year for which she was recording secretary. At 11 meetings a year for 40 years, that’s 440 meetings that Kano attended and recorded. And that was just the beginning.
“Almost from the beginning, they asked me about chairing the community Thanksgiving luncheon,” she continues. “I very naively said OK, as long as someone else would be serving with me.”
She said the Salvation Army major at the time pitched in, launching the practice of more active, hands-on participation by the board members in the annual Salvation Army Thanksgiving luncheon.
Last year, said Major Reyes, the Kauai Salvation Army Thanksgiving luncheon served more than 700 people, but “most years it’s 800 to 900.”
The take-out lunches alone number about 200 to 250, says Kano, and it’s primarily the volunteers who distribute them. While some food is purchased, individuals, board members, community leaders and organizations donate most of it.
The amount of good that Kano has achieved, both through The Salvation Army and her other commitments, is incalculable. She’s been a member of the Zonta Club of Kauai, a professional women’s service organization, for more than 40 years, having been invited into the group when she was a real estate broker with Robert Prosser.
“Deciding to turn to real estate as a career, and being invited to join Zonta soon after, were two things that kind of propelled me to get involved in so many things,” she reflects. “I guess my reputation for being a willing helper traveled.”
She’s also a 38-year member of the Kauai United Way, where she serves as honorary board member and is still active on the golf committee.
“I’m also a member of the Kapaa Hongwanji, and that means I’m part of a very busy crew,” she continues. “I think it’s partly because I’m old enough, and I’m not a defeatist. I always think, ‘Let’s try and see.’”
She seems genuinely embarrassed by the attention she’s receiving, preferring instead to acknowledge others who have helped.
“The editor of The Garden Island called me last November and was so supportive of our Christmas efforts,” she notes. “Starting the day after Thanksgiving and through Christmas Eve, he made sure we had front-page coverage every day. We worked with organizations like the YWCA and Easter Seals, and with social workers, who talked with their clients about their needs.”
The Zonta Club of Kauai collected funds and distributed them, ending up with more than $40,000 in collections. An anonymous contribution of $20,000 “swelled the pot,” she says, “which means we get to help more people this year.”
When asked what prompted her lifelong commitment to helping others, she points to her mother’s illness many years ago. On her daily visits with her mother, who lay dying of cancer, says Kano, “I’d see the people who stayed in the hospital, and I thought, how sad, how monotonous to stay in the hospital. And I thought, ‘That’s how volunteers could help.’”
When acknowledged for her remarkable contributions to Kauai, Kano defers.
“I never thought of it that way at all,” she says. “I’ve just been quietly enjoying the satisfaction of knowing that I did something for the community. I’m kind of embarrassed by the attention. I take it with a grain of salt.”
According to Maj. Reyes, Kano has “helped set a standard for the rest of the board.”
“For this length of time, no, we have not seen anything like it before,” he said. “And she’s not done with us yet. That’s a good thing, because we still need a lot of her direction and inspiration.”