How long does a supply of 700 presents last?
An hour before the start of the Second Kekaha Landfill Christmas on Thursday, cars lined the shoulder of Kaumuali‘i Highway from the entrance to the landfill to as far westward as the eye could see.
“We have at least 700 presents this year,” said a supervisor for Waste Management, the entity that manages the landfill. “That’s more than double of the 320 presents we had during our first year of the Kekaha Landfill Christmas. There are no individual heroes. This is all possible because of our sponsors.”
A community volunteer whose family joined the ranks of volunteers noted that support came from across the state to bring some of the spirit of the holidays to the people of Kaua‘i.
The Kekaha Landfill was specially decorated for the season in anticipation of the hundreds of cars that would drive through to pick up Christmas packages that contained assortments of snacks, a bag of rice or a case of dried noodles, a bag of assorted nonperishable food and, of course, toys for the keiki.
“The men work really hard decorating,” the supervisor said. “This is the landfill crews’ way of giving back to our Westside community that we love very much.”
Cars drove single file through the landfill that was fully illuminated in colorful holiday lights, including a cage containing a family of goats that one sponsor said was the night’s grand prize.
Atop the roof, a solitary man worked to get the “R” in Christmas to light up as the family of the late Paddy Boy Malama rolled up in Paddy Boy’s “real boat” that was decorated parade-style and overflowing with ‘ohana, joining the sea of holiday lights and the light tunnel where drivers slowly moved their cars full of adoring eyes and smiles.
In the sea of volunteers was a quote from Saint Teresa says, “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”
An hour following the first car moving through the winter wonderland of lights and music, cars were still lining the shoulders of Kaumuali‘i Highway toward Polihale State Park.
Sponsors were Hawthorne, Kama‘aina Kids, Kuhio Auto Group, David Skippou, ITC Water Management, Joel and Tam Green, Stanford Lindsey Trucking, Geosyntec, KAR Leatherworks, Kiara’s Western Belts, Green Earth Matters, Miranda Group, Global Agriculture, MCS Grill, Goodfellow Brothers, Kaua‘i Concrete &Rock, Earthworks, Glen Yuron, Nathan Wood, Aloha Roofing Supply, Allied Machinery, Captain Andy’s, Salty Wahine Gourmet Hawaiian Salt, Douglas Stuart, Wally Rita Trucking, DMK &Associates, Moriguchi Enterprise, Tamba, Shaka Tea, Small Fry Kaua‘i, Coco Moon, Aloha Exchange, Sig Zane Designs, Dustin Moises, Drake Castillo, AES, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative, Local Motion, The Tow Truck, Pacific Tile, Pacific Concrete Cutting &Coring, Tiger Enterprise, Rick Renaud, DC Sweets, Super Duper, Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort &Spa and Leila Kamakele.
