"Iwaishi Store was our first stop every weekday afternoon, as my friend LeeAnn and I walked from Makawao School to our Japanese language classes at Makawao Hongwanji. I always bought a 6-cent chocolate Coke at the soda fountain before picking out a couple of Mary Janes or cherry lipsticks from the penny candy jars. Once in a while, if I was especially thirsty, I’d get the large Coke for 12 cents, but that was a large chunk of my snack budget, and Iwaishi’s was only one of several regular stops on our route.
Across Baldwin Avenue, a few doors up, we’d get more candy at Ichiki Store (now housing Aloha Cowboy and the Makawao History Museum), operated by the Kajiharas, who were close friends and neighbors of my mother’s family. Whenever Japanese school was on holiday, Mrs. Kajihara would babysit me at the store until my mother could pick me up after work. Auntie always gave me a Popsicle and let me read all the comic books I wanted."
Collins, Kathy (2019, March 13). "Sharing Mana'o".
Maui News
. Retrieved from http://www.mauinews.com/opinion/columns/2019/03/sharing-manao-125/