SOME  SUGGESTIONS  FROM  THE  KUMUWELA  CLUB. 
By  Miss  Minnie  Reed. 
Probably  your  first  question  is, — “What  is  the  Kumuwela 
Club?”  Let  me  introduce  this  baby  club  of  a few  months 
to  you  elder  sisters.  We  are  a few  teachers  who  love  the  out 
of  doors  and  camping  sufficiently  to  rough  it  and  live  “The 
Simple  Life”  for  a few  weeks  of  our  summer  vacation.  Ail 
teachers  feel  the  need  of  a change  of  climate  after  the- year’s 
work,  but  few  of  us  feel  that  we  can  afford  to  go  to  Bie  States 
every  year  or  two  for  this  change.  Therefore,  if  we  camp  at 
a nigher  altitude  we  have  both  the  rest  and  change  of  climate 
at  a very  small  expense. 
The  idea  of  an  inexpensive  outing  for  teachers  and  a plan- 
for  the  organization  of  a permanent  club  for  this  purpose 
originated  in  the  mind  of  Mr.  Augustus  Knudsen.  It  was 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knudsen  who  made  our  first  outing,  and  the 
organization,  a delightful  reality.  Mr.  Knudsen  invited  us  to 
camp  on  his  ranch  in  the  mountains  of  Kauai  and  selected  the 
place  for  the  camp,  had  trails  cut,  bushes  cleared  off,  pitched 
our  tents,  selected  and  ordered  our  provisions  and  camp 
utensils ; and  also  secured  our  horses  and  pack  animals  for 
the  20-mile  ride.  In  fact,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Knudsen  were  our 
guardian  angels  all  the  while  we  camped. 
Our  camp  was  equipped  with  two  14x16  tents  and  a 12x20 
foot  fly  for  kitchen,  dining  room  and  reception  hall.  We  were 
also  provided  with  a large  wire-screened  safe  for  meats  and 
provisions,  granite  ware  plates  and'  cups,  knives  and  forks, 
dutch  oven,  frying  pan,  etc.,  for  twelve  people.  Several  large 
stones  formed  our  fire  place  and  bars  of  iron  served  as  sup- 
ports for  cooking  dishes.  Plenty  of  dead  brush  and  trees- 
around  camp  furnished  us  with  fuel ; while  a clear,  clean  brook 
a few  steps  away  gave  us  drinking  water.  A rod  or  so  below 
the  camp  was  a pool  for  bathing  and  washing. 
Our  camp  was  located  at  about  4000  feet  elevation  on  Kokee 
Creek  in  a little  forest  basin  called  Kumuwela,  meaning  “place 
of  fire.”  The  camp  was  opened  for  two  months  and  14  persons 
were  there  at  intervals.  The  temperature  was  cool  enough 
for  sweaters  morning  and  evening  and  for  two  heavy  blankets 
at  night. 
Our  club  members  camped  from  two  to  six  weeks  at  the 
cost  of  $20.00  to  $30.00  apiece,  including  steamer  fare,  food, 
riding  horses,  pack  animals,  etc.  Every  club  member  gained 
in  strength  and  mental  poise  and  came  back  refreshed  in  body 
and  spirit,  ready  for  the  year’s  teaching.  Each  one  brought 
back  delightful  memories  of  the  mountains,  and  forests,  a re- 
newed enthusiasm  for  the  out-door  life,  and  richer  for  the  new 
friends  and  comrades  made  in  camp. 
Let  me  draw  for  you  a little  pen  picture  of  Waimea  Canon 
and  of  Kumuwela  Camp  so  that  you  also  may  enjoy  their 
