Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

Howard Turner Ellis
Recollections of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea,
and Development of Astronomy in Hawai‘i
February 20, 2004, with Kepä Maly
Howard T. Ellis was born in Abbeville
County, South Carolina, in 1928. He
came to Hawai‘i in 1961 to work at
the Mauna Loa Weather Bureau
Observatory. In 1963, Howard was
asked to meet a visitor at the Hilo
Airport, and take him to Mauna Loa
so that he could do some observing.
The visitor happened to be Dr.
Gerard Kuiper, in the company of his
wife, and Alika Herring. Chuckling,
and in retrospect, Howard thinks it’s
because he had access to fourwheel
drive vehicles, that he was
initially contacted. Observing on
Mauna Loa went well, but Mauna
Kea called to Dr. Kuiper, so Howard
made arrangements to take Dr.
Kuiper and Alika Herring to Mauna
Kea on another trip. Through the
efforts of the Hilo Chamber of
Commerce, headed by Mitsuo
Akiyama, Dr. Kuiper was “courted”
and efforts towards the development
of Mauna Kea as an observatory
Dr. Kuiper (seated, left), Mitsuo Akiyama (standing, left),
Howard Ellis (standing, right), and others at the Lunar and
Planetary Laboratory – Test Telescope Site on Pu‘u
Poli‘ahu (ca. July 1964). From Slide Collection of
Alika Herring; Courtesy of the Institute for Astronomy.
platform were set in motion. Through those early years, Howard Ellis was the point man for Dr.
Kuiper, taking him to various localities on the mountain.
Of interest to readers of this interview, Howard Ellis shared important descriptions of the Mauna Loa-
Mauna Kea landscape, and plans for the care of view planes in accesses to the mountain lands.
Howard also remained active in planning matters for Mauna Kea through the 1980s, and has
collected various articles, letters, and documentation pertaining to development on the mountain, and
concerns for care of Mauna Kea.
Howard Ellis gave his personal release of the interview on March 24, 2005.
KM: [reviews background of Oral History Study and problems on Mauna Kea] …We would
like to talk story with some of the individuals who have a history on Mauna Kea, talk story
a little, but so we can understand how we got to where we are today. Would you please
share with me your full name and date of birth
HE: Yes. Howard Turner Ellis. I was born on June 21 st , the longest day of the year, 1928.
KM: Yes. [chuckling] Was that an auspicious occasion
HE: Well, it was for my mom [laughing].
KM: Yes. And where were you born
HE: South Carolina, Abbeville County, on a small cotton farm. The nearest village is called
Due West. Nobody knows what it’s west from [chuckling]. It’s known for Erskin College,
and I went there two years. It’s a pretty good Christian School… I had a good childhood
Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”
Kumu Pono Associates LLC
A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:588