A retired professor and his aloha for agriculture and wild Hawai‘i

Dr. John B. Hall grew up in Denver, Colorado, where his mother had been a physical education teacher before she married. She came from a small town in Iowa, which the family often visited during summers to see her parents and those of her nine siblings who lived nearby.

Two of her brothers farmed in the area, and John spent a lot of time on his uncle Ernest’s farm, where two of his uncles’ sons were slightly older than he was. He greatly enjoyed his adventures on the farm, and he developed a serious respect for farming and the trials and joys of this profession.

After obtaining a PhD in biochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, he received a two-year postdoctoral fellowship to continue his studies at the California Institute of Technology. Near the end of this period, he was offered an assistant professorship at the University of Hawai‘i and moved to Honolulu. He was 29, and he married a local woman about a year later.

He eventually became a professor of microbiology. John spent four sabbatical leaves teaching in New Zealand, Nepal, Turkey, and Belize, all but the first on Fulbright lectureships. He retired from UH in 1992.

In 2023, John donated a tract of raw land on Hawai‘i Island to the UH Foundation for the benefit of the Hawai‘i Community College agricultural program. The foundation sold it for a great deal more than he had been offered privately before, much to his surprise and gratification, establishing the John Hall Endowment for the agricultural program.

The fund will support equipment purchases, research, and supplies as Hawai‘i CC prepares students to enter the workforce in government service, agribusiness, horticulture, landscaping, production of livestock, flowers, and foliage, and growing some of the Aloha State’s most respected produce.

“I purchased the land when my grandson was born,” John says. “I thought that, like my wife’s brother, he might be interested in farming, and that land would be more expensive by the time he grew up. Now he is 26 and his interests are decidedly elsewhere. I had several friends teaching in Hilo and had a lot of aloha for their efforts, so I was quite happy to donate the land to the university.”

Assistant Professor Lew Nakamura says, “The Hawai‘i Community College Agricultural Program is deeply honored to have received this generous donation, whose proceeds will help construct and maintain our new 16-acre farm laboratory in Pana‘ewa. This gift could not have come at a better time as we expand our agricultural program.”

Malama the Land

Growing up in Denver, in a family that loved the mountains, it was natural for Dr. Hall to become a serious hiker in Hawai‘i. Pete Holt, an elderly member of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, had been a plant collector through Latin America and got John interested in the plants along the trails. Five decades later, John published a book, “A Hiker’s Guide to Trailside Plants in Hawai‘i,” which is now in its 6th printing. The retired professor of microbiology is still leading trips into the mountains and woodlands of O‘ahu, these days as a guide for novice hikers of UH Mānoa’s Osher Lifelong Learn Institute.

“John Hall is known accurately and belovedly as the Father of Hiking at OLLI,” says Carole Mandryk, OLLI’s director. “He initiated the hiking class and encouraged fellow hikers to take on leadership roles, establishing guidelines for hike leaders while contributing to defining ability levels for classes of varying skills.”

One participant in John’s classes wrote, “Dr. Hall’s extensive knowledge of plants alongside the trails is amazing. He adds a Hawaiian story to explain how the plant got its name or he explains what the plant was used for, and it makes learning much more memorable!”

“This professor emeritus hiker is a living legend, a cultural treasure, a source of woodland lore and plant info galore,” wrote another. “He is 90-something years old and still leading wondrous and educational hikes.”

Carole says, “A few years ago, John felt he needed to scale back, and he devised a less-strenuous course for novice hikers he calls Easy Hikes for Novice Hikers, but he sometimes refers to it as Easy Hikes for Snails. He is truly a marvelous, generous, patient, thoughtful person, and avidly enthusiastic hiker, teacher and booster of OLLI in every way.”

During each of the three semesters every year in the OLLI program, John has led a six-week session of Wednesday hikes. OLLI is restricted to people 50 and over, so none of the group are energetic youngsters, and they move slowly and admire the plants, the views and the ambiance of the wilderness. “Hiking in the mountains is a relaxing, quiet, and refreshing experience,” says John. “The beauty of nature, the escape from city noise, the peace and quiet, and the steady rhythm of walking can induce a meditation-like state and are a balm to the soul! It is increasingly recognized that exposure to nature is very beneficial to people in general, and the OLLI hiking program is designed to encourage and provide that experience. Care for the fields, care for the land care, for the soul!”