PreDigital: A trip to Wone

Preparing for a trip down from Kolonia to Wone, Henry sharpens knives. This particular trip took place fall 1992. Every possible weekend the family would pack up and go out to Wone, the original family home.

Arrival and unpacking usually occurred at the house of Mayerico Salvador, which is located at Frederico Salvador's place in Wone-Luak, Kitti, on Pohnpei.

Frederico's home was apparently originally constructed as a nahs and later walled in.

Inside everyone shared a single commons area for sleeping. One really was a member of the family, and not simply a guest. More than anything else, the Salvador family and Wone caused me to decide to stay and work on Pohnpei.

Weekend days in Wone were spent working - cutting grass the old fashioned way. With a machete and elbow grease.

Meals were often prepared in the nahs by Mayerico's home.

Maria Salvador on the hunt. I pity the fool who cut down her apple tree.

Bath time in Wone was also play time in the swimming pool. Laundry, however, was hard work and done by hand.

There was always time for a pick-up game of baseball. This is the idyllic childhood of dreams - a close knit family that spends quantity time together. Children know that there is no such thing as quality time, only quantity time. Florida may have the magic kingdom, but all the bells and whistles of an American childhood does not amount to hill of stale beans against the magic of a childhood in Wone. Children grow up knowing they are loved, having a sense of pride in their culture, a sense of place in their society, and a respect for elders. These days in Wone were what I was remembering when in 1998 I visited Guam for the first time.