Typewriters in Paradise: The Na ʻĀina Kai Story
At a botanical garden on Kauaʻi, IBM Wheelwriters became practical tools for bookkeeping, labels, forms, reports, and correspondence—and a reminder that dependable paper workflows still have a place in extraordinary settings.
A Working Typewriter in a Hawaiian Garden
Na ʻĀina Kai Botanical Gardens & Sculpture Park grew from the vision of founders Joyce and Ed Doty on Kauaʻi’s north shore. In a 2019 conversation with Typewriters.com, horticulturist Marty Fernandes described how typewriters remained part of the organization’s daily work.
Joyce kept a manual Olympia available for times when storms interrupted electricity. She had also moved from IBM Selectrics to IBM Lexmark Wheelwriters after local Selectric service became harder to find.
Why Three Wheelwriters Stayed Busy
When local repair options disappeared, Fernandes found Jim Riegert and Typewriters.com. Three Wheelwriter 1500 machines were sent for service so they could be used in different offices around the gardens.
Preprinted forms
Staff could insert an existing form and type directly into its fields without rebuilding the document on a computer.
Labels and reports
The machines supported garden shipping labels, incident reports, and volunteer information sheets.
Ledgers and letters
Joyce preferred a physical workflow for bookkeeping and correspondence, producing paper records and mailed notes.
Support From Thousands of Miles Away
Fernandes recalled that one returned machine had shifted during its long trip back to Hawaii. After an email and phone call, Jim helped her identify a piece that had moved and talked her through reseating it.
The Larger Na ʻĀina Kai Story
The Dotys moved to Kauaʻi in 1982 and gradually transformed former ranch and agricultural land into a landscape of gardens, tropical hardwoods, buildings, water features, and sculpture. Marty joined the team in 1995 and helped develop both the gardens and its hardwood plantings.
In 2000, the property became the nonprofit Na ʻĀina Kai Botanical Gardens & Sculpture Park and opened to the public. The garden’s official website contains its current history, visitor information, and tour availability.
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