Utah Woman Details 50-year History Of PCC

A new 184-page richly illustrated book, Miracle in the Pacific: The Polynesian Cultural Center, has been published to capture the essence of the Laie visitor attraction, which marks its 50th anniversary in 2013.

Author Laura F. Willes of Provo, Utah, is the wife of Mark H. Willes, who was on the PCC board of directors for 13 years. She has visited PCC hundreds of times, and the couple are members of the BYU-Hawaii/PCC President’s Leadership Council.

Willes donated her time and efforts to the project, having gone through all of PCC’s archives and interviewed countless people before even putting pen to paper.

One of PCC’s original employees and unofficial archivist Tausilinuu David Hannemann also contributed to the historical references in the book, describing with clarity events that took place 50 years ago.

Miracle in the Pacific will soon be on sale in the Laie cultural park’s gift shops and the nearby BYU-Hawaii bookstore; it currently is available online at DeseretBook.com. The book includes a bonus DVD, Rainbows of Paradise, featuring PCC’s colorful canoe pageant.