Mauna Kea Oral History Appendix - Office of Mauna Kea Management

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They wouldn’t even think of it, you tell, the first thing is, “What’s the pay” Once you tell
‘em the pay, they probably run the other way.
And what was your pay, when you started the ranch
When I started, when I came back after the war [thinking] no, I started pumping before
the war. I came back after the war, I was making $105.00.
Hundred five dollars
That’s what I was making at the radio station.
A month
Yes.
Hundred five a month.
A month. That was good pay, because the ranch pay was about $54.00, $55.00 a month.
Yes.
When I came back into Waiki‘i… I know when I came into Waiki‘i after the war, the
Foreman up there was making $75.00.
Oh, wow!
That’s all his pay was, he was in charge of about sixty men.
Yes.
He was only making that. The other guys working under was making almost as much pay
as him. I used to know what his pay was. He’d tell me, “Hey, you not working today,
you’re pau work, take the car go Waimea pick up the guys pay.” All the pay in the
envelope, you look at each pay, each one told how much he make. Alex Bell was making
$75.00.
Wow!
He wasn’t making hardly more than the other guys were. They always used to grumble,
but I tell ‘em that pay was only a matter of a few dollars difference, that’s all.
Right. And well, like you said one of the benefits of it was you had house.
House, you get meat, hunting. You can hunt any kind game.
Yes.
And they also gave us poi, and the ranch gave us meat. And at one period of time we
had butter.
Yes, they had butter and milk.
And milk every day.
Oh yes.
The kids, they could get food. They gave you food to survive.
Yes. Let’s see, the milk, butter, like that, was that coming from Waiki‘i or was that out of
Pu‘u Kikoni side
Pu‘u Kikoni.
Oh. So they would haul it out every day
Yes.
Every day.
Mauna Kea– “Ka Piko Kaulana o ka ‘Äina”
Kumu Pono Associates LLC
A Collection of Oral History Interviews (HiMK67-050606) A:455