Focus Hawaii Seiko Shiroma & Junior Primacio

Focus Hawaii Seiko Shiroma & Junior Primacio

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Description

Hosted by Lance Chase, this episode of Focus Hawaii features Seiko “Shirley” Shiroma and Junior Primacio, two longtime Kahuku residents who reflect on the history, daily life, and cultural fabric of the Kahuku Sugar Plantation. Shiroma recalls his childhood, his father’s move to Kahuku in the 1930s, his years as a union administrator, and vivid memories of plantation life—from the roar of the mill and the iconic morning whistle to the tight‑knit community that emerged around shared labor, free housing, and mutual support. Primacio, a third‑generation plantation worker, recounts his family’s immigration from the Philippines, his decades of field and mill work, the rise of unionization, the 1946 strike, and the birth of Hawai‘i’s Pidgin language as diverse workers learned to communicate. Together, they describe the social, economic, and cultural shifts that followed the mill’s 1971 closure—including changing demographics, town planning efforts, community housing initiatives, and the eventual decline of sugar as an industry—while preserving the nostalgia, solidarity, and identity that defined plantation life in Kahuku.

Length of Video

00:30:47

File Size

2.6GB

Archives Call Number

22.FH

Air Date

Winter 3-8-1994

Keywords

Lance Chase, Focus Hawaii, Seiko Shiroma, Shirley Shiroma, Junior Primacio, Kahuku Sugar Mill, Kahuku plantation history, Hawaiian sugar industry, plantation life Hawaii, unionization Hawaii, ILWU, 1946 sugar strike, Filipino plantation workers, Pidgin English origins, North Shore history, Kahuku community, plantation camps, sugar mill closure 1971, Kahuku Housing Corporation, Campbell Estate, Turtle Bay/Kuilima history, Oahu rural history.

Disciplines

Life Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Focus Hawaii Seiko Shiroma & Junior Primacio

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