MaryGrace Bautista
Lucy Peros | Photos courtesy the Bautista ‘Ohana
“Lucky you live Hawai‘i” is a special motto that this month’s featured Sakada Offspring always heard from her Dad since she could remember as a child.
MaryGrace Bautista was born in July 1973 in Wailuku. She attended Kahului Elementary School, Maui High School (Class of 1991), Heald Business College (1991–1992), Maui Community College (1997, Associate of Science Degree in Information Technology), and a beauty school (2011, Nail Technician).
MaryGrace is presently employed at Central Pacific Bank as a Sales Assistant in the Home Loans Division. Her past employment for thirteen years was with Mann Mortgage as an Administrative Assistant to Loan Officers and as a Mortgage Broker from 2010 to 2017. Other past employments were Nail Technician at Chatter Box (2012–2014) and Nail Technician at Cutting Edge Salon from 2011–2012.
Besides being busy at work, MaryGrace enjoys some hobbies and interests. She enjoys going shopping, going to the beach and pool, eating at different restaurants, traveling to the mainland, and sharing her skin care line (Korean Skin Care) with her friends and family.
Besides her children, MaryGrace also has a special person in her life, Billy Medeiros. She has two daughters, Kristie Amberlyn Pingkian and Jessica-Lynn Bautista Pingkian. Kristie attended the University of Hawai‘i Maui College. She lives in New York and works at Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino. Jessica-Lynn attended Kapi‘olani Community College. She lives on Maui and works at Hyatt in the Sales Department. Windell Taylan is Jessica’s fiance. Jessica has two children, Malorie Reign Taylan (4 years old) and Jesson Allen Pingkian-Taylan (1 year old).
In 2006, during the Centennial Celebration of the arrival of the first Filipino immigrants who came to work in the plantations of Hawai‘i, Kristie Pingkian authored a story about her Sakada grandfather, Gregorio “George” Bautista, as a third-grade project under the direction of her teacher, Chaunalee Gaoiran, at Kahului School. It is worth publishing again to honor all our Sakadas besides Kristie’s grandpa, Gregorio Bautista, whose story is very similar to most, if not all, of our Sakada stories.
My grandfather was born on November 11, 190,6, to Alejandro and Eugenia Bautista in the Philippines in the town of Sinait, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. My grandfather was 19 years old when he arrived on the islands. There were these men from Hawai‘i who were recruiting people from the Philippines to work on the plantations in Hawai‘i. My grandfather arrived on the islands in the year 1925. He rode on the ship for three months. He landed on Kaua‘i. On Kaua‘i, he fell ill and needed some assistance so that he could get better. The Lunas (supervisors) on Kaua‘i sent him to Maui so that he could recover from his illness. On Maui, my grandfather got better and started working for Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company as a Hana Hou boy (bringing buckets of water to workers on the plantation fields). This occupation only made ten cents per hour, $1 per day for 10 hours of back-breaking work in the plantation fields in the hot sun. My grandfather did this for about six months and wanted to look for another job. He got another job at a grocery store in Puʻunene near the camp where he lived. In the grocery store, everything was great, but he had to carry 50-pound bags of rice. So, he went back to the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company as a weeder and cane harvester. He stayed on that job for six years and went to work in the mill as a crew chief operator, where he retired in 1964.
Life on the plantation was hard. Neighbors were from different backgrounds. They had Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese camps around the Filipino camp. They used kerosene stoves to cook. The bathroom was in an outhouse (shower and toilet). They had free housing. They paid for electricity and water. There were no telephones and few televisions. They had the grocery store, the church, and the community halls nearby. People in the camps knew each other.
My grandfather lived with two other men in the house. Life was simple and yet hard to enjoy because of the back-breaking work every day for ten hours.
My grandfather enjoyed playing sports such as tennis, golf, and baseball. His team went to a championship game against a Honolulu team and they won. My grandfather also won a handicap for tennis. He was an avid baseball and tennis player during his time. He was a part-time soldier for the HC&S battalion. He almost went to duty when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941 during World War II.
In addition to Kristie’s beautiful story, just for history’s sake, George Bautista was born the same year the first fifteen Filipino immigrants came to Hawai‘i in 1906. When he came to Maui, he lived with his friends Genaro Ibanez and his brother Jose Bautista at Camp 6 and at McGerrow Camp in Pu‘unēnē, one of the last plantation camps to be closed.
In 1961, George went to the Philippines to marry his beautiful wife, Marina Agsalog. He had to come back right after the wedding because of his job. Marina followed him in 1966. They lived at McGerrow Camp for three years before moving to Kahului in 1970. In fact, George and Marina were selected number one on the list for a house lot in the Eleventh Increment of the New Kahului. Former Maui County Chairman Elmer Cravalho drew their names in the presence of the late Pepito Ragasa, Douglas Thompson, Joseph Franco, and Richard Taylor. That house lot is their present residence today on Kamehameha Avenue. Marina started working at HC&S in 197,8, doing a variety of jobs. She retired in 2008. Marina is an avid traveler. She has already traveled to the following exotic places: Israel, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Amsterdam, Russia, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
MaryGrace is the only child of Marina and George Bautista. She also shares her personal reflection on her Dad. I remember my Dad as being humble, always helping family members and other people. My Dad would always be the one that would give his shirt to the person in need. He would always talk about the Philippines, his childhood, and talk also about how hard it was for him as a kid. My Dad would mention that he was a rascal as a child. But he was always eager to learn about life. My Dad has always been a huge fan of family life and enjoyed being around his family. My Dad spoke Ilokano, Tagalog, and Japanese. My Dad’s neighbor taught my Dad how to read, write, and speak Japanese. My Dad was into sports. He played baseball and tennis. He won several trophies from both sports. I remember that during my school breaks, we would always go to the old Kahului Shopping Center, where Dad would play Sakura (Hanafuda, Japanese game cards) with his friends under the monkeypod trees. My Dad and my Mom were a perfect couple for me growing up. My Dad was always so calm, and he and my Mom agreed or compromised with each other. There was no fighting in our household. My Dad got along well with everyone. He had a good and long life.
My Dad was the one who raised and took care of me because he was already retired when I was bor,n and my Mom was still working at HC&S. I remember my Mom bringing home from the fields, squash, paria leaves (bitter melon leaves which I love), pumpkin and other Filipino vegetables. I miss my Dad every day and wish that he would still be here. I only wish that he would have seen his grandkids. I am glad to have a father like my Dad. I am proud to be a part of my Dad’s legacy. I always live my life with my Dad’s motto in mind, “Lucky you live Hawai‘i.”
Lucy Peros is a retired schoolteacher, having taught at St. Anthony Grade School and Waihe‘e Elementary School. Both of her late parents, Elpidio Cachero Cabalo (a 1946 Sakada) and Alejandra Cabudoy Cabalo of Hāli‘imaile, worked for Maui Land and Pine Company. Lucy now enjoys retirement and has time to join other seniors in the Enhance Fitness Program under the Department of Aging three times a week. She also attends the line dancing class and other activities at Kaunoa and joins other Waihe‘e School retirees when help is needed at the school. Lucy also devotes some of her time to activities at Christ The King Catholic Church. She enjoys writing and reading in her spare time.