Melanie Sarmiento
Lucy Peros | Photos courtesy Sarmiento ‘Ohana
This month’s featured Sakada offspring, Melanie Sarmiento considers her Dad, a 1946 Sakada, as a person who practiced sustainability even before that word became a popular word.
Melanie was born on Maui. She attended Makawao Grade School, Maui High School and the University of Hawai‘i Maui College. She received a degree in Accounting.
She works for a non-profit company in Human Resources. Her husband Darren Sarmiento works at a government job as a trainer. They have one daughter who lives on the mainland with her husband and a son.
Melanie is a member of the Baptist Church. She enjoys exercising, hiking and cooking. She also enjoys reading mysteries, romance and the Bible.
Melanie has an older brother, William Barut, and an older sister who lives in Honolulu with her husband. They have two children and two grandchildren who are living on the mainland. William is a retired firefighter on Maui and is married to Rhonda Barut. They have a son, Stephen Barut who lives on the mainland and just got married to Ximena Barut.
Guilliermo Barut was Melanie’s father who was born in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, Philippines on February 7, 1909. He came to Hawai‘i in 1946 on board the S.S. Maunawili as one of the thousands of Sakadas who were recruited to come and work in the sugar and pineapple plantations.
Guilliermo first landed on Hawai‘i island before heading to Maui. He worked at HC&S for a short while and lived at McGerrow Camp in Pu‘unēnē which was located across the Sugar Mill. He then transferred to work at the Maui Pine Plantation in Hāli‘imaile, Maui. He first worked as a laborer and earned his way up to become a supervisor (luna) until he retired in 1971. He lived in Hāli‘imaile Camp where many other Sakadas lived.
Hāli‘imaile was a very rustic, peaceful community where everybody knew everyone and took care of each other. They looked after each other especially with the young children. They shared their vegetables, fruits, fish that they caught, and even limu (seaweed) that they gathered from the beaches. The Hāli‘imaile community was one big ‘ohana (family). The Hāli‘imaile Filipino Clubhouse was the center of parties and fun activities, where many of the people from the outside communities joined in especially during Christmas and New Year celebrations.
In 1962, Guilliermo was interested in looking for a wife and wanted to go back to the Philippines. It so happened there was a lady next door to Guilliermo who had an unmarried sister in the Philippines. Her name was Cornelia Gabriel. So she introduced her to Guilliermo through letters. So she and Guilliermo became pen pals. In 1963, he left for the Philippines to meet Cora face to face. Cora met him at the Manila Airport. As they met, there was no doubt in both their minds they were soulmates. With no time wasted, they had a Civil Marriage on November 10, 1963. After the wedding, they went straight to the Immigration Office in Manila to work on the paperwork for Cora to come to Hawai‘i. On December 28, 1963, Guilliermo and Cora left the Philippines, arriving on Maui on January 1, 1964.
Melanie had this to say about her Dad: My Dad always thought about our future, his family, even when we were just growing up and didn’t realize it at the time. Long before ‘sustainability’ became a common idea, he was already living it. He taught us, not through words but through the way he lived, to waste less and make the most of what we had. I remember him tending to a garden, recycling what he could and raising chickens for food and eggs. Those everyday choices were his way of caring for us. Looking back now, I realize how much we continue to benefit from his foresight, his values and the quiet investments he made in our lives.
William also had these heartwarming words about his Dad: My Dad was a quiet, smart and very knowledgeable man. He was the one who helped me with my schoolwork when I was younger. He helped everyone with their tax preparation even in his old age. He raised me up really well.
Unfortunately, Guilliermo passed away on February 28, 2001.
Presently, Cora still lives in the same house she and Guilliermo lived in with their children. She enjoys visiting their children and grandchildren here on Maui as well as those living on the mainland.
Lucy Peros is a retired schoolteacher, having taught at St. Anthony Grade School and Waihe‘e Elementary School. Her late parents, Elpidio Cachero Cabalo (a 1946 Sakada) and Alejandra Cabudoy Cabalo both worked for Maui Land and Pine Company. Lucy enjoys being with other retirees in the Enhance Fitness Program under the Department of Aging three times a week. Whenever she can, she joins other Waihe‘e School retirees when help is needed at the school. Lucy also devotes some of her time as Lector and choir member at both Christ The King Catholic Church in Kahului and St. Ann Catholic Church in Waihe‘e. She enjoys being with her granddaughters after school. She also enjoys writing, reading and gardening in her spare time.