“ Going down the Strait of Magellan , the seas were very rough , so the seasickness ran rampant ,” O ’ Malley said . Five days after leaving Gibraltar there was a measles outbreak . “ Fifty-eight children died , they called it , ‘ Death all the way .”
After arriving in Honolulu on April 13 , the passengers were restricted to “ Quarantine Island ” for two weeks , due to the death of a child from scarlet fever the day they arrived . Once the quarantine lifted , the Luque family saw their new home , and discovered the promises that brought them to the Hawaiian Islands were nothing but lies . The home was completely bare , with no electricity . “ You owed yourself to the plantation general store , so you were working for free ,” Corvi explained .
Boragno had a first-hand glimpse into his great grandparents ’ lifestyle after touring a visitor center in Waipahu ,
Hawaii , where the history of plantation life was on display . “ You really got to see how impoverished it was and how hard their life was working those plantation fields ,” he said . “ That was kind of emotional , because this is how they lived .”
Education was also denied . Instead of attending school , eight-year-old Sara was designated to the role of water girl . “ She had a stick with two buckets of water she carried on her shoulders [ and ] she ’ d take water to the men in the fields ,” O ’ Malley said .
The family originally settled on the island of Pahala , but six months after their arrival , Rosario demanded they move . “ Concerned of possible seismic activity she marched into the manager ’ s office and told him she wanted her family off the island ,” Corvi said . “ She was a very strong woman , very protective .” ( continued ...)
OPPOSITE LEFT : Cork model of the SS Orteric dispayed with family relics during the Centennial celebration . OPPOSITE RIGHT : Centennial celebration invitations with the Luque family portrait , circa 1921 . TOP IMAGE : Vincent Palladino , a fifth-generation Luque presents the family history and video he created for the celebration . ABOVE LEFT : The Hawaiian Gazette of April 11 , 1921 announces the Orteric arriving with 1400 laborers in quarantine due to deadly measles outbreak . CENTER : Widespread flyers promised work and a better future for all . ABOVE RIGHT : Orteric ship manifest . RIGHT : Ewa Plantation company train .
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