September 5, 1981 Kahuku, Oahu

              On the occasion of Andy Trochez' 90th Birthday Party

              TROCHE is an old and honored name in Puerto Rico.
    The first Troche was the son-in-law of Ponce de Leon,
    and guardian of his children when the great explorer died.
    In 1521 Garcia Troche constructed the Casa Blanca
    which to this day is the home of the governors of Puerto Rico
    Troche is only 80 years old in Hawaii, and here too, it is an honorable name.

              It is with great pleasure that we gather here today to honor and praise
    our gentle friend, Andalecio Trochez. I would like to tell you why and how.
    Andy Trochez, born in Aguas Blancas, Yauco, Puerto Rico on September 7, 1891,
    came to Hawaii in 1901. Andy is the oldest son of Lauriano Troche Caravalho and
    Alvida Santiago de Troche. He lived with his parents, three sisters,
    and one brother on their own farm. All thee children helped around the house
    and farm. They grew gandules, platanos, guineos, achiote, and yautia.
    Their cows were tied under a corner of the house, which was built
    high off the ground. They also kept pigs and chickens.

              When Andy was still very young he started picking coffee with his father
    on a nearby coffee farm owned by Pancho Mejias. Andy was so small
    that his father used to bend the branches down and tie them to a peg in
    the ground so that Andy could reach the beans. He would fill his basket
    during work time, and break for lunch with the men. Some of his fondest
    memories are those lunches of guineo and bacalao. The Puerto Ricans of
    that day who practiced a self sustaining economy, as did Andy,s family,
    did this seasonal harvesting work to earn the little cash they required
    for the things they couldn't grow or make themselves. Andy's father made
    fifty cents a day for a ten hour day.

              In Hawaii, a cane worker made sixty cents a day for a twelve hour day,
    with no siesta time.

              In 1898 there was an invasion of Puerto Rico by the Unitd States
    which abruptly ended the island's brand new political autonomy. The
    invasion also disrupted the island's profitable export trade with
    Europe and the United States. The coffee producer could no longer ship
    his coffee to the European markets which so highly prized the beans.
    There was a crippling shortage of cash. In 1899 the hurricane. San Ciriaco,
    wiped out most of the coffee farms and devestated the homegrown crops of families
    such as the Troche household. The hurricane was folowed by an edidemic
    which unfortunately claimed one of Andy's little sisters among its victims.
    In two years of man made destruction and the rages of nature,
    the southwestern side of the little island became a disaster area.

              Here in Hawaii, the Sugar Planters were faced with a labor problem.
    The Japanese workers were trying to unionize and were demanding a pay
    raise from 60 cents a day to 70 cents. The Hawaii Sugar Planters Association
    wanted to break their monopoly on the plantations and sought another
    source of workers. They wanted really different people who would not
    be likely to understand the Japanese and join in the union efforts.

              The United States had annexed Hawaii just a few months after taking
    Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico from Spain. The HSPA, at the
    suggestion of some gentlemen in Hawaii who had worked in Puerto Rico
    and through the delegates to Congress from the two territories,
    initiated a study of the labor supply of Puerto Rico. The HSPA sent
    talent scouts to Puerto Rico who reported that the people are moral,
    industrious and law-abiding. Then through the auspices of a labor broker,
    recruiters were sent to Puerto Rico.

              Lauriano Troche Caravalho and his family were recruited.
    In his mind Andy still has a vivid picture of the leavetaking,
    especially from his maternal grandmother. He remembers her sadness and
    his own young inexperienced acceptance of the parting. He also remembers
    the fun a ten year old can have on a ship, and the excitment and wonders
    of a cross country train ride. You see, Andy and his family set out
    from Yauco to the seaport Guanica by oxen cart. From there a big ship,
    the California, took them to New Orleans. Oh, were some folk seasick!!
    The South Pacific Railroad took them to Los Angeles from where they crossed
    the vast Pacific on the San Leandro. In Honolulu they went through quarantine
    and then on the little steamer Mikahala to Kauai, where they started
    their new life on Kekaha Plantation.

              Lauriano and Alvida Troche were anxious that their children would get
    a good education. And even though more babies were born, Andy went to
    the public school until 1907. He worked part time before that, but
    school was very important. In 1907 he was employed by Kekaha Plantation
    as a Spanish interpreter for a Spanish work gang whose luna did not
    speak english. After a year, the Spaniard quit and Andy was given the
    gang to supervise. So Andy was a plantation luna at age 18.

              Andy's brothers and sisters recognized Andy as their second father.
    They loved him for his tender and loving treatment. He set a wonderful
    example as a son. He not only worked hard all day, but in the evenings
    he read in Spanish to his mother and father. Paul Troche, God rest his
    soul, told us a wonderful story about Andy. The paymaster used to take
    the pay envelopes to the workers in the fields. Andy was a luna but his
    envelope contained only 75 cents. You remember, at that time the
    plantation store collected first, and the worker received the balance,
    if there was any. Well the paymaster was curious and asked Andy's
    manager about it. The manager answered by asking the paymaster to look
    into the envelope for Andy's papa. When the paymaster looked, he saw
    that all of Lauriano's pay was in the envelope. The manager said,
    "There are very few sons in the world like Andy." because Andy was so
    good that he gave all his pay to his father to help support the family.
    Remember, that family grew to fourteen children.

              Andy worked at Kekaha for a few years then the whole family moved to
    Waialua Plantation on Oahu. At Waialua he met and courted the beautiful
    Mary Bayes (Baez). They married on December 23rd, 1916. The family moved
    to Kahuku in 1921. By then Benera and Margaret had been born.

              Andy and Mary raised nine children who are all decent, law abiding,
    and industrious members of society. Andy's brothers and sisters also
    raised fine families. All are good people who have put their talents
    and skills at the service of the community.

              Andy was a foreman until he retired in 1956 after 35 years at Kahuku
    Plantation. He and Mary enjoyed many years of the pleasures of Kahuku
    and the visits of family and friends, of whom there are many.
    Benera came to help look after them a few years ago, and fortunately
    she was here to help Andy when Mary died in 1978.

              Andy doesn't like to leave his home even for a little while. He loves
    Kahuku and is content. For a man who doesn't like to go out, he leads a
    busy social life. He is still making new friends, who, like me, soon
    feel like old friends. And we feel privileged to be included in family
    reunions, and welcomed for visits.

              We have many Puerto Ricans in Hawaii who have achieved fame or
    prosperity, but who don't mean the same to us as Andy does. They don't
    have his unuqueness. He is a quiet person. He is a gentle person. He
    embodies for us all the good qualities we wish to preserve in our
    transplanted culture.


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