Lee, Rozita Villanueva, 1934-

Born in 1934 in Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i as the seventh of seven daughters of a sugar plantation crew boss, Rozita Villanueva Lee recalls a privileged life, because when her father became a boss, the family got electricity, a telephone, indoor plumbing, and fluorescent lighting in their house. The camps were organized by nationality: the Filipino workers and their families lived in one camp, and the Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and "haole" workers and their families each lived in their own. Rozita's father spoke English, so he became the boss; her older sisters insisted the family speak "good English" in the home, but Rozita spoke pidgin English with her peers. English proficiency signified class and eligibility for "English Standard" schools. Her mother earned extra money by taking in the washing and made daily lunches for the single men workers. Lee speaks of the camp's circular arrangement; foods: patupa, halo halo, and kau kau tins; her mother's vegetable garden; the public bath house; her schooling and teachers, and religion and the Catholic and Methodist churches. She was seven years old when the U.S. entered World War II; she talks of air raid sirens, blackout curtains, and recycling aluminum. She also recalls meeting Clifford Lee in high school, their lifetime friendship, and their 1979 marriage.