1977: Lorna Burger

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Lorna Burger was born in 1905 in Waialua. Her mother was Hawaiian from Lahaina, Maui, and her father was Hawaiian-Chinese born in Waialua.  Burger grew up in Waialua and then attended high school at McKinley before continuing her education in Greeley, Colorado.

She returned to Hawaii and taught at Kalakaua, Farrington, and Manoa schools.
 
LB: So all in all I tell you I've covered three quarters of the world. There is no place like Hawaii, honestly. I always say it over and over because I've seen so many other places. They have their own beauty but when it comes to all around climate-wise, people--of course now we have all the influx of the different people coming in. Of course we're having more trouble. But I guess that's to be expected when you have so much immigration, yeah, still, Hawaii No Ka Oi, bar none.
 
GG: Change, so much beauty. I was going to ask you how you felt in the early days about the immigration, as the Japanese started coming in and more Portuguese and Filipinos and...

LB: Honestly, it never bothered me, it never entered my mind to even think in those terms. They were just people and they were children we enjoyed playing with and growing up with. Nothing of that sort ever entered our minds. And I think you will find that the majority of the children of that time never even thought of that. We were happy that the plantation was here

I think I like what's happening in the village. However, there is this the one thing that...I'm glad that I was raised during the period we talked about. There was a togetherness in a family, the family did things together.

We raised our own taro to make our poi and Saturday was our poi day. We made enough poi; actually I think we had two barrels that were about three-quarter full of poi which lasted the family for a whole week. And then the following Saturday we would fix another batch. The whole family participated.

We were taught to respect our elders, respect other people's property, to share with others, which I don't, see happening in many families now.