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Had my father survived pancreatic cancer, he would have turned 91 this week. He was only 67 years old when he succumbed, so the dad I see in my dreams and memories is a handsome, vibrant young man.
I'll bet that's how the daughters of the late Jose Ligot Romero remember their father, too. Dr. Romero, Maui's first physician of Filipino ancestry, passed away in February 1995, at 68 years of age. He and my dad, Dr. Masayoshi Nelson Yogi, were business partners and friends for over 25 years. Daddy was a dentist, Dr. Romero a surgeon. They had adjacent clinic suites, with their personal offices back to back, separated by a small closet space to which they each had access. Besides workspace, they shared a couple of other things: a passion for music and doting love for their little girls.
Dr. Romero was a concert violinist and a talented tenor, while my dad was a self-taught ukulele strummer and, by his own admission, a bit tone-deaf. They were miles apart, talent-wise, but they recognized and appreciated each other's love of music. They each played their instruments to relax and refresh in between patients.
As an only child, I once asked my father if he wanted more children, specifically a son. He said he was fine with our little family, but if he were to have more children, he'd want them all to be perfect little princesses like me. He didn't say any more, but I was sure he was thinking, "like Dr. Romero and his daughters."
The Romero girls -- Jocelyn, Michelle, Cecelia (Cea) and Camille -- spent a good deal of time with their father at work, just as I did with mine. Nowadays, whenever we happen to run into each other, we share fond memories of our dads. They remember my father as their singing dentist (Daddy always sang or hummed while working on his patients), and how their father insisted on keeping the door between the two offices unlocked. I always tell them how much my dad and I enjoyed listening to their father play his violin on the other side of that door.
The Romero Medical Building, at 99 S. Market St., Wailuku, was originally the Maui Medical Group building, constructed in 1961. Nearly a decade later, the Maui Medical Group purchased and moved into the old Wailuku Hotel on the corner of Main and High streets. Dr. Romero and my father formed a small hui (group) of local businessmen and sought funding to purchase the medical clinic building in 1970.
Their loan applications were rejected by the major financial institutions, but the relatively young Central Pacific Bank was willing to give them a chance. After all, CPB was founded for that very reason: to help the local "little guys" create better lives for themselves.
After World War II ended, the nisei (second-generation Japanese American) soldiers returned to Hawaii and found that even decorated war heroes were subject to social and ethnic discrimination. Average working-class folks, especially nonwhites, couldn't get business or mortgage loans from the big banks. CPB was founded by a group of nisei veterans who raised the necessary funds in true grassroots fashion. They offered stock to the local community at a minimum of three shares and a maximum of 300, to ensure that no single investor would have controlling interest. In three months, they raised over $700,000, and in 1954, CPB opened its doors in downtown Honolulu. The first Maui branch opened in the Kahului Shopping Center in 1966. Today, CPB's Wailuku branch sits on a Wells Street lot owned by the Romero Medical Building hui.
* Kathy Collins is a radio personality (The Buzz 107.5 FM and KEWE 97.9 FM/1240 AM), storyteller, actress, emcee and freelance writer whose "Sharing Mana'o" column appears every other Wednesday. Her email address is kcmaui913@gmail.com.