Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory

Chapter 33. The Suffering Was on Both Sides of the Fence: “Fence-Jumping” at Kalihi Hospital

393 33 The SufferingWas on Both Sides of the Fence “Fence-Jumping” at Kalihi Hospital in 1930, headlines in the Honolulu Advertiser read, “Kalihi Patients Rush Guards to Delay Departures, Dash for Homes to Say Good-bye before Molokai Trip.”1 Clearly, the hope that had been associated with chaulmoogra oil had faded, and once again people were routinely being sent to Kalaupapa. Minerva Hussey was first admitted to Kalihi in September 1923 at the age of ten. She was reexamined and discharged the next year, with instructions to report each week for observation by the government physician in her district. In the late 1920s, intensified follow-up of those who had been discharged sent Cecil Kiilehua, the agent of the Board of Health known as Kikila, around the Islands to check up on Minerva and many others. This followed a recommendation by the Honolulu County Medical Society in 1927 that people discharged, as well as their longtime contacts, should be followed more closely.2 People dreaded the sight of this tall man in a suit, whom they called the “Bounty Hunter” because he was reportedly given $10.00 for each person he brought in.3 Minerva was a junior at McKinley High School and found it difficult to report­to Kalihi during the week: “It was so hard for me to catch a streetcar, get off at King Street, and walk down Puuhale Road. It was far from King Street down to where the Receiving­ Station was, and I had to walk all the way. Sometimes I’d have to wait for the doctor Minerva Hussey, about the time she was sent to Kalihi Hospital for the second time. Courtesy of Minerva Hussey Ramos. The SufferingWas on Both Sides of the Fence    395 down there. By the time I walked back and caught the streetcar to go back to school, that would be a couple of hours.”4 When she asked if she could report to Kalihi on Saturdays to avoid the embarrassment of being absent from school for long periods of time, the answer was no. It was a no-win situation.­If she left school in the middle of the week, people would eventually know why. If she didn’t report to Kalihi, she knew that Kikila would come in search of her. When Minerva didn’t report to Kalihi for two weeks, Kikila came looking for her and instructed her to report the next day. When she arrived at Kalihi on February 11, 1930, she was told that she had to stay. Her request to go home and get her belongings was denied. She remembered thinking, “There was no hope. I had no chance of winning with them.” Denied the chance to see her family and put her things in order, she simply walked out the front gate of the hospital compound. She managed to avoid the authorities and went to her sister’s house, where she packed up her belongings. The next day she reported back to Kalihi voluntarily, but this made no difference . As far as the officials were concerned, she had broken the rules and had therefore committed her first offense. About one week later, police officers and health department officials surrounded Kalihi Hospital. Minerva saw that they were handing out letters and knew that this meant that a “shipment” was being readied for Kalaupapa. She commented to some of the ladies that she was sure to receive a letter since she had left the hospital grounds without permission. She was right. Her letter stated that she would be sent to Kalaupapa in a few hours because she had disobeyed the rules. This was the first and only time that individuals were given only a few hours notice prior to being sent to Kalaupapa. It was an experiment by the Board of Health, which mistakenly reasoned that people would not have enough time to “jump the fence.” “Fence jumping” had been on the increase ever since Ethel Nakamoto and ninety-one other people were sent to Kalaupapa in 1923. People knew that this first shipment in four years signaled a decreased faith in chaulmoogra oil. The fact The entrance to Kalihi Hospital­from inside, looking down Puuhale Road. Courtesy of John Cambra. 396   chapter thirty-three that people were again being sent to Kalaupapa rather than being discharged and returned to their homes was a strong indication that leprosy was again...