Whatever Happened...

An update on past news

Wednesday, December 25, 1996

Kalama pig farmer Santos
died in ’78

Q: What ever happened to George Santos, the pig farmer who made news when he battled Bishop Estate to stay in Kalama Valley?

George Santos and his many supporters went head to head against Bishop Estate and police, who finally removed them from the valley in a 1971 confrontation.

Santos led a rather quiet life after that and died Jan. 13, 1978, at age 60.

Police arrived at his Kalama Valley home on May 11, 1971, and removed about three dozen of his supporters. Young activists belonging to an organization known as Kokua Hawaii had moved into the valley April 20, 1971, the original deadline for Santos to vacate the several leased acres that made up his pig farm.

Bishop Estate wanted Santos and other valley residents out to make way for a housing development. Santos vowed he would never leave, and his determination won the admiration and support of young people sympathetic with activist campaigns of the time.

Santos' pigs were relocated to state land near Waimano Home in Pearl City. He continued his operation for several years and stayed out of the limelight. But in May 1971, all Hawaii knew the name of George Santos. One television newsman called him the "world's most famous pig farmer."