Herman L. Pacheco
Year Inducted: 2005
Shipman Ranch | Hawai'i
Parker Ranch | Hawai'i
Like many of the paniolo of his day, Herman received a solid foundation and an in-bred love for the lifestyle, from earlier generations of paniolo. He grew up around cattle, helping his father take care of the cattle he raised in the gulches between the cane fields above Hilo town.
At the age of 14, Herman left high school to start his own life as a paniolo, roping wild cattle on the lava flows of kalapana, with the Kamelamela family – long-time wild cattle ropers. He lived the rough-and-tumble carefree cowboy life until he was 23, when he was drafted into the service of his country in 1957.
After returning, Herman took a job driving bulldozers, while at the same time building up a small herd of cattle to call his own. Missing the cowboy lifestyle he gave up the bulldozers and went to work for W.H. Shipman at their Pu`uo`o Ranch on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Even after it was sold, Herman was kept working at Pu`uo`o, roping wild cattle on the weekends.
They heard about Herman at Parker Ranch, and hired him in 1975 when the ranch acquired Kapapala Ranch in Ka`u. Herman still kept his side job, roping wild cattle on weekends. Later, Parker relocated Herman to Humu`ula, conveniently near Pu`uo`o ranch.
In between the ranch cowboying and wild cattle roping, he found time to build up that small herd of his own to 130 cows. He even found time to get married and have two sons.
Herman’s life as a paniolo came to a close in 1991, when he passed away after a three-year illness. But one can imagine his spirit still roping those wild cattle on the slopes of Mauna Loa, as he always loved to do in his paniolo days.