I grew up in a sleepy plantation town called Waipahu on the island of Oahu. It has changed in the almost 50 years that I've been away.
We recently went back and saw that though much had changed, some things were still recognizable.
Although the sugar plantation is gone, you can still see the smoke stack.
We stopped along Depot Street which was packed with cars going to the markets. On the right, used to be Arakawa Store. It's now called the Waipahu Plantation Marketplace.
Mom and Art decided to go in and see if anything looked familiar, but it was closed.
Arakawas used to be the department store where we all went to do our shopping. I worked there one holiday season as a gift wrapper. I learned how to wrap anything very quickly in those days. Maybe, my present wasn't all that pretty, but I was quick.
Across Depot Street used to be Bigway Market. It's now the Waipahu Festival Marketplace. My brother, Dennis worked at Bigway as a bagger for a while. To this day he can bag things perfectly. I still wince at what I see baggers doing these days. I remember him practicing before he started working there. All the ladies loved him and told my mom. He really was a cutie sweetie pie. OK, he still is.
The Waipahu Theater where we went to watch movies on so many Saturday afternoons is now The City of Refuge Christian Church.
As for our own rented home at the plantation camp housing, it's completely gone. Much of the area burned and was leveled. There are stores and a new housing development there now. I can't even tell where our home used to be.
It's a strange feeling to know that a part of your physical past is gone. When I left Hawaii in 1974, my brother drew a picture of the home where we grew up and sent it to me in Chicago so I could remember what it looked like.
It's one of the most precious gifts he's ever given me. See what I mean about him being a sweetie pie?
Although the sugar plantation is gone, you can still see the smoke stack.
We stopped along Depot Street which was packed with cars going to the markets. On the right, used to be Arakawa Store. It's now called the Waipahu Plantation Marketplace.
Mom and Art decided to go in and see if anything looked familiar, but it was closed.
Arakawas used to be the department store where we all went to do our shopping. I worked there one holiday season as a gift wrapper. I learned how to wrap anything very quickly in those days. Maybe, my present wasn't all that pretty, but I was quick.
Across Depot Street used to be Bigway Market. It's now the Waipahu Festival Marketplace. My brother, Dennis worked at Bigway as a bagger for a while. To this day he can bag things perfectly. I still wince at what I see baggers doing these days. I remember him practicing before he started working there. All the ladies loved him and told my mom. He really was a cutie sweetie pie. OK, he still is.
The Waipahu Theater where we went to watch movies on so many Saturday afternoons is now The City of Refuge Christian Church.
As for our own rented home at the plantation camp housing, it's completely gone. Much of the area burned and was leveled. There are stores and a new housing development there now. I can't even tell where our home used to be.
It's a strange feeling to know that a part of your physical past is gone. When I left Hawaii in 1974, my brother drew a picture of the home where we grew up and sent it to me in Chicago so I could remember what it looked like.
It's one of the most precious gifts he's ever given me. See what I mean about him being a sweetie pie?
Maybe things change but we can still see them in our mind's eye. I envy your return to your hometown. Guess what...my first job was as a gift wrapper in a department store.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to go back. I also found one of my childhood homes gone.
ReplyDeleteThis was a wonderful gift from you brother! My mother's first job was a gift wrapper. This was 1931. She worked 60 hours a week for $7.00. Then, soon after, a law was passed, WPA?, and she worked 40 hours a week for $15.00.
ReplyDeleteThat sketch is indeed a wonderful gift. Now I am wondering where our sugar comes from.
ReplyDeleteNot the WPA....Some part of the NRA, I imagine. It made a huge impact on my Mom.
ReplyDeleteNRA? Oh my goodness... National Rifle Association?
DeleteI have met Dennis and think he's still a sweetie. It's always bittersweet to go back to where we grew up, but that picture is so precious and makes it live on. Thanks for sharing your memories, Kay. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat painting is such a beautiful memory. It interesting looking back, and to see how things have changed.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat picture to have... Your brother gave you the most special gift possible... That is AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to go back to the areas where we grew up.. BUT--sometimes it is bitter-sweet... The home I lived in for about 17 years of my young life has now been totally renovated and doesn't even look like the same home.. Made me sad.
Hugs,
Betsy
I think you may have told me that you couldn't follow me anymore....??? Anyhow, I fixed my Followers button... thanks.
Hi Betsy. No, I didn't tell you that. I just haven't been able to visit blogs much at all in the past few weeks because I'm working on very detailed photo books for both grandchildren. It's just using up all my time.
DeleteI think the picture is precious, and the best memory. My own childhood home looks so shrunken.
ReplyDeleteYour brother is quite the artist, and so special to have this treasure to preserve the memory.
ReplyDeleteYour brother is not only a sweetie, but extremely talented! I hope you have that framed and under glass, right? :)
ReplyDeleteThat picture is priceless and Dennis is quite the artist. When we go back to our hometowns, nothing looks quite the same and how nice to have a reminder of just how it was.
ReplyDeleteThat sketch is beautiful. It amazes me how everything in our past changes so much as we grow and move on.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful picture your brother drew. This is such a fascinating post, one of your best.
ReplyDeleteIt is strange that for all the moving around I've done in my life, every place I have lived is still standing and occupied, except for the very first one, a turn of the 20th Century frame house in Berkeley which was replaced by a volleyball court and later by a huge dormitory. However, the little stucco house at the front of the lot, belonging to a real estate agent then, is still there!
Dennis' art work is stunning. I'm humbled, and jealous. Haven't got an artistic gene. My brother and sister got it all, b/c I probably wasn't paying attention when those genes were being handed out.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous too, actually. And you should see what he does with Photoshop. I wish he'd do more pen and inks, but he prefers photography now. Cody and Barry are also talented musically and artistically.
DeleteI'm not attached to my childhood homes cuz they were all rentals so I don't think of them as 'ours' but I have an attachment to the general area I grew up in and get nostalgic when I see how they've all changed. I grew up off Kalakaua Ave behind the then Holiday Mart but remember watching the movies at Kapiolani Drive Inn Theatre from my bedroom window - no sound so it wasn't that good, that whole area of Kalakaua Ave near home was my stomping ground and was more of a residential area than the business district it now is. Same with Kapahulu Ave nearby when I lived by Kaimuki High School. The smell of Love's bakery baking was always in the air. Man, it smelled soooo good. Miss all those mom and pop businesses. I do miss the homes I owned and once in a while I'll go visit them if I'm near the area. But luckily those are residential areas so they've been untouched. Yes you can't go home again, only in our memories. BB
ReplyDeleteAhhh... So you are a city girl. We were always country. Anything closer to town than Waipahu, we considered city kids and more worldly. We rarely ventured into town because it was so far, far away.
DeleteThings change quickly. when I go back home most of the old houses are gone. the new houses don't mean anything to me. So I know how you feel.
ReplyDeleteAnd a pretty good artist too. The town looks almost empty this day you visited. I wonder if it is always this quiet.
ReplyDeleteYour brother is a very nice fellow. I enjoyed communicating with him about motorcycles a few years back. And his sketch of your home is a precious heirloom! I remember Arakawa's, and what a big deal it was when it closed. I got my first tattoo on that street you show under the plantation stack....Memories. Thanks for sharing yours, Kay
ReplyDeleteDoesn't take long for places to change a lot. My mom always says "this used to be a tiny little road" or "nothing but woods over here" when driving around her old home
ReplyDeleteWithout photos it's almost impossible to remember how things used to look. I went back to a school I used to work at and it was unrecognisable.
ReplyDeleteHi Kay, Awesome drawing of your old home. I admire Dennis' artistic skills! Holly
ReplyDeleteAha... But Lorna says you're artistic too. :-)
DeleteI feel so sad when I see how things have changed where I grew up. The drawing is a precious reminder. Michelle
ReplyDelete