Waipahu Street evokes nostalgia for Hawaii's plantation days when the Oahu Sugar Co. once served as the town's main engine. The mill's historic smokestack still stands above the roadway—a symbol of the past when immigrants toiled tirelessly and made Waipahu their new home. Now that home is a residential community that hasn't forgotten its agricultural roots.

Oahu Sugar Mill

Leeward YMCA is located at 94-440 Mokuola St.
» Phone: 671-6495

The Oahu Sugar Mill was the focal point of old Waipahu, where workers resided in segregated plantation camps that surrounded the site.

Benjamin Dillingham started Oahu Sugar Co. in 1897 after the land was determined to be ideal for agriculture. Owned by Amfac/ JMB-Hawaii, the company was considered one of the largest and most efficient sugar-producing operations in Hawaii.

But in the early 1990s, competition from foreign growers and a shift in urban development on Oahu stifled the sugar industry.

The mill shut down in April 1995, a few days after the closure of another Waipahu landmark, Arakawa's. The popular family-owned general store just off Waipahu Street on Waipahu Depot Street was founded by Zempan Arakawa and operated for almost 86 years. It is now home to a church.

Last year the mill site was revived with the opening of the Leeward YMCA.

The organization's main gym is in a building that once housed mill generators and still features the original trellises and large windows. Lanai chairs and tables now surround the base of the smokestack.

Those who grew up in the plantation era say the mill's smokestack remains a landmark for the community.

“;The history and the culture revolves around the sugar mill stack,”; said Goro Arakawa, 86, the youngest of Arakawa's eight children.

Hans L'Orange Park

94-1024 Waipahu St.

The 7-acre Hans L'Orange Park has a long history in Waipahu and is now a must-see destination for Oahu baseball fans.

Oahu Sugar Co. plantation manager Hans L'Orange built the park in 1924 for plantation workers.

His philosophy was “;happy people make happy workers,”; said Zenichi Abe, 83, a former mill worker and longtime volunteer groundskeeper. “;He really cared for the people,”; Abe said.

The land once used as a dump site and lumber yard was transformed into a recreational park where festivals, holiday gatherings and beauty pageants were held.

Later, a baseball field was built by the Navy after L'Orange befriended high-ranking Navy officials, Abe said. Older generations view the park as the “;heart of Waipahu,”; said Roy Furoyama, president of the Hans L'Orange Baseball Park Council.

The city took over the park in 1968. New fencing and additional light poles were installed along with a new scoreboard. Thanks to the Hawaii Winter Baseball West Division, aluminum bleachers that seat about 1,000 fans were added to supplement the wooden bleachers. The close proximity of the bleachers to the field allows interaction between fans and players, in contrast to large stadiums.

“;Hans L'Orange is the best secret in the island of Oahu,”; said Merv Yoshimoto, general manager of the Hawaii Winter Baseball West Division. “;From the outside it looks like an ordinary park. When they come in, they are amazed by it.”;

Hawaii Plantation Village

94-695 Waipahu St.
» Hours: Guided tours through the Village are conducted at the start of each hour, Monday through Saturday at 10 a.m. The last guided tour is at 2 p.m.
» Phone: 677-0110
» www.hawaiiplantationvillage.org

The Hawaii Plantation Village provides a glimpse back into the sugar plantation days and the immigrant workers of various ethnicities who forged a new Hawaii.

“;Our mission was to show the values of the plantation workers and how they created the society we have today,”; said Executive Director Jeff Higa.

Plantation homes at the site are replicas, furnished with items donated by former area business owners and residents. Visitors often say it is the only site available where they learn about Hawaii's multiethnic culture. For locals the site serves as a reminder of their grandparents' or great-grandparents' home, Higa said.

One building, known as the cook house is the only original site at the outdoor museum. Built in 1901, the cookhouse, was used by Chinese families for gatherings to cook noodles and vegetables in a large wok. The building's wooden walls were rebuilt two years ago due to termite damage.

The plantation village reflects the camaraderie among different ethnic groups as more than 400,000 workers arrived in Hawaii between 1852 and 1946 to work in the sugar cane fields.

With the different languages, pidgin was developed among workers so they could communicate with each other. As they worked long hours for low wages, cane workers learned and adapted each other's culture in terms of food, values and music, Higa said.