The Memories Amongst the Pine
The sky is a soft baby blue filled with white wispy clouds drifting through the quiet cool air. Pine trees line every walkway, surrounding the community in a luscious green sea. Past the stone sign welcoming residents into Mililani Mauka are simple yet comfortable townhouses in which families of all types (grandparents, small children, and pets) come together to frolic and share moments of peace and joy. Across the housing area is a tiny remodeled town center with a few small retail stores, restaurants, and a McDonalds. Further down from Mililani Mauka is a larger town center which fills with the laughter of friends and families, the singing of entertainers, and the chimes of people passing through restaurants. Before Mililani became the vibrant and family-friendly community it is today, it started off as a plantation field in Central Oahu filled with red clay.
Mililani was designed with the plan to sell 15,000 homes and house 50,000 residents. The vision was to create a community filled with homes, schools, parks, shopping areas, and lots and lots of trees. On June 3, 1968, the first 112 houses in Mililani were offered for sale, and people jumped on the opportunity, creating a waiting list of two thousand people. Prices for homes ranged from $25,000 for a 884 square foot home to $35,000 for a four bedroom home. In 1976 travel time to and from Honolulu was cut in half due to the creation of the H-2 freeway. Although there is still a difficult commute from Mililani to Honolulu, the Mililani community continues to grow, with more homes being added and the first generations raising their children in the neighborhood they grew up in.
When I hear “Mililani”, I see my childhood filled with trips to the recreation center pool and park, smell the fresh scent of pine, and hear the sounds of birds chirping as morning dew settles on the grass in my front yard. These are the memories I hold in my heart and the history I am now a part of.
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