The Ewa Plantation located on the Leeward Side of the island of Oahu was once a sugar mill plantation that was employed by many workers whom were brought to Oahu by way of large ships from various parts Asia. Ewa were then divided into three villiages; Fernandez Village, Tenny Village and Verona Village (“Banana Camp”).  Plantation workers who came here by boat were offered “more” from the third world countries they were recruited from in poor areas of mainly Japan, Korea, and The Philippines.  The lure of earning a part of the American Dream found most making “The Best” of less than ideal circumstances.  Those trouble times at the turn of the century seams to have brought out the best in our grandfathers and great grandfathers somehow.

These workers battle many obstacles and endured extremely difficult work days while providing some of the fondest memories for children,  Despite the plight of renting a home you did not own and working so hard for very little pay; people found ways to earn extra income, gardening to supplement groceries, and taking care of things that they had.

The Old Ewa Gym was destroyed by fire in the late 1970s or early 1980s and is no longer there.  Ewa Gym will be remembered as a place where children, teenagers and adults could be free and have fun during the entire day.  There was also a preschool there, the Boy Scouts used empty classroom rooms at night for meetings, there was a barbershop, bowling alley, tennis court, football field, baseball field and track, boxing facilities, a full sized pool with a concrete dive platform and of course the Ewa Tavern.

Annual carnivals were held on the football field which served as a fund-raiser for the young sports teams.  There was always something going on at the Ewa Gym; sporting events, summer fun activities, hula lessons and more.  The sounds of the crowds at games, the aroma and taste of those special Ewa Tavern hamburgers which I’ve yet to find since, and sounds of those dozens of mina birds at the end of the day hopping about the large branches of the huge Bayan Tree grown in the triangle park located just in front of the Ewa Gym Concrete Staircases and across the street.  This was a gathering of it’s own kind and let the neighborhood know that tomorrow was going to be another great day.