Niu Valley Community Association

Happy 50th Birthday Niu Valley!

Jan 30, 2005

Residents of Niu Valley know how beautiful and peaceful our valley is located on the sunny, drier side of O?‘ahu. But did you know that before the first homes were built and sold in 1954 it used to be a dairy farm and considered ?“country?”? At the time, the land was owned by Jimmy Pflueger and Clorinda Lucas, matriarch of the Thompson family (Pinky, Myron and Nainoa) who resided back in the valley where our newest street K?»paua is located.

Three model homes were offered at $8,000, $10,500 and $12,500 in the first increment which went from Kalaniana?‘ole Highway up the east side of Halema?‘uma?‘u and bordered by Haleola Street. The next increment was built on the west side of Halema?‘uma?‘u and around K?¢n?¢?‘?» to Hawai?‘i Loa and offered homes starting at $23,000. The third increment was Niu Estates with homes selling around $32,000.

The lots were staked out on mostly bare land and the ?“Garden Club?” offered trees to any homeowner who wanted them, first when yards were being planted and then many years later when asked if Niu residents might enjoy a new tree.

There were no sewers, only cesspools, until individuals paid the City?’s sewer fees. We had an abundance of frogs and mosquitoes back then. Once a month the City truck came through the Valley spraying insecticide to kill mosquitoes. Kids would run behind the truck and through the fog pretending to be flying in the clouds. (This procedure was eventually discontinued some years later when DDT was banned.)

Niu Valley Middle School first opened its doors in 1955 with just a seventh grade and a staff of only six members. Since then, it has grown from one building to 15 and now accommodates approximately 500 students each year.
We were also the first community in Hawai?‘i to successfully convert from leasehold to fee simple. With the help of attorney Dennis O?’Connor, residents formed a Community Association and brought the price down from $10 a square foot to $3 a square foot.

It was only one year ago that we all gathered at the Kuli?‘ou?‘ou / Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board to express our frustration with two drug houses and escalating crime in our little community.
After pulling together and work-ing hard to revive our Neighborhood Security Watch program and Com-munity Association, we proved neighborhoods could fight back against crime. Now if we could just stop boulders from falling!