Articles
March 2007
by Bill Jardine Mar 05, 2007
March is a month of transition in Waimea. The brief, cold winter months have not yet finished stirring their skirts and will kick up a fuss before heading back north to the arctic. So far this month has been delightful with cold, clear nights under a vast canopy of brilliant stars. Those lucky astronomers who have drawn early March to use the giant telescopes on Mauna Kea must be thrilled right down to the batteries of their calculators!
More and more the public is catching on to this incredible buying opportunity as well. So far the new Parker Ranch subdivision, Luala’i, is offering the best values in town, with brand new housing in the $500K to $700K range. The neighborhood is really cute, and has great appeal to those who want to walk around town and leave their SUV’s at home. Call me, and you will be glad you did.
Wet-side properties are still coming on the market at hopeful prices, but we aren’t really seeing much demand, which means aggressive offers can be successful in this market. Dry-side properties aren’t moving well either, as stubborn property owners insist that it must be their Realtor that is the problem. I have always been amazed at how quickly property owners adjust to higher values and how truculent they are to accept lower values! Well, we are greedy beasts, I suppose.
The relocation of the Ikua Purdy statue a few months ago was a real success. Now the wonderful sculpture can be easily seen by the folks driving by, and I notice lots of tourists taking the time to stop and read the inscriptions. Hats off to all the fine people who made that dream come true! For those of you unfamiliar with the statue, it is a life-size depiction of Ikua Purdy roping a big steer at full gallop!
Waimea had cowboys about 50 years before they showed up in the Old West, but Hawaii never got any credit for her fine Hawaiian cowboys until Ikua Purdy won the nationals at Cheyenne, Wyoming, on borrowed horses. From then on the name Paniolo really meant something.
As a young boy I remember well the handsome ranch hands riding into town and hitching to the rails in front of the old Hayashi Store, where the Bank of Hawaii now stands. We’d sit on the flight of wide planks leading from the hitching posts up to the veranda, and the cowboys would marched up the stairs with their spurs ringing and broad smiles on their weathered faces. We wanted to be like them … what boy would not?
When I think of March and the fresh Waimea wind, I think of those old timers with their faces in the sun, the promise of a wet Spring, good grass, and a fine season ahead.
Imua,
Bill
William N. Jardine
