"It's just a beautiful place to live and unless you actually live here, you really don't know Wai‘anae at all. I used to hear people say, especially when you say you come from Wai‘anae, 'Ohhhh, that's the one way in and one way out place.' But it really wasn't like that. You know, it just takes a few to spoil everything. But the people of Wai‘anae, that live here, Wai‘anae is special for us. It's not only the fact that we have such a beautiful coastline – anybody that drives down here knows that – but when I was growing up, everybody knew everybody.
But what made Wai‘anae [special] was that you made the effort to know your neighbors. You know, that was just the way it was. Especially if it was somebody new in your community, you get to know them and you get to know their children. And the best way to know the family is to know the children. When the children come with your children to your house and you find yourself feeding more than your children, especially when you look at your table and say, 'Eek! Who's this?' But that is just the ‘ohana, the hospitality, that was always open. And I believe that is still the same today."
Source: Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Hawai‘i. 2003. Quoted from a personal interview between Lehua Lopez-Mau, Ethnographer, and Melva Mae Wong and Alvina Awong, Wai‘anae Residents. October 25.