This is a story about a bridge that separates old camp and new camp in Kunia. If you have lived in Kunia which is a little plantation camp between Schofield and Waipahu then you know about this bridge. It is a small bridge made of cement with bars on both side. Just walking over that bridge by yourself or even with friends can give you chicken skin. There are lots of stories about that old bridge that separates old camp and new camp in Kunia.
The story that most people know about is the one that they hear a baby crying when you walk over that bridge. This usually happens if you walk over that bridge at night. When I was a teenager, I used to play volleyball. We always held our volleyball practice in the gym in old camp and most of us in the team live in new camp. I always had to walk over that bridge by myself because I always had to wash the dinner dishes before I could leave for volleyball practice. By then it would be pretty dark or just getting dark and it was scary walking by yourself down that dark road leading toward that bridge.
So I used to plan my walk that when I reached the first street light leading to the bridge I would run non-stop and not think about nothing until I reached the other street light which is on top of a hill. So during the days of my volleyball practice if I didn't see any of the other girls of my volley ball team walking down that road (and they are : Beatrice, Regina, Carmen, Janet, Constance, Conchita, just to name a few) I knew that they had already gone through that bridge and I was by myself!
Sometimes, if I was lucky I would see my girlfriend Marsha, she was also like me, had to wash dishes before she could go to practice. We always walked down that road late. Sometimes we would tell each other to wait on top of the hill leading to the bridge so we could walk together. Those days would be okay because at least we would have a companion to walk down that dark road. Usually the thing to do when you walk down that road is to do the "sign of the cross!" an'den just run until you are on top the other hill past the bridge where there is another street light. That light was at the entrance to old camp and near to where the gym was where we had our volleyball practice.
Now after practice there was usually a lot of us walking down that hill to the bridge that led us back to new camp, so it was okay. But even with the whole bunch of us walking over that bridge there was always an eerie feeling and quietness when we crossed the bridge. It just hit you that there was something scary about the area.
You can see all those big trees and in the dark your imagination just takes over your body. Yes the bridge that separated old camp and new camp was a bridge every one who has lived in Kunia knew about. They all knew about hearing a baby cry under the bridge. I never heard the baby crying and I ran over that bridge a lot of time! But I knew people who said they heard the baby crying. They said at first they thought it was a cat crying, but when they listen they realized it was not a cat but a baby! I guess I didn't hear anything because I always ran over that bridge. I was too scared to walk over the bridge because I didn't want to hear anything! Remember I would do the sign of the cross first and then I would run and think of nothing else until I reached the other hill past the bridge.
I think a lot of the kids who lived in Kunia did the same thing. The bridge that separated old camp from new camp in Kunia is still there. It's still among a whole bunch of big trees. The chicken coops that were there before and after the bridge are all gone. But the creepy looks of that place will forever be there.
About Author
Sandra Samson Thomas, a 1971 graduate of Leilehua High School was born and raised in Kunia Camp on the island of Oahu. After high school she attended Canon's Business College and Honolulu Community College. Her goal was to work in the library and to become a librarian. Instead she became a Human Resource Specialist for the Federal government. She is married to Dwight Thomas of San Diego, they have 3 kids and 4 grandkids. They make Wahiawa their home after traveling the world while her husband was in the military for 20 years.
