Record bowling turnout and the push for Hawaii-Alaska statehood

Vol. 40, No. 8, February 25, 1955. 8 pages. View this issue

A record 107 teams were headed to Long Beach for the ninth annual National JACL bowling tournament, March 2-6, 1955, the first to use two alleys. Out-of-town teams outnumbered local ones, and Hawaii sent bowlers for the first time. The other big story was statehood: after the House Interior Committee approved Hawaii and Alaska, the JACL asked members to write their congressmen. Mike Masaoka’s column and an editorial pressed the same case.

Elsewhere in this eight-page issue, Harry K. Honda wrote about juvenile delinquency, and Tamotsu Murayama reported from Hiroshima. Lawrence Nakatsuka described Filipino and Korean Americans electing their first legislators in Hawaii. Bill Hosokawa reviewed interracial romances and sketched his four children, and Henry Mori took on Los Angeles bus fares. Chapter news came from Omaha, Selma, Alameda and Chicago.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Record Turnout Seen in Long Beach for National JACL Bowling Tournament, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A record 107 teams will compete in the ninth annual National JACL bowling tournament in Long Beach, March 2-6, with events held at two alleys for the first time. Out-of-town teams outnumber local teams, and Hawaii sends bowlers for the first time.
• Full-Scale Hospitality Assured Visiting Bowlers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Long Beach committee has planned a social program for the National JACL Bowling Tournament, including a public mixer-dance and an awards dinner-dance at the Wilton Hotel. Committee members and a hostess reception group will welcome out-of-town bowlers.
• One Issei, Two Nisei Named to Grand Jury, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Washington County, Idaho, has seated three people of Japanese ancestry on its grand jury, including an Issei believed to be the first in the country to hold such a post. The Nisei jurors are Frank Nakai and Jim Kakakawa.
• Japanese Woman Student Marries Nisei, Status Changed Without Re-Entry, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Makiko Nakata, a Japanese student, was granted permanent resident status without leaving the country after marrying Tetsuo Doi, a Lowell High School teacher. Officials noted similar past cases had allowed such status changes upon marriage to citizens.
• Yas Koike Installed as Alameda JACL President, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL Director Mas Satow installed the 1955 Alameda JACL cabinet at a dinner meeting in Oakland. Sim Togasaki was the guest speaker.
• Gila Camp YBA Funds to Buy Library Books, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Berkeley Buddhist Study Center received $259.30 from Gila WRA YBA funds toward its edifice, which was nearing completion. The money will be used to purchase books for the center’s library.
• Nisei Canadian Loses in City Council Elections, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Y. Sugimoto, running for a Grand Forks, B.C. city council seat, lost to veteran councillor J. B. McDonald by 27 votes in late January special elections. The article reports his first bid for council office.
• Democracy Steps Up in Hawaii, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 3. Filipino and Korean Americans in Hawaii have each elected their first legislator, Peter Adjua and Philip Minn. The article traces the political progress of Japanese, Chinese, and other groups in the territory’s government.
• Joseph D. Sasaki, Nisei Optometrist, Makes Good in Michigan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Joseph Sasaki, a former Fresno optometrist who relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan, is recognized as a successful professional and civic leader. He is active in politics, community organizations, and professional research.
• Chicago Newsletter, by Smoky Sakurada, page 4. Chicago news includes redevelopment plans for 55th Street, a cast change in The King and I, and a robbery in the Taniguchi home. Other items cover Japanese consul-general Wataru Okuma’s welcome and local students’ activities.
• Omaha JACL Honors New Citizens, Pioneers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Omaha JACL held a recognition dinner honoring newly naturalized Issei and local Issei pioneers at the YWCA, attended by 75 people. Speakers included William Ritchie, and responses were given for the new citizens and pioneers.
• Oklahoma College Professor Prefers Grading Papers Hard Way in Japanese, by P.C. Staff, page 4. University of Oklahoma history professor Dr. Perey Buchanan teaches a Japanese language correspondence course and grades papers written in Japanese. He was raised in Japan by missionary parents and served in intelligence during World War II.
• Selma Women’s Group Starts Fourth Year, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Selma JACL Women’s Auxiliary held its fourth annual pot-luck dinner to honor outgoing officers and introduce the new cabinet. Mrs. Helen Yamamoto was installed as president.
• Pleasant Echoes, by Haruo Ishimaru, page 5. Ishimaru recaps the Northern California-Western Nevada district council quarterly meeting in Turlock, hosted by Cortez and Livingston-Merced chapters. Highlights included a program workshop, awards to San Francisco chapter, and a call for 5,000 district members in 1955.
• Clinic Critique, by Tats Kushida, page 7. Evaluation results from the second annual Pacific Southwest District Council chapter clinic show highly favorable reactions from 150 participants. Respondents praised the panel format and social atmosphere and unanimously wanted the clinic repeated in 1956.
• Los Angeles Newsletter: Transit Troubles, by Henry Mori, page 7. Henry Mori criticizes the Los Angeles Transit Lines fare increase to 17 cents and the poor quality of city transportation. He contrasts past service with present conditions and notes the growing role of freeways.

JACL

• JACL Urging Members to Push Hawaii-Alaska Statehood Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. After the House Interior Committee approved statehood for Hawaii and Alaska, the JACL urged members to write their congressmen in support. The organization warned that the House Rules Committee must clear the bill or it may be pigeonholed as it was the previous year.

Military & Veterans

• Mizokami Brothers Expand Farming, Cited Potato Shippers of the Week, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The three Mizokami brothers of Blanca, Colorado, were recognized as shipper of the week for Red McClure potatoes by the San Luis Valley Potato Administrative Committee. The family has grown their operation from vegetables into potatoes and extensive lettuce, carrot, and cabbage shipments.

Commentary

• Very Truly Yours: Juvenile Delinquency, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. Harry Honda examines juvenile delinquency through the views of Father Walter Schmidt of Santa Clara, who credits a lay court and youth center with reducing crime. The column argues that children must be taught obligations as well as rights, and that lack of love in the home drives delinquency.
• Hawaii-Alaska Statehood, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. The House Interior Committee’s favorable vote on combined Hawaii-Alaska statehood has cleared a first hurdle, but the House Rules Committee remains a major obstacle. The column urges House leadership to force a floor vote on the package bill.
• Washington Newsletter: Capitol Complexion, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Masaoka defends congressmen against criticism as they vote themselves a salary increase, and reflects on how a single vote decided the Reciprocal Trade bill. He notes that congressmen face difficult choices between national interest and constituent pressure.
• Interracial Romances, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Hosokawa reviews literary portrayals of doomed interracial love and contrasts them with real GI-Japanese marriages. He draws on James Michener’s Life magazine report on Frank and Sachiko Pfeiffer, whose marriage has endured hardship and found acceptance in Melrose Park, Illinois.
• Hawaiian Statehood, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The editorial notes the wartime service of Hawaiian Nisei soldiers and urges mainland readers to press their congressmen for a House vote on combined Hawaii-Alaska statehood. It argues the Islands’ prospects are the brightest in years.
• Tragedy of the Aged, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The editorial mourns nearly 100 aged women who died in a Yokohama fire in a converted naval barracks declared a fire trap in 1953. It urges Nisei communities to care for their aged and to build foundations for future elder care.
• From the Crying Pan: Our Four Youngsters, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Hosokawa humorously describes his children’s activities, including Mike’s appetite, Susan’s oversized bass fiddle, Pete’s checkers skills, and Christie’s uncanny telephone voice recognition. The column is a light family sketch.

In-Depth

• Scarred Faces, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 2. Murayama describes Hiroshima’s recovery and an American donation to aid atomic bomb orphans and victims. He reports plans for American doctors to treat scarred young women and hopes for world peace.

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