A 1961 JACL district convention and the Issei Story project

Vol. 52, No. 18, May 5, 1961. 4 pages. View this issue

The Pacific Southwest District Council convention was the main news of this four-page issue. Maerbelle Higa reported that delegates from 19 chapters were due at the Sheraton West Hotel in Los Angeles, with Mike Masaoka as keynote speaker and Kay Nakagiri as convention chairman. Bill Hosokawa’s column covered the JACL executive committee’s meeting in Chicago on the Issei Story project, a history of the Japanese in the United States from 1860 to 1960 that needed about $400,000. The front page also told of Mrs. H. Nagano of Bakersfield, who visited the Arlington grave of her son, Pvt. Hiroshi Nagano, killed with the 442nd Infantry.

Inside are Governor Edmund G. Brown’s request to drop citizenship rules for old age pensions and Augustus Hawkins’s revised housing bill. Other items include Jack Mizuha’s elevation to the Hawaii Supreme Court, Hershey Miyamura’s new gas station in Gallup, and Yasushi Nagao’s Pulitzer Prize for photography.

What’s in this issue

Community

• PSWDC parley opens tomorrow with Masaoka speech as headliner, by Maerbelle Higa, page 1. The Pacific Southwest District Council convention opens this weekend at the Sheraton West Hotel in Los Angeles, with Mike Masaoka as keynote speaker. Convention chairman Kay Nakagiri will gavel the event open and delegates from 19 chapters are expected.
• Hershey Miyamura opens gas station on U.S. 66 West, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Hershey Miyamura, the only living Nisei Medal of Honor winner, opened a Humble gas station on U.S. Highway 66 West in Gallup, New Mexico. He previously worked at White’s Trading Post after his 1953 discharge.
• Governor appoints Nisei to fair board, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Governor Edmund G. Brown appointed Howard Nakae of Newcastle to the Placer County Fair board of directors, replacing Bunny Nakagawa who resigned. Nakae has been active in the Placer County JACL.
• DC News Notes plans 10th anniversary issue, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Washington, D.C. JACL newsletter D.C. News Notes, first published in April 1951, plans a 10th anniversary issue this summer. Editor Harold Horiuchi has requested reminiscences, clippings and snapshots from past activities.
• Lutheran minister who aided POW in Hong Kong visits sister in St. Louis, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rev. John Kiyoshi Watanabe, a Lutheran minister in Japan, visited his sister Mrs. Sachiko Eto in St. Louis while returning from London. He is a central figure in Ellen Field’s book Twilight in Hong Kong for aiding a prisoner-of-war camp during the Japanese occupation.
• Intermountain District Council convention set for Aug. 11-12, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Intermountain District Council convention will be held August 11-12 at the Student Union building of Idaho State College in Pocatello. Pocatello JACL is hosting and has invited national officers including Mike Masaoka and Frank Chuman.
• Sansei participate in Youth in Government, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Grant Emi of Belmont served as a participant in Los Angeles city attorney Roger Arnebergh’s office during Youth in Government week. Sue Yamaguchi and Jere Takahashi also took part in the San Mateo observance.
• Two Sansei earn national merit scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Kenneth K. Murata of Sacramento and Rodney S. Omachi of Stockton were among 128 California high school students honored with National Merit Scholarships. Both are sons of local Nisei families.
• Pulitzer Prize won by Tokyo photographer, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Yasushi Nagao of the Tokyo Mainichi won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for photography for his picture of the assassination of Japan Socialist Party chairman Inejiro Asanuma. It was the first time the award went to a foreign photographer.
• Ex-Seattle Nisei to receive honorary D.Sc. degree, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. George Y. Shinowara of New York University College of Medicine, a former Seattle Nisei, will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Wittenberg University in June. He is an authority on blood coagulation.
• California Nisei win school elections, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Several California Nisei won school board seats in the April 18 elections, including Dr. James K. Nagatani in Delano and Robert Kanagawa in Sanger. Three Nisei were also elected to Sacramento and San Joaquin County school boards.
• N.C. centennial funds report surplus of $3,600, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Northern California Centennial Committee for the 1960 US-Japan centennial reported a surplus of $3,602.74. The committee disbanded without building a planned memorial at the grave of Okei-san, the first Japanese woman pioneer in the United States.
• Inafuku bowls perfect game, by P.C. Staff, page 3. George Inafuku, 25, of Honolulu rolled a perfect 300 game at Hollywood Legion Bowl during the final pitch of the Los Angeles Examiner tournament. He received a $100 prize from the tournament.
• Tom Hoshiyama elected Buchanan YMCA board chairman, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tom T. Hoshiyama was elected chairman of the Buchanan Street YMCA board in San Francisco, succeeding Dr. Robert Kiyasu. Five other Nisei serve on the 21-member board.
• Summer camp slated for Buddhist Coordinating Council, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The 1961 Los Angeles Buddhist Coordinating Council summer camp will be held August 25 to September 3 at Camp Yalani in the San Bernardino National Forest. Ryo Kasai, camping board executive, made the announcement.
• Washington, D.C.’s potluck draws best attendance yet, by P.C. Staff, page 3. About a hundred people attended the Washington, D.C. JACL potluck supper at All Souls Church on April 30, the best attended so far. Following the meal, members enjoyed a millinery demonstration and Japanese dances performed by the Girls’ Teen Club.

Incarceration & Redress

• Gold Star Mother visits Arlington gravesite of her son, 17th anniversary of his death, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mrs. H. Nagano of Bakersfield traveled to Arlington National Cemetery to visit the grave of her son, Pvt. Hiroshi Nagano, killed in action with the 442nd Infantry in Europe. She placed flowers on his grave during a one-day trip to Washington.

National

• Dr. George Abe heads Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. George Abe was appointed superintendent and medical director of Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, succeeding the retiring Dr. Robert E. Owers. Abe, a UCLA graduate, had served as associate superintendent there since 1959.
• Issei Story project moves forward, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. The JACL executive committee met in Chicago to advance the Issei Story project, a history of the Japanese in the United States from 1860 to 1960. The project requires about $400,000, with $100,000 needed immediately to begin the work.
• Seek removal of citizenship requirement for Calif. old age pensions, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Governor Edmund G. Brown asked the California Legislature to repeal citizenship requirements for old age survivors pensions. The change would make some 8,350 aliens eligible during the first six months of the program.
• President Kennedy names Calif. Nisei postmaster, by P.C. Staff, page 2. President John F. Kennedy submitted the name of Noriyuki Tashima of Livingston, California, to the Senate for approval as postmaster there.
• Jack Mizuha elevated to Hawaii Supreme Court, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Circuit Judge Jack Mizuha was elevated to the Hawaii state supreme court following confirmation by the state senate after appointment by Governor William F. Quinn. He replaces Associate Judge Masaji Maramoto, who resigned last year.
• Hawkins submits diluted version of fair housing bill, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Assemblyman Augustus Hawkins will remove restrictions on private housing from his anti-discrimination bill AB 801 to improve its chances. The revised bill would ban discrimination in publicly financed housing and enforce it through the state fair employment practices commission.
• Beer joint disciplined for violating Civil Rights Act, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Pacific Rendezvous beer bar in Long Beach was ordered to suspend its license for refusing to serve Negro sailors, in the first disciplinary action under California’s 1959 Civil Rights Act. The penalty was reduced to a suspension on condition of no further violations.

Military & Veterans

• Tokyo Topics: Remembered as Dr. Fu Manchu, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 3. Charles Yoshii, a Portland toastmaster known as Dr. Fu Manchu, became one of Japan’s leading English-language radio announcers after attending a PNWDC convention. His sister Mary Matsumoto was also a prominent figure in Japanese social circles.

Commentary

• Hi-Co Conference rain unexpected, by Sharon Aono, page 3. The 1961 Hi-Co Conference at Camp Max Straus was held despite rain, with discussion sites moved indoors. Keynote speaker USC student body president Bill Steigerwalt urged delegates to prepare for the challenges ahead.

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