A new JACL executive director and a federal grant for the Issei

Vol. 76, No. 3, January 26, 1973. 6 pages. View this issue

David E. Ushio, 27, officially became National Executive Director of JACL on Jan. 1, succeeding Masao W. Satow. Another front-page story reported a $65,554 grant from HEW’s Administration on Aging to recruit and train Asian American graduate students in gerontology, and Sharon Fujii and Harry K. Honda each wrote about why that program mattered for elderly Issei. The same page carried notice of the National JACL Credit Union annual meeting, set for Feb. 24 in Salt Lake City.

Inside this six-page issue, Harry K. Honda also followed a dispute over the Kajima International hotel in the Little Tokyo redevelopment project. Dr. Roy Doi wrote about a 1971 visit to Hiroshima, and K. W. Lee profiled Juanita Masumizu Wong, who was nearly sent to a relocation camp in 1942. Fred Nitta’s column described a Kibei woman insulted in a Watsonville store. Jerry Enomoto’s teenage memories of San Francisco and the camps are also here.

What’s in this issue

Community

• National JACL Credit Union annual meeting slated, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The National JACL Credit Union annual meeting will be held Feb. 24 at Prudential Plaza in Salt Lake City. Nominations for three board and committee vacancies close Feb. 10.
• San Luis Obispo to host PSW meet and clam digging, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Pacific Southwest JACLers will hold their district business meeting in Pismo Beach Feb. 18-19 and dig for clams during the winter low tides. The event combines district business with the seasonal clam-digging outing.
• Asian aged missing out, laud HEW grant to JACL, by Sharon Fujii, page 1. Sharon Fujii writes that Asian American elderly face isolation from both mainstream society and their families, and that trained Asian American gerontology professionals are scarce. She praises JACL’s HEW-funded program as a timely step toward culturally sensitive services for aged Issei.
• Teahouse vandal in public apology, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A vandal who damaged a Japanese teahouse issued a public apology. The brief reports the apology and its context.
• Pioneer respiratory aid developers endow chair for environmental law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. James I. Farr and his Nisei wife May Shimoda Farr gave $500,000 to the University of Utah to endow a chair in environmental law. The Farrs pioneered disposable plastic respiratory aids through their company Med-Econ-Plastics.
• Isleton flood victims claim $400,000 damages, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Four landowners filed a $400,250 suit against the Port of Stockton and other public agencies over a June levee break that flooded Andrus and Brannan Islands. The plaintiffs include Ben T. Harano, Stanley Kunisake, Ray Matsubara and Marlyn M. Comstock.
• Nisei acupuncturist found, by John Kirkwood, page 3. John Kirkwood profiles Dr. Harold S. Saita, an osteopathic physician and acupuncturist in Vancouver who has practiced for decades. Saita discusses acupuncture’s use for conditions from arthritis to stress and its growing attention after reports from China.
• Chinatown to Greet Year 4671, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles Chinatown will welcome the Lunar New Year on Feb. 3 with firecrackers and traditional customs. The article explains the Year of the Ox and its associated traditions.
• Sac’to minorities band on CATV issue, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Sacramento Area Ethnic Minority Coalition for Cable TV was formed after a Christmas dinner revealed the absence of Filipino and American Indian representation. Dennis Nishikawa of Sacramento JACL was directed to seek other representatives to pursue the franchise.
• Hawaii Today, by Richard Gage, page 5. The Hawaiian Homes Commission asked the state to acquire the island of Niihau for Hawaiians living there. Other items cover Filipino community projects and historic building restoration proposals.

Commentary

• ‘Nisei’ paperback edition contains updated info, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A paperback edition of the book ‘Nisei: The Quiet Americans’ will be published with updated information. JACL members can purchase it at a discounted price.
• Afraid to Speak Out if Necessary, by Fred Nitta, page 2. A Kibei woman in Watsonville was insulted by a Caucasian salesclerk who ridiculed her Japanese-speaking, prompting her probation-officer son to demand an apology. The store manager’s response dismissed the complaint, and the column uses the episode to discuss bigotry and the reluctance to speak out.
• Ye Editor’s Desk: Aging grant, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. Harry Honda discusses JACL’s HEW grant for gerontology training and the need for Asian American professionals working with the aged. He frames the program as part of JACL’s broader commitment to the Issei.
• Hiroshima visit reflections, by Dr. Roy Doi, page 2. Dr. Roy Doi recounts a 1971 visit to Hiroshima with relatives, describing the Peace Park, the bomb’s effects on a cousin’s family, and changes in Japan’s prosperity. He reflects on the contrast between the mayor’s forgiveness and remarks blaming Japanese Americans.
• Tule Lake and Heart Mountain recollections, by K. W. Lee, page 3. K. W. Lee profiles Juanita Masumizu Wong, a Black and Japanese American woman whose grandfather was among the Wakamatsu colonists. She was nearly sent to a relocation camp in 1942 before officials released her.
• Yasuda Japan culture letters, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Letters to the editor respond to the Little Tokyo and Japanese American issues. Readers write about community concerns and the Pacific Citizen’s coverage.

JACL

• Youth convention booklet cancelled, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The planned post-convention booklet for the Japanese American Youth Convention held in Salt Lake City last August has been abandoned. Drake Nakanishi, chairman of the project committee, said the group lacked funds to prepare it.
• Ushio assumes national executive director post, by P.C. Staff, page 1. David E. Ushio, 27, officially became National Executive Director of JACL on Jan. 1, succeeding Masao W. Satow. Ushio, previously Washington Representative, said JACL has the opportunity to tap its potential with continued membership support.

National

• HEW grants Nat’l JACL $65,554 to recruit gerontology students, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A federal grant of $65,554 from HEW’s Administration on Aging will fund JACL’s program to recruit and train Asian American graduate students in gerontology. Students will receive field placements and seminars focused on elderly Asian Americans.
• Social Security ‘unpenalized earning’ should be liberalized, says Sen. Fong, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Hiram Fong pledged to work toward abolishing the Social Security earnings test for recipients over 65 and proposed liberalizing the current earnings limit. He also called for a permanent independent National Social Security Commission.

Military & Veterans

• Enomoto recalls teenage days in San Francisco and wartime camps, by Judie Barras, page 1. Jerry Enomoto, a teenage Nisei in San Francisco, recalls learning of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent evacuation and internment. He describes the wartime restrictions and the personal losses families suffered.

Incarceration & Redress

• Little Tokyo redevelopment: letters brew stormy exchange, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. A dispute arose over the selection of Kajima International for a 400-room hotel in the Little Tokyo redevelopment project. Asiamerica’s F. Chuman publicly challenged the choice, and the CRA eventually reviewed its recommendation.

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