JACL Building Fund passes $300,000, and Nisei draft resisters recalled

Vol. 79, No. 14, October 4, 1974. 6 pages. View this issue

The JACL National Headquarters Building Fund had topped $300,000 by this issue, with about $75,000 still needed and a final mailing drive due to close by year’s end. Dave Uno credited chapter volunteers for raising the money in under a year, and Tad Hirota described what the new headquarters would hold. Mike Masaoka’s commentary, which continues on page 3, recalled the Nisei who refused induction from the camps in 1944 and the later presidential amnesty. Also on page 1, an Executive Order 9066 photographic exhibit was set for St. Louis, December 4 through January 10.

Elsewhere in these six pages are columns by Jerry Enomoto and Harry K. Honda, and a memoir by Alice Kasai of YWCA leader Florence Pierce in Salt Lake City. The issue also covers a 100th birthday honor in Alameda, Nikkei at Expo 74 in Spokane, and a heart health survey in Central California.

What’s in this issue

Community

• JACL Building Fund Passes $300,000 With Final Appeal Due, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL National Headquarters Building Fund campaign has topped $300,000 with about $75,000 still needed. Members are being asked to give during a final mailing drive expected to conclude by year’s end.
• Nissan, Toyota Give to Community Center, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nissan Motor Corp USA and Toyota Motor Sales USA each donated $20,000 to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center building fund in Los Angeles. The gifts bring the fund closer to its $400,000 preliminary goal.
• Pensions Repeal Bills Referred to Committees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Repeal bills targeting early retirement benefits for reapportioned legislators were referred to committees after partisan bickering in the Legislature. Assemblyman Paul Bannai criticized Democrats for delaying action.
• Textbook Evaluation System Criticized, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California’s textbook selection system fails to eliminate material that violates state guidelines on minorities and women, according to State Superintendent Wilson Riles. He called for reorganizing the State Curriculum Commission.
• Sacramento Community Center Renamed for Warren, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sacramento city council reversed itself and voted to rename the Community Center for late Chief Justice Earl Warren. Councilmen switched votes after pressure, and a referendum was urged to block the change.
• Prospects Good for Seattle Cultural Center, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The proposed Japanese Cultural and Community Service Center in Seattle received a high preference rating from the regional economic development priorities committee. Planners are now working on operating guidelines.
• Tulare County JACL Plans 40th Anniversary Celebration, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Tulare County JACL will hold its 40th anniversary celebration on February 8, 1975 at the Dinuba Memorial Hall. Planning is underway with chapter members.
• Alameda Issei Night to Honor Centenarian Misa Tajima, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Alameda JACL will honor Mrs. Misa Tajima, who turns 100 on October 23, at its annual Issei Night on October 5. Festivities will include dancers and a roast beef dinner.
• Spokane JACLers Assist at Folk Life Festival, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Spokane JACL and local Japanese Americans took part in the Japanese American Folk Life Festival at Expo 74 in Spokane. Performers, artists, and craftspeople presented Japanese culture to thousands of visitors.
• Tom Takenouchi: Hollywood JACLer Serving as Council Liaison, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Tom Takenouchi was named project coordinator and Asian community liaison for Los Angeles City Councilman David Cunningham’s 10th district office. He is a recent USC law graduate and Hollywood JACL president.
• Philadelphia Chapter Holds Summer Outing, by P.C. Staff, page 5. About 160 Philadelphia JACL members attended a summer picnic at Carson Simpson Recreation Farm despite threatening weather. Activities included races, volleyball, and a barbecue dinner.
• Little Tokyo Shop Expansion and Business News, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Tamura & Co. of Los Angeles opened a branch store in Huntington Beach, and other community business news is reported. The item covers new openings and personnel changes.
• Honolulu Military Barracks Go Co-ed; Hawaii News Roundup, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Military barracks in Hawaii have adopted mixed-but-separate living arrangements, and the Honolulu cost-of-living study ranks the city high. The roundup also covers political races and local business developments.
• Tide Pool Program Popular with Los Angeles Schoolchildren, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Los Angeles Park Ranger Frank Nakatani has led tide pool tours at Royal Palms Beach for city school children over the past four years. His program teaches marine ecology and conservation.
• Sakura Tree Blooms: Florence Pierce in Retrospect, by Alice Kasai, page 6. Alice Kasai recalls Florence Pierce, a YWCA leader in Salt Lake City who supported Japanese Americans during and after WW2 evacuation. The memoir describes how Pierce helped young women and soldiers and kept the YWCA open to Nisei.

National

• Japan Unions to Protest Ford Visit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japan’s Sohyo labor federation plans demonstrations against President Ford’s November visit to Japan. The group opposes the US-Japan security treaty.
• Osano Says He Is Through Buying Overseas Hotels, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japanese financier Kenji Osano said he is finished buying hotels and real estate in the United States after acquiring Hawaii hotels. His purchases drew criticism, including a racist characterization from the JACL district council in Northern California.

Incarceration & Redress

• E.O. 9066 Exhibit Due in St. Louis Dec. 4-Jan. 10, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Washington University and the St. Louis JACL will co-sponsor the Executive Order 9066 photographic display at the university’s Steinberg Hall Gallery of Art. The exhibit runs December 4 through January 10.
• WW2 Amnesty: Nisei Who Refused Induction From Camps, by Mike Masaoka, page 3. This continuation traces the court cases of Nisei who refused induction, the Tule Lake and Poston resisters, and the postwar presidential amnesties. It explains how Truman and the Amnesty Board granted pardons to many Japanese Americans.

Military & Veterans

• Senator Suggests 100th and 442nd History Be Included in Punchbowl Expansion, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Senator Fong backed a suggestion that the war history of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team be included in the Punchbowl cemetery expansion. Veterans groups raised the idea after learning the VA was considering expansion.

Commentary

• Amnesty for Vietnam War Resisters Recalls Tragic Nisei WW2 Cases, by Mike Masaoka, page 1. Mike Masaoka recalls the less than 500 Nisei who refused induction in 1944 while confined in relocation camps and the later presidential amnesty. He describes how Selective Service was reopened to Japanese Americans and how the courts handled the cases.
• Letters to the Editor: Our Korean Cousins and Other Views, by Letter writers, page 2. Readers respond to a prior article on Korean Americans and debate the Nixon pardon and JACL positions. Several letters comment on community and organizational issues within the JACL.
• Perspectives: Tehachapi, by Jerry Enomoto, page 2. Jerry Enomoto reflects on the JACL Portland convention, the Nixon pardon, and the state of the organization. He offers personal observations on community life and JACL culture.
• Frying Pan: Autumn in Denver, by Harry K. Honda, page 3. A columnist describes autumn weather in Denver and the Rockies, along with a zucchini harvest that outgrows the family’s needs. He ties the surplus to wider questions about world food shortages.
• Central Cal’s Heartbeat Survey Shows Nikkei on Rich Diet, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A Central California Nikkei heart survey found high cholesterol and triglyceride levels among many participants. The findings were linked to a rich diet and risk of coronary disease.
• Tokyo to Hawaii, Boston Impressions: Tomorrow’s Youth, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A columnist describes a parent’s experience dropping a son off at a New England college and comparing Boston’s history with modern life. The piece reflects on the emotional transition of a child leaving home.

JACL

• JACLers Raise Over $300,000 in Less Than a Year, by Dave Uno, page 2. JACL members have raised over $300,000 toward the headquarters Building Fund in under a year, well past the original quarter-million target. Dave Uno credits chapter volunteers and a shared commitment for the success.

Arts & Entertainment

• Early Works of an Esteemed Author: Ten Nights of Dream, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A book review covers Soseki Natsume’s early work Ten Nights of Dream, which the author wrote for the Asahi News in 1908. The review describes its dream-based, reincarnation-themed narrative.
• Jan Minagawa: Converts from Pre-Med to Media, TV Newscaster, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Jan Minagawa, 24, has become a television newscaster at KTLA after working at KABC and UCLA’s campus radio station. The profile traces his path from pre-med studies to broadcasting.
• Photography West 74 Exhibit Features Nikkei Photographer, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Photography West 74 exhibit at the Los Angeles State Museum of Science and Industry includes work by Aki Okumoto among over 200 selected pictures. The show runs until November 17.

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