Buy the Board: a call to bring younger members into JACL

Vol. 52, No. 23, June 9, 1961. 4 pages. View this issue

Kay Nekagiri, PSWDC Chairman, wrote on the front page that younger Japanese Americans should be counseled toward college and trades, and that JACL must win over younger members if it is to remain an active organization. He noted how many college students still ask, “What is the JACL?” Page 2 carried Part 2 of “Command Decision: Evacuation,” which followed the planning among General DeWitt and War and Justice Department officials in January 1942. Page 3 ran a column about being born in Block 229 of a WRA camp.

The rest of this four-page issue was chapter and community news. Several JACL chapters named candidates for the 1961 Nisei Week queen contest. National JACL opened nominations for the Pvt. Ben Frank Masaoka Memorial Scholarship. Page 4 reported on Parlier JACL honoring 60 Issei pioneers, Reedley JACL marking 25 years, and new youth groups in Contra Costa and the Intermountain district.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Buy the Board, by Kay Nekagiri, page 1. Kay Nekagiri, PSWDC Chairman, urges counseling for young Japanese American students toward college and trades and stresses that JACL must attract younger members to remain active. He recounts that many college students today do not know what the JACL is.
• Kunitsugu proposed for L.A. City Council 10th dist. vacancy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fourteen letters were submitted to the Los Angeles City Council proposing candidates for the 10th district seat vacated by Charles Navarro, including former PSWDC JACL chairman Kango Kunitsugu. The appointment was urged by several local community members.
• B’nai B’rith award won by Petaluma Sansei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dennis Fujita, senior class president at Petaluma High, received a $100 scholarship from the local B’nai B’rith Lodge. He had also won other awards and was a state-level basketball star.
• Wilshire Japanese store delays opening, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Japanese store at Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue has delayed its opening until February due to construction and fire-related complications. The owner, a former Portland resident, is a member of the Venice JACL.
• Nisei to research nuclear chemistry at Oslo university, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Thomas T. Sugihara, associate professor of chemistry at Clark University, will conduct nuclear chemistry research at the University of Oslo as a Fulbright scholar in 1961-62. He has also taught at MIT and Long Beach City College.
• Mike Suzuki acting JASC executive, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike M. Suzuki, executive director of Shonien Children’s Home, was appointed acting executive director of the Japanese American Community Services for about three months. He is a past Hollywood JACL president.
• Nisei to help establish center in Kobe slums, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Nagai are among 15 University of California students traveling to Kobe, Japan to establish a social center in a slum area. The international service project is organized by the UC Wesley Foundation and Kwansei Gakuin.
• Nisei Week queen contest fever climbs, Southwest L.A. names Gerry Uyema, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Geraldine Uyema, 19, was crowned Southwest Los Angeles JACL’s candidate for the 1961 Nisei Week Queen contest at the Queentime Ball. She is a Los Angeles High School graduate and pre-nursing student.
• West L.A. JACL to pick Festival queen candidate, by P.C. Staff, page 1. West Los Angeles JACL will choose its Nisei Week queen candidate at a tea at Dr. Kiyoshi Sonoda’s home from three contestants. The candidates include a UCLA junior and a Packard Bell employee.
• Stockton attorney elected to PTA fund organization, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Stockton attorney Joseph Onracht was elected to the board of the Stockton Council of Parent-Teacher Association Foundation. The foundation will oversee $250,000 from an estate bequest for scholarships and other programs.
• Long Beach-Harbor district candidates compete for Miss Nisei Week, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Five young women from the Long Beach-Harbor District competed in a preliminary judging for the 1961 Miss Nisei Week queen contest. The winner will be honored at a coronation dinner-dance.
• San Fernando Valley sets July 1 for Queen’s Ball, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Fernando Valley JACL and Coordinating Council will host their sixth annual queen’s ball on July 1 to introduce the valley’s Nisei Week candidate. The sports formal dance will feature live music.
• Toddler’s foot amputated after farm accident, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Linda Saiki, age two, of Dixon had her left foot amputated after a piece of farm equipment ran over her at a field where her father worked. She was reported in good condition.
• Fulbright scholar and research psychiatrist news, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Roy Yamahiro joined General Mills as a research psychiatrist after working at the National Institute of Mental Health. Jane Oka of Patterson and Hall was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study in Japan.
• Parlier JACL fetes 60 Issei pioneers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Parlier JACL held a Pioneer Night program honoring 60 Issei, with speeches by Join Kubota and Hokubei Mainichi correspondent. Gifts and past-president pins were presented to honored members.
• Reedley JACL serves 25 years, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Reedley JACL chapter, chartered in 1935, marked 25 years of community service including sponsoring a scholarship and community picnic. The chapter has supported Central California District Council activities.
• Contra Costa Jr. JACL to honor local graduates, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Contra Costa Jr. JACL will honor local high school graduates at an annual dance on June 24 at the Richmond Civic Center. Proceeds and details of the event are described.
• Youth groups form Jr. Intermountain district council, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Delegates from five Intermountain District youth groups met in Pocatello on May 28 to organize a district youth council. Idaho Falls JAYS sent a delegation of 14.

JACL

• Nat’l JACL calls chapters for scholarship applicants, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL Headquarters announced that nominations for the 16th annual Pvt. Ben Frank Masaoka Memorial Scholarship are open to JACL chapters. The $200 scholarship is supplemented by $100 from Dr. James Mimura, a 442nd veteran.
• Salt Lake City JACL scholarship award rules changed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A minor change in the Salt Lake City JACL scholarship rules gives applicants three weeks after high school graduation to submit required data. Supplemental scholarships were awarded to several students.

Military & Veterans

• Objectives of ‘Operations Crossroads’, by Emily Higuchi, page 1. William Steen described Operations Crossroads, a privately organized program sending U.S. college students to Africa for work projects, to the Washington D.C. JACL. The program aims to improve living conditions and foster international understanding.

Obituaries

• Gunzo Sugihara, pioneer Issei businessman, dies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Gunzo Sugihara, a pioneer Issei businessman who came to the United States in 1899, died in Tokyo at age 77. He was a longtime president of a company importing Japanese foods and later helped form Japan Foods Corp.

Commentary

• Command Decision: Evacuation, Part 2, by P.C. Staff, page 2. This installment examines the pre-evacuation planning of General DeWitt and War and Justice Department officials in January 1942, including proposed restricted zones for enemy aliens. It shows how Army recommendations and delays contributed to growing agitation against Japanese Americans.
• Hi, Mr. Yamada, Remember Me? I Was Born in Block 229 in the WRA Camp, page 3. A column recounts memories tied to the WRA camp where the author was born. It reflects on the lasting personal impact of the incarceration experience.

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