A permanent home for JACL, and aid for Yuba City flood victims

Vol. 42, No. 17, April 27, 1956. 8 pages. View this issue

A permanent national headquarters was the subject on the front page. The board urged the National Council, meeting at its San Francisco convention, to start a building fund, describing the current office as cramped and musty. Aid for Issei and Nisei flood victims also ran on page one: $36,060.75 had been collected for families in the Yuba City area after the Christmas Day flood. Mike Masaoka urged a Senate subcommittee to return seized wartime property, and Sen. Everett Dirksen reported that the Justice Department generally favored the House-passed Lane bill on evacuation claims.

Inside are columns by Bill Hosokawa, Harry K. Honda, Larry S. Tajiri and Mary Oyama. Honda wrote about a sixth vandalism of the paper’s office. Tajiri surveyed wartime anti-Nisei bills in several states. Sports pages followed Norman Tamanaha at the Boston marathon and a perfect 300 game by Kazunori Katayama. Long Beach honored 75 newly naturalized Issei.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• Permanent home for National JACL urged, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The board urges the National Council at its San Francisco convention to establish a building fund for a permanent JACL headquarters. It notes that the current office is cramped and musty and no longer fits the organization’s growing strength.

Community

• Over $36,000 in aid received by flood victims, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Donations totaling $36,060.75 have been collected for Issei and Nisei flood victims in the Yuba City area after the Christmas Day flood. Treasurer Frank Okimoto reports that many families are still recovering from the disaster.
• Naturalized Issei called for L.A. jury duty, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Katsuna Mukaeda, a naturalized Issei legal counselor, was named to serve on the Los Angeles Superior Court jury for six months. He is probably the second former alien Japanese to be called after Tameji Eto of San Luis Obispo.
• Police impersonators reported by Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fresno Issei Yoshio Takeda was stopped by men later determined to be impersonating police officers, who demanded $2 after a trumped-up charge. They released him when he asked for a citation instead.
• Name Dr. Sasaki to second term as county supervisor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Joseph D. Sasaki, an Ann Arbor optometrist and former Fresno JACL president, was appointed to a two-year term as county supervisor from the second ward. He was first appointed to the board in November to fill a vacancy.
• Artichokes for supper, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Hosokawa describes how his children love artichokes and how a trip to Boys Ranch in Texas taught his sons to say ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am.’ He also recounts his family’s allergies and his youngest son’s campaign for a dog.
• Arizona strawberry growers enjoy one of the best crop years, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Japanese American strawberry farmers in the Glendale, Arizona area report one of the best crops this year even as subdivisions consume their fields. The area’s acreage has shrunk from 300 acres five years ago to 110 acres this year.
• Oscar-winning Japanese film due Denver showing, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Japanese film Samurai, named best foreign film at the 1955 Academy Awards, will have its Rocky Mountain premiere in Denver in May. The Mile-Hi JACL and Denver Film Society are co-sponsoring the showing to benefit the chapter.
• San Jose celery shipper accepts post as agricultural consultant in Puerto Rico, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Takeo Tad Tomita, a San Jose celery shipper, has been named a $15,000-a-year special agriculture consultant in Puerto Rico. He plans to introduce California-style agriculture to the island on a two-year contract.
• Dr. Sasaki appointed county supervisor, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. Joseph D. Sasaki was reappointed to the county board of supervisors in Ann Arbor. He is a former Fresno JACL president and active in local Republican circles.
• Japanese to be added as regular course at Belmont High next fall, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Los Angeles Board of Education approved adding Japanese and Chinese to the foreign language curriculum at Belmont High School starting next September. Around 150 mostly non-Oriental students expressed interest, and Carlos Morrison will teach the Japanese course.
• Masunaga on ballot for San Jose school post, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Shigeo Masunaga, incumbent school board trustee in the Orchid elementary district, filed for re-election. As he is one of only two candidates on the ballot, his re-election is virtually assured.
• Perspectively yours, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The column praises chapters that have sold Changing Perspectives convention packages and notes that San Francisco board members have pledged to buy them. It also reports on a San Francisco JACL float celebrating the 1906 earthquake anniversary.
• The Northwest Picture: Event-filled week passes, by Elmer Ogawa, page 4. Elmer Ogawa profiles Bill Nishimura, newly installed commander of the Nisei Veterans Committee and Seattle Junior Chamber vice-president, and Arthur Solomon Jr., head worker of Neighborhood House who was named Man of the Year. Both have been active in community service.
• Southwest (L.A.) Confidential: the dirt behind the dirt, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A reprinted Southwest L.A. JACL newsletter profiles the chapter’s 1956 cabinet officers in a humorous style. It describes their jobs and personalities, from the president to the publicity co-chairmen.
• Big news slips by, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A guest column reports that the 1000 Club reached its 1,000th current paid-up member, Frank Y. Takahashi of Chicago. It credits national 1000 Club chairman Shig Wakamatsu with reorganizing records and renewal follow-ups.
• Long Beach ready for 2nd PSWDC quarterly session, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Pacific Southwest District Council will hold its second quarterly meeting at the Harbor Japanese Community Center on May 6. The agenda includes the Alien Land Law initiative on the November ballot and a dinner and dance.
• 75 Issei citizens of Long Beach honored, by Nobie Narita, page 6. The Long Beach-Harbor District JACL held a recognition dinner for 75 newly naturalized Issei citizens. Governor Goodwin Knight sent a congratulatory telegram, and Mayor George Vermillion presented an American flag to the community.
• Gov’t labor film set for Chicago CL, by P.C. Staff, page 6. George B. McKibbin will speak at the Chicago JACL meeting on May 10 on racial and religious discrimination in employment. The program will include the film Commencement from the President’s Committee on Government Contracts.

Military & Veterans

• ‘Go for Broke’ editor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Jack Kawamoto resigned as editor of the Go For Broke bulletin for the 442nd Veterans Club in Honolulu to do social work in Palo Alto. Robert M. Sasaki has been named the new editor.

National

• Return of wartime vested property to Japanese seen as goodwill bid, by Helen Mineta, page 1. JACL representative Mike Masaoka urged a Senate subcommittee to pass legislation returning German and Japanese property seized by the United States during and after World War II. He argued that the return would protect private property rights and strengthen goodwill with Japan.
• Justice Dep’t favors House-passed Lane bill, Senate group informed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Everett Dirksen informed the JACL that the Department of Justice has sent the Senate Judiciary Committee a report generally favoring the House-passed Lane bill on evacuation claims. Dirksen is urging the committee to act on the bill soon.

Commentary

• CBS radio show answers slur against Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. CBS executive Mitchell Miller responded to Ina Sugihara Jones’s complaint about Hoagy Carmichael’s use of the word ‘Jap’ on a radio show. Miller said the remark was unrehearsed and unintended, and he noted Japanese Americans’ distinguished service.
• V-V Day, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. Honda describes a sixth vandalism of the Pacific Citizen office that damaged typewriters and desks with mimeograph ink. He discusses security concerns and reports Larry Tajiri’s suggestion of a dollar-for-PC fundraising campaign to cover the damages.
• Vagaries: Query from Munich, by Larry S. Tajiri, page 3. Tajiri recounts a request from German scholar Dr. Kurt Rabl for information on anti-Japanese discriminatory legislation during World War II. He then surveys the wartime anti-Nisei bills introduced in states such as Arkansas, California, Utah, and Oregon.
• Dearie, d’ya remember?, by Mary Oyama, page 5. Oyama recalls Tom Yatabe working summers on fruit ranches around Suisun and Fairfield while attending UC Berkeley. She also remembers playing the piano at the Mitoma ranch and meeting Saburo Kido as a young Berkeley student.
• Smoglites: Piano and I, by Mary Oyama, page 5. Oyama recalls childhood summers spent cutting fruit at the Mitoma ranch and playing the old piano there. She also recounts a late-night return to the dormitory after a dance.
• Tokyo Topics: The James Micheners, by Tanrotsu Murayama, page 6. Murayama describes meeting Mari Sabusawa Michener, wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist James Michener, at a Tokyo Press Club reception. He reflects on how the couple’s honeymoon and her JACL background connect Japanese American and Japanese cultures.

Sports

• Tamanaha runs Boston marathon in 2:38.46, best individual time but places 25th, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Finnish runner Antti Viskari set a new Boston Marathon record of 2:14.14, and Norman Tamanaha placed 25th in 2:38.46. Tamanaha, a Hawaiian veteran, had set a 1956 Hawaiian AAU record earlier that year.
• Nakase cons WLA JACL golf tourney after 3-way tie, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Tats Nakase won low gross honors in the fifth annual West Los Angeles JACL golf tournament after a sudden-death playoff. Fred Ikeguchi took low net honors in the championship flight.
• Nisei gridder reports for Washington practice, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Ed Watanabe, a 19-year-old tackle from Honolulu, reported for University of Washington spring football practice. He is the only Nisei gridder on the team.
• Nisei boxer fights like Olympic champ to cop NCAA 119 title, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Choken Maekawa of Michigan State won the NCAA 119-pound boxing championship and may qualify for the Olympic trials. His skilled style drew praise from veteran judge Frank Gilmer.
• Kazunori Katayama bowls perfect 300 game, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Los Angeles nurseryman Kazunori Katayama rolled a perfect 300 game in the Examiner Singles Classic qualifying round. He became the 10th Nisei to do so and earned top series honors for the week.

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