Vol. 48, No. 9, February 27, 1959. 8 pages. View this issue
JACL membership and civil rights shared the front page. National JACL President Shig Wakamatsu set a goal of 50,000 members and urged chapters to go after Nisei who had not joined. Idaho’s legislature passed HB 18, sponsored by Idaho JACL chapters, repealing the state’s ban on interracial marriage and sending it to the governor. An editorial signed H.H. argued that public libraries should be desegregated along with schools, and a column by Mike Masaoka asked readers to write in support of Hawaiian statehood.
Elsewhere in the eight pages, Akiji Yoshimura and Roy Yoshida wrote about national office work and chapter programming. A record 150 teams entered the 18th National JACL Bowling Tournament at Holiday Bowl, and Hiro Kayasuga rolled a perfect 300 game. Tamotsu Murayama profiled Tomoko Yamamoto, a Des Moines widow honored by the Garden Club of America, and several chapters reported installations and new youth groups.
What’s in this issue
Commentary
- Desegregate the Libraries, Too, by H.H., page 1. An editorial urges that public libraries be desegregated alongside schools, noting that Southern Negro citizens are denied library access. It argues that informed citizenship requires open library access for all.
- By the Board: Reflections on Six Months in National Office, by Akiji Yoshimura, page 5. National First Vice-President Akiji Yoshimura reflects on the heavy paperwork of national office and praises the national staff. He also highlights youth participation at district meetings and the success of the 1000 Club luncheon in Stockton.
- Membership Apathy and the Need for Chapter Programming, by Roy Yoshida, page 5. Membership chairman Roy Yoshida notes 16,516 members for 1958, short of the 1956 record, and blames Nisei complacency and weak chapter programs. He argues JACL remains necessary and that chapters must tailor programs to members’ aspirations.
- Statehood for Hawaii, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Washington representative Mike Masaoka urges JACL members to write letters supporting Hawaiian statehood as hearings begin in the Senate and House. He also denounces an anti-statehood hate sheet circulated by the American Nationalist.
JACL
- Wakamatsu Calls for 50,000 in JACL Ranks, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL President Shig Wakamatsu set a goal of 50,000 members, citing Judge Benjamin Schwartz’s challenge at the Cincinnati installation. He urged chapters to actively pursue non-member Nisei rather than dismissing them.
- Convention Profits Placed in Chapter Endowment Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The $6,500 profit from the 1958 national JACL convention in Salt Lake City will be deposited with the National JACL Credit Union as the Salt Lake JACL Endowment Fund. Interest will fund chapter uses after recommendation by a seven-member committee.
National
- Idaho Legislature Passes Bill Repealing Anti-Miscegenation Law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Idaho state legislature passed HB 18, sponsored by Idaho JACL chapters, repealing the state’s ban on interracial marriage and sending it to the governor. Legislators cited the presence of Japanese war brides whose marriages were effectively void under the law.
- San Mateo City Approves FEPC Bill, Referendum Feared, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The San Mateo City Council passed a fair employment practices ordinance 3-1, modeled on San Francisco’s law. The lone dissenter promised a petition to force a referendum on the measure.
- Nichibei Savings and Loan Application Denied, by P.C. Staff, page 8. State Commissioner Frank Macklin rejected the application of Nichibei Savings and Loan Association to open an office in Southwest Los Angeles. Applicant Ben Adachi had argued that persons of Japanese ancestry were being denied mortgage benefits.
Community
- San Francisco Hits 454 in Memberships, by P.C. Staff, page 1. San Francisco JACL reported 454 paid members as of Feb. 16, with chair Mrs. Yo Hironaka predicting the chapter will top 1,000 for the fourth straight year. About 100 of the names are new members.
- Inaba, Ishikawa Named Conference Aides, by P.C. Staff, page 2. General chairman Aki Hayashi named Harry Inaba and Sam Ishikawa as associate chairmen of the joint Eastern-Midwest District Councils JACL Convention to be held over Labor Day weekend in New York. Responsibilities were divided among social, program, and finance areas.
- Sansei Entertain at College Center Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two young Twin Cities girls performed a Japanese dance at the first fund-raising dinner for the University of Minnesota’s International Center for Students and Visitors. The event drew some 400 guests at Dayton’s Sky Room.
- Connie Kazuko Tsuno Studies Social Work in Milwaukee, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kazuko Tsuno, known as Connie, came to Milwaukee from Hiroshima in 1956 to study social work and completed a thesis surveying Japanese war brides there. Her survey found the main barrier was intercultural adjustment and language rather than interracial conflict.
- Gardena Poker Vote Date Postponed, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Gardena’s City Council moved a special election on a seventh poker palace license to Apr. 28 rather than consolidate it with the Apr. 7 municipal primaries. The postponement also extends voter registration to Mar. 5.
- Pocatello JACL Organizes Youth Group, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Pocatello JACL sponsored the formation of a new youth group, whose officers were installed by Intermountain District Council vice-chairman Joe Nishioka. The group plans a constitution, a name, and a booth at the chapter’s carnival.
- Pat Okura Resigns Boys Town Position to Accept Chief Juvenile Probation Post, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Boys Town psychologist K. Patrick Okura was named Douglas County chief juvenile probation officer in Omaha, effective March 2. A former national JACL vice-president, he previously held posts in Los Angeles county agencies.
- Nisei Week Planners Form Corporation, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Nisei Week Festival, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, was formed to organize the 19th annual Nisei Week festival in August. Frank Hirohata heads the group with vice-chairmen and officers drawn from local organizations and businesses.
- Nisei-Designed Home to Be Featured in New Jersey Colony, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Architect John S. Iwatsu designed a model home blending Oriental and contemporary styles, featured in a New York Times real estate article. It will serve as the prototype for about 48 dwellings in a Northvale, New Jersey colony.
Obituaries
- Edmiston Jr., Author of Home Again, Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. James E. Edmiston Jr., 47, screenwriter and author of the Japanese evacuation story Home Again, died suddenly in Los Angeles on Feb. 8. His father vowed to continue the film project his son had planned.
Sports
- All-Time High of 150 Teams in JACL Classic, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A record 150 teams, including 20 from Hawaii, are entered in the 18th National JACL Bowling Tournament at Holiday Bowl. Tournament director Easy Fujimoto and co-chairman Roy Yamadera expect records to fall.
- Kayasuga Bowls 300 at Holiday, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Hiro Kayasuga of Montebello rolled a perfect 300 game in NBA league play at Holiday Bowl, the 16th perfect game by a Nisei under ABC sanction. Other tournament-related scores and records from regional bowling events are also reported.
Arts & Entertainment
- The Big Lift: Holder of Top Award from Garden Club of America, an Issei Widow, Revisits Japan, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 3. Tomoko Yamamoto, a 78-year-old Des Moines widow and winner of the Garden Club of America’s Katharine Cary Medal, visited Japan. Her flower arrangement work appeared in Better Homes and Gardens for 14 years and she promoted U.S.-Japan goodwill.
Incarceration & Redress
- Snake River Installs Nishimura as Head, Presents $2,300 for New Nursing Home, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Snake River JACL installed George Nishimura as 1959 president and presented a $2,387.45 check from a chapter bazaar to the new Presbyterian Nursing Home building fund. Five newly naturalized Issei were honored at the dinner.
Military & Veterans
- Oregon Legislator Lauds Nisei in Congressional Record Remark, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Congresswoman Edith Green of Oregon praised Japanese American evacuees for their conduct during WWII in remarks entered into the Congressional Record. She included a Eugene Register-Guard editorial recognizing the completion of evacuation claims restitution.
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