Basketball Star Sumi Tashiro Passes

The star of Lompoc’s pre-World War II girls basketball team, has died.

Sumi Tashiro Tsuji died the morning after Christmas at the age of 88 in Monterey. Cancer had been discovered in August.

Sumi may be seen here on the Photographs page of this website in a photo with Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi and Kaoru Bill Honda. They are each holding up Block L’s which they received last May when they visited Lompoc.

In Vanished in the team photo from 1941, Sumi is seen front row center with a basketball directly in front of her knees. I don’t think that was an accident. In my two long interviews with Sumi, the basketball team was a joyful topic of conversation. After the 1939-40 season she was named to a Central Coast All-Star team which played Stockton, the state champion She was proud of that, just as she was for the 700 series she bowled years later in Hanford, the first woman to accomplish the feat in that city.

Sumi was always full of life. She had a great smile, a voice like a foghorn, and she was candid, willing to talk about drinking that took place at the Nihonjin picnics, and about the controversy over whether Katie Inouye, a Christian, should be allowed to play on the Lompoc basketball team. The two teamed at guard on the squad.

Katie never saw Sumi again after they graduated high school together in 1941. Even at the gatherings occasioned by Vanished, they missed one another. Sumi came to Lompoc in May 2010 but Katie could not. Katie came in October when Sumi could no longer travel.

“She was the one I really wanted to see,” Katie said today. “I used to go over there (to the Tashiro farm outside Lompoc) and eat tomatoes out of the warehouse. She was very independent. She never hesitated to speak out. I had good times with her. She was a roughneck like me.”  

Sumi worked most of her life as a hairdresser. She was widowed in 1986 and lived in recent years with her brother Yeiki in Manteca. Of the four Tashiro siblings, only Yeiki survives.

John Does Radio Gig

Hi Everybody:

Tuesday I appeared on Colin Marshall's radio show on KCSB, the UC Santa Barbara campus radio station.  Bill and Lucille Honda, and probably a few others listened as I was interviewed by Nick Welsh, Executive Editor of the Santa Barbara Independent. I didn't really plan the points I wanted to make, and I rambled like an old farmer. Ah well, it's a learning experience. Next time I'll come at least a little prepared with talking points.

In other news, Dr. Kent Haldan has agreed to speak with me at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple on February 6, so that will really be a thorough discussion.

To all who have read the book, talked to a friend about the book, sought shelf space in a bookstore, or in any way helped make the book visible, thank you so much.

We wish you the happiest of holidays.

John

Press Coverage Still Strong; Third Printing Ordered

The last week has seen continuing strong press coverage for Vanished.

Editor Nick Welsh of the Santa Barbara Independent called the book “emotionally moving and historically complex.”

Columnist George Toshio Johnston in the Rafu Shimpo of Los Angeles mentioned the book for the second time, this time with a photo of Carrie Otani from M&S Pharmacy in Los Angeles where the book is on sale. The caption reads: “She said it sold out and a second shipment has come in for sale.”

The Santa Maria Sun published Chapter 16 of the book with a color cover photo of Kenji Ota and a half-page inside shot of Kaoru Bill Honda. The story title is “Nobody Will Sit with Me,” the comment made in the pages of Vanished by Kenzo Nishimura on his first day back at school on December 8, 1941. Honda is pictured seated on his couch and Ota is seated cross-legged on the mat of his judo dojo.

Monday George Yoshitake and John McReynolds spoke to a crowd of 150 at the Lompoc Valley Historical Society. They had a great time and sold twelve more books! John got a chance to meet Irma Bortolazzo Gadway, a childhood friend of Terry Wakumoto. Those two will soon be in contact. Jim Sloan asked to be remembered to the Shimomura family.

Chaucer’s bookstore in Santa Barbara, the Santa Maria Library book shop, the Book Loft in Solvang and Sushi Teri Restaurant in Lompoc all ordered more books this week.

With all this activity we have decided to invest in a third printing. This will not only give us more copies but will allow us to correct errors regarding the birthplace of Robert Iwamoto (he was born in Kanagawa despite what it says on page 37), the misspelling of Miyagishima on page 16, and Terry Wakumoto not being nisei but sansei. We will also add a definition of “joss house.”   

The speaking date at the Berkeley Buddhist Temple is being changed. Check back next week or so for the new date.

Thank you, everybody for all your support.  

New Speaking Engagements, New Outlet

Hi Everybody:

In book sales, just like every other business, activity rises and falls, then rises and falls again. The last week has been quieter than the frantic days of October and November but some remarkable breakthroughs took place.

First George and John have been invited to visit the Berkeley Buddhist Temple on Sunday, January 16. This is a singular honor. Many of the members of the temple remember Mrs. Kyogoku who with her husband Rev. Itsuzo Kyogoku served the Lompoc community from the early 1930's until 1941. They served Berkeley after the war. Thank you to Kiyoshi and Emiko Endo Katsumoto and to John and Dawn Yoshitake-Kawamoto for making arrangements. Emiko Endo Katsumoto is granddaughter of H.S. Iwamoto of Lompoc's Iwamoto Store. Dawn Yoshitake-Katsumoto is daughter of George Yoshitake.

Also, Carolyn Sanwo of Heritage Source, the independent bookseller specializing in Japanese and Japanese American titles, has invited John and George to sign books at the HS booth at the annual Los Angeles Times Book Fair on April 30. This year instead of UCLA, it will be held at USC. This is another very big deal. "I've gone to that event several times as a student, but I never thought I'd be signing books there," John chuckled this week. Thanks to Lynn Mori, daughter-in-law of Michiko Hozaki Mori, for making connection between us and Heritage Source. Check out the website at http://www.heritagesource.com/.

George and John have also been invited to speak at the annual Christmas dinner of the Lompoc Valley Historical Society on Monday night. They plan to do once again their "Hey George, Why Did I Write This?" routine that you all have heard. They're getting to be like Seinfeld and Kramer. Thanks to Karen Paaske for setting it up.

And a new book outlet has been opened. The Santa Maria Library gift shop is now featuring Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese in the "local authors" section.  This addition means that the book can be purchased in Lompoc, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Solvang, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.

Finally, a special honor for George Yoshitake takes place this week in Las Vegas. George has been invited by Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) to do interviews at the Nevada Test Site and the Atomic Test Museum in Las Vegas for a show in Japan. George was an Air Force photographer who worked at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950's.

Sam Kitaguchi Passes

Museum Date Set

Now it’s for sure. Our program on Vanished: Lompoc’s Japanese at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will take place on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 2 p.m. It was set up today.

Response to our e-mails indicated overwhelming support for June 18 over other available dates. Not only will lots of one-time Lompoc residents and their children and grandchildren be present, but so will Dr. Kent Haldan, the Diablo Valley College instructor whose research formed the basis for the book, and also Dr. Art Hansen, the retired Cal State Fullerton history and Asian Studies professor whose wonderful review of the book (“narrative force, organizational clarity, innovative research and intellectual penetration”) gave it credibility for museums, libraries and bookstores all over the state.

It’s now available at the JANM gift shop and M&S Pharmacy in Los Angeles as well as book stores in Lompoc, Solvang, and Santa Barbara. We’ve also had contact from Sacramento State, the California Museum in Sacramento, and Manzanar National Historic Site, as well as numerous calls from the Central Coast.

Most recently, last Friday, George Toshio Johnston published a review of Vanished in the Los Angeles Rafu Shimpo.  He gave Vanished an amazing 19 inches of space including a photo of the book’s cover. Thank you George, and thank you Lucille Honda for putting us in touch.  

The second printing of the book has arrived and is now available. We’ve changed the description of the cover, we’ve corrected the spelling of ofuro and of Aki Iwata’s name, and we added Dr. Hansen’s praise and page numbers for the photo pages.

Speaking of the cover, as many of you know, the photograph by Todoroki Hozaki was not taken in Lompoc, despite what the author wrote. Thanks to Tets Furukawa we’ve found that the parade took place in Guadalupe. And it was not a Fourth of July parade. It was a procession staged to celebrate the donation of the altar to the Guadalupe Buddhist Temple. It took place not in July but in October of 1933. But the biggest surprise came from George Yoshitake. It turns out that the donor of the altar was his wife June’s grandfather! Small world.

One bit of sad news--Satoru "Sam" Kitaguchi passed away the evening before Thanksgiving in Phoenix. The fourth of six children born in the US to Gitaro and Ume Kitaguchi, Sam grew up on the family asparagus farm near La Purisima Mission. He later became an engineer and was awarded a commendation by NASA for his work on space vehicles. In retirement he provided lengthy family histories for the book Vanished. Sam had recently graduated high school at Gila River when he accompanied his father back home to Lompoc in 1945 to inspect the vandalized family home. Sam absolved the Rivaldi family, neighbors to the Kitaguchis, for any responsiblity. The Rivaldis farmed the Kitaguchi land during the war. "We have no quarrel with the Rivaldi's," Sam declared. "They did an excellent job. We were very grateful." On a lighter note the episode in which Sam was clobbered with a baseball bat by Akira Francis Nishimura at Japanese School in Lompoc became a reference point in the book. "I thought I killed the guy," said Nishimura years later. Nishimura predeceased Kitaguchi by less than a year.  Kitaguchi leaves a sister, Satsuko, and two brothers, Chitose and Tome as well as his immediate family. A memorial service will be conducted soon by Phoenix Memorial Park.

Invitation to the JA National Museum

We’re going to the museum!

Yes indeed, the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in downtown Los Angeles.

We’ve been invited to talk about the book as part of the museum’s 2011 program series.

“I gave the book to a reviewer who read it and REALLY liked it,” e-mailed JANM Program Director Koji Sakai. “And of course, (Professor) Art (Hansen) loved it too. I looked it over as well and would be honored to have you come down and do a reading/talk.”

My reaction was, “I’m honored to be invited by such a well-respected museum!”                 

The exact date of our program, whether it takes place on Saturday, June 18 (Father’s Day weekend), or Saturday, June 25 or Saturday, August 27, is a decision we need you to help us decide. Why? Because we want you to participate that day. If you enjoyed the three book launch reunions, or especially if you missed them, this event will be the BIGGEST of the Lompoc reunions.

Please post your opinion here as a comment or e-mail your preference as soon as possible to lompocwriter@gmail.com

Not only will there be a program at the museum, but soon, probably about December 1, Vanished will appear on the shelf at the JANM store.

Not only that, but the Santa Maria Sun will print an excerpt from the book on December 9.   

Response has been so overwhelming that the first printing of Vanished has been exhausted. The second printing should be completed by Wednesday, November 24, but shipping will be delayed due to Thanksgiving weekend.

All this is good. Better than that: GREAT, hectic but great.

Thank you everybody for your support.

Connections Multiplying

After the Northern California “book tour” we enjoyed two more book events at The Book Store in Lompoc.

As a result connections are popping up everywhere! Just yesterday a Lompoc woman named Jerry Beattie made contact with the Shirokawa family whom she had not heard from in decades. And a retired teacher named Jits Furusawa, who now lives in Lompoc, told about his stepfather, Osamu Matoba, who returned briefly to Lompoc after the war. Osamu Matoba is the older brother of Kiyoshi Matoba who starred as a baseball player in Lompoc in 1940-41

And this note from Lucille and Kaoru Bill Honda.

Did I tell you that a friend that we had not seen for over 55 years recently wrote to us to say she just finished reading your “Vanished” book? She said Bill never told her that he was a coach with girls’ basketball in Lompoc before the war.  We were all living in Salt Lake City after World War II started. Her name is Mary Kikukawa Nakagama. (Mary and a few other friends, including Bill, belonged to the Japanese Church of Christ in SLC and used to hang around with each other). I didn’t know her very well because I used to attend the Japanese Buddhist Church across the street (as my Father and Mother were Buddhists). She has lived in Gardena, CA for about 40-50 years. Apparently a relative of hers from Salt Lake City attended the Montrose launch and sent Mary your book. At any rate she said she and her daughter, Julie, were driving up to the Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara  for a couple of days from Los Angeles and invited Bill and me  to dinner at the Biltmore a couple of weeks ago. You can imagine what a pleasant surprise that was! Of course, we didn’t recognize them, but Mary said the minute she saw us she knew who we were. We had a great time visiting with them and we invited them to lunch the following day and after lunch they came to our home and looked through Bill’s OLD picture albums with Mary in a lot of the photos. Since I knew that it was Julie’s birthday that day, early in the morning I went to Von’s and bought a small fresh strawberry shortcake and later that afternoon after we delved through all the albums, I put some candles on the cake and we all sang “Happy Birthday” to Julie. and she was very ‘touched.’  It was a real joy to see them after all these years! John, see what your book lead to????

Thanks, Lucille.

One more thing: all 500 of the first printing of Vanished have been sold. A second printing has been ordered. The first batch of books at M & S Pharmacy in Los Angeles has already sold out. They will be replenished for Saturday morning. Thank you, everybody.

Nor Cal Book Launch Lifted Off

The Northern California Book Launch Saturday in Livermore was as joyous as the first two launches.

The highlights were many-- Dr. Kent Haldan, whose research made the book possible, shared innumerable juicy details of his work digging out the story. His presentation sounded like "Book Notes" on CSPAN. He talked about baseball becoming an acceptable Nisei weapon of self-assertion during camp and post-war days. And he talked about interviewing recalcitrant farmers fifty years after they led their campaign to block return by evacuees to the Central Coast.

Richard Endo, eldest son of Fumiye Iwamoto Endo, talked of the close connection which remains yet today between the Guadalupe Buddhist Temple, of which the Lompoc temple was long a branch, and the large temples in California's urban centers. "We use it for retreats," he explained.

Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi, the Prom Queen of Chapter One of Vanished, had decided that a one-day trip from Los Angeles to Livermore was a probably too much for an 85-year-old, but guess what --she changed her mind. "My nephew and niece were coming so I decided I wanted to see them," she said with a grin as she walked in the door.

The event was attended not just be relatives of one-time Lompocans, but by members of the Livermore Presbyterian Church, the host United Christian Church, and the Livermore Genealogical Society

It was announced that Vanished had been reviewed in a full-page account in the October KaMai Forum, but the capper was an e-mail which Haldan had received from Dr. Arthur Hansen, Professor Emeritus of History at Cal State Fullerton. Dr. Hansen offered these words about Vanished:

"This book is a minor classic in terms not only of narrative force, organizational clarity, innovative research, and intellectual penetration, but also for what it contributes to the democratic triumvirate of diversity, civil liberties, and social justice. Reading it made a similar impact that Michi Weglyn's classic Years of Infamy: the Untold Story of America's Concentration Camps had on me when I first encountered it."

Wow. We thought we had a good book, but comparison to Michi Weglyn represents, as Haldan would call it, a home run.

Nor Cal Book Launch Goes Ahead / LA Outlet Set Up

The Northern California book launch party for Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese is going ahead with Dr. Kent Haldan as well as author John McReynolds

It will be held Saturday, November 6 at 1 p.m. at United Christian Church in Livermore. Directions may be found on the Calendar page of this website.

Dr. Haldan made available his doctoral dissertation which served as the research basis for Vanished.

In other news, the first Los Angeles area walk-in outlet for Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese has been set up.

Thanks to Hank Iwamoto at M & S Pharmacy, the store will stock our books beginning sometime next week. M & S Pharmacy is located at 4561 Centinela in Westside Los Angeles. Until now readers in the Los Angeles area could only order on-line.

In yet more news, the editor of Nikkei Nation, George Toshio Johnston, who is also a columnist for the Rafu Shimpo, will be interviewing John McReynolds tomorrow morning. Also Wayne Maeda, a Northern California book reviewer, has asked for a copy to review.

Mystery of the Cover Solved

Tets Furukawa of Santa Maria has solved the mystery of our book cover!

Furukawa, who grew up in Guadalupe, west of Santa Maria, visited the small town this week to compare the storefronts along Highway One with the storefronts on our cover.

They matched. The windows are all the same. The only thing missing is the "Noodles" sign.

He also figured out which parade appears on the cover. We had previously learned that the older girl shepherding the children is Midori Suzuki. And we had learned that the first girl on the left is Yo Hozaki, daughter of the photographer.

Since the photo was mixed in with others of the Lompoc Fourth of July Parade of 1933, we believed that this one also was a shot of that parade. But at the Montrose party two weeks ago Yo Hozaki Hongo said she thought that was wrong. She remembers her father taking the picture.

"It was in another town," she said. "It was for a church opening or something like that. Our outfits were for church."

Tets Furukawa's research shows that there was a parade in Guadalupe in October of 1933 to celebrate the placement of an altar at the Buddhist Temple. People came from all over the region including Lompoc.

Almost certainly that explains the story of our cover.

Thank you Tets Furukawa.

Dr. Kent Haldan to Come to Nor Cal Book Launch

Dr. Kent Haldan, whose research made possible Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese, will be present at the Northern California Book Launch and Lompoc Nisei Reunion Party.

Haldan, a professor at Diablo Valley College in Concord has devoted much of his academic career to the Nikkei community in Santa Barbara County. When he learned of the research for Vanished, he generously made his work available.

Haldan provided a hand-written list of all one hundred Lompoc Issei families, copies of the results from the survey of Lompoc Issei farmers in February 1942, a copy of the famous map of the Lompoc Valley showing Issei farms and Camp Cooke which Earl Warren used to urge evacuation, and copies of the War Relocation Authority final report for the Lompoc area. All of them were vital for understanding the interviews conducted for the book.

Dr. Haldan is the second "big name" to announce plans to attend. Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi, whose family serves as the connecting link to the various portions of the book, previously said she would come all the way from Los Angeles for the occasion.

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NorCAL Book Launch and Lompoc Reunion Party

The Northern California Book Launch and Lompoc Reunion Party has been set.

It will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 6 at United Christian Church, 1886 College Ave., Livermore CA 94550. Directions are as follows:

From I-580 driving east, take Portola exit, stay on Portola, turn right onto L Street, pass First Presbyterian Church, turn right on College. Church is one block on the right at the corner of College and M. From I-580 traveling west, take North Livermore exit, go south on North Livermore several miles, go through town. Near city buildings turn right on College, go to the corner of College and M.

Anyone interested in the book and the stories surrounding it is invited. We look forward to meeting you.

Montrose SoCal Book Launch Party

They could have come for the food. That alone was worth the drive. Or for the stories. It was a historian's delight. They could have come for the camaraderie. People who had not laid eyes on one another for 68 years reunited. Or they could have come for the book. It was good too, and, for them it sold at a discount.

Fifty people, fourteen onetime Lompocans and their relatives and friends, enjoyed all four payoffs as they gathered Saturday at the Montrose Library for the Southern California Book Launch of Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese.

Mike Mori, grandson of the photographer of the book's cover, presided. He regaled the crowd with his story of telling his mother to never answer questions from a reporter unless her son were present. And then the reporter turned out to be White!

George Yoshitake retold his favorite yarn, the one about urging a friend of his, a Lompoc writer, to look into the forced evacuation of the Nikkeijin from Lompoc in 1942, and their non-return in 1945.

The reporter talked too, about how the book received its name, from the ignorance among current Lompocans about the Nikkei departure. He talked about the research process triggered by Yoshitake, and why he kept digging. Janet Kawahata Saisho answered that one for him. "He's a reporter!" He finished by retelling Chapter One: "Chiyo Goes to the Prom."

But the best stories came from the former residents themselves. Hank Iwamoto talked about his father being refused service at Lompoc's La Purisima Inn in July of 1945, and people telling him "We don't want you."

George Murakami remembered the "No Japs Served" sign at A.L. Johnson's gas station. Chet Kitaguchi talked about his service time with the 442nd in Italy and France. He was one of the reinforcements who took over immediately after the Lost Platoon was saved.

And Yo Hozaki Hongo, the little girl on the left on our book's cover, shared her doubts about the location of the parade. She thinks it was not in Lompoc.

Others contributed in their own way.Allison Kiyoko Nakamura shot forty pictures. Lynn Mori and Jean Nakashima Tekawa, and others, commandeered the food. Yosh Nakayama, who had come all the way from Utah, held up a Lompoc High School yearbook with his picture.

Michi Hozaki Mori just leaned back and smiled at what had resulted after her son and that strange reporter met up.

Thanks to everybody. It was a wonderful day.

The Reporter

Launch Looms!

The official Vanished Southern California Book Launch and Reunion Party is just hours away.

Mike Mori says people are volunteering food "right and left." Thanks to several of you, a writer from the Rafu contacted me by e-mail today. He would like a photograph of the gathering. If you have a camera, bring it. The latest ex-Lompocan to join the guest list is Yo Hozaki Hongo, the third girl from the right on the cover of the book.

The first commitment for the Northern California party on November 6 is Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi. This little book seems to be gathering a bit of a following. Thank you, thank you.

I'll write more after Saturday. I suspect I'll have a lot to write.
John

Glendale Looking Exciting with Vet Kitaguchi

One of three Lompocans to serve in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team will be with us on the 16th in Glendale, it was announced yesterday.

Chitose Kitaguchi, 87, who with his brother Akio and Ken Sakanashi were Lompoc's contribution to the 442nd, is making plans to attend. "I'll take him myself," said his son Rich, who called for more information. The 442nd was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal this week.

It was also learned that Kiyo Iwamoto Nakamura and Yosh Nakayama will be coming all the way from Utah to Glendale. Also Jean Nakashima Tekawa and May Murakami Musenga are planning to attend. Also George Fukawa and his sister Chieko Fukawa Iida. Also Judy Kikuno Nakatani.
We already knew about Hank Iwamoto and Michiko Hozaki Mori and Janet Kawahata Saisho. That makes a total of eleven former Lompocans planning to attend this event. We only had six on October 2 in Lompoc and that was a blast! George Yoshitake made sushi. We just learned that Patti Fukawa Nishimura is going to bring Famous Gardena sushi! If Lompoc was a blast maybe Glendale will be a BIGGER blast!

Here's a cute story that surfaced today at the Lompoc Valley Historical Society. It concerns how Katie Inouye Kayser came to have an English instead of Japanese first name. It comes from Katharyn Donnelly of South Carolina. She says that when Koto Inouye was in the "convalescent home" in Lompoc with her newborn daughter she told Dr. Jones that she would like her daughter to have an English name.The doctor replied, "I just delivered a Katharyn." So Koto gave her infant daughter the exact same name. Katharyn. (Kay) Hennessy Donnelly now lives in South Carolina.

Lompoc Pre-Launch Party

Hi Everybody:

Here is the first review of the Lompoc Pre-Launch Party on Saturday and its aftermath. The words come from Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi.

“I finished the book Sunday night. I had a very good feeling about how you interspersed all our comments with the research. I thought you did a good job without hurting anybody. You put it in such a way that nobody will feel anything derogatory. You had the insight to do a marvelous job.”

The turnout at the party almost doubled predictions. Seventy people attended including former Lompocans Kaoru Bill Honda, Michi Hozaki Mori, Katie Inouye Kayser, Kuni Inouye Omura, Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi and Marian Nishimura Konishi. Many of their friends and relatives came too, along with Lompoc contributors to the book such as George Yoshitake, Donnie Grossi, and Madeleine Zeische Evans. A delegation from the Lompoc Historical Society, a raft of proofreaders and editors, and, from Santa Maria, Tets Furukawa and Dawn Kamiya also attended.

Among the most moving moments came when George Yoshitake took the microphone to talk of the significance of 1942 and 1945 and how it should not be forgotten. He remembered that on his last Pilgrimage to Manzanar he met a delegation of Muslims.

The surprise attendee was Aki Iwata who came all the way from Sunnyvale. It was Mr. Iwata’s eyewitness view of Lompoc in the early 1950’s which allowed the book to contrast the postwar period so dramatically with the rich Nikkei community of 1941 and before.

As expected, a photographic breakthrough took place. We identified two of the four figures on the cover. The woman overseeing the little girls is Midori Suzuki. The third little girl is Yo Hozaki, eldest daughter of the photographer.

The first error also cropped up. Mr. Iwata’s name appears in the Family Tree section where it should not, but it is missing from the Index where it should be found. Oops.

Newspapers Coming

Today, the last of September, I was interviewed over the phone by the Santa Maria Sun. The Sun and the Lompoc Record will be attending the pre-Launch Party Saturday afternoon.

Also, Marian Konishi, whom some of you knew as Hatsue Nishimura, e-mailed to say she is coming to Lompoc to the pre-Launch Party! Her father, George Nishimura, was a Hawaii native, and thus a U.S. citizen, who served as signatory for many of the Issei families in Lompoc when they sought to purchase land. He became one of the largest Lompoc farmers this side of Guadalupe Produce and was even invited to join the Lompoc Rotary Club. He was one of the founders of the Lompoc Vegetable Union and his black-and-white hunting dog, Grit, was pictured on the LVU vegetable crates. And Marian has a great memory!

She joins Kaoru Bill and Lucille Honda, Katie Inouye Kayser, Kuni Inouye Omura, Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi and her son James Kobayashi, Michi Hozaki Mori and her son Mike Mori, and Tets and Joan Furukawa, all of whom have memories of pre-1942 Lompoc.

If you are in Lompoc Saturday, come on by-- 3 p.m. at Valley of the Flowers United Church of Christ, 3346 Constellation Road in Vandenberg Village.

John

October 16 is Set

Hi Everybody:

This all may end tomorrow, but today it’s getting exciting.

Mike Mori has set up the October 16 book launch party for 1 p.m. at the Montrose-Crescenta Library in Montrose. The address is

2465 Honolulu Avenue, Montrose 91020 (Directions-- Montrose is north of Glendale. Take the Glendale Freeway to the 210 West, exit on Ocean View Boulevard South, make a right on Honolulu)

Not only that, Mike has contacted four local newspapers. Not only that, he is bringing his mom, Michi Hozaki Mori to Lompoc this Saturday!

Michi’s father, Todoroki Hozaki took the photo (at the Lompoc Fourth of July parade in 1933) that Jeremy Bartic chose for our book cover.

The other news? UPS sent an e-mail saying the books have been shipped!

Thanks for reading,

John

Amazing

Amazing. Today is Monday. This site has been up for only three days. I do not yet have a copy of the book in my hand.

And yet today we have a tentative site for a gatherng October 16 in Los Angeles, we made contact with the Rafu Shimpo, and one of the stars of the book has committed to coming to Lompoc for our Pre-Launch Party on Saturday October 2. All this for a book about a little town whose name nobody can pronounce. And all three of these steps toward telling the story of Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese were taken by sources who tell their story in the book, and members of their families. Not me.

First of all Mike Mori e-mails me regarding his search for a location for a gathering in the Los Angeles area on October 16. He thinks he has just the place: a library. Great. We will publicize it as soon as it is confirmed. Thank you, Mike. Mike's grandfather, Todoroki Hozaki, took the photograph that is used on the cover of our book.

Then, another e-mail shows up, this one from Janet Kawahata Saisho, her father was the leader of one of the "voluntary" evacuation groups which left Lompoc in March 1942. Janet took the initiative to track one of her old friends who writes for the Rafu Shimpo. She found herself talking to an editor who said she would like to know more about the book. I have a phone number here to call tomorrow morning. Thank you, Janet.

Then, the phone rings. It's Chiyo Iwamoto Kobayashi. She has a church retreat scheduled for October 16 so she cannot come to the gathering that day. So instead, she and her son James are driving all the way from Los Angeles to Lompoc this Saturday, October 2!! Wow. Not only that, she is making spinach and cream cheese pinwheels to bring! Isn't this amazing. That brings the list of ex-Lompocans to four including Katie Inouye Kayser, whose quote appears here on the front page of the web site, Kuni Inouye Omura, Lompoc Flower Festival Queen of 1963 who is quoted in the book, and Koaru Bill Honda, the Iwamoto Store bookkeeper who was the Lompoc Yawaragi club's basketball and baseball coach and was one of the founders of Lompoc's JACL chapter. Not to mention his wife, Lucille.

Like I said, amazing.

John

Initial Feedback Encouraging

Hi Everybody:

Two days after unveiling our site the feedback could not be better. Let me count the ways.

Katie Inouye Kayser and Kuni Lorraine Inouye Omura are coming to Lompoc all the way from Orange County for the October 2 party. Wow, what a commitment. They will see Kaoru Bill Honda and his wife Lucille Honda who are coming from Santa Barbara. Tets Furukawa, whom many old Lompocans met at Gila River, now lives in Santa Maria. He called to say he will be coming too. George Yoshitake will be making sushi.

The Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles has asked for us to send a copy of the book as soon as we get one. They want to consider it for placement in their gift shop!

Michael Mori, whose grandfather Todoroki Hozaki shot so many of the photos we show in the book, has offered to help find a place for the October 16 gathering in LA. Thanks, Mike! Janet Kawahata Saisho wrote to say she plans to come to that October 16 event.

Cheryll Arnold has placed the first "searching for" comment on the BLOG page. Cheryl is daughter of Marian Konishi (once Hatsue Nishimura). She is looking for Shizue (Doi) Nishimura. I think this website may be able to assist a LOT of people in connecting to old friends.

Kay Sakanashi in Richmond sent along very kind comments about the website. Thank you, Kay. I look forward to meeting you late in October or early November.

Finally, Myra Huyck Manfrina, the Expert #1 of the Lompoc Valley Historical Society, e-mails the following:
"I just finished reading every inch of the website -- absolutely fantastic -- so well done." Thanks, Myra. The book could not have been written without the active assistance and support of the Historical Society.

Like I said last time-- thank you, thank you, thank you. John McReynolds

Grand Opening

Hi Everybody:

I just sent out an e-mail to 35 or so folks who have helped with the book, and yesterday 35 postcards went out to people who are not online. All to call attention to the website and the book. It's not exactly the Grand Opening of the West Side Food Center in October 1941, but for me it's a big deal.

I hope you like the website. Beverly Wolf of WolfonWeb has done fantastic work on it, I think. I hope you like the book too. It's about the best I am capable of doing with the resources at hand. I know you will find mistakes and some topics under-represented. We can deal with some of those on the website, and others perhaps in a second edition.

Thank you to all of you for your memories and your patience. Here's an example. Lucille Honda already talked to the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation bookshop about placing the book there, and they agreed, without even seeing it! It is initiatives like that which make me feel good about this undertaking.

As soon as we have books in hand, we'll open up the "Sales" page on the website. The printer assures me that we will have books for October 2 in Lompoc.

Please send us your reactions to the site and to the book. We will post them on the "History of the Book" page. And your suggestions. And your questions. We will have an FAQ space.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.
John

Welcome to the Site

Hi Everybody:

Welcome to our "Vanished: Lompoc's Japanese" website. This endeavor in community-building promises to be an adventure. For people across the nation to come together digitally 68 years after evacuation is truly amazing. Here's a note from Marian Konishi. Some of you may remember her as Hatsue Nishimura.

"I spoke with Katherine (Inouye) Kayser this afternoon and we are planning to have lunch soon. Terry (Wakumoto) Kuzuhara and I were the best of friends and I will try to see her soon as well. Thank you for putting me in touch with all my friends --Everyone thinks it's unbelievable that after 65-70 years, we are connecting again." 

For me as the author, I'm so happy that this little book project has grown into something so enjoyable for so many. The forty pages of photos which will be seen in the center of the book have already arrived at the printshop in Colorado. So has the cover. The manuscript is on the way. It should be on the press on Tuesday.

The first Book Launch party will be held on Saturday afternoon October 2 at Valley of the Flowers United Church of Christ in Lompoc. George Yoshitake will be making sushi for the guests and Norma Green will be rocking on the piano. Cover designer Jeremy Bartic will be here too.

I hope to line up similar events in Los Angeles and the Bay Area soon. The book will be on sale here on the website, in selected bookstores in Lompoc, Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and on Amazon as soon as I can get to it.

This website will remain up as an information center for the book and the events it generates. Also for corrections and clarifications which we hope you will send in. Despite my best efforts, I guarantee there will omissions and inaccuracies. With your help we can correct them for a second printing. First of all I would love to know the names of the first three girls on the cover. Best wishes, John