State Museum Orders Vanished; New Burpee Info

Good news on the distribution front: the California State Museum has ordered a shipment of Vanished.

Besides being a well-respected and frequently-visited museum, the California State Museum is the first institution in Northern California to stock the book. Now those interested can pick up a copy right off the shelf instead of resorting to e-mail. 

The museum is currently staging an exhibit on Japanese-American history, so the book fits in appropriately.

Other interesting news comes from the Lompoc Valley Historical Society. A list of Issei employees at the Burpee Seed Company in 1941 has turned up in the LVHS files. The list includes seventeen names including surnames Morimi, Muranaka, Yamamoto, Okabe, Kan, Marui, Ishijima, Ishizaka, Murashige, Tsuyuki, Takahashi, Sakanashi, Hayashi and Honda.

The earliest hired were employed in March of 1927. That included Tsumesaburo Hayashi and Senmatsu and Sumi Honda, parents of Kaoru Bill Honda who plays a role in our book.

Kenzo Sakanashi, the longtime Burpee foreman, was hired in April of 1928.