For those of you anxious to read other books by John McReynolds, the scribe of California's Central Coast, we can now offer you a new website: www.JohnMcReynolds.com, which will offer news of all of his books and assorted other material. Enjoy.

Jalama Book Coming Soon

Hi Everybody:

I'm back. After barricading myself in front of my keyboard for months, I have emerged with a new book. It's called Seasons of Jalama. It brings outrageous tales of Jalama Beach, an isolated patch of sand pinched between Vandenberg Air Force Base and the massive Jalama/Cojo Ranch. Outrageous tales, ninety-five pages of color photographs, and the story of the GREAT JALAMA-BURGER!

I hope in the next few days to have a plan whereby you can purchase this full-color, fantastic, never-before- chronicled account of Jalama right here via Pay Pal. Today is Income Tax Day. Let's see how long this takes me.

Please check back. Thanks, John

Holiday Greetings

Hi Everybody:

Thank you for all the wonderful comments over the holidays. They truly touched me. Katie Inouye Kayser wrote "Thank you for making 2011 happy for the Lompoc Japanese community. You gave us back our dignity."

You give me too much credit, Katie. Your dignity abounds.

Other especially touching cards came from May Musenga, Jean and George Murakami, Frank and Judy Nakatani, Tsuya and Ted Miyagishima, and Terry Kuzuhara. Thank you all, it was a remarkable year.

John McReynolds 

Nikkei West Covers Vanished

Here's a media account of our wonderful book-signing in San Jose.

In Nikkei West writer John Sammon does a masterful job of covering all the details of the gathering and includes a delightful picture of the Suzuki sisters, from left to right Tsuyako, Yayoi and Midori.

Thanks, John, thanks Nikkei West, thanks Aki Iwata for calling my attention to the story, and thanks everybody for a memorable 2011.

Here's the link.
http://www.nikkeiwest.com/index.php/the-news/archived-article-list/198-author-recounts-vanished-nisei-of-

Lompoc Grant Opportunity

Thirteen months after publication, Vanished is still a topic of conversation in Lompoc.

The Lompoc public library was just awarded a grant from the California Council for the Humanities to present a "Community Read" event centered on Farewell to Manzanar during 2012. Library Director Molly Gerald wrote yesterday "I would like to talk with you about the possibility of programming that would also include Vanished. Today I spoke with the Manzanar author, Jeanne Houston."

Vanished on the same stage with Farewell to Manzanar?  Wow.

We will definitely keep readers here in the loop. Thanks Molly, thanks everybody for your support.

And Another Outlet

We are happy to announce that Eastwind Books of Berkeley will soon be carrying Vanished.

Eastwind is located at 2066 University in Berkeley. Check out their website at www.asiabookcenter.com

According to Bea Dong of Eastwind-- "We had a book event for Making Home From War and one of the contributing authors Michi Tashiro recommended we carry Vanished. Thank you for writing this book. We are very pleased to have this opportunity to retail your book."

Thank you Bea, and thank you Michi.

Vanished now has sixteen outlets including four in Northern Calfornia, in Berkeley, Sacramento, San Mateo and San Jose.

Yet Another Signing

You thought maybe after one entire year, the Vanished caravan might end? Well, slowing down it is, but not ending.

For those of you on the Central Coast, you are invited to The Bookstore in Lompoc on Thursday, November 17 from 6:00 to 9 p.m. where John McReynolds and two other local authors will be signing and talking.

Come on by to 1137 North H Street, Suite Q, in Lompoc. We look forward to seeing you.

Another Great Story from San Jose

                                   Jane Iwata, Midori Suzuki Satow, Aki Iwata, Michi Nakai, and
                                             Nancy Satow Ito get together in San Jose. 

Just as at all the Vanished book presentations, the book became secondary to the reunions at the San Jose Museum last month. In this case people who met long after 1942 came back together.

Witness this note from Aki Iwata--

Everyone had a good time at your presentation in the JAMsj.

It's hard to get people to say anything in public like during your discussion, but they sure gave me an earful afterwards.

Thank you again for the contribution your book has made to the history of our country.

Here is a photo of 91-year-old Midori Satow, the prominent focal point on the cover of your book.

Her daughter Nancy is on the far right of this photo

On my left is Michi Nakai.  Turns out that Nancy was Michi's bridesmaid.  They haven't seen each other in years.

Michi (& Roy) we've known for many years. They live in Nipomo. Their daughter Kim is married to Allen Hayashi who farms in Arroyo Grande.  Believe the Hayashis date back to Tsunejiro Hayashi that is mentioned in your book on page 97.

San Jose Booksigning Unforgettable

 

                                                                           

                  Tsuyako Suzuki Miyagishima, John McReynolds, Jean Yayoi Suzuki Handa
                                       and Midori Suzuki Satow in San Jose on Saturday

THIS POST WAS PREPARED ON OCT. 18, BUT WAS NOT POSTED. MY APOLOGIES.

The San Jose presentation of Vanished last Saturday was unforgettable.

Like all of the earlier presentations, from Lompoc to Montrose to Livermore, to Los Angeles, to Reno to San Jose, and I’m probably leaving one out, it was less academic and literary than it was family reunion and celebration.

Fifty people filled the conference room of the Japanese American Museum-San Jose. Arrangements were wonderful with overhead projector and chairs close enough to feel the connection between speaker and audience. Over half the crowd had read the book, thanks to a book study earlier in the year.

Aki Iwata and his wife Jane, who attended the very first book signing event one year ago in Lompoc, were there. “I always knew the wartime as a child,” Iwata told the group. “Now I know it as an adult.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Nishikawa, who live part of the year in San Luis Obispo County, were present after having attended the SLO Obon where Vanished was featured. “We need to work to see that the events of the book never happen again, to anyone,” Mr. Nishikawa said.

Rich Endo, who helped organize the Fourth of July Iwamoto-Tachiki-Endo Family Reunion presentation of Vanished in Reno, was there to help share details of that event.

Margaret Nakamura Cooper and her brother David, were present to bestow upon the museum a copy of a biography of their mother who passed away only a year ago at the age of 107. Their mother was a resident of nearby Los Altos. Margaret was born in San Jose.

Nikkei West sent reporter John Sammon, who asked good questions and followed up later to double check accuracy.

But the highlight was the unexpected. All three Suzuki sisters, all of whom played a role in the book, were present.

“I am 91 and I’ve never spoken to a group this size,” said Tsuyako Suzuki Miyagishima, author of four segments of Vanished.  They were written as an assignment in her memoir class in Fairfield, California.

She was joined by her elder sister Midori Suzuki Satow who appears on the cover of Vanished shepherding the little girls in the Guadalupe Buddhist Temple parade, the photograph of which was first believed to have been snapped in Lompoc.

Also present was Jean Yayoi Suzuki Handa, who first told the story on page 87 of hurrying with her sister to take winter clothes to her father who had been arrested by the FBI in February of 1942. She also appears in the basketball team photo on page 220.

The three sisters were accompanied by an entourage of a dozen or more family members, all of whom came wielding cameras. To a small-town ex-newspaper reporter, it felt like the paparazzi on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Thank you, Aggie, Eva and Joe of the museum. You made us feel completely at home.

Two More Special Guests Expected in San Jose

Tsuyako Suzuki Miyagishima and Margaret Nakamura Cooper have been added to the Special Guest list for Saturday at the Japanese American Museum in San Jose.

Mrs. Miyagishima authored four chapters in Vanished including the Prologue "Sentimental Journey," Chapter 2 "Generations," and Chapter 15 "December 7, 1941." She is a resident of Fairfield, CA.

Mrs. Cooper grew up in Los Altos where the Nakamura family is well known. Her mother passed away only two years ago at the age of 106.

They join Mrs. Miyagishima's sister Yayoi Jean Suzuki Handa of San Jose and Aki Iwata of Sunnyvale who also appear in the pages of Vanished. All four special guests will be available to talk to the public about the book.

The event begins at 1 p.m at the Museum located at 535 North Fifth Street, between Empire and Jackson in Japantown. The public is invited.

Yayoi Suzuki to Also Appear in San Jose

Yayoi Suzuki, the young woman whose 1942 visit to the Lompoc jail with her father's underwear brought tears to the eyes of readers in Vanished, is planning to be present on Saturday, October 15, at the Japanese-American Museum San Jose.

Now known as Jean Handa, she wrote this week: "My husband’s family is having a family reunion on Oct.14th  in San Francisco and we were planning to stay overnight there. However, I will try to meet you at the Japanese museum by one o’clock on Saturday….(Things always seem to happen at once!!!)"

Mrs. Handa is a resident of San Jose. If scheduling works out, she will join author John McReynolds and eye-witness Aki Iwata in speaking about Vanished in the first formal presentation about the book in Northern California.

In February of 1942 Mrs. Handa's father had been jailed by the FBI at the Lompoc police station after mass raids had taken place. More than thirty Lompoc Nikkei leaders were incarcerated at the time. Mr. Suzuki had not been able to bring clothing so two of his daughters brought them to him.

As the girls departed, the prisoners called out to them, "Take care of the women and children." Mrs. Handa said last year that she cried all the way home.

The public is invited to the museum. It is located at 535 North Fifth Street, between Empire and Jackson in Japantown.  

Aki Iwata to Help Present

Aki Iwata, whose contribution to Vanished based on his visits to Lompoc in the early 1950s, helped contrast the vivid 1930's with the post-war era, will be present at the book's next discussion.

On Saturday, October 15, Mr. Iwata will join author John McReynolds in speaking at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose beginning at 1 p.m.

"Thank you for inviting me to say a few words," Mr. Iwata wrote yesterday. "I am planning to attend ... and will be more than happy to speak."

During the Korean War, Mr. Iwata was stationed at the Camp Cooke Disciplinary Barracks adjacent to Lompoc. He frequently visited the Inouye family, one of only two Nikkei families still living in Lompoc.

His memories of the town in those years, contrast dramatically with the vibrant place of pre-World War II and form a major part of Chapter 33.

The public is invited to the museum. It is located at 535 North Fifth Street, between Empire and Jackson in Japantown.  

San Jose Presentation One Month Away

The presentation of Vanished in San Jose is just one month away.

On Saturday, October 15, from 1 to 4 p.m., the subject at the Japanese American Museum in San Jose will be Vanished.

As Eva Yamamoto, a director of the museum, wrote yesterday:

All the promo is set and posters are going out this week. You are on our website, e-news (email newsletter), printed newsletter, posters and in the news letters of other community organization. We will also do an email invite to our membership.

John McReynolds will be there to talk about the book, answer questions, and sign. Others will be present as well. They will be announced here in coming weeks.

So, if you are anywhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, please consider coming to San Jose.

For further information, go to the San Jose museum website at http://www.jamsj.org/

Chapter One Figure Pictured

Thanks to Lompoc's Jim Sloan, we are now able to present a picture of Noboru Wakumoto as he looked in 1941 when he escorted Chiyo Iwamoto to the Lompoc High School Prom. This took place one week after Wakumoto competed at the Japanese-American Olympics at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium and served as the basis for Chapter One of Vanished.

                                            Noboru Wakumoto on the Lompoc
                                                  High athletic field.  

Next week we will return to the still-unidentified photographs from the files of the Lompoc Police Department. .

Thirty Photos Still Unidentified

With eight photos identified from Lompoc's Nikkei community in 1941, some thirty remain still unknown.
If you have any idea who this gentleman might be, just send an email to lompocwriter@gmail.com

Already identified are Jintaro Fukawa, Akita Hasegawa, Nobujiro Inouye, Masakichi Iwamoto, Gitaro Kitaguchi, Genzo Murakami, Yasohachi Nakashima, and Kinhachi George Shibuya.

The photos date from 1941 when the Nikkei community was required to turn in their radios, cameras and firearms. The pictures were found in an abandned file cabinet at the Lompoc Police Department a monh ago.

Four More Photos Identified

Kinhachi George Shibuya
Co-op Packing Shed Manager

The total rose to eight this week as four more photographs stashed away in an abandoned file at the Lompoc Police Department since 1942 were identified.

This week's new names include Kinhachi George Shibuya, manager of the Lompoc Co-op Packing Shed, and farmers Jintaro Fukawa, Akita Hasegawa,and Yasohachi Nakashima.

Farmer Jintaro Fukwa

Identified earlier were storekeeper Nobujiro Inouye, farm leader Masokichi Iwamoto, restaurant owner Genzo Murakami, and independent farmer Gitaro Kitaguchi.

Storekeeper Nobujiro Inouye
Identified earlier

                                                                                                                            
Shibuya's identification is particularly significant because it confirms that these photos do not date from the FBI arrests in February 1942. Shibuya was not picked up at that time. Nor was Gitaro Kitaguchi who was identified earlier. Neither had reason to be at the police station until, perhaps, when their familes were incarcerated in April 1942. The photos most likely date from mid-December 1941 when all Lompoc Issei were asked to report to the Lompoc PD and turn in cameras, radios, and firearms.

Farmer Yasohachi Nakashima

Farmer Akita Hasegawa

                                                                                   

                                                                                                                       

The photos, unlabelled, turned up in an unused file drawer several weeks ago. Some thirty other photos remain unidentified. They will all be posted here in coming weeks.

First Foto Identifications Beginning to Come In



Masakichi Iwamoto




The first four identifications have been  made of the forty photographs from seven decades ago uncovered by the Lompoc police recently.

In addition five more faces have been tentatively named.

The first four to be identified by their families are merchant Nobujiro Inouye, owner of the Hinode Store, farmer Masokichi Iwamoto, president of the Lompoc Farmers Association, independent asparagus farmer Gitaro Kitaguchi, and restaurant owner Genzo Murakami, owner of the New China Cafe.

Their photographs will appear here soon..

Tentative ID's, which may still turn out to be false, have been made for farmers Akita Hasegawa and Yasohachi Nakashima,  fisherman Kinsaburo Tsuyuki, and farming cousins Jintaro Fukawa and Inosuke Fukawa, both representatives to the regional Farmers Association. The photographs of these five will appear soon on the Photographs page of this website.



If you have confirmation for any of these five, or if you are convinced tentative ID is incorrect, please e-mail lompocwriter@gmail.com to share your thoughts.

The photographs appear to be a random selection of a larger group of shots probably taken in December of 1941 when the police asked all Lompoc Issei to turn in cameras, radios and firearms. The shots are no longer believed to have been taken at the time of FBI arrests made in February 1942 since Gitaro Kitaguchi is included. Kitaguchi was not picked up in February but remained with his family until the entire Nikkei community was incarcerated in April 1942.

Genzo Murakami	Gitaro Kitaguchi

Lompoc PD Finds Priceless Photos from 1942

The Lompoc Police Department has made a breathtaking discovery. Last week a detective found a photographic treasure chest-- thirty-one mug shots which appear to be the Issei community leaders arrested by the FBI and LPD in Lompoc in February 1942.

Until now only 28 arrestees had been identified, and some of them without confirmation

Detective Milt Baldwin was rummaging through his desk last week as his retirement approached, and happened upon the unnamed images, now 69 years old. He promptly went on-line to find someone knowledgeable about the time period and the community. He contacted Chris Komai of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles who forwarded his note to us here in Lompoc. Here is his letter..

Sir,

Going through old files I found a box of negatives that were marked “Japanese Registration Negatives”.

I believe these were photos taken of some Japanese citizens who lived in Lompoc or the area who were rounded up by the government after Pearl Harbor.  There are approximately 31 negatives and no names are attached to the negatives.   

I found your email address attached to an article about Lompoc and the Japanese American National Museum.

If you are interested in these please contact me and I will see what I can do to have them released to the museum if at all possible.

Respectfully,

Retired Detective Milt Baldwin

Lompoc Police Department

These photographs should be available soon to the families of all those arrested in Lompoc on February 19, 1942. They will almost certainly expand the list published on page 174-5 of Vanished. Police Chief Timothy Dabney has approved their release pending the approval of the Lompoc City Attorney.

Since the photographs are not labelled by name, the participation of family members may be necessary to accurately identify them. Please monitor this website for the latest news.

News from the San Luis Obispo Obon Festival

Thanks to Carolyn Sanwo of the book distributor Heritage Source, John McReynolds got fifteen minutes of speaking time last Saturday in front of more than one hundred listeners. 

First he told the story of the writing of Vanished, and how George Yoshitake had triggered its research. Then he read the following excerpt from the final report of Eric Thomsen, the War Relocation agent for California's Central Coast in 1945. The excerpt comes from a visit Thomsen made to the SLO Sheriff's Department. It is dialogue with a deputy. The questions come from Thomsen, the answers from the deputy.

QUESTION: “Don’t you think these people who own their own homes and were born and raised around here should be allowed to return?”

ANSWER: “No, they ought never to come back here.”

QUESTION: “If any should nevertheless try to exercise their legal right to return, to you anticipate any difficulty?”

ANSWER: “You’re damned right there is going to be trouble. All Japs are disloyal!”

QUESTION: “But don’t you think that the Army whose responsibility it is to determine the loyalty of those who return has screened them pretty well?”

ANSWER: “I have done business with the Japs for years. And they are all disloyal. They all have a double citizenship. You can’t trust any of them!”

QUESTION: “Would you say that this was pretty generally the sentiment of the community?”

ANSWER: “Everybody in this department feels that way.”

In subsequent conversations with the sheriff’s office and with the sheriff himself that proved to be almost uniformly true.

Thomsen's statistics indicated that only 16% of San Luis Obispo's Nikkei retuned to the area after the war. Two visitors to the Heritage Source booth brought similar numbers. One said that only fifteen families returned, and another said that of the forty families in the Pismo-Oceano Vegetable Exchange, just eight returned. These numbers are only marginally better than the two percent of families returning to Lompoc.

McReynolds' next speaking engagement will come on October 15 in San Jose at the Japanese American Museum.

San Luis Obispo Signing; Video from JANM

On Saturday, August 6 John McReynolds will appear at the San Luis Obispo Obon from 1-5 p.m. at the SLO Veterans Building, 801 Grand Avenue. He will speak on stage at 2:15 regarding a special San Luis Obispo insert to Vanished.

                                                                         -0-


For those of you unable to attend the presentation of Vanished at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles on June 18, a DVD of the event is now available.

Please send $10 to Press Box Productions, 409 South A Street, Lompoc, CA 93436.