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Description
Harold Takashi Kobata was interviewed by Lily Nakatani on March 22, 2004 in Gardena, California. Ernie Tsujimoto monitored the recording equipment during the interview. Harold Takashi Kobata grew up in Gardena, California where his uncle, mother and older brothers ran a nursery where they grew flowers. The family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah during WWII, where Kobata worked as a gardener while attending high school. After the war the family resettled in Gardena and resumed operation of the nursery. Kobata attended Compton Community College and USC where he was graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. Kobata worked for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power until he retired at the age of 69. Since retirement, Kobata has become involved with the Gardena Valley Baptist Church. Kobata was interviewed as part of the South Bay History Project created by the South Bay Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Includes sixteen oral histories reflecting the various experiences of South Bay Issei and Nisei. Some grew up on farms and others in suburban area; some were incarcerated during WWII in incarceration camps and some spent all or part of the war working and living in other parts of the US or Japan. All of them returned to the South Bay after WWII and observed the changes that have occurred in area through the end of the twentieth century.
Identity and values--Nisei Immigration and citizenship--Arrival Industry and employment--Agriculture--Flower growers Education--Secondary education Education--Higher education Community activities--Recreational activities Geographic communities--California Religion and churches--Christianity World War II--Mass removal ('Evacuation') Community activities--Associations and organizations--Japanese American Citizens League
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