Permission to publish the image must be obtained from the CSUDH Archives as owner of the physical item and copyright. In instances when the copyright ownership is not clear it is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright permission.
Description
English translations of handwritten annotations from "George Naohara photo album" (csudh_nao_0001), page 4: [Left] Several meetings were held in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, prior to moving to the Manzanar incarceration camp in California. I attended those meetings. What was announced was that all Japanese Americans residing in California and the West Coast should move to “War Relocation Centers” and we, Japanese Americans, complied with the decision made by the U.S. government. We gathered at the Merynoll School in Los Angeles. We were directed to get on a train at the Union Station and sent to the Manzanar incarceration camp. We were allowed to bring one suitcase and one gallon of water. I was incarcerated. Two to three month later, the recruitment of farm laborers was announced: "Farm laborers for sugar beets are needed in Idaho and Utah. Volunteers will be transported by bus. Follow the instructions." I signed up my name and became one of the passengers in a bus. In the bus, I run into Tadashi Sakaida age at 17. Tadashi Sakaida was one of the passengers of the Kamakura-maru which was the ship that I got on when sailing from Japan to the U.S. He was one of my friends. We was delighted to be reunited, and we both worked in a farm together for two years, earning one dollar per hour.
[Center] After incarcerated in the Manzanar camp in California, the recruitment of farm laborers for sugar beets was announced. Maybe about 150 people were hired. I was assigned to C.C.C. Camp [Civilian Conservation Corps Camp] in Rupert, Idaho, where young trouble makers were detained. I went to Idaho. They immediately needed to accommodate three meals for all the laborers, and the mess hall work was an urgent demand. That was my first time to meet the cooks and other staff in the mess hall, and I did not know who they were. Among the mess hall staff, George Naohara was a young man at age 20. The mess hall staff consisted of six people. The kitchen work was very busy.
[Right bottom] The mess hall of C.C.C. Camp [Civilian Conservation Corps Camp] was well furnished with good kitchen appliances and tools. I was raised in Japan and did not know how to operate or use them, but I was able to figure it out. Senior people and the experienced people taught me how to cook. I was impressed by the facilities in America and admired the advanced lifestyle which was totally different from that of Issei strawberry pickers. The George and Mitzi Naohara Papers consists of photo albums and scrapbooks compiled by George and Mitzi Naohara, and other documents pertaining to the Naohara and Masukawa family. Contained are photographs, correspondence, documents, and memorabilia depicting their experiences during World War II. George Nobuo Naohara is a Kibei Nisei, and his experiences include his farm labor in Idaho and Utah, incarceration in the Manzanar, Jerome, and Tule Lake camps, and the U.S. Army language school training and Korean War. He also engaged in Buddhist activities for his whole life and there are moving images depicting Gardena Buddhist Church activities after the war. Mitzi Masukawa Naohara was a preschool teacher at the Poston camp, Arizona, and also a member of a young Nisei women's club, "Sigma Debs.” Her collected materials depict her life as a teacher and social events in the Poston camp during the war.
Type
text
Format
Scrapbooks; Photographs; Narratives 1 page, 8 x 8.75 inches, handwritten; black and white application/pdf
Identity and values--Kibei Geographic communities--California--Los Angeles World War II--Mass removal ('Evacuation')--Japanese American community responses World War II--Mass removal ('Evacuation')--Preparation World War II--Incarceration camps--The journey World War II--Leaving camp--Work leave
Place
Incarceration Camps--Manzanar
Source
CSU Dominguez Hills Department of Archives and Special Collections
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
