Densho Digital Archive - Toru Sakahara - Kiyo Sakahara Interview II (denshovh-storu

<Begin Segment 41>

KS: Well it was called the Jackson Street Community Council at first and Toru, you say that it's still called that.

TS: Well it's still the Jackson Street Community Council, which has an office at the Japanese Language School building at 1414 South Weller Street, but I was one of the charter members of the Jackson Street Community Council, a organization of representatives of different nationality leaders in different organizations, which is, was and is a community chest organization for the service of businesses and people in the international area. And at the time that I was active in the Jackson Street Community Council, we had projects such as annual clean-up day involving the use of arranging for empty garbage, city garbage trucks to carry volunteers around the international neighborhood to clean up the vacant yards of debris and general sanitation efforts, which was very well received by the community and I think it's still part of the program of the Jackson Street Community Council. After several years of my association with that council, I discontinued, so I honestly can't say I'm still familiar with the Jackson Street Community Council.

DG: So anyway, let's finish up your service, you know, in the community organizations and once again, you know, you felt that that was an important part of coming back to Seattle and getting started again, you became representative Japanese in white organizations as well?

KS: Yes, well I think that as I've said before, we came at a rather auspicious time and got to meet many of the city leaders. And in the meantime, I became not only active in civic organizations -- my children needed Cub Scouts and Brownies, Girl Scouts -- and then there was PTA and I was also active in the PTA and was the president of the PTA at University Heights School. And those things were important, not only to my children, it also was to our, I felt, it was important for minority people to be active in these things, because I remember going to Girl Scout council meetings and it was nice to have Chinese women and myself and black women and they were all part, part of a council planning for activities all of the youngsters in the city because there were Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, all of ours and we were just a small part of the thing.