<Begin Segment 16>

DM: So in the, when you came to Brighton during the war, and then in the early postwar years, what constituted the Japanese American community in Brighton? What kind of organizations or institutions were there?

BS: At that time, there was, again, just like in California, there was this Nihonjinkai that the Isseis all organized. Because strangely, in Colorado was the same as California, the only social activities they could have was within the Japanese group. We were not accepted to join any of the Caucasian organizations at all. So at least our parents were sharp enough to recognize that they should form some kind of an organization so that there would be some social event. So they had a Nihonjinkai. Then after, after the Second World War, and it was about the time I got there, Isseis there were, were, had a vision where they knew that having a Nihonjinkai, Japanese Association, was not a good thing for the community. So some of the older, some of the Issei parents brought in some of the older Niseis and handed over the money they had accumulated and asked them to start a different organization. And that's when they called it the Brighton Japanese American Association, and that was one of the associations I immediately joined.

DM: So the, calling the organization the Brighton Japanese American Association was a little bit more palatable.

BS: Yes.

DM: And what kind of things did that group do?

BS: Well, the first thing they did, I remember my late brother Harry was one of the pioneers, and one of the earlier presidents, I think he was the second president of that organization. And that's, I distinctly remember that's when the Walter-McCarran act was passed where our parents could become citizens. So he was the one to organize English schools for all the Isseis to study so they could pass the naturalization test. And that was one of the big, big projects that the Brighton Japanese American Association accomplished. And there's pictures of it where they had a big, big class. And fortunately, in Brighton, there was a very educated bilingual person by the name of... oh, I forgot, I think it was (John), but his last name was Hori, H-O-R-I. And so he, he advised the organization what books to buy and so forth, and he was the teacher and taught all the parents before. And when, when they graduated, and when Mr. Hori felt that they were ready for, for the test, they had a great big test there at the Brighton Buddhist Temple where all of them were awarded citizenship.

DM: Big day.

BS: Yeah, big day. And I still remember the big banquet they had. [Interruption] And that again is the, a tribute should be paid to the JACL - the Japanese American Citizens League and Mike Masaoka, who really did so much lobbying to allow our parents to become citizens.

DM: Did the Brighton JA Association have social functions as well?

BS: Oh, yes. They had social functions. The big, big event was the New Year's Inaugural Ball installing the new officers. And one of the most important, one of the most important cabinet member of that was the civics chairman. And the civics chairman is the one that really would do all the public relations work with the community to see what the need of the community was and to contribute towards it. And we celebrated, I think it was about five years ago, we celebrated fifty years of the existence of the Brighton Japanese American Association. Our big money-making event in those days for now over fifty years was, was a shrimp and chow mein dinner that we had. And with the proceeds of that money is what we distributed to the community. From, from, one of the biggest, the biggest contribution that that organization made was the first one, and I happened to be the, the vice president of the Brighton Community Hospital that we built without any Hill-Burton funds. And we did it all by contributions, and the Brighton JA was one of the biggest contributors at that time. And that was big money back in the '60s, we donated one thousand dollars towards it, and that really brought a name.

DM: So the, the Brighton JA Association really helped to kind of smooth relations and integrate Japanese Americans into the fabric of the community.

BS: Oh yes, really did. Now, we're being... we had to change our bylaws. It was all, we didn't think that society would change, but you know, with intermarriage going on and so forth, so we had to change our bylaws to include Caucasians to our membership. And it's one of the major respected organizations in Brighton. We donate to Meals on Wheels, to the elderly, to the homeless, to every cancer drive, scholarship for students. And so it's been a very good organization. This, this last one was two years ago, we'd outgrown our original hospital, and we built another brand-new hospital. And I was asked to help on the special fundraising, and I encouraged the Brighton JA to contribute heavily towards that, and JA contributed fifteen thousand dollars toward the new hospital.

DM: That's very generous.

BS: Yeah. A three-year pledge, five thousand dollars a year for three years.

DM: Earlier you had mentioned also the Brighton Buddhist Temple. And was that an important institution in the postwar years?

BS: It was, but that was a sad thing. As the families passed away and the family moved on, the temple had decreased in membership to where I think a couple of years ago they finally closed the temple down. But that's where the Brighton JAA was always meeting, right there at the temple. Now, (...) now they meet in our meeting room on the farm.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright ©2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.