<Begin Segment 13>

TI: So there's another story... well, I'll talk about that later. But when you were at the Montebello, there was a club that got started, the Montebello Japanese Women's Club. Was that when you were living in Montebello?

SA: Yes.

TI: Okay, so tell me about that. How did that get started?

SA: Well, at the beginning, there was about five or six of us got together and decided we should form a club, because there's nothing like that over there in Montebello. So we decided, well, we'll make plans to raise funds and get the ladies interested. And I think even 'til this day, there's no club like the Montebello Women's Club. We were so active, we did so much for the community, and I'm so proud of being part of it.

TI: So tell me about the early days when you just started. You said there were five.

SA: Five of us decided we'll form a club, and our first big fundraising was a dance, we decided to have a dance, and we had to pick who we were going to give the money to. So we decided we'll give it to City of Hope. And at that time, my husband was in the medical district, well, what should I say? Anything to do with medicine, so he knew a lot of friends. And there was a doctor at City of Hope called Dr. Kinoshita, and we invited him and a few people from City of Hope to come to the dance, and then he donated the money to City of Hope. And then we also had many wonderful fashion show.

TI: But going back to this first event, so you chose City of Hope and not a Japanese organization, because I'm curious why the City of Hope.

SA: Was chosen?

TI: Yeah, and not maybe a Japanese organization.

SA: Yeah. So I suggested we should give it to some important place where they could use some funds, so we decided on City of Hope.

TI: And do you think it was important that it came from the Japanese community? Was that something that you were intentionally thinking about? In terms of... I think about, this is after the war, and you're kind of reestablishing the Japanese community in Los Angeles, I was curious if you did that kind of strategically almost, or intentionally, that it would be good to donate to a big, important cause. Did that make sense?

SA: No.

TI: That's okay, we'll go on.

SA: And then we also helped Keiro, we bought wheelchairs for the Keiro. It was a very wonderful group.

TI: Well, so there's a story that I heard, you had one project, another kind of, to help Japan. Someone got the idea to send them used nylons?

SA: Yes.

TI: So tell me about that.

SA: Oh, yeah. We wrote to several ladies organizations, because ladies all wore nylons, and they discard it whenever. So we had very good response from various women organizations in that they would all ship it to us. And also there was another group that was doing something similar, and I was part of that group, too. And so I learned more about how all the nylon hose was helpful to the war widows in Japan so that they could make a living. And we decided, well, we'll participate and send the hose to Japan. But I had to do a lot of legwork, because when we had enough nylon hose and connection with a boat, Japanese boat coming into the harbor, we had to make all the arrangement ahead of time so that they would take it to Japan for free. We didn't have to pay, and they delivered the nylon hose to the war widows organization.

TI: And what would the Japanese do with the...

SA: What they did was during wartime, there was no thread. So they made thread out of nylon hose, and they made some ornaments, and made, like, little flowers and little ornaments they made where the hose was still good, where there's no run, they made various art, quite a few things, and they returned it back to us, and then we sold it for them.

TI: Oh, interesting. So they would make things in Japan, send it back, and you would sell it, and then with the money, you would send it back.

SA: Yeah, with the money returned to the war widows, so they could make a living.

TI: And so how many nylons did you send to Japan?

SA: Oh, so much. Huge gunnysack full, several.

TI: And you would collect them?

SA: We would collect them and then we would pack them in the gunnysack.

TI: What a good story. So tell me the story about when your car broke down on the freeway.

SA: Well, I heard that the boat was coming in, certain day, so I thought I'd better get the nylon hose to the deck. So I was driving along the highway, and I had a flat tire. My car was loaded with nylon hose in the back, in the trunk, in the front, so I never changed any tires, so everything was so new to me, I didn't know what to do. And I was standing by the highway, and then a young man came along and he offered to help me. And when he opened the car, he saw all these nylon hose in a gunnysack, he says, "What are you doing with all this?" And I explained to him that I was going to the harbor to deliver this, and I got a flat tire. So he says, "Well, let me help you." So he was kind enough to put the spare tire on for me. And I was so grateful that I got his name and address and mailed him a set of Mikasa dinnerware for appreciation.

TI: Wow, that was a nice, I mean, it was a tremendous gesture on his part to help you, but then what a nice gift to get.

SA: Well, it was just, I couldn't thank him enough.

TI: That's a great story. And maybe this is a good time to talk about this. Japanese were very appreciative.

SA: Very what?

TI: Very thankful for this work, right? Because the Japanese government, later on, gave you an award, the Kunsho award, because you and the others helped so much.

SA: Yes.

TI: And I find it interesting that you got the award five years before George got his award. People know about George and all these business things, but it's these more personal things that you did that I think the Japanese really appreciated it. I think it really mattered to the people in Japan. I think it's such a beautiful... and when you got the award, do you remember what they said about what your contribution was?

SA: I don't remember. [Laughs]

TI: It's such a good story.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright (c) 2017 Densho. All Rights Reserved.