<Begin Segment 29>

SY: So when you, when did you finally, well, when did you decide to join the JACL? When you said that your --

NG: Yeah, in fact, it's funny 'cause we're working on membership and in our newsletter we're gonna start writing why we joined. But I was, like I said, I was searching, 'cause why was I making fun of everything that was Japanese? You know, it was a self hate thing, right? So they just happened to be around when I was in that state. Phil was president, I went to my first meeting --

SY: Phil Shigekuni?

NG: Phil Shigekuni was president, went to my first meeting, they had a speaker and he, I forgot. I don't even remember who it was, but it resonated, their programs resonated with me because it was looking into who we are and the kinds of things we do. And what it might -- and Dr. Kitano came several times.

SY: Harry Kitano.

NG: Yeah, Harry Kitano came, and he was, as he was describing, I just remember one, one story he told about... you know, without being, even though there's Yonsei, Sansei, Yonseis, he's talking about this young man who was in his doctoral program and he's acculturated and yet he said without being taught he's playing basketball, this young man, and he's talking to him about how he's not particularly fond of this one player. And he said, "You know, he's a hotdogger." And so Dr. Kitano was saying, even though he, it's many generations, to him he still has that Japanese, some kind of character that the teamwork was more important than he making these baskets. So anyway, that's why I, all the different programs. And then Dr. Ichioka came and did that whole thing on the Isseis. I just felt that of all, that group will give, will bring to me things that I'm interested in. So they brought Rashomon to our community center, so that's... and the people I like.

SY: And do you remember what year that was that you joined JACL?

NG: About '74 maybe. '74, yeah.

SY: '74, so your, you, your kids were...

NG: Like two years, Kim was like two years old and --

SY: So fairly young still.

NG: Yeah, four or five years old.

SY: And did your husband join with you?

NG: Oh, yeah. Yeah. And then, because they were young, and then they had also family, they had holiday parties and, and they all had young -- but they were older, so then they kind of took care, like Phil's kids kind of took care of my girls. So it was comfortable then.

SY: Yeah. It was really, so you were part of a, the, I mean, this JACL really pretty much encompassed the Valley Japanese American community?

NG: I don't think so, no. Not at all.

SY: Just a small portion of --

NG: Yeah, because there was a divide. The people who started the CC, they were farmers.

SY: Community Center.

NG: The Community Center. They were farmers, they were gardeners.

SY: I see.

NG: And they saw -- the JACL people, they were engineers, lot of engineers, the men -- and I felt there was a divide because I felt like... I don't know, they felt, I felt like the JACL, okay, maybe they did, they provided intellectual things, but when the community needed brawn and some real help, where were they? You know? So I felt like there was this division. And the VFW too, I just felt like they, the VFW felt, they felt they were more grassroots. They're really Valley people. And then if you look at the JACL, they were, these people were not from the Valley. Most of them came from Los Angeles, most of them didn't have, like many of the ones from the Valley, they got -- just like our family, we have a Hamamoto clan -- there were all these big clans of people, and to me the JACL people were like outsiders. So these outsiders then formed a group.

SY: Interesting.

NG: Yeah, 'cause...

SY: Did it, did it reflect back on the formation of the JACL during the war of the before the war? I mean, was there a connection?

NG: I think there might have been. Those like my dad wouldn't have anything to do with the JACL, so I'm sure the older ones --

SY: But the ones who started your chapter, the San Fernando Valley, who were the ones who started?

NG: They started it before the war.

SY: So it was a continuation of the chapter from prewar days, so there was that connection to...

NG: And I just found out, like Mabel Takimoto, who was one of the presidents and was part of the prewar JACL, she was out there with Mike Masaoka explaining to the community how you should cooperate with the government. So I'm sure people like my dad, he would not be part of that conversation with somebody. That was on that side of the fence, you know?

SY: Right.

<End Segment 29> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.