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Male Notte:
The Untold Story of Italian Relocation During World War II
By Geoffrey Dunn
On a quiet evening in February of 1942, fifty years ago this coming month, Celestina Batistina Loero, my great
grandmother, was greeted at the doorstep of her clapboard home on Laguna Street by two agents of the Department of
Justice. A native of northern Italy and 78 years of age at the time, she spoke no English, while the federal agents spoke
no Italian, much less the regional Genoese dialect that was the common tongue of the Santa Cruz–Italian fishing colony.
A granddaughter who lived next door was summoned to serve as a translator.
As an "enemy alien" living in what had recently been declared "a restricted area" by the Western Defense Command of
the United States Army, my great grandmother was told that she was in violation of recently passed federal law. The
agents informed her that she had 48 hours to move herself and her belongings inland of Highway 1 (Mission Street) or
that she would be subject to immediate arrest.
Barely weighing 100 pounds, the mother of two sons and two grandsons currently serving in the U.S. Navy, my great
grandmother could hardly have been a threat to the U.S. war effort against the Axis powers. She had lived on the same
plot of land for nearly a half-century and rarely ventured more than a few blocks away. But move she did, to a room on
High Street, where she was to live for the remainder of the year.
My great grandmother was in her nineties when I was a small child, but I have vivid memories of her strong, busy hands,
always seeming to be at work in her vegetable garden or in her kitchen. She had an ever-present smile, she enjoyed her
afternoon beer and red wine, and she loved to hold me and my young cousins in her lap and play games with our hands.
Occasionally she would break out into tears, and when she did, she would mumble something about "la male notte" (the
bad night), about which we children knew nothing—and would know nothing for years and years to come.
It was nearly a quarter century later, long after she had died, that I stumbled across news of my great grandmother's
forced relocation while researching some World War II history in the pages of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. For the first time,
I understood the meaning of "la male notte," the sad night she had been forced to move from the safety and comfort of
her home. I also discovered that she had not been alone. Scores of other Santa Cruz–Italians were also relocated in the
first months of the war, as were thousands of other Italian immigrants along the West Coast. Many others were arrested
on dubious charges and sent to prison or to inland internment centers run by the Immigration Service.
It has long been an historical misconception that Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
on February 19 of 1942, applied only to Japanese (and Japanese–Americans) living in the western states. Such was not
the case—at least not at first.
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�As Humboldt State University historian Stephen Fox has pointed out in his fascinating book, The Unknown Internment:
An Oral History of the Relocation of Italian Americans During World War II, in the early months of the war, Lieutenant
General John L. De Witt, commanding general of the Fourth Army and Western Defense Command in San Francisco,
interpreted the order to include all so-called "enemy aliens"—Italians and Germans, along with the Japanese. Indeed,
DeWitt, paranoid about so-called "fifth column" activities (spying by enemy nationals) pushed for the forced relocation
of all "enemy aliens." It was only in the ensuing months, for reasons that are far more complex than simple racism, that
the treatment of the Japanese would become more heinous than their Italian and German counterparts. Nevertheless,
of the 25,655 "enemy aliens" arrested during the war, 14,426 (or 55 percent) were Italians and Germans.
In recent years, the Japanese relocation during World War II has become so widely publicized in the media that it has
overshadowed the lesser, albeit terrible, plight of Italian and German immigrants during the War—so much so that the
latter has been forgotten by history and, in many cases, denied. A recent article on the Japanese internment in the San
Francisco Examiner declared, "The United States was also at war with Hitler and Mussolini, but no Italians or Germans
were sent to concentration camps." Not true.
The Japanese bombs that destroyed Pearl Harbor and President Franklin Roosevelt's subsequent declaration of war in
December of 1941 rocked communities along the west coast out of their political slumber. Until then, the gloomy events
in Europe and Asia had appeared vague and distant, particularly to those engaged in agricultural and commercial fishing
activities throughout the largely rural west. Santa Cruz was no exception.
The events of December 7, 1941, changed all that. Almost immediately, local residents of Japanese descent, previously
ambivalent about the Asian-Pacific conflict, declared their allegiance to the U.S. war effort. At a dinner given at the St.
George Hotel on December 8 by the Japanese Association of Santa Cruz, association president Tommy Kadotani told
local officials in attendance, "We are yours to command in this emergency."
Across the country in Washington that same evening, President Roosevelt ordered the arrest of all Italian, Japanese and
German aliens who the FBI and other federal agencies deemed "dangerous to American security." Within 72 hours,
3,846 aliens were arrested—most of them, Italian. Less than two weeks later, General DeWitt was recommending that
all enemy aliens 14 years of age and older be removed to the interior. He was supported by the FBI's resident
xenophobe, J. Edgar Hoover.
For a short time, the Justice Department resisted the pressures mounting from De Witt, Hoover and the War
Department, and proposed a more moderate alien policy. By mid-January, however, with the war effort deteriorating in
the Pacific, the moderate voices at Justice caved in and the War Department announced that it was constructing
internment camps for "all classes of enemy aliens." In late January, DeWitt submitted an extensive lists of "restricted
zones" which were prohibited to all enemy aliens—German, Italian and Japanese alike.
With its large populations of farmers and fishermen of Japanese and Italian descent, the Monterey Bay area was of
particular concern to DeWitt and the War Department. By January 25 of 1942, all areas west (or oceanside) of Highway 1
in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were declared "restricted" to all "enemy aliens" (with curfew, travel and residence
restrictions enforced). Local German, Italian and Japanese immigrants who had not yet declared American citizenship
were forced to move out of the "restricted" areas by February 24, after which time they would also be subjected to a 9
p.m. curfew and permitted to travel only between their homes and place of employment. Signs were placed throughout
the county boldly announcing:
"ENEMY ALIENS PROHIBITED AREA NO. 28. The United States Government requires all aliens of German, Italian or
Japanese nationality to vacate this area."
It was estimated that 1,500 local residents would be affected by the decree.
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�The Santa Cruz Sentinel quickly jumped on the relocation bandwagon. In an editorial dated February 3, the local daily
reasoned: "The United States can take no chances by trying to pick for exclusion only those aliens who are known
enemies. All aliens originating from countries with which we are at war [should] be banned from the defined areas."
For Italian fishermen working at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, restrictions on their activities were enforced
immediately after the Pearl Harbor bombing. The day following FDR's declaration of war, a dozen Italian nationals were
no longer allowed to take their boats out to sea. The restricted fishermen included Stefano Ghio, Giovanni Olivieri,
Marco Carniglia, Batista and Frank Bregante, Serafino Canepa, Niccolo Bassano, Giacomo Stagnaro, Agostino Oliveri,
Fortunado Zolezzi, Johnnie Stellato, and Johnnie Cecchini. Their plight became well publicized. In a front-page article
with banner headlines, the Santa Cruz Sentinel declared: "Fishermen With 23 Sons in Army and Navy Are Bound to
Wharf While Boats Lie Idle and Sea Food Is Needed."
The article, more than likely written by the Sentinel's legendary waterfront reporter Ernest Otto, was sympathetic
towards the fishermen and also noted the confusion and inequities of the government's relocation efforts:
"With its problem of separating fifth columnists from peaceful and worthy residents of foreign birth, the Department of
Justice has had no time to work out formulae which will safeguard the nation and at the same time allow such men as
Santa Cruz's fishermen to earn a living for their families and add to the country's food supply."
Local Italian activists Mary Carniglia and Malio Stagnaro, along with Santa Cruz judge James J. Scoppetone of the
Marconi Civic Service club, wrote letters to government officials on behalf of the restricted fishermen, many of whom
were their relatives and all of whom lived either in the Italian neighborhoods of lower Bay Street or in the flats east of
Neary Lagoon. Monterey Bay area congressmember John Anderson responded to these early pleas with typical political
aplomb: "I am doing everything I can to bring the [fishermen's] trustworthiness to the attention of proper authorities,
and I earnestly hope that a policy will be adopted which will permit your people to return to their normal way of living."
One of the local fishermen prevented from going to sea was Stefano Ghio, father of veteran Santa Cruz fisherman Victor
Ghio.
"Here I was in the Navy," Ghio says. "I had another brother in the Navy and another brother in the Army, and they do
this to my father? It was a bunch of B.S., a lot of B.S. I talked to my superiors about it, but hell, there was nothing they
could do. They told me to do my duty and that was it. It's too bad, that's all. My dad and some of the rest lost some good
fishing seasons, I'll tell you that."
Victor's older brother, Stevie ("Ghighi") Ghio, recalls coming home from leave during the spring of 1942 and not being
able to find his parents, who had been forced to relocate inland.
"I came home to the Barranca (the Italian neighborhood)," he says, "and I couldn't find my folks or my aunts and uncles.
All the houses were boarded up shut. I couldn't find anybody. Finally, I went down to the police station and they told me
what had happened. I was still in my Navy uniform. They looked through some records and found out where they were.
So one of the officers drives me up to where my folks had been moved. They were all so happy to see me, and my
mother says, 'I was worried you wouldn't find us,' and she started to cry. It was pretty upsetting. They'd lived here 30, 40
years, and to have this happen to them—well, it just wasn't right, but there wasn't much we could say."
Italian artichoke and Brussels sprouts farmers on the north coast of the county were also hit hard by the early
restrictions. "The growers are definitely facing a labor shortage," declared Luis Poletti, head of the Davenport Producers
Association. "It hits pretty hard. I don't know how we're going to replace them in the fields, but we'll have to."
The relatively small German community in Santa Cruz also felt the impact of the restrictions and impending relocation.
As depicted by John Steinbeck in his novel East of Eden, anti-German sentiment was particularly virulent along the
Central Coast during World War I, and in Santa Cruz it was downright nasty. On February 13, the body of German
national George M. Heckel was found on a beach near Woodrow Avenue. Despondent over his impending relocation
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�and not wanting to suffer through hostilities like those 20 years earlier, the 73-year-old native of Germany walked out
into the surf and committed suicide. At least four other similar suicides, by both Italians and Germans, in the San
Francisco Bay area took place in the early weeks of February.
The periodic announcements coming from the Justice and War departments, many of them contradictory, had the effect
of putting the local Japanese, Italian and German communities on edge. No one here knew for sure what exactly was
going on—and in reality, no one in Washington knew what was going on, either. Various departments and competing
bureaucracies established policy one day, only to have it overruled and contradicted by another the next. Looking back
on them from the vantage point of 50 years, the daily reporting of those activities reads something like a Kafakaesque
novel. Back then, they must have been a pure nightmare.
On February 1, for instance, a Sentinel headline declared: "No Zones Barred to Enemy Aliens In This County." A few day
later, another headline declared: "New Alien Rules Are Outlined," the accompanying article affirming that "no enemy
aliens may live, work or visit" the restricted areas in the county. The following day, headlines reported "No Exceptions
for Santa Cruz Aliens: Confusion [Here] After First Order." The article went on to read:
"Italian, Japanese and German aliens in Santa Cruz may have harbored a hope that some disposition would come to
exclude them from the evacuation order, had those hopes completely quashed Tuesday in a Justice Department
announcement that 'no exceptions' would be made.
"There will be no relaxation of regulations to permit the aged and infirm, or those Axis aliens living with citizen sons and
daughters, to remain in the area."
A few weeks later, the entire county was declared "prohibited" to Italian, Japanese and German nationals and vast areas
inland extending throughout the Central Valley were deemed "restricted." Headline after headline in between
emphasized the urgency of the "enemy alien" issue.
Local Italians did not take the restrictions lightly. Many violated them flagrantly, while others vowed to have them
overturned. In an interview with Elizabeth Calciano conducted for UCSC's Regional History Project, Malio Stagnaro, who
served as a chief boatswain in the Navy during the war, recalled a trip he took to San Francisco to confront General
DeWitt about the hardships his policies were creating. Stagnaro, a longtime spokesman for the Italian community on the
wharf, characterized DeWitt as a "damn fool,...a complete nut, in my opinion."
"I went up to DeWitt to try to talk to him," Stagnaro recalled, "and he wouldn't listen to any reason whatsoever, to
nothing. Everybody to him was an enemy that wasn't an American citizen. I said, 'General, these are the greatest people
in the world.' 'Well!' he says. 'Why didn't they become citizens?' I said, 'General, they never had the opportunity; never
had an opportunity to learn; they raised big families, and they stayed at home.'"
DeWitt was unmoved.
Another vocal opponent of the alien restrictions was Mary Carniglia, the matriarch of the local fishing colony, whose
husband, Marco, was prohibited from fishing and was facing relocation, while her eldest son, John, was serving in the
Navy.
"The kids are asking their parents, 'What are they going to do to you?' The smaller children can't understand," Carniglia
declared in a lengthy interview with the Sentinel. "The adult Italians have such faith in the government, they say it's all
paper talk. But it hurts. My people have lived here in the same houses for three generations, and I'm going into a fourth
generation. I'm a citizen, but my husband is not.
"My people are proud to be in America. Their coming here gave them a taste of paradise. They aren't disloyal. If the
government can show disloyalty, then they should be punished. I wouldn't fight for them if I thought they weren't loyal.
But I know they are."
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�Carniglia battled to have the local fishermen allowed to return to their livelihoods. She also fought against
"racketeering" by local landlords who she felt were taking advantage of the relocation controversy. She charged that in
some cases landlords were hiking rents, while others were refusing to rent to families with children. She also charged
that deposits were being stolen. "If we're all helping toward the aim of victory," she queried local Realtors, "why should
these [landlords] throw the monkey wrench in at this time? Why crush these unfortunate people with further blows?"
Santa Cruz Realtor, Joseph Jacoby, defended his profession against Carniglia's charges. Local landlords, he declared,
were merely charging what the "market will bear." He also suggested that
"Italians were taking advantage of the situation...One Italian paid a $5 deposit, then came back to say he didn't want the
house—with renting days having passed—and received his money back. This happened in two instances. In still another,
the Italians made an appointment to view the house, then never showed up because the rent was too high."
Carniglia, however, had none of Jacoby's explanation. She called for an emergency rent-control measure to protect the
dislocated residents. "People should have more love and wisdom," she declared. "These narrow-minded people are
taking advantage of these unfortunates." A rent-control measure was never adopted, but the racketeering crisis
eventually passed.
For Japanese residents, both citizens and non-citizens alike, their crisis was just beginning. As the February 24 relocation
deadline neared, it was becoming more and more apparent that the Japanese were starting to be singled out by
government activities, both in Washington and on the West Coast. Beginning February 9, Sentinel headlines read: "FBI
Arrests 20 Japs in Monterey Bay Territory." Most of those arrests took place in Monterey and Salinas, but federal agents
also swept Watsonville, where Ben Torigoe, owner of a sporting goods store was picked up for being in possession of a
dozen shotguns, a camera, an alleged "illegal radio," and so-called "subversive literature" that had been published in
Japan. Three Buddhist priests were also arrested in the raids.
On February 21, two days following the signing of Executive Order 9066, hundreds of aliens—119 Japanese, 54 Italians
and 9 Germans—were arrested throughout California, though in Santa Cruz County, arrests were limited to two
Japanese residents, Tommy Kadotani and T. Kai, both active members of the Santa Cruz Japanese association. Kadotani,
a native of Santa Cruz who, ironically, had grown up on the fringes of the Italian fishing colony on Bay Street, was a
widely respected local florist and gardener. Both he and Kai were charged with raising monies that "eventually found
their way to the Japanese Imperial army," charges that were never substantiated and which Kadotani denied. (Years
later, when Kadotani and I were fishing on his boat Sake one afternoon, I gently tried to broach the topic of his arrest.
Kadotani politely, though sternly, informed me that there was nothing to talk about, save fishing.) Kadotani and Kai were
shipped to San Francisco for questioning by the FBI and didn't return to Santa Cruz until the end of the war.
That weekend, FBI agents arrested ten more Japanese residents in Watsonville, including grocer Keijuro Sugiyama, apple
driers Charles and Frank Huira, and farmer Saikichi Yamamoto. At the same time, 16 Italians were arrested in Salinas.
The following Monday, an event that helped codify anti-Japanese feelings took place in Goleta, near Santa Barbara,
where a Japanese submarine fired 25 shells at an oil refinery just off the coast. Damage was minimal, but the boldness of
the attack created a panic along the west coast. That shelling, combined with lingering animosity from the Pearl Harbor
bombing and longstanding anti-Asian prejudices dating back to the 19th Century, led to stepped up calls for the removal
of all Japanese from the western halves of California, Oregon and Washington. The local chapter of the Native Sons of
the Golden West, headed by president Tom Kelley, passed a resolution calling for the ouster of all residents of Japanese
descent, while in Washington, D.C., Congressmember Anderson demanded "immediate evacuation of all persons of
Japanese lineage."
Then California Attorney General Earl Warren, later to become both governor and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court, was a vociferous proponent of Japanese relocation. "When we are dealing with the Caucasian race we have
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�methods that will test the loyalty of them," Warren opined. "But when we deal with the Japanese, we are on an entirely
different field."
In addition to such overtly racist sentiments, there were also political factors preventing Italian (and German) relocation.
Mounting pressures from Democratic politicians in East Coast cities, particularly New York, Philadelphia and Boston—all
with large Italian populations—had a powerful effect in swaying the president and his staff against mass Italian
internment on the West Coast. There were no such Japanese strongholds in the east; in Hawaii, however, where there
were 140,000 Japanese nationals (constituting 37 percent of the population), the Japanese were neither relocated nor
interned. Even though such actions would have appeared even more congruent with strategic concerns, the political and
economic implications of such a move would have been overwhelming. The Japanese were only vulnerable on the
mainland.
Thus, by late March, the idea of evacuating Italian and German residents out of the state was losing support, while the
movement to relocate all Japanese residents gained momentum. In the ensuing five months, more than 100,000
Japanese—70 percent of them U.S. citizens—were forcibly removed to inland concentration camps, beginning one of
the greatest tragedies in American history. (At the same time, the all-Japanese 442nd Regimental Combat team, drafted
out of the internment camps and Hawaii, became the most decorated unit of World War II.)
As the spring of 1942 turned into summer, General DeWitt's promise to follow the Japanese evacuation with those of
the estimated 114,000 Italian and 97,000 German aliens in the western states never materialized. Slowly and gradually,
life returned to normal for the Italian fishing colony in Santa Cruz—although certain travel, work, and residency
restrictions in the coastal zones continued through the duration of the war.
On Columbus Day, October 12, 1942, in a move designed purely to generate political support, FDR had his Attorney
General, Francis Biddle, announce that Italian nationals in the U.S. would no longer be classified as "enemies." Back in
California, General DeWitt reluctantly lifted all military restrictions on Italians. (He lifted them for Germans the following
January.)
In Santa Cruz, the majority of Italian nationals forced to move from their Italian neighborhoods in the coastal zone were
allowed to return to their homes. My great grandmother was among them. Her "male notte" was over.
Little of what the Italians suffered through compares to, nor in any way diminishes, what their Japanese neighbors were
forced to endure, but suffer, still, they did. For the most part, the Italians went back to their daily routines as they had
been before the war—though as they soon learned, their lives, like the world they lived in, would never be the same.
Sources
Copyright 1996 Geoffrey Dunn. Reproduced with the permission of the author.
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Male Notte: The Untold Story of Italian Relocation During World War II
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Dunn, Geoffrey
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1996
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Copyright 1996 Geoffrey Dunn. Reproduced with the permission of the author.
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Italian American Community
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Santa Cruz (County)
1940s
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Una Storia Segreta
By Lawrence DiStasi, Adele Negro and Rose Scherini
UNA STORIA SEGRETA (the words in Italian mean both a secret story and a secret history), was developed by the
American Italian Historical Association's Western Regional Chapter. It is dedicated to those who endured the confusions
and losses of the wartime largely in silence. By giving them voice now, we hope that others will be encouraged to fill out
this story—one we believe is not only worth telling, but crucial to understanding what has shaped us all.
Preface
"Why Not Do An Exhibit?" In March of 1993, at a conference sponsored by the American Italian Historical Association's
Western Regional Chapter, Una Storia Segreta had its inception. During that half day, a panel of speakers for the first
time bore public witness to the ways in which the wartime restrictions had marked their lives. No one could hear what
had happened to Italian Americans in those dark days without realizing that far more remained to be told. The question
was, how? At the close of the conference, Maria Gloria, one of the participants and a longtime columnist for L'Italo
Americano, passed on a thought: "Why not do an exhibit?" Had any of us suspected what this would entail, or where it
might lead, Una Storia Segreta might have been stillborn. As it was, innocence prevailed, and we set out to try.
Initial attempts to raise funds met with little success. The California Council for the Humanities considered the project's
appeal "limited" and its premises questionable. Many in the community remained distant, cautious. Yet with the
encouragement of a handful of supporters, the dedication of several members, and the help of a few individual
donations, the exhibit opened at the Museo Italo Americano in San Francisco on February 24, 1994—the anniversary of
the fateful day in 1942 when thousands of Italian Americans in California had to evacuate homes and lives suddenly off
limits to them. The press responded to the exhibit in an unprecedented way: cover stories appeared in the San Francisco
Examiner and in several Gannett newspapers, and a report on CNN was broadcast worldwide. Crowds at the Museo
were among the largest ever recorded there, culminating on March 27 with an Open Forum that played to a standingroom-only crowd.
Due to prior commitments by the Museo, the exhibit closed in San Francisco on March 28, but its second life was about
to begin. The Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento managed to secure the Rotunda of the State Capitol in Sacramento
as the first traveling site. Thousands saw it there, the Governor signed a Proclamation attesting to its importance, and
the Legislature passed a Resolution to the same effect.
Since then, Una Storia Segreta has grown in a way no one could have predicted. Donations to allow it to travel have
come from each sponsoring organization on its 1993 tour: Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Pittsburg, San Jose, Monterey and
Oakland. In Monterey, it received its most significant improvement to date: The Italian Heritage Society of Monterey Bay
donated funds so that each of the 18 foamcore panels (which were never designed to take the rigors of travel) could be
trimmed and framed in black metal, and a wooden crate built for shipping. This has readied the exhibit to open in Los
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�Angeles in 1995 and then to proceed to the East Coast for appearances in New York and other major cities eager to host
it.
Most importantly, the secret history whose outlines Una Storia Segreta helped uncover has continued to flesh itself out.
This story has remained hidden for 50 years because of the silence—first imposed by the government, then adopted as
protective cover by those affected—that has always surrounded it. Not only has the story been suppressed from
historical accounts, but the Italian American community itself has remained largely unaware of its existence. With the
exhibit, memories have been jogged, eyes have been opened, voices have been found. New stories—always specific to
each place, always imbuing the exhibit with the particular flavor of local experience—have emerged in a steady, and
steadily expanding flow.
We have learned details of the hardship borne by those who were targeted: in Pittsburg, evacuated families were so
hard pressed to find housing that Bettina Troia, now 102 years old, had to live in a chicken coop; those named 'alien'
were so suspect that Nancy Billeci's father, trying to visit her mother giving birth in the County Hospital, was taken in
handcuffs to visit his newborn child; those who tried to keep their jobs were given humiliating choices, such as that
offered to Angela Ardent's father-in-law at Mare Island Shipyards: "just drop the 'e' from Ardente," he was told; thus did
the Italian 'Ardente' become the Americanized 'Ardent' ever after.
In Monterey, we heard similar stories. Joe Sollecito told of Rosina Trovato, who learned one day that both her son and
her nephew had gone down with the "Arizona" at Pearl Harbor, and the next day that she had to leave her home. Vitina
Spadaro remembered how her evacuated family, relieved to have found a rental at last, was thrown into new despair
when the landlord learned they were Italian, and chased them away. John Mercurio related how naval officers appeared
at his door two days after Pearl Harbor, ordered him and his father to sail their commandeered boat to San Francisco,
and then ordered them to make their way home however they could. Other boat owners told the same story: U.S.
citizens all, all were told flatly that their boats were confiscated for the duration, and were left to make do—first with
rented boats, then with their own boats returned in unusable condition.
As such tales accumulated, we began to see the underlying significance of these events. Though 600,000 Italian
Americans were branded 'enemy aliens' because they lacked citizenship, it was not just they who were scarred. Lelio
Sbrazza, an American citizen, was living in Berkeley at the time; because of his name, his hunting rifles were confiscated
and never returned. Frank Brogno lived in Gary, Indiana during the war: his father, an American citizen, was visited by
local firemen, who seized the Brogno's prized Philco radio—and the 'contraband' of others in Gary whose Italian names
made them suspect.
Most poignant of all may be the plight of the women. Nino Aiello first told us about the Cable Act of 1916. According to
its terms, his mother, American-born, lost her citizenship when she married an Italian man. Though she managed to get
naturalized before the war, others were not so lucky: Elaine Null, a postal employee, had to fingerprint her own mother
as an alien—and only at the Pittsburg Open Forum found out why. Having married an Italian immigrant, her American
mother thereby lost her citizenship, and had to register as an 'enemy alien.' Hope Cardinalli of Monterey found herself in
the same boat: an American-born citizen married to an Italian, she was ordered to evacuate from Monterey as an enemy
alien. She refused, hired a lawyer, and was able to stay, but the insult remained.
The sum total of this becomes plain: the prejudice that, in America, had long attached to Italian-ness concentrated its
venom during the war. Many immigrants felt it as never before; their children felt it too. Their language had become the
'enemy's language,' their heritage one that was not only alien, but inimical to the American way. It seemed best to
abandon both, and thousands did just that. The results are with us still.
Now, fifty years later, we who put together Una Storia Segreta are encouraged by the responses we have received, both
locally and nationally. Apprehensive at first that people might be disturbed by what we had assembled, we have come to
realize that the opposite is the case. Though some may quarrel with our perspective, and still others prefer that the past
remain undisturbed, most Italian Americans who see the exhibit are released by it, uplifted. It is as if now, with the
2
�larger story in place at last, and with the knowledge that others have spoken out, they too have the right to be heard,
for their experiences have been publicly validated. Even thus late, even absent the voices of those who suffered most, is
this so.
Our hope is that the process will continue. Our intention is that it will, that what has begun here will complete itself, and
that these long-buried events will take their rightful place in the true history of the homefront.
[Signed:]
Lawrence DiStasi
Berkeley, CA
Introduction
Italian immigration to the West Coast, which began as early as the Gold Rush, reached full force around the turn of the
century. By the 1930s the Italian population was at its peak: Italian Americans comprised the largest ethnic group not
only in San Francisco, but in the entire United States. The thirties were not easy for these immigrants, either politically
or economically. The Depression caused financial hardship for most. In addition, Italy under Mussolini was split between
those who favored Il Duce's totalitarian policies, and those who opposed them. Fascists battled anti-fascists both underand above-ground. The battle crossed the ocean with the many anti-fascists who fled to exile in America.
Italian communities like those in North Beach engaged in these disputes, not least in their newspapers. For the most
part, however, the immigrant generation supported Mussolini. He seemed to have gained the world's respect for Italy by
turning the old country into a disciplined modern nation. Much of the world press, including the major organs in the
United States, portrayed him as a hero—the first modern leader to lift his nation out of post–World War I chaos and
Depression.
In 1935, with his invasion of Ethiopia, the portrait began to change. The League of Nations imposed economic sanctions
on Italy. Many Italian Americans, following the lead of their Italian language press, saw this as a betrayal and continued
to support the country where so many had relatives in the service. Some donated to the Italian Red Cross, while
thousands of others sent gold wedding rings and copper postcards to support the Italian war effort. When Italy allied
with Germany and joined in the attack on France in 1940, however, the immigrants' worst fears were realized. Their
American sons might soon have to make war on their Italian relatives.
With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the U.S. declaration of war on all three Axis powers, Italian
Americans and the formerly pro-fascist newspapers hastened to affirm their loyalty to their adopted country. It made
little difference. The measures to come made many immigrants feel that they were being blamed for where they had
been born.
Una Storia Segreta documents some of what happened in the days following Pearl Harbor: the internment of
"dangerous" aliens beginning on the night of December 7; the re-registration of all enemy aliens and restrictions on their
possessions and movements; the evacuation of thousands of aliens from "prohibited zones" on the West Coast; and the
enforcement, again on the West Coast, of a stringent 8PM to 6AM curfew. Failure to comply with any element could,
and often did, lead to arrest and detention.
Subsequent months (February through June 1942) were a time of fear and confusion. Rumors and newspaper articles
reported that what all Californians were witnessing—the mass internment of Japanese Americans, both citizens and
aliens alike—was being considered in some form for Italian and German Americans as well. Executive Order 9066 had
made it possible to remove anyone, and General John DeWitt, the head of the Western Defense Command, seemed
eager to use it. No one knew what might happen, or when.
3
�By June, political and economic considerations caused all such plans to be abandoned. In October 1942, Italians were
formally removed from the enemy alien classification, and allowed to return to prohibited zones. The ordeal was not
complete, however. Ironically, this was the very time that a few naturalized citizens whom the Tenney Committee found
"dangerous" received exclusion orders: they were ordered to move from Military Zones 1 and 2, which covered the
majority of California. Thus, even though most Italian aliens were no longer in the 'enemy alien' category, those interned
in December 1941 and the newly excluded citizens remained in that category until the Fall of 1943, when Italy's fascist
government surrendered.
Despite the years of research that went into it, Una Storia Segreta makes no claim to be complete: some government
documents are still classified, and requests for data under the Freedom of Information Act can wait years for a response.
Still, we believe that what is known must be told now, primarily so that similar episodes might be prevented in the
future. In addition, no one who has spoken to those affected can fail to be moved by the impact these measures had on
them, their families, and their communities. Neither can one avoid the questions that arise. To what degree, for
example, did the targeting of those whose first language was Italian hasten the disuse of the Italian language? Aside
from much anecdotal evidence, no studies exist to provide figures. We do know, however, that many immigrants, clubs,
and stores made a point of not using Italian in public, while others stopped teaching the language to their children. The
U.S. Government surely encouraged this trend by its poster proclaiming "DON'T SPEAK THE ENEMY'S LANGUAGE. SPEAK
AMERICAN!"
Much more might and surely will be said about these and other long-lasting effects. For now we think it appropriate to
give the last words to Frances Cardinalli of Pittsburg, whose aging parents had to evacuate their home in Pittsburg and
move to Centerville, near Fremont. Referring to a photo of her mother in her Sunday best, we asked if that was how her
mother looked on the day she had to leave.
"Oh God, no. It looked like a funeral. We were all dead. We couldn't part. We never were separated before."
If immigration itself constitutes a little death, then the wartime for many Italian immigrants, and their communities, may
come to be seen as yet another.
Prelude to War
Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922 with the now-famous March of his blackshirts on Rome. Although the American
left opposed him from the beginning, he was widely touted in the popular press as a "black-shirted Garibaldi." The
fascisti were compared to the Old West's vigilantes. Even Nation magazine ran an article during the 1932 Presidential
campaign entitled, "Wanted: A Mussolini."
This adulation of the "new Columbus" extended through the early thirties. Delegation after delegation went for an
audience with the Duce, coming away impressed with his energy, candor, and apparent ability to reshape the Italian
character (which Americans were sure needed reshaping). President Roosevelt sent several new cabinet members to
learn from Mussolini's social programs, including government support for the arts and social security. To Italian
Americans, this added fuel to their already inflamed hopes: Mussolini was helping them gain the respect of America and
Americans they had always lacked.
When Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, respect changed to widespread revulsion. The expansion of fascism's dark side by
Nazi Germany accelerated this process, especially when Mussolini allied himself with Hitler in 1936. When Italy joined
Germany's invasion of France in June of 1940, President Roosevelt's condemnation of the Duce as a "jackal" for having
struck a "dagger" into "the back of his neighbor" evoked few disclaimers.
The days from June 10, 1940 to December 7, 1941 were filled with anxiety for Italian Americans. Though they conveyed
their dismay over FDR's choice of words, they sensed that the die had been cast. America would sooner or later side
4
�with Britain and France to defend what remained of Europe against fascist aggression. Mussolini's Italy had become in
name, if not yet in fact, America's enemy. Italians and Italian Americans could soon be at war.
It took only a year. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 destroyed the remaining American reservations
about entering the battle. When the President a few days later declared war on Italy, Italian aliens (those immigrants
who, for whatever reason, had failed to complete the naturalization process) automatically became "enemy" aliens.
They were subject to whatever measures the government deemed necessary.
Internment
Beginning on the night of December 7, 1941, Japanese, German and Italian aliens were arrested by the FBI. How could
this happen? The U.S. had not declared war by that date.
The story actually begins in September 1939, when Britain and France declared war against the Axis nations of Germany
and Italy (later to include Japan). President Roosevelt at that time asked FBI Director Hoover to compile a list of persons
to be arrested in case of national emergency. Names placed on this Custodial Detention List eventually included proCommunists, anti-fascists, pro-fascists, pro-Nazis, and even some Jewish refugees.
The authority for these arrests came from Title 50 of the U.S. Code, based on the 1798 Alien & Sedition Acts, which gives
the government power to detain aliens in times of emergency.
Under this authority, hundreds of Italians were arrested in the months immediately after Pearl Harbor. About 250
individuals were interned for up to two years in military camps in Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. By June of
1942, the total reached 1,521 Italian aliens arrested by the FBI, many for curfew violations alone. Though most of the
latter were released after short periods of detention, the effects on them and others in the community are not hard to
imagine.
The arrest and internment procedure in San Francisco followed this pattern: FBI officers arrived at night, searched the
home, and took the individual to an Immigration Service detention facility at Silver and Yale Avenues. The family was not
informed why the arrest was made or what would happen.
Arrestees were sometimes moved to another detention facility at Sharp Park (now in the city of Pacifica) where quonset
huts had been hurriedly set up on a golf course. Some were held there for as long as one year. Later, Italian prisoners of
war were also held at Sharp Park.
Most of the arrestees were then shipped by train to Fort Missoula, Montana, where over 1,000 Italian nationals had
been interned since May, 1941. These Italians were merchant marines whose ships had been impounded at Atlantic
ports after the European war began in 1939.
In Montana, the interned aliens were given pro
forma hearings before boards consisting of military
officers and lay citizens. They were not informed of
the charges against them, nor were they
represented by legal counsel. The information
before the boards consisted entirely of FBI reports.
Researchers have often noted, on examining FBI
files, the many errors, the misinterpretation of
innocent acts, and the lack of rumor verification—
all of which are found in these aliens' files.
Most of the San Francisco internees were members Italian American internees watching a soccer game at Missoula.
of the Ex-Combattenti, the Federation of Italian
5
�War Veterans in America. Veterans of World War I (when Italy and America were allies), they were apparently singled
out because the group was on the FBI list of "dangerous" organizations. During the thirties, the veterans' main project
had been collecting and distributing funds for war widows and orphans in Italy. By 1941 the State Department had
decided that the receiving agencies in Italy were too "closely identified" with the Italian Government; continued
disbursal of monies to the Associazione Nazionale Famiglie dei Caduti in Guerra (National Association for Families of War
Dead) and various Community Welfare Funds was a violation of the 1939 U.S. Neutrality Act. The FBI then began
surveillance of individual members. FBI files do not, however, reveal any illegal or "subversive" activities. In fact, some
ex-combattenti who were openly anti-fascist or, at most, apolitical, were interned.
Italy's surrender on September 8, 1943 brought about the release of most of the Italian American internees by year's
end. Some had been paroled months earlier after "exoneration" by a second hearing board appealed for by their
families. Nonetheless, most of the men had spent two years as prisoners, moving from camp to camp every three to four
months. Neither they nor their families would ever forget it.
Restrictions
In January of 1942, all enemy aliens were required to register at local post offices around the country. Although all
resident aliens had already registered in 1940 under the Smith Act, now as 'enemy' aliens they would be required to be
fingerprinted, photographed, and carry their photo-bearing "enemy alien registration cards" at all times. To those
affected this was alarming; in retrospect, it recalls the authoritarian methods of the very fascists it was meant to
combat.
Then came a series of Army proclamations, some directed at all enemy aliens, some only for those on the West Coast:
1. Travel: no travel beyond a five-mile radius of home; longer trips require application for travel permit.
2. Contraband: all firearms, shortwave radios, cameras, and "signaling devices" (including flashlights) prohibited;
all to be turned in or confiscated. Many were never returned.
3. Curfew: enemy aliens on the West Coast confined to homes between 8:00 PM and 6:00 AM.
The impact of these restrictions was widespread and apparently unanticipated by the government. In places like
Monterey, Santa Cruz, Pittsburg and San Francisco—where the Italians, many of them long-term residents without final
citizenship papers, constituted a majority of the fishermen, scavengers, restaurant workers and janitors—the restrictions
created serious employment and food-supply problems.
The impact on personal lives can only be suggested. Because of the travel restrictions, mothers could not visit their
children in hospitals if they were more than five miles away. Families could not attend a relative's funeral. No alien could
make a trip to visit distant friends or relatives, nor even to visit their own sons in uniform at military installations.
For the fishermen, the regulations seemed arbitrary at best, foolish or cruel at worst. In Pittsburg, the inland fishermen
were classed as an exempt industry and so were allowed to fish. However, Monterey and San Francisco fishermen (and
all those who fished the Pacific Ocean) were restricted: the aliens could not go out on their boats, and scores of citizens
who owned large purse seiners had them confiscated by the Coast Guard for patrol duty. Giuseppe Spadaro's
"Marettimo" was returned to him in such poor condition that he could not use it; before he could have it repaired, a
storm destroyed it altogether.
In the West, the curfew caused fear, suspicion and worse. Those picked up for violations were left to wonder if a
neighbor had informed on them. Animosities festered and lingered. The legacy of all this is hard to calculate, but one
thing seems evident: arresting a truck farmer unable to complete his delivery run by 8PM probably did little to help
security but much to destroy the trust necessary for community life. And whether such a person could ever trust their
government is something else again.
6
�Evacuation
M For enemy aliens, February was the "cruelest month." Fears of a Japanese invasion of the West Coast ran wild. After a
Japanese submarine apparently landed some torpedoes in Santa Barbara, the pressure to move the Japanese population
soared. Italians and Germans, feeling the hysteria and reading news reports about the planned removal of all aliens to
inland camps, feared the worst.
They were not far off. The order to evacuate "prohibited" zones along the California coast no later than February 24 was
directed at all enemy aliens. Italian aliens, along with their Japanese and German counterparts, began the wrenching
task of finding a place to live and leaving those they loved.
The total numbers who had to leave their homes is still unknown, but in places like Monterey, Pittsburg, and Santa Cruz,
thousands had to move. In some cases, the new house might be only a block away; in others, it might require a trip of
ten, fifteen, or fifty miles. Without cars or freeways, such gaps between families seemed unbridgeable. For some it was
unbearable. Among the several suicides reported in the newspapers was that of 65-year-old Martini Battistessa of
Richmond, who threw himself in front of a train on February 21, 1942.
Even aliens with sons or grandsons in the Armed Forces were not exempt from the move. One
San Francisco resident who had to leave his home near Fisherman's Wharf was the father of a
serviceman killed at Pearl Harbor. In Santa Cruz, Steve Ghio came home on leave from the Navy
to find the houses in his neighborhood boarded up. He could not find his parents or relatives until
he learned of their forced move and obtained a new address from the local police.
The immediate personal and economic effects of this evacuation were vivid enough. California's
fishing fleet was decimated. Ninety-seven-year-old Placido Abono was moved from his Pittsburg
home to Oakley, ten miles away, on a stretcher.
By July, when the invasion scare had subsided and the entire Japanese–American population had
been interned, the Army rescinded its order of evacuation. But many Italian aliens—some of
whom could not read Italian, let alone English—remained in the dark about this change too: the
notices that they could go home were simply posted in local post offices.
Additional ironies abound. Italian Americans were not only the largest ethnic group in the nation;
they were also the largest group in the Armed Forces. Nevertheless, parents and grandparents
were compelled to move from the homes where they had raised those now serving their country.
Catherine Buccellato
with her son, Nick. Like
many others, Nick later
came home on leave to
find his house empty.
While he had been
serving his country, his
mother had to evacuate
her Pittsburg, CA home.
Another is that at a time when all human and food resources were needed for the war effort, many men and women
had to give up their jobs because they were located in prohibited zones. Thus, when large numbers of coastal fishermen
could no longer fish, the government poster, "Fish is Fighting Food ...We need more," encouraged Americans to increase
consumption of that which its own policies had caused to be scarce.
Such ironies may evoke a smile now. At the time, the smile was likely to be tinged with disbelief: did the left hand know
what the right was doing?
Exclusion
The Western Defense Commander, Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, wanted to remove not only aliens, but also naturalized
citizens from the "sensitive" military zones along the coast. He succeeded in removing even American-born Japanese–
Americans. However, after much debate and no little confusion for those concerned, Washington, particularly the
Attorney General and the President, decided against removing Italians and Germans. The logistics, not to mention the
political and economic repercussions, were too formidable. Nonetheless, DeWitt won a small victory when he was
allowed to initiate an Individual Exclusion Program for naturalized citizens.
7
�In the Fall of 1942—after the Italians had been removed from the enemy alien classification—254 Italian and German
naturalized citizens received exclusion orders. These orders gave them ten days to move out of the designated zones.
Most were German immigrants and West Coast residents, but some lived on the eastern and southern coasts of the
United States.
In San Francisco, about 20 Italian–Americans, both men and women, were excluded. They were community leaders,
Italian-language school instructors, staff of the pro-fascist Italian-language newspaper L'Italia, and members of the
Italian War Veterans. Most were long-time residents of the city and had been naturalized citizens for many years.
What led to the selection of these specific individuals for exclusion? The community leaders and L'Italia staff had been
named as pro-fascists by witnesses before the State Legislature's UnAmerican Activities Committee at hearings held in
San Francisco in May of 1942. The hearings were held in the Borgia Room of the St. Francis Hotel, the irony of which
none of the senators seemed to recognize. The Tenney Committee—named after its chair, state Senator Jack Tenney—
concluded, after four days of testimony, that three community leaders, Sylvester Andriano, Ettore Patrizi and Renzo
Turco, were "the leaders of the Fascist movement in California." They further concluded that Patrizi's newspaper L'Italia,
and the Italian-language school, DopoScuola, were centers of Fascist propaganda. Some of these names had previously
been brought to the attention of the FBI, but it had made no arrests of any naturalized citizens.
In September the Army acted. It held individual hearings similar to those for the internees—no charges were made, no
legal counsel allowed. Then it served exclusion orders, commanding each individual to move out of Military Zones 1 and
2, which covered about two-thirds of California. Ettore Patrizi, 77 years old, a U.S. resident and naturalized citizen since
1899, received his exclusion order while hospitalized. Andriano and Turco, both attorneys, had to vacate their homes
and law offices, and were unable to practice law where they relocated. Nino Guttadauro, president of the War Veterans
and business manager of the Crab Fishermen's Protective Association, left San Francisco to find work and housing for his
family, which he eventually found in Reno, the nearest city with available jobs.
These moves took place in October 1942, just before the Government announced that Italians were no longer "enemy
aliens." That did not change the status of the "dangerous" aliens who had been interned earlier, nor of these naturalized
citizens who had now been excluded.
The excludees were allowed to return to their homes at the end of 1943, following Italy's surrender in September. Most
had spent about 15 months in exile. They had been reporting regularly to the FBI in cities like Reno where they had
relocated. Why the exclusion was necessary, and why the FBI could not have kept them under surveillance in their own
homes, has never been explained. After all, in October 1942, the invasion fears had greatly lessened...and opportunities
for sabotage were just as great in Reno as in San Francisco.
The same questions arise regarding those aliens evacuated from the coast. More than a few—Angelina Bruno of
Pittsburg was one—had moved to houses overlooking Army bases, where sabotage could have been a real possibility. It
seemed not to matter. Neither did the fact that a large proportion of the Pittsburg evacuees were women and a few
men too old to fish. Were such people a threat? Were such lives disrupted to any good purpose?
Aftermath
M We call this exhibit Una Storia Segreta for two reasons: one, the country, including the government, has never fully
acknowledged these events; two, many of the families involved have never wanted to talk about it. Many were
humiliated by the treatment of spouses or relatives, and are still angry about it.
More than fifty years later, we are able to prepare this exhibit because of the persistence of a few researchers in probing
government archives, and the forthright responses of the families who do want their stories told.
Aside from these sources, surprisingly little has been written. One of the excludees, Remo Bosia, published a book in
1971 about his experiences. In 1983 the report of the U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment included
8
�a chapter on German Americans, mentioning Italians only to say that the Justice Department had interned 264 of them.
More of the story was filled out with the publication in 1985 of John Christgau's book "Enemies": World War II Alien
Internment, about German Americans interned in North Dakota, and again in 1990 with Stephen Fox's The Unknown
Internment: An Oral History of the Relocation of ltalian Americans during World War II. Yet half a century later, the story
remains incomplete. Some of the records remain classified, FBI files are censored, and requests for information can wait
years for a response.
Recent attempts to obtain some redress for the wartime treatment do show signs of movement. At the 1992 California
convention of the Sons of Italy, their Social Justice Commission passed a resolution requesting "full public disclosure of
the injustices suffered by Italo-Americans during World War II, and...that apology be made not only to Americans of
Italian ancestry, but to the nation as a whole." One man, S.H. Bianchini of Monterey, was responsible for bringing this
matter to the attention of the Sons of Italy.
Unfortunately, the response to this resolution from the U.S. Department of Justice addressed only the fact that "a
relatively small number of ethnic Germans and Italians received individual exclusion orders in contrast to the mass
detention of Japanese Americans." Could it be that the current Department of Justice does not even know about the
Army-initiated internments and evacuations? And, even if they know, do they not think it important to acknowledge the
injustice done to thousands of Italians who had to evacuate their homes? In Canada, where Italian aliens were also
interned, the government issued a public apology in 1990.
A number of initiatives recently begun by other groups in this country also suggest that the time for an Italian American
petition is at hand. Interned German Americans have taken their case to the courts. Also preparing a court case are the
Japanese Peruvians who, though unjustly and illegally sent to the U.S. to be interned, were not included in the 1988 Civil
Liberties Act granting apologies and reparations to the interned Japanese Americans.
That the authorities of the time suspected an injustice is clear. In the FBI files of some Italian internees, researchers have
found copies of a July 1943 memo from Attorney General Francis Biddle, declaring his opinion that the Custodial
Detention List was "invalid;" that the evidence used to declare an alien "dangerous" was inadequate because it lacked
evidence of illegal actions; and that the episode was "a mistake that should be rectified for the future."
Nevertheless, whenever conflict between the U.S. and another country erupts, the talk of internment of the nationals
involved flares once again. During the Cold War, it was the Russians; then it was the Cubans; and as recently as the 1990
Gulf War, Iraqi Americans were threatened with internment.
It is time America realized what is fundamental to its creed: to condemn one of us on the basis of our origins, national or
otherwise, is to condemn us all.
Additional Information
Una Storia Segreta: the secret history of Italian American evacuation and internment during World War II, edited
and with an introduction by Lawrence DiStasi; foreword by Sandra M. Gilbert.
9
�Sources
Text and Photographs copyright 1994 American Italian Historical Association, Western Regional Chaper. Used
by Permission.
This article is from the booklet that accompanied the exhibition Una Storia Segreta.—ed.
The content of this article is the responsibility of the individual author. It is the Library's intent to provide accurate local history
information. However, it is not possible for the Library to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a
variety of sources. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are incorrect and can provide documentation,
please contact the Webmaster.
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�
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Una Storia Segreta
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DiStasi, Lawrence
Negro, Adele
Scherini, Rose
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<i>Una Storia Segreta: the Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment during World War II</i>, edited and with an introduction by Lawrence DiStasi; foreword by Sandra M. Gilbert.
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Wars-World War II
Evacuation (Word War II)
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https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/1ee62d86123691ef95e7c695afae0f7e.pdf
e2e3197c3ad2b271caa4bc2e4c15e2de
PDF Text
Text
Oscar Thomas "O.T." Jackson
By Phil Reader
As a young man, he had cut hair for a number of years at a small barber shop in the farming community of Watsonville,
California. As an old man, he cut hair at a shaving parlor on Railroad Avenue in Oakland. But in between he lived a life
which was unthinkable for any descendant of slaves just a single generation removed from the cotton fields. For one
brief moment, during the summer of 1883, he stood center stage in most of the major concert halls of the world and
headlined numerous command performances before the royal families of Europe. This remarkable man was Oscar
Thomas Jackson.
"O.T." Jackson was born in upstate New York on November 20, 1846 to
David and Emma (Lane) Jackson. He joined a family that already consisted
of two boys, named Adam and Jethro. The elder Jacksons were former
slaves freed when England banned the institution of slavery in its West
Indies colony.
After coming to the United States, David Jackson—like so many other
freedmen—found it difficult to become integrated into American society.
He was a restless sort who traveled from town to town working as a day
laborer, usually following the course of the Erie Canal. It was a difficult
living with the prospects of raising and educating a family being sketchy at
best. So when word of the discovery of gold in California reached the east
coast, David Jackson turned his steps westward.
During the spring of 1850, the Jacksons sailed out of New York harbor,
rounding the Horn, and arrived at San Francisco on June 23, 1850. After
settling his family among the burgeoning African-American community in
that city, David Jackson set out for the gold fields. His efforts met with
moderate success so the family was able to establish itself comfortably
and the boys were enrolled at the new all-Black school conducted by the
Reverend Jeremiah B. Sanderson in the basement of the St. Cyprian
African Methodist Episcopalian Church.
O.T. Jackson
Emma, with her husband away at the mines, found work as a seamstress and involved herself in church activities.
Possessing a beautiful soprano voice, she became a soloist with the choir. In the late 1850s, she received word that her
husband had been killed in a mining accident. A few years later, the widow remarried, taking as her second husband
Pleasant Hill, a resident of the Oakland area.
1
�In their late teens, while still attending school, the boys were all apprenticed into a trade. O.T. was trained as a barber
and went to work at a shop on Montgomery Street. After learning that the sizable African-American community in
Watsonville was without the services of a barber, he moved south in the company of his two brothers. He set up his own
shaving and hair dressing salon in the old Union Hotel building on Main Street and opened for business April 1, 1868.
Soon his clientele was such that he found it necessary to take on the first of what would be three partners. His name
was Alexander Wilkins and he had come to California from Jamaica via Portland, Oregon.
Wilkins was a wild young man with a fondness for drink and women. On the night of Sunday, September 25, 1869, this
weakness would cost him his life. In the company of a fellow known only as "Indian George", he rode out to Whisky Hill
(now Freedom) to attend a fandango at one of the brothels located there. At 2 a.m., after considerable drink and
merriment, they mounted their horses and started back towards town. Just as the two reached the site of the old
Catholic cemetery, they were attacked by a gang of bandidos. Wilkins was killed and George, who was seriously
wounded, escaped and made his way back into Watsonville. When the town marshal and his posse arrived at the scene
of the shooting, they found Wilkins' body had been robbed and stripped of most of its clothing. The following day, O.T.
Jackson buried his colleague.
His next two partners were William H. Miller, who after a few years with Jackson would move to Salinas and become a
pioneer of that city; and Charles Bryant, a native of England, who had come to California during the gold rush.
Meanwhile the other Jackson brothers were branching out on their own. Adam, who was restless like his father, moved
away from Watsonville and took up a mining claim in Calaveras County, near San Andreas. Jethro continued to live with
Oscar and became the town bill-poster. In the spring of 1870, when the U.S. Congress passed the 15th amendment, the
Jackson brothers were among the first Black people in Watsonville to register to vote.
On August 23, 1871, Oscar Jackson married Mary Ellen Wiley, the only daughter of California pioneer John Wiley-Scott, a
veteran of John C. Fremont's exploration party in 1844. The couple had just settled into a quiet existence when O.T.
made a discovery which was to radically alter the direction of their lives.
Living in Watsonville at the time was a man with a flair for the arts. His name was J. 0. Child and from time to time he
would put on musicals for the enjoyment of the citizenry. Perhaps the most popular musical style of the period was the
Minstrel show. Child hit upon the idea of organizing such a show in Watsonville using solely the talent to be found in the
African-American community. When he approached the group with this idea, he was greeted with great enthusiasm.
The date of the concert was set for July 22, 1870 at Allen's Hall, and it was decided that all the proceeds from the event
would be donated to [a local school for children of color]. Rehearsals began late in June, so the cast only had time for 12
lessons from Mr. Child to prepare them. The lead singers in the group were Oscar and Jethro Jackson. Prior to the
production, complimentary tickets were sent to Charley Cummings, editor of the Watsonville Pajaronian. He responded
by giving the event a great deal of publicity.
On the evening of the 22nd, the hall was filled to capacity and the event proved to be a resounding success both
culturally and financially. Editor Cummings in his next issue of the Pajaronian warmly praised the company and singled
out Oscar Jackson's performance, noting "the way he had rendered the ballads with a beautiful tenor voice." In private,
he and other members of the community encouraged O.T. to turn professional. It was a suggestion not wasted on
Jackson.
It was not long before the Jackson brothers and other members of the Black community had organized a group called
the "Sable Minstrels" and were playing dates all over the central coasts. The company consisted of O.T. Jackson as a
ballad singer; Charley King singing harmony; Louis Parris, who narrated the skits; Ben Johnson doing the plantation jig;
and Jethro "Bones" Jackson as a song and dance man. The instrumental accompaniment was provided by Jose and
Emidio Soria, members of the old Branciforte family. In time they honed their routine and took it up to San Francisco
2
�which was a center for touring minstrel troupes. Although their jaunt to the city met with only mild success, it did
however bring the considerable talent of O.T. Jackson to the attention of big time promoters.
As he began to feel more and more that his future lay in music, Jackson realized that it would be best for his career to
move back up to the San Francisco Bay area where the various cultural arts were flourishing. So in 1874, he and Mary
Ellen bade farewell to his many friends in Santa Cruz County and bought a small house at 714 Pine Street in west
Oakland. It was located close to his mother's home and that of his in-laws so that his wife would not be alone when he
was on tour.
O.T. was quickly picked up by a series of West Coast Minstrel groups which kept him traveling up and down the state the
next few years playing at small town fairs, circuses, and auditoriums. It was a period of apprenticeship during which
three daughters were born into the Jackson family. Only one, Mayme—born May 26, 1876—would survive to adulthood.
In 1877, Jackson broke into the "big time" when he joined the Haverly Colored Minstrel Troupe, the most important
group of its kind in America. He was one of their lead tenors as they crisscrossed the nation following the theater circuit
to all of the major cities.
Lured away by the promise of a larger salary, he signed on with Charley Hick's Georgia Minstrels and sailed off on the
adventure of a lifetime. Hicks, a Black performer and promoter, hailed the trip as "A Grand Tour of the Entire World",
and it almost lived up to its title. After a two month cruise which took them to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), Tahiti, and
other South Sea islands, they landed in Australia where they played the larger cities. This was followed by a slow journey
through the bush country entertaining in countless churches, school houses and pubs.
After leaving Australia their itinerary took them to New Zealand, Java, China, Japan, and across the continent to the
European countries which housed the greatest concert halls of the world. The run ended with a triumphant year's tour
in England which included a command performance before King Edward VII.
When they returned to the states in 1884, Jackson had been away from home for almost six years. He settled down for a
time in the comforts of family and friends, enjoying the savings which he had been able to send back to Mary Ellen
during his tours. The Jacksons made a brief trip back to Watsonville to renew acquaintances with his ex-neighbors.
But it was the heyday of Black minstrelsy and it was Charlie Hicks who would tempt O.T. back on the road. Hicks, who
was planning another tour of Australia and Europe, offered him $40 a week to travel with the show giving him the top
billing as lead tenor. So for two years, between 1886 and 1888, Jackson retraced his earlier steps around the world. At
the end of his second extended tour, he promised his family no more overseas travel and once again settled down.
However this "retirement" proved as temporary as the first because in 1890, he was off again. This time Lew Johnson, an
old friend from the first tour, organized a series of minstrel troupes geared to play in the "secondary markets", that is
the small western towns where none of the major touring companies ever appeared. These areas were starved for
entertainment and would prove to be lucrative for the Johnson troupes.
Still receiving top billing, Jackson would play a series of one-night stands in almost every little town and village from the
Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. There were frequent name changes for the troupe, including Lew Johnson's
Refined Colored Minstrels and Electric Brass Band, and the Black Baby Boy Minstrels.
While they were in these rough frontier towns, the all-Black troupe met with a tremendous amount of prejudice and
discrimination. At times their mere survival was at risk because the modes of transportation were still quite crude,
leaving them to travel on accident prone mountain railroads and hot, dusty, uncomfortable stage coaches. Good food
was frequently scarce and accommodations were often primitive. In most towns they were forced into segregated
quarters; when no commercial housing was available because of this discrimination, they found lodging with local Black
families in their already crowded shacks and shanties. Every small town had a building which was optimistically called
3
�their "opera house" or "theater" where, more often than not, the troupe would play to a near empty hall and it was not
at all uncommon for an unscrupulous agent or advance man to abscond with the troupe's money.
On one occasion when Jackson was with a show in the cow country of west Texas a group of rowdies in the audience
bated the performers with a series of racist slogans. One proud member of the cast made the mistake of returning the
gibes. A mob of angry whites dragged the player from the stage and out into the night. The next morning as the troupe
was preparing to board their coach at the train station, the unfortunate man staggered up to the platform with his back
whipped raw and covered with tar and feathers.
In spite of all of this discomfort and suffering, the Johnson Minstrels and O.T. Jackson prospered. For Jackson and most
of the other Black performers on the minstrel circuit, the opportunity to "be somebody" through the use of their own
natural talents made the extra risks worthwhile.
The fall of 1897, found O.T. and his group, now called the Original Nashville Students, touring California. On November
12 and 13, when they played dates in Watsonville and Santa Cruz it was like a homecoming for Jackson. In attendance
were many of his friends from the old days when, twenty years earlier, he had operated the small barber shop on Main
Street. The flow of money back home to Mary Ellen and the girls continued until 1898, when O.T., now well into the 5th
decade of his life and tired of the road, gave up minstrelsy, and settled down in Oakland for the final time.
He returned to his former occupation of barbering and was hired at the salon on Railroad Avenue. The wall behind his
chair was lined with press clippings, notices, and handbills from his years on the circuit. The old man never tired of
walking with a "stage swagger" and delighted his customers with tales of the far away exotic places which he had visited.
The high point of a trip to O.T.'s barber chair was the colorful way which he boasted of the time that he had played
before the British Royal Family. In Oakland he was always in demand as a soloist at weddings, funerals, and other
occasions. To the very end his beautiful tenor voice remained mellow and melodious. He died quietly at his home on
November 25, 1909 at the age of 63 years.
In the course of his lifetime, this son of slaves had risen to some dazzling heights through the use of his unique talent. He
could claim kinship to all of the now famous names in the history of minstrelsy including W.C. Handy, Edwin Christy, Billy
Kersands, and Wallace King. Along the way, Jackson had managed to cross paths with the likes of Tin Pan Alley composer
Gussie L. Davis and a young Bessie Smith. These gifted performers would help Black people establish themselves in the
mainstream of American show business.
Almost a century later, Professor Douglas H. Daniels wrote a book entitled Pioneer Urbanites, A Social and Cultural
History of Black San Francisco. (Temple University Press, 1980) In it, Professor Daniels includes one chapter on the arts.
In the section on music, he suggests that Oscar T. Jackson and his improvisational vocal technique deserve some of the
credit for establishing "Afro-American elements" in the music styles of the west during the 19th century. This musical
format would ultimately lead to the creation of Jazz, the Blues, and other Black contributions to American cultural art
forms.
Sources
Copyright 1996 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of the author.
Photograph courtesy of the Northern California Center for Afro American History and Life.
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information. However, it is not possible for the Library to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a
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please contact the Webmaster.
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Oscar Thomas "O.T." Jackson
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Reader, Phil
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1996-
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Copyright 1996 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of the author. Photograph courtesy of the Northern California Center for Afro American History and Life.
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Jackson, Oscar "O.T."
African-American Community
Music and Musicians
Black People
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Watsonville
Arts and Entertainment
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https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/149757e36059ae238e2f3b8a4fe141f5.pdf
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Text
"A Well Looking, Affable People... ":
The Ohlone of Aulintak/Santa Cruz
By MaryEllen Ryan
Introduction
For thousands of years until a mere one hundred fifty years ago, Santa Cruz and its surrounding lands were the
undisputed home of a people now popularly known as Ohlone. Their homelands reached from the tip of the
San Francisco peninsula, around the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay, along the coast and throughout the
Santa Cruz Mountains, beyond Monterey to Point Sur, and throughout the Santa Clara Valley eastward to the
Mount Hamilton Range. Throughout these lands their imprint remains. Huge mounds of ancient village
midden now blend with the gently rolling, oak studded foothill landscape. Traces of fishing camps are found
where salmon and steelhead were netted as they raced up countless streams in staggering numbers each
winter. Outcroppings of bedrock used for grinding the abundant harvest of acorns are now hidden beneath
grasses and brush where extensive groves of tanoak once grew. The people themselves lie in carefully planned
cemeteries beneath today's urban landscape, placed there with reverence and ceremony over the millennia.
The life the people led was very different from that of their descendants today, and seems even more
unfamiliar to the people whose lives and work now order changes upon the ancient landscape. The Ohlone
people, who once numbered 10,000 or more over their entire land and at least 600 in several villages in and
around Santa Cruz, were nearly annihilated under the impact of the expanding European population of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Decimated by non-native diseases, parted from their extended families
during mission residence, often hunted for sport or vengeance, the survivors dispersed to the hinterlands of
their country. Many quietly accepted invisibility under the shield of a borrowed culture, while the elders
became the caretakers of the languages and traditional ways of their people.
What is known of the Ohlone has been extracted from the historical records of their observers and from
information shared by the Ohlone themselves. Hand-bound books of births, deaths, marriages and baptisms
kept by the Spanish era missions provide village place names and kinship records. The diaries and sketches of
botanists, artists, explorers and tradesmen of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries provide
descriptions of native and mission activities. The field notes of nineteenth and twentieth century
ethnographers record remnants of languages and lifeways collected for study in the new American
1
�anthropological and ethnological institutions. Ohlone descendants today share knowledge inherited from their
grandmothers, providing insight to the harmonious interchange of natural, spiritual and human worlds.
Archaeologists have prepared reports from surveys and excavations of prehistoric Ohlone sites and those of
surrounding culture areas. The studies analyze and compare artifactual material, and plot the distribution of
related archaeological sites across the landscape. Their work seeks answers to questions concerning the
migratory origins of the people, the time depths of their village occupations, strategies the people used to
compensate for stresses of overpopulation, and their long term adaptation to climate changes that profoundly
affected their social and economic organization. A history compiled from all these sources is summarized here,
in order that the people of Santa Cruz today might obtain a clearer view of the ancient lifeways that left their
mark in the form of archaeological deposits. These archaeological sites have become our inheritance from a
people whose voices have been for the most part stilled.
Before the Ohlone Came
The earliest Californians are believed to have entered through mountain passes some thirty thousand years
ago. As bands of hunters followed migratory game close to the end of the last ice age, they traversed a now
submerged land bridge connecting the northernmost portion of the Asian and North American continents.
Their route carried them east and south through plains and mountain passages over a period of several
thousand years. Their camps were placed in close proximity to the lakes and marshlands that formed
important habitat for the large game they sought. These early hunters entered California through the Owens
Valley, reaching the southern California coast approximately 20,000 years ago. Coastal archaeological sites left
by the earliest arrivals are believed to lie beyond the present shoreline, where they were inundated as the
great continental ice sheets receded under the warming climate.
Archaeological sites dating from eight to twelve thousand years before the present date (B.P.) have been
found with more frequency, positively dated by carbon-14 and other laboratory methods. The stone and bone
tools and food remains contained in those deposits speak of a people whose survival depended on the ability
to disband and follow migratory large game and waterfowl They processed local seed-bearing plants by
grinding the hard seeds with handstones against a flat stone metate. These ground stone implements and
distinctively shaped spear points and knife blades now identify their campsites. A recently excavated
archaeological site in Scotts Valley produced material with a carbon-14 date of about 10,000 B.P., indicating
that these early hunter/gatherers preceded the better known Ohlone in the Santa Cruz area.
Information from other sources also support an early date for occupancy of the central coast. An Ohlone
spokesman in the San Francisco Bay area has related an ancestral oral tradition describing the course of his
people's settlement of that area. The tribal history recalls a cataclysmic inundation of San Francisco Bay,
separating the Ohlone from their native home among the Miwok of the Sierra Nevada foothills, where they
had planned to return with traded coastal goods. Linguistic analysis of the Ohlone language as it was recorded
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries confirmed the close relationship between the geographically
separated Ohlone and Miwok languages. The language of the neighboring Eselen people below Carmel was
found to be not only unrelated to Ohlone, but far more ancient. Geologists have extracted core samples from
the floor of San Francisco Bay, which have confirmed through analysis of layered deposits that the bay was
once a wide, lush valley watered by flowing streams prior to the formation of the bay about 9000 to 12,000
2
�years ago. These data all suggest the presence of an early hunter/gatherer culture in Santa Cruz County who
were eventually displaced to the outskirts of their territory. They were forced away by the imposed barriers of
geological changes combined with an influx of people from the central valley and Sierra foothills.
Archaeological sites from the following culture period, dated from 8000 to 4000 B.P., are found with even
greater frequency throughout California. These sites were left by people who settled in to specialize in the
processing and use of local plant and animal resources. Typically these sites are large, indicating a cohesive
village structure and establishment of food gathering and trade resource territories where they occur along
the coast, within inland valleys, and in mountain passes.
The ancestors of the Ohlone apparently co-existed alongside the earlier hunters of this area as they adapted
to the use of abundant marine resources along the stabilized shoreline. One continuous complex of sites has
been recorded along a stream just outside the Santa Cruz city limits which appears to date from this period, as
do others in the Pajaro Valley. The locations and contents of the midden deposits indicate that the people
moved from one established camp to another on a seasonal basis, taking advantage of both inland and coastal
products. They traded outside their territory for traditionally used materials this area lacked. Their preference
for campsite locations was repeated by later historic period settlers, who also selected the advantages of
adequate water, warm southern exposures, and relatively flat terrain for their initial settlement ventures.
Because of this selection process, it is probable that many archaeological sites of such antiquity were
obliterated in the process of nineteenth and twentieth century settlement of the city of Santa Cruz. Some of
the prehistoric middens remaining alongside no longer existing marshes and watercourses near downtown
Santa Cruz might be expected to provide evidence of these early marine adapted people.
The period of settling in and adapting to coastal resources was followed by one of tremendous population
increase throughout the state from 4000 to 1500 B.P. The population increase was apparently related to the
rapid diffusion of techniques for processing and storing acorns, which provided a high quality protein in an
easily stored form for a staple food. With the adaptation to efficient use and storage of acorns, permanent
villages were established for wintering over in the areas close to desirable food and trade resources.
The large, more sedentary population required a more complex tribal social organization than was necessary
for the earlier mobile bands, in order to deal with the increasing complexities of food distribution, marriage
alliances, trade and warfare. Some indication of the importance of particular individuals or lineages over other
villagers during this period is evidenced by the increase in decorative and useful grave goods accompanying
certain burials. The accumulation of goods for burial implies individual wealth and status, possible only with
the compliance of the larger group in the dedicated, time-consuming preparation of objects intended for
burial with the deceased. The internal arrangements of some larger cemeteries from this period have also
shown an emerging pattern of status differentiation. In these cemeteries, people of importance or power are
buried with a profusion of exotic grave goods in the cemetery center, while those with fewer grave goods
were placed in concentric circles or groupings outward from center.
People of the West
By 500 A.D., 1500 years before the present, the speakers of the eight Ohlone languages dominated
throughout the Ohlone territory, while speakers of the older Hokan languages had been displaced to the north
and south. The Ohlone rise to dominance and changing social organization may be reflected in the remaining
3
�cemeteries that were partially destroyed in the process of construction of several Santa Cruz commercial and
residential projects in recent years. At least one of the larger Santa Cruz village sites, near the mouth of the
San Lorenzo River, is thought to have been established during this period of complicated political and
economic change.
The period from 500 A.D. to contact with European cultures in the eighteenth century is one for which there
are many records and inferences. During this period, the people who greeted the Spanish land expeditions and
were given the Spanish name "Costaños" (Coast People) by them, became politically organized into the tribal
units recognized and recorded by missionaries and later ethnographers. Early in this period, the people living
in and around Santa Cruz established themselves as a significant link in an intricate chain of exchange that
extended to Sonoma County, Santa Barbara County, and the eastern Sierra Nevada. The trade network
distributed coastal shell to the Sierra Miwok and Mono people, where it was worked into beads used as
markers of wealth and exchange value. Salt and dried abalone were valued by the inland Yokuts people,
whose territory had to be traversed and traders dealt with on journeys to the east. In return, obsidian for tools
and ceremonial objects, pinon nuts and other exotic foods, and highly valued magnesite and cinnabar ore
were brought to the coast villages. The Chumash of Santa Barbara were contacted for steatite (soapstone),
which was carved into bowls and ceremonial pieces. The Pomo of the interior coast ranges of Sonoma County
provided an alternative source for obsidian. The extent of this trade network, stretching as it did across
language boundaries and foreign territories, required a specialized trading language, a well developed clam
shell disc bead economy, and above all critical marriage and kin alliances in strategically located villages along
the trade routes.
The coastal people and their villages were described with interest by the Europeans who came into contact
with them. "A well looking, affable people," recalled a geographer on Vizcaino's 1602 visit to Monterey Bay
"and very ready to part with everything they have. They are also under some form of government..." More
than a century and a half later, Pedro Fages described their good features, light skin, and long moustaches.
"They are very clever at going out to fish in rafts of reeds," he added. A Franciscan priest observed their "...
comely elegance of figure, quite faultless countenance ... (their) hair kept arranged or in a closely woven small
net ... quick-witted, fond of trading, and tractable." They were sketched in skin capes and fiber skirts at their
daily work, sketched on the bay in their tule reed boats, sketched at play in games of skill and chance,
sketched partaking in their "peculiar habit" of daily bathing, and sketched in ceremonial dress of deeply
contrasting body paint, feather headdressings, and abalone shell pendants. What changes their organized
community lives and personal habits underwent as Europeans came to dominate their home places, their
abundant local foods, and their order of family, government and belief. When encountered after 1770 they
were sketched in woolen mission robes as they sat dispirited in small, quiet groups, appearing to their
observers as sullen, disagreeable, dark and filthy.
The native villages visited by early explorers were described as clusters of dome-shaped reed-covered houses
with an assortment of granary structures, work shelters, a large meeting house in the central tribal village, and
the always present temescal or sweathouse for daily bathing. The people were settled in large, organized
villages ranging from 50 to 500 in population, with a number of smaller, seasonally occupied special use sites
in association with the permanent village. In Santa Cruz, the largest village housed about 200 people. Special
use sites in Santa Cruz included quarries and workshops where the local stone tool resource, Monterey
banded chert, was extracted and worked into a variety of knives, arrow points, skin and fiber scrapers, and
drills for manufacturing beads. In the forests, hunting blinds of piled rock were placed near game trails, often
4
�with pecked rock art nearby. Fishing camps were established along the streams, where nets and traps were
constructed and installed. Shellfish processing sites were established above the rocky shores where abalone,
mussels, clams and various tidepool resources were gathered.
Acorn processing was done within or near the groves of oak where well-located outcroppings of bedrock
provided a place for grinding mortars to be formed. The women also made use of portable hopper mortars,
which were shallow ground-stone bowls upon which an open bottom basket was cemented. Landmark shrines
were visited for observing astronomical events and religious ceremonies. A multitude of other activities left
few material traces: specially dedicated meadows where rabbits were driven and captured in the spring by the
entire village populace; hunting trails following ridges and canyons; particular tracts of land saved for the
gathering of special basketry materials; personal shrines and landmarks from which individual powers were
renewed; and ceremonial caves and shelters whose uses were kept secret from prying anthropologists eager
to interview the grown great-grandchildren of the 18th century Ohlone.
The Ohlone Landscape Today
It is difficult to observe the radically changed Santa Cruz landscape today and imagine the abundance of
water, wildlife and plant life that formed the Ohlone landscape. Neary Lagoon was surrounded by campsites
occupied by groups of families while useful plants and migratory waterfowl were gathered. Once captured
with the hunter's trickery of cunningly made decoys and mimicked calls, the birds were used not only for food,
but were transformed into feather capes and blankets, ceremonial costumes, bone whistles and flutes, and
bone basketry awls. The air would be dense with the rising and settling of waterfowl, while the now extinct
tule elk gathered in great herds around the shoreline. Thick stands of tule reed penetrated the lagoon, so
abundant and strong they were gathered and woven into mats for protective house coverings and cushioned
bedding, or were tied into long bundles for the construction of fishing and transport boats that plied Monterey
Bay.
A large village, probably the one called "Aulintak" in mission records and later ethnographies, commanded a
view of the lagoon, the bay, the San Lorenzo River, and several other villages to the north, east, and west from
its vantage point on Beach Hill. This village was fully occupied when Mission Santa Cruz was established
nearby in 1791, one mile upstream on the San Lorenzo River. The type of shell bead found in the
archaeological deposits of Aulintak may indicate that its antiquity reaches back 2000 years. The Westlake area,
with its abundant rushing streams and springs, was the site of an exceptionally large, activity zoned village,
possibly the one called "Chalumu" in later records. The people of Aulintak and Chalumu spoke one of the eight
Ohlone languages called Awaswas, in which they communicated with their neighbors at Hotochtak, believed
to be north of the present city, and at Sokel, Aptos, Sayant, Achistaca and Uypen. The names of today's
villages of Soquel, Aptos and Zayante communicate a far more ancient history than is evidenced by their
landmark wooden buildings dating to a century ago.
The Ohlone beyond Davenport spoke an entirely different language called Ramaytush. It was in Ramaytush
territory that the village of Olxon was located. The name "Ohlone" was taken from this place, which has now
come to be the preferred designation used to refer to all the groups that spoke the eight "Costanoan"
languages. The central valley Yokuts and the Sierra Miwok apparently referred to all the coastal traders as
Ohlone, which has been translated from Miwok as "people of the west".
5
�Beyond the Awaswas speakers below Aptos, the Ohlone spoke another language called Mutsun. The Mutsun
speakers had their own name for the villages of Santa Cruz, calling them Hardeon. The Mutsun were living in a
central village at Kalenta-ruk on the Pajaro River in 1769, when they were given an unexplained, enormous
fright by the appearance of mounted Spanish soldiers of the Portola expedition. The people of Kalenta-ruk left
an extremely large stuffed bird totem at the site of their village when they fled, so impressing the Spanish that
they gave their own name for "bird" to the river at Kalenta-ruk. Below the Mutsun, the Rumsen of Monterey
spoke a dialect much more closely related to Awaswas than to their immediate Mutsun neighbors. This
puzzling bit of information may hint of recently active displacement of the coastal people in the Pajaro
Valley/Elkhorn Slough area.
The people of Aulintak and Chalumu followed a seasonal rhythm as they collected the bounty of their land.
The spring brought tender shoots of edible plants, along with a proliferation of young animals and edible
insects. The summer brought harvests of grasses for basketry and fiber, bulbs, roots, seeds, fruits and berries
from hundreds of edible and useful plants. Deer were hunted with sinew-backed bow and arrow in the tall
grass meadows, where the hunter brought the curious animals into breathtakingly close range by mimicry of
the deer's movements in deerskin decoys worn draped over the hunter's body. Autumn brought the acorn
harvest, which occupied the intense concentration of all the villagers in the gathering, preparation of pits for
leaching and baking, and for the ceremony that accompanied the yearly harvest. Wild geese and ducks were
captured in the lagoons, fish were harpooned or netted in the rivers, lagoons and bay, and sea mammals were
captured on and off shore. Shellfish were a staple as important as the acorn, and were regularly gathered.
Preparations for winter included the burning of great expanses of meadow and forest, to encourage the new
plant growth preferred by the Ohlone and the browsing animals they hunted. Winter rains brought the influx
of salmon and steelhead, and movement from the hills to more favorably located winter villages. Throughout
the winter the women worked on their exquisite basketry, which is now world renown for its beauty and
intricacy of design. Stores of acorns, dried fish and meat, seeds and nuts were tapped through the winter to
supplement the leaner diet. Within the communal houses, elders repeated tribal oral traditions, passing on
the accumulated wisdom of several thousand years of their world history. Ceremony, song, dance and fable
constantly reinforced the people's sense of their part in the rhythm of the universe, weaving them into the
fabric of sun, moon, stars, earth, water, and the earth's other living creatures. That rhythm was irreparably
broken with the onset of European cultural dominance over their lands.
We Share an Inheritance
Today the villages of Aulintak and Chalumu lie beneath the houses, streets, schools and businesses of Santa
Cruz. The descendants of the Ohlone care for their ancestral home in spirit, and more frequently now in anger
when carefully interred remains are wrenched from their graves in the unrelenting face of modern
development. Of the 230 Ohlone archaeological sites recorded in Santa Cruz County by mid-1980, fourteen
were found within the Santa Cruz city limits. These covered the range from large villages to small special use
sites. Of the fourteen recorded sites, five have been destroyed beyond nearly all scientific value, either by
natural erosion or construction throughout the entire site without benefit of archaeological investigation.
Eight have been disturbed in part by construction of houses or roads, or are partially eroded away, but appear
to contain intact portions either beneath surface disturbance or in areas adjacent to modern construction.
Portions of the Delaveaga area contain sites where chert tools were repaired and re-worked, leaving large
6
�amounts of chipping waste in the midden soil. There also exist areas near UCSC that include small multiple use
campsites, areas of Seabright where shellfish were processed for food and ornaments, and areas of Westlake
associated with Chalumu where chert was worked from raw material into useful tools and projectile points. An
area near Pogonip exists where tools were reworked, and where diarists of Portola's expedition described
temescals, the sweathouses used for ritual and daily bathing. Areas around Neary Lagoon still contain portions
of much larger sites where any number of the marsh associated activities would have taken place.
Only one site has been recorded that remains free from modern disturbance, defined as a hunting camp from
its surface debris, where game was apparently butchered and distributed among the hunting party. Other sites
are likely to exist unrecorded, perhaps concealed under silty layers of alluvial wash, perhaps covered by
parking lots or suburban vegetation, or hidden in brushy canyons now made impenetrable by dense chaparral
the Ohlone would have burned away each fall. This fragile, depleted archaeological wealth is our inheritance
from the past. Preserved with care, and excavated with the integrity of explicitly scientific research, the sites
can be expected to provide answers to our remaining questions about the Ohlone and their predecessors.
These answers can arm us with knowledge for facing the future, when we can expect economic fluctuations,
population stresses, and climatic changes to act upon those of us who now live in Santa Cruz. We are the new
"people of the west", stewards of the past with the responsibility and power to preserve what remains for the
future.
Recommended Additional Readings
A summarization such as the preceding cannot begin to describe in any detail the richness and variety of
California Indian culture. The following are readily available sources for those wishing to further their
understanding of the Ohlone and other California Indians. Asterisk (*) indicates exceptional sources. All were
available in 1980, when the Archaeological Resources Protection Amendment was presented to the public.
Ballena Press, Box 1366, Socorro, New Mexico 87801
Publishers of scholarly writings on Calif., Southwest, and Great Basin ethnohistory. List available.
Bean, Lowell J. and Thomas Blackburn, authors
Native Californians: A Theoretical Retrospective. Ramona: Ballena Press. 1971. Collection of papers on
California Indian social organization.
Bean, Lowell John and Thomas F. King, authors*
Antap: California Indian Political and Economic Organization. Ramona: Ballena Press. 1974.
Anthropological descriptions of organizational systems employed by various tribal groups.
Coyote Press*, P.O. Box 3377, Salinas, CA 93912
Publishers of locally written manuscripts dealing with the archaeology and ethnohistory of the central
coast.
7
�Davis, J.T.
Trade Routes and Economic Exchange among the Indians of California. Berkeley: U.C. Archaeological
Survey Reports. 1961. Details the incredible variety of exchange goods and extensive trade system of
prehistoric California.
Deetz, James
Invitation to Archaeology. Garden City: The Natural History Press. 1967. Explanation of the reasons for,
and results of, archaeological methods.
Fages, Pedro*
Expedition of Pedro Fages to the San Francisco Bay, 1770. H. E. Bolton, ed. San Francisco: Academy of
Pacific Coast History. 1911. Translated diary of early land expedition.
Gamman, John K.
The Ohlone Indians-People of the West: Their use of natural resources. Unpublished Senior Thesis at
Special Collections, UCSC McHenry Library. 1973. Study of seasonal food gathering by ecozones.
Gordon, Burton L.*
Monterey Bay Area: Natural History and Cultural Imprints. Pacific Grove: Boxwood Press. 1974.
Evolution of the Monterey Bay area landscape, detailing man's manipulation of natural resources.
More recent revised edition now available.
Heizer, Robert F. *
The Costanoan Indians. Local History Studies, Vol. 18. Cupertino: California History Center, De Anza
College. 1974. Thorough survey of Costanoan/Ohlone culture.
Heizer, Robert F., editor
They Were Only Diggers. Newspaper accounts of persecution against the California Indians in the 19th
century.
Heizer, R.F. and M.A. Whipple *
The California Indians: A Source Book. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
1971. Collection of papers on the material culture and social organization of all California tribes.
Jackson, Robert
An Introduction to the Historical Demography of Santa Cruz Mission and the Villa de Branciforte, 17911846. Unpublished Senior Thesis, Special Collections, UCSC McHenry Library. Includes reconstruction of
population patterns of local Ohlone and effects of missionization.
8
�Kessler, Christina *
Ohlone: Native Americans of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas. Unpublished Honors Senior
Thesis, Special Collections, UCSC McHenry Library. 1974. Carefully researched, well written paper
exploring the lifeways of the Ohlone and European impact on their culture.
Kroeber, A.L.
Handbook of the Indians of California. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. 1925. Classic California
Indians handbook, republished in paperback by Dover, New York, 1976.
Kroeber, Theodora
Ishi in Two Worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1961. Detailed account of lifeways as
explained to anthropologists by last surviving Yahi, 1911-1916.
Levy, Richard
‘The Costanoan’, pp. 485-495 in Handbook of the North American Indians, Vol. 8, California.
Washington: Smithsonian Institution. 1978. Recent survey of Costanoan/Ohlone culture, synthesizing
recent work with emphasis on linguistic origins.
Lewis, Henry T.
Patterns of Indian Burning in California: Ecology and Ethnohistory. Ramona: Ballena Press. 1973.
References for burning as a method of agriculture.
Margolin, Malcolm *
The Ohlone Way. Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Berkeley: Heyday Books. 1978. A
sensitive, beautifully written description of the Ohlone way of life, with excellent bibliography.
Palou, Fray
Francisco Historical Memoirs of New California. H.E. Bolton, ed. Berkeley: University of California Press.
1926. Translated journals of travels in Alta California.
Santa Cruz Archaeological Society *, 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz 95062.
Publishers of SCAN, Santa Cruz Archaeological Notes; present films, speakers, activities related to the
preservation of archaeological sites in Santa Cruz County. Meetings third Thursday monthly, City
Natural History Museum.
Santa Cruz City Museum *, 1305 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz CA 95062.
Natural History museum in Seabright, with excellent display on California Indians and good bookstore.
Santa Maria, Fray Vicente *
The First Spanish Entry into San Francisco Bay. John Galvin, ed. San Francisco: J. Howell, Publisher.
Sensitive portrayal of Bay Area Ohlone before missionization.
9
�Smith, Charles R. *
‘In Harmony with the Earth: Heritage Significance among the Ohlone’, in Archaeological Evaluation of
CA-SCR-158 by J. Bergthold, G.S. Breschini, and T. Haversat. Salinas: Coyote Press, 1980. Examination of
attitudes held by Ohlone and other Native Americans towards the desecration of their sacred sites by
development and archaeologists.
Sources Consulted in the Preparation of this Manuscript
Personal Communications
Baker, Suzanne
Archaeological Consultants, San Francisco, CA. Personal communication regarding recent excavations at CASCR-12, the "Beach Hill" site. July 1980.
Cartier, Robert
Archaeological Resource Management, San Jose, CA. Personal communication regarding recent excavations in
Scotts Valley. July 1980.
Mathes, Eric
Consulting Artist, graphics and illustrations, Santa Cruz, CA. Personal communication regarding appearance of
Ohlone landscape. July, 1980.
Orozco, Patrick
Ohlone Indian Cultural Association, Watsonville, CA. Personal notes and communications, 1975 - 1978;
address to the Santa Cruz Archaeological Society, 1975.
Unpublished Papers and other collected manuscripts in public and private collections
Ball, Francine
"Mortuary Customs and Beliefs of the Costanoan Indians." Unpublished class paper, in possession of
Department of Special Collections, McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1974.
Breschini, Gary S. and Trudy Haversat
"Archaeological Overview of the Central Coast Counties, Draft for Comment," in possession of Regional Office
of the California Archaeological Site Survey, Aptos CA. 1979.
Edwards, Robert L. and MaryEllen [Ryan] Farley
"Assessment of the Cultural Resources of the Lower Pajaro River Basin, California, with selected field study."
Contracted manuscript in possession of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco, CA. 1974.
Gamman, John K.
"The Ohlone Indians - People of the West: Their Use of Natural Resources." Student Paper no. ES 144 N, in
possession of Department of Special Collections, McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1973.
10
�Kessler, Christina
"Ohlone: Native Americans of the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Area." Honors Thesis, in possession of
Department of Special Collections, McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1974.
Kessler, Christina Mary
"People of the West." Student paper, in possession of Department of Special Collections, McHenry Library,
University of California Santa Cruz. 1974.
Koster, George H.
"The San Lorenzo River, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." Thesis, in possession of Department of Special
Collections, McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1975.
Krumbein, William J.
"Natural Bridges State Beach History." Undated typescript in possession of Department of Special Collections,
McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz.
Morris, Joseph and Allan Lonnberg
"Santa Cruz County Prehistoric Settlement Pattern Analysis: A Preliminary Report." Student paper in
possession of Department of Special Collections, McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1975.
Ryan Farley, MaryEllen
"California Indians of the Central Coast." Typescript for slide illustrated lecture program, in possession of Santa
Cruz City Museum. 1973.
Simmons, Terry
"The Status and Future of Archaeology in the Santa Cruz Region." Thesis, in possession of Department of
Special Collections, McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1978.
Spencer, Lois
"The Costanoan Indians: Bibliography." Typescript in possession of Department of Special Collections,
McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1971.
Swift, Carolyn
"A Sampler: Indians of Santa Cruz County." Student paper in possession of Library, Cabrillo College, Aptos CA.
1971.
Various authors and dates
Files and confidential records of the Regional Office of the Californian Archaeological Site Survey, Aptos, CA.
Used in this manuscript:
Santa Cruz County Archaeological Site Records, 3 volumes, including CA-SCR-12, -24, -25, -80, -87, -89, -93, -94,
-106, -114, -116, -142, -187, -189.
Santa Cruz County Archaeological Impact Evaluations: No. E-14, -21, -23, -32, -51, -64, -103, -159, -165, -174, 177, -178, -179, -200, -208, -211, -215, -218, -235, -243, -255, -275, -276, -298, -309, -313, -317, -331, -336, 342.
Weiner, Ann Lucy
"Mechanisms and Trends in the Decline of Costanoan Population." Thesis, in possession of Department of
Special Collections, McHenry Library, University of California Santa Cruz. 1979.
11
�Published Sources
Edwards, Rob
‘5400 Years on the Santa Cruz Coast’, article in Volume 3 Number 3, Santa Cruz Archaeological Notes.
Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Archaeological Society.
Gordon, Burton L.
Monterey Bay Area: Natural History and Cultural Imprints. Pacific Grove: Boxwood Press. 1974.
Heizer, Robert F.
The Costanoan Indians. Local History Studies, Vol. 18. Cupertino: California History Center. 1974.
Heizer, R.F. and M.A. Whipple
The California Indians: A Source Book. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1971.
Kroeber, A.L.
Handbook of the Indians of California. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. 1925.
Levy, Richard
‘The Costanoan’, pp. 485-495 in Handbook of the North American Indians, Vol. 8, California.
Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. 1978.
Margolin, Malcolm
The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Berkeley: Heyday Books. 1978.
Mathes, W. Michael
A Brief History of the Land of Calafia: The Californias 1533 - 1795. San Francisco: the author.
Nemeric, Jan
‘Edible Plants of Santa Cruz used by Aborigines’, article in Loganberry: A Santa Cruz Magazine, second
edition. Santa Cruz: UCSC Environmental Studies Department. 1973.
Smith, Charles R.
In Harmony with the Earth: Heritage Significance among the Ohlone, in Archaeological Evaluation of
CA-SCR-158 by J. Bergthold, G.S. Breschini, T. Haversat. Salinas: Coyote Press. 1980.
Source
Prepared as a narrative accompaniment to the Archaeological Resources Protection Amendment, Historic
Preservation Plan of the City of Santa Cruz. For the City of Santa Cruz Planning Department under provision of
P.O. No. 09894.
12
�MaryEllen Ryan
Historical Investigations
July 28, 1980
© Copyright MaryEllen Ryan. Reproduced with the permission of MaryEllen Ryan and the City of Santa Cruz.
It is the library’s intent to provide accurate information, however, it is not possible for the library to completely
verify the accuracy of all information. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are
incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
13
�
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"A Well Looking, Affable People…": The Ohlone of Aulintak/Santa Cruz
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Native Americans
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Historic Preservation
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Copyright MaryEllen Ryan. Reproduced with the permission of MaryEllen Ryan and the City of Santa Cruz.
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Text
Uncle Dave's Story: The Life of Ex-Slave Dave Boffman
By Phil Reader
For thirty-six years he lived quietly on a small homestead which was located atop a wooded hill at the end of
Branciforte Drive in the Vine Hill district. When he died in 1893 he was a wizened old man bent low with age,
sporting a balding pate and grizzled white beard. In death his looks belied the once hulking ex-slave who had
trod barefoot across the prairie in search of freedom. Tales involving slavery have, by their very nature, an
underlying sense of pathos. No story in Santa Cruz county history is more poignant than that of Dave Boffman.
It is indeed one of those stories which cries out to be told.
He was born at the Baughman plantation in Crab Orchard, near Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky. The exact
date of his birth and the name of his parents remain lost to history having been recorded in one of those slave
inventories which reduces the nativity of a human being to a mere number. "Born on this date, one Nigger
boy." Boffman, himself, estimated the year be about 1820.
His old master was Henry Baughman, a transplanted Virginia aristocrat, who owned one of the largest cotton
plantations in central Kentucky. To work his fields, he owned nearly one hundred slaves, and it is among these
people that young Dave grew into manhood.
In 1837 he was mated to Matilda a sixteen year old fellow resident of slave row. During the next ten years, six
children were born to this union, three boys and three girls. Old master Henry died in 1843 and Dave and his
family were deeded to a grandson, Newton Baughman.
The word that gold had been discovered in California spread quickly across the country, reaching Kentucky
during the summer of 1848. Newt Baughman, who was a restless sort, immediately made plans to move west
with his wife and daughter. In late summer they left Kentucky, taking with them their slave Dave and his
family. Crossing the Mississippi River, they continued on into north-western Missouri and bought a farm at
Lafayette township in Clinton county.
After settling in, Newt Baughman began to prepare for his trip to the gold fields. In order to finance the
journey he sold three of Dave's children to a slave buyer from the south. He then asked Dave to accompany
him to California in return for the opportunity to purchase his freedom once they had reached the mines.
Dave readily accepted, seeing in it the chance to not only buy his freedom, but to reunite his family.
During the month of May, 1851, master and slave set out, planning to follow the Missouri River up to old Fort
Kearny and, there, pick up the California Trail. But this was not meant to be an easy journey.
1
�All of the border states were fraught with slave hunters forever on the lookout for run-away slaves, and most
were not opposed to kidnapping a freedman, or stealing a slave from his master. All of the points of terminus
for the overland trails were closely watched.
As luck would have it, Dave and Newt Baughman were quickly separated and he had to make it to Fort Kearny
on his own. One day as he walked along the river bed, he happened upon a party of slave hunters, who were
running a large pack of blood-hounds. He immediately dove into the swift current, where he knew that the
dogs would not follow, and swam to the opposite shore while a hail of bullets plunked into the water all
around him. He was forced to employ this maneuver on two other occasions to avoid capture before arriving
safely at the fort where he found his master waiting.
After resting a few days they set out across the prairie following the Platte River through Nebraska and
Wyoming toward the Rocky Mountains. This was Indian country and the Cheyennes and Pawnee were on the
prowl. Twice they were attacked and during the second raid Dave, who was not allowed to carry arms, was
taken prisoner.
He was marched with much ceremony into the Indian camp. Because he was the first black man that this tribe
had ever seen, they looked upon him more as a curiosity then a captive. During his time with the Indians, he
was puzzled by the fact that he was constantly being touched and rubbed. Dave soon learned that his capture
was considered to be a good omen and that anyone who touched his black skin would surely have good luck.
His special standing with the tribe proved to be a boon because they did not post a guard on him and he was
able to effect his escape.
Continuing westward alone, he found Baughman again waiting for him at Fort Laramie. There they joined a
large flotilla of wagons and completed the rest of their journey to California in relative comfort and without
further incident. Dave, now in the prime of his life, had walked the whole two thousand miles barefoot.
October, 1851 found the two men busily prospecting near Mokelumne Hill in the northern mines. Their efforts
met with success and Dave was able to unearth enough gold to meet the one thousand dollar price that
Baughman wanted for his freedom. He stayed on at the diggings long enough to accumulate a small stake.
During this time he met a young man named Samuel McAdams, who told him about the opportunities to be
found working in the redwood groves near the coastal community of Santa Cruz. Lumber was selling for 5100
per thousand feet, and if a man was willing to work hard, he could amass a fortune. In early spring the exslave, who now referred to himself as Dave Boffman (spelled phonetically), set out with McAdams for Santa
Cruz. Boffman's goal was to earn enough money in the woods to buy freedom for his wife and children, whom
he had not heard from in well over a year.
Upon arriving at Santa Cruz, he bought a small house on an acre of land in pueblo de Branciforte. He then
went up to Zayante and leased a saw mill from Isaac Graham. Boffman and McAdams spent the rest of the
year milling enough lumber to fill a large schooner which they planned to ship up to the market in San
Francisco. However on the way up the coast, the schooner was caught in a storm and dashed upon the rocks
Pescadero. The cargo was lost and consequence the two men were ruined.
McAdams left the county in despair, but Dave knuckled down and went to work for the Weeks Brothers, who
were putting in their first crop of potatoes along Branciforte Creek. By dint of much hard labor he accumulated
the money to purchase a nice little 45 acre ranch at Rodeo Gulch in February of 1860.
2
�He took on as a partner, a German immigrant named Herman Siegmann. They planted a orchard and sowed a
crop of wheat and oats. Prospects had never looked brighter for Dave and he began to plan for the day when
he could send for his family.
When they had taken possession of the ranch they had found running there a young unbranded colt. In May,
Siegmann, against Boffman's advice, traded the colt to Live Oak stockman Martin Kinsley for a mare and her
foal. Thinking nothing more of the matter they set about the business of ranching.
Several days later, Kinsley appeared at their door in the company of county sheriff John T. Porter. Kinsley
stated that the colt which Seigmann had traded to him belonged to sheriff Porter and that he, Kinsley, was
there to retrieve his mare and foal.
At this point, Porter stepped in and told Boffman and Seigmann that what they had done
was a crime punishable by imprisonment at San Quentin. Boffman protested, saying that
he had nothing to with the trade, so he was innocent. But the sheriff insisted that Dave
and the German were partners and if they didn't immediately pay him two hundred
dollars, he would have them sent to prison. Boffman asked for time to go into Santa Cruz
and talk to a lawyer.
Again Porter threatened them with jail, adding that if they didn't have cash, they could
give him a promissory note for the amount. He then guaranteed them if they paid off the
note he would not say anything about the affair. The sheriff had known Boffman for
John T. Porter
several years, and knew the man's reputation for honesty and fair dealing. Porter also
knew that Dave was of innocent of any wrong doing, yet he continued to force the issue.
Boffman realizing that he was a poor man, who on account of his color could not testify in court on his own
behalf, and knowing full well that Porter, in his role as sheriff, was quite capable of sending him to jail,
acquiesced to the extortion. Porter wrote out the note which Boffman and Seigmann then signed.
On October 9, 1860, local businessman George Otto, also of German extraction, paid Porter the sum of one
hundred dollars to be applied on the note in the name of Herman Seigmann. Both Boffman and Seigmann
hoped that this would satisfy the sheriff, as it was the German alone who had inadvertently wronged him. But
this was not to be, because on January 3, 1861 Porter initiated court proceedings against Boffman for the full
amount.
Being ignorant of the laws and intimidated by Porter's standing in the community, Dave didn't contest the suit
and a judgment of one hundred and eighty-five dollars plus interest was granted in Porter's favor. At the
hearing the sheriff also claimed that Otto had only paid him fifty dollars not one hundred dollars.
Judge McKee, in who's court the case was heard, denounced the way Porter had handled the matter and
publicly regretted that he would have to rule in the sheriff's favor. Kinsley too, later testified as to the illegal
actions taken by Porter.
Boffman was unable to pay the judgment and lost the property when it was sold off at a constable's sale on
March 16, 1861. The ranch was auctioned for eight hundred dollars, much more then the one hundred which
Porter bid. Afterwards he learned that Boffman still possessed some stock -a mare, a colt, two milk cows with
their calves, and a heifer - which he ordered seized and sold to satisfy the judgment.
3
�A demoralized Dave Boffman moved back to town and went to work as a day laborer. He was employed for a
time by Elihu Anthony, a local merchant. Anthony, also a Methodist minister, befriended him and was to keep
an eye on Boffman's interests so that he would never have to undergo another shameful incident like the
Porter affair. It was also Anthony who suggested that he take up a preemption on eighty acres of school land
in section 16 of the Vine Hill area. Boffman filed the necessary papers in 1864 and took up residence at that
time.
The hillside land was so densely covered with brush and chaparral that Dave was forced to crawl on his hands
and knees to find a clear spot. For three weeks no one heard from Dave, so Anthony rode out to the property
were he found Boffman hard at work clearing the land. During the time he had nothing
to eat except for a few wild berries. The preacher took him home, fed him a hot meal,
and drove him back to the homestead with a wagon load of provisions.
In time Dave finished clearing most of the land and built himself a small wooden shack
with a stone fireplace. In later years he planted an orchard and a forty acre vineyard.
This was to be his home for over thirty years.
Little by little he gave up on his dream of being again united with his wife Matilda and
the children. He was to remain desperately poor, earning only enough from his fruit and
Elihu Anthony
vegetables to keep himself alive. He bought an old mare to help him with the plowing
and was never known to ride it. When he went to town for supplies, he would lead the mare, plodding along
barefoot next to it, for Dave Boffman never owned a pair of shoes in his life.
The 1870s were exciting times for him because his nearest neighbors were the Lorenzana's and the
Rodriguez's. The young bandidos from these families trusted him and would sometimes hide out in his cabin.
Faustino Lorenzana stayed there when things got too hot for him around Branciforte. During September of
1871, Tiburcio Vasquez and his gang which included one of the Rodriguez boys were hiding there after they
had robbed the stage coach at Soap Lake near Hollister. On the 13th of the month, Vasquez was camped in a
ravine next to Boffman's house recovering from a bullet wound, when a gunfight broke out between the
desperadoes and a posse led by under sheriff Charlie Lincoln. Dave helped load the dangerously wounded man
into a wagon so that he could make good his escape.
The years slipped away and he became quite well known in the area for his many eccentricities. His hair and
beard turned white with age and his body shrunk and became gnarled by the passage of time. The children in
town came to know him as "Uncle Dave" and he was never without a story for them. His constant companion
was an old dog called "Watch" and he treated the animal with kindness allowing it to sleep on the foot of his
bed.
On one occasion when Dave was bitten by a rattlesnake and the Santa Cruz Sentinel , printed a story reporting
the incident and declared the old man dead. The following day, however, he was seen in his orchard pulling up
weeds with a bandaged hand. The paper was forced to print a retraction, concluding that it was the snake that
was dead not Uncle Dave.
For many years his friend Elihu Anthony had been searching for any member of Dave's family that remained
alive. One day he heard about a granddaughter who was living up in northern California at Colusa county. Her
name was Annie Drisdom and she was the child of Dave's oldest daughter Matilda. Anthony sent her money
for a ticket and was at the depot with Dave to meet her train.
4
�For Dave Boffman it was to be a bittersweet reunion as the girl brought him up to date on the fate of his
family. His wife Matilda, thinking him dead, had remarried and moved to Kansas where she had passed away
several years before. The only one of his children who was yet alive was a son George, then living in Topeka.
George had been a baby of less then one year when Dave had left home in 1851, he therefore had no
memories of his father.
Annie stayed with Boffman for six months taking care of his every need in an attempt to make up for all of the
missing years. But then the day came for her to return to her own life, leaving the old man to the company of
his dog.
On the night of April 19, 1893, Uncle Dave, almost senile and well into the
eighth decade of his life, fell asleep in an arm chair next to a roaring fire that
he had started in his fireplace. As he slept the flames leapt out of the hearth
and caught the wooden floor boards of his cabin on fire. He barely escaped
with his life as the fire all but completely destroyed his shack.
Once again his longtime friend Elihu Anthony came to his rescue taking Dave
into his home and providing for him until it became necessary to commit him
to the state asylum at Agnews. On September 23, 1893, Dave Boffman, the
luckless ex-slave died quietly in his sleep. His remains were brought back to
Santa Cruz and buried in the Anthony family plot at the Odd Fellows
Cemetery where a humble tombstone now marks his final resting place.
Dave Boffman's Grave
Dave Boffman's Grave
The Santa Cruz Sentinel eulogized him as "honest, confiding, simple, industrious, and without a vice",
remembering a day "thirty years earlier when we saw Uncle Dave carrying on his back a heavy plow from a
Santa Cruz blacksmith shop to his farm, a distance of fully eight miles, performing this great task to save the
strain on his old horse."
However it was his faithful dog "Watch" who was to have the final word of praise for Uncle Dave. The animal
escaped from the Anthony place where it was being kept, and found his way back to the Boffman ranch. For
many months afterwards he lay in the burnt out shell of the cabin whining for his master.
Author’s note:
The name of Dave Boffman sits uneasy on the ledger books of Santa Cruz county because there is still a debt
that is owed this meek and mild man, who for so many years could be found among us. This obligation can
best be resolved by simply revealing the truth about his life.
Notes and References on Uncle Dave Boffman
Birth
Wills and Inventories, Lincoln County, Kentucky, 1800-1850.
5
�United States Census
Lincoln County, Kentucky, 1820-1840.
Clinton County, Missouri, 1850.
Santa Cruz County, California, Soquel Township, 1860.
Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz Township, 1870- 1880.
Biography
Santa Cruz Sentinel: September 2, 1885, April 21, 1893.
Santa Cruz Surf: April 21, 1893.
The Riptide: Pioneer Edition, November 5, 1953.
Uncle Dave and the Rattlesnake
Santa Cruz Sentinel: September 22, 1877, September 29, 1877.
The Porter Extortion Affair
Pajaro Times: August 31, 1867.
Santa Cruz Sentinel: February 23, 1861 (Legal Ad re: Constable's Sale), January 2, 1864.
Handbill in the David Jacks Collection, Special Collections, Stanford University.
Source
From: It Is Not My Intention to Be Captured. Copyright 1991 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of
Phil Reader. Photographs courtesy of Phil Reader.
It is the library’s intent to provide accurate information, however, it is not possible for the library to completely
verify the accuracy of all information. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are
incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
6
�
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AR-182
Title
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Uncle Dave's Story: The Life of Ex-Slave Dave Boffman
Subject
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Boffman, Dave
African-American Community
Anthony, Elihu
Porter, John
Black People
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Reader, Phil
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It Is Not My Intention to be Captured. Phil Reader, 1991.
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Santa Cruz Public Libraries
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1991
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Santa Cruz (County)
1890s
1870s
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ARTICLE
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Copyright 1991 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of Phil Reader. Photographs courtesy of Phil Reader.
Biography
Minority Groups
-
https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/9ec1941544d2da6ffb31b291a63dd60f.pdf
43c4123ac32bfdc2929645a1595c2af6
PDF Text
Text
Climbing Golden Mountain
By Geoffrey Dunn
There are but a few Chinese in Santa Cruz,
because our people hate them, dread them, despise them.
-Duncan McPherson, 1882
PART I
It is the summer of 1885 and three young children are peering into a barbershop on Front Street a few steps
from where the Veterans' Memorial Building still stands today. If the children could be stirred to look up, they
would see row upon row of rusty horseshoes nailed to the old wooden structure or the barber's sign, "Sing Lee
and Front Street," tacked above the door. But their attention is not to be swayed from the scene taking place
inside.
Sing Lee, the barber, is carefully unbraiding long strands of silk interwoven with the coarse, black hair of his
customer. He disentangles the hair with a wooden comb, then applies near-boiling water to his customer's
face and forescalp.
With a small triangular razor, he scrapes away the hair until the scalp is almost bleeding. In his left hand he is
holding a wooden tray close to his customer's shoulder so that the hair does not fall to the floor. He shaves
the ears and the skin between the eyes, places the razor on a stool and, finally, re-braids the silk and the hair
from the back of the skull into a foot-long queue, or pigtail.
All of this surely fascinates the diminutive onlookers, but the barbershop provides an even more curious
attraction than the shaving of a Chinaman: Sing Lee has six fingers on his right hand.
The children stare at the small piece of flesh and bone protruding from the barber's right thumb. One of them
giggles, then another. Sing Lee turns and glares back at his young audience through the window of his shop.
What the children see in those brown eyes set in eternity is a matter of speculation. Perhaps they see the rice
fields and ancient temples of the great land to the west from which Sing Lee ventured. Perhaps they see the
torch lights which would come to drive Sing Lee and 300 of his fellow countrymen away from the city of the
Holy Cross.
1
�Or perhaps they see even further into the future--to the parking lots and concrete buildings which would
come to serve as a mausoleum for a time that once was and would never be again.
The children look nervously at one another. It is getting near the noon hour and, without saying a word, they
hurry back to their homes.
The Chinese community in which "Sing Lee and Front Street" conducted business a century ago was the
second of four Santa Cruz Chinatowns. The first was located on what is now Pacific Avenue, between Walnut
and Lincoln Streets, and dates as far back as 1859.
It lasted until the 1870s, when downtown business merchants shifted their center of activity from Front Street
to Pacific Avenue and the Chinese moved to the quieter location on Front Street. In spite of considerable antiChinese sentiment and activity, that Chinatown lasted for nearly two decades, boasting a population of well
over 100 residents, 10 laundries, three herb stores, opium dens and gambling halls.
Then in 1894 the Great Santa Cruz Fire, which destroyed the County Courthouse on Cooper Street and much
of the downtown business district, also claimed the Front Street Chinatown as a victim. Many of the Santa
Cruz Chinese, particularly members of the Gee Kong Tong (or Chinese Free Masons), moved to the Blackburn
Ranch on West Sycamore Street near the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot.
Still other members of the Front Street community (many of whom belonged to the Congregational
Association of Christian Chinese) moved around the corner to Bellevue Place, which ran east to the San
Lorenzo River from where Cooper Street intersects with Front Street. The Chinese set up residence there in a
series of ramshackle homes owned by a prosperous German immigrant, George Birkenseer.
There were numerous other Chinese communities in Santa Cruz County during the late 1800s: a small colony
of Chinese who harvested abalone and seaweed just north of Davenport; another colony of about 30
fishermen just south of Capitola at what is now New Brighton State Beach; small camps of railroad workers
throughout the San Lorenzo Valley; and a large Chinatown in Watsonville.
But Birkenseer's--located approximately where Coast Commercial Bank and the U.A. Theatres now stand--was
the fourth and final Santa Cruz Chinatown. During the 1920s, white residents from as far away as San Jose and
Fresno would flock into Birkenseer's to gamble, womanize, drink white whiskey, and a few, even, to smoke
opium. Locals came to have their clothes washed or to purchase herbs. At least 14 buildings were occupied by
the Chinese there as late as 1928.
"It was a lively place back then," remembered the late Malio Stagnaro, a Santa Cruz native who sold fish to the
Chinese back in the Twenties. "Always lots of gambling, good food. The Chinese treated their patrons well."
By the mid-1930s, however, local authorities began cracking down on the gambling, drugs and bordellos
(which were then owned and operated exclusively by whites in Birkenseer's), so that by the beginning of
World War II, only four dwellings were occupied by the Chinese.
In 1952, all but one of the Chinatown shacks were boarded and vacant. Mrs. Gue She Lee, her second husband
Arnold Sima, and her youngest son, Jun Lee, were the last residents of Chinatown. When the flood of 1955
swept through the city, they, too, were forced to leave and make way for the redevelopment project which
brought Albertson's, Longs and the UA Theaters to Santa Cruz.
2
�The bulldozers did their dirty work and the last remnants of the Santa Cruz Chinatown crumbled. All that
remained were the ghosts.
There are some who believe that the first Chinese to come to the Americas arrived here over a thousand years
ago on sturdy wooden junks capable of trans-Pacific voyages. Anthropologists have noted striking similarities
between symbols used by the Olemec tribes of Mexico and the peoples of Southern China, but so far positive
proof of such cross-cultural interaction has yet to be established. In any event, the first confirmed Chinese
immigrant to California was a cook named Ah Nam, who arrived in Monterey some time before 1815.
Mid-nineteenth century China, much like Ireland on the other side of the earth, was a nation plagued by war,
floods, famine and banditry. The nation had recently been defeated by Great Britain in the Opium War of
1840, leaving the Chinese economy virtually in ruins.
Word that gold had been discovered in California quickly spread through Hong Kong to China's coastal
provinces. Thousands of young men, almost all of them from the Canton region, journeyed across the Pacific,
hoping to bring back enough wealth to alleviate the misery of their impoverished families.
By 1860, over 30,000 Chinese "pioneers," mostly between the ages of 17 and 35, migrated to the land of the
"Golden Mountain."
While they were greeted with curiosity upon their arrival in San Francisco, the Chinese met with considerable
hostility in the goldfields of the Sierra Nevada. They were often run off of their claims, scores were killed, and
the promise of a fast fortune turned to dust.
Many of the Chinese driven from the mines took positions with the Central Pacific Railroad Company.
"Without them," the Central's president, Leland Stanford declared, "it would be impossible to finish the
western portion of this great national highway." It was largely with Chinese labor that the Central Pacific
completed the monumental task of laying track over the rugged Sierras and across the Nevada and Utah
deserts.
Still other unsuccessful miners filtered back to the coast. Many Chinese came to Santa Cruz County, and once
here they also found railroad work. They dug tunnels and laid track from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz for the South
Pacific Coast Railroad, and from Santa Cruz to Watsonville for F.A. Hihn's narrow-gauge rail.
At least 31 Chinese shovel workers were killed in 1878 while digging the mile-long Summit Tunnel in the Santa
Cruz Mountains. When the railroads were finished, most Chinese found work as day laborers, domestic help or
in laundries.
Reports published by the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that there were 156 Chinese living in Santa Cruz County
in 1870, 523 in 1880, and a peak of 785 in 1890 when the county's white population totaled less than 20,000.
The most prominent feature of the Santa Cruz Chinatown was its absence of women. Reports vary, but it can
be reasonably assumed that there were less than two dozen Chinese women living here at any one time prior
to 1920. Santa Cruz was not unique in this aspect. In 1890, for instance, the ratio of Chinese men to women in
California was 22 to 1.
Chinese custom of the nineteenth century dictated that wives were to remain in the home, even when their
husbands went abroad. Many Chinese women during this period still had their feet bound. Those women who
came to California were largely unmarried, widowed, or the wives of wealthy merchants.
3
�The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which restricted the immigration of Chinese laborers, also barred the
entrance of their wives. After 1882 those Chinese men who were already working in California could not call
on their families to join them.
Thus the Chinatowns of the West Coast were "bachelor societies"--societies in which the men were lonely and
sexually frustrated, while the women were outcasts and often abused. The few Chinese women immigrants
who weren't married to merchants frequently found themselves serving as unwilling prostitutes. Many were
brought here exclusively for that purpose.
Although it does not state so specifically, the U.S. Commerce report for Santa Cruz County in 1880 hints at the
existence of seven Chinese prostitutes in the Front Street Chinatown. The report identifies seven "unemployed
women" living with a male "cook" at a single residence. The women were unrelated. That this could have been
anything but a bordello is unlikely.
Given the absence of any family structure, California Chinatowns were organized on large-scale social units.
One such level of organization was the secret society or "tong." These societies developed in China during the
seventeenth century to oppose the Manchu dynasty, and they reproduced themselves on the West Coast.
In Santa Cruz, virtually all of the Chinese prior to 1890 were members of the Gee Kong Tong, or Chinese Free
Masons. They met in a temple called a "joss house" by whites, where they unbraided their queues (marks of
subjection mandated by the Manchus) and repeated oaths to free their native land.
There were temples at each of the four Chinatowns, the last being located on the banks of the San Lorenzo
River near the present-day UA Theatres. It was torn down in 1950.
"The interior of the joss house," according to Ernest Otto, "featured pictures of ancient heroes of China who
had become deified. The shrine was in an alcove at one end of the room. A continuing burning light was
before the shrine. Smoke from burning incense of sandalwood, punks and red candles had, through the years,
so blackened the figures on the sacred pictures, the characters could scarcely be seen."
The leader of the Santa Cruz secret society was Wong Kee, a colorful local merchant who on holidays, Otto
recalled, "Wore a black horsehair skull cap topped with buttons of red silk or coral beads" and robes which
were "in tones of emerald green, Chinese reds, lavender, and navy blue." The local whites referred to him as
"the town mayor."
Wong Kee's store was located in the only brick building in Chinatown. In it could be found copper pots, kettles,
ribbon, firecrackers, rice, oysters, shark fins, sweet bamboo sprouts, okra, teas, hams and dried fish.
The second floor housed a gambling hall, where "fan tan," "pie gow," and Chinese checkers were played. All
business transactions were calculated on an abacus.
Another joss house was located at the California Powder Works on the San Lorenzo River, where Paradise Park
is presently located. Scores of Chinese men (perhaps as many as 100) lived and worked there during the
1870s, when the company had one of the two government contracts to produce smokeless gun powder for
the U.S. Army.
The other major organization in Chinatown was the Congregational Association of Christian Chinese. It was
founded here in 1881 by the Reverend Mahlon Willet. Later, a Chinese cook and merchant named Pon Fang
was sent to Santa Cruz by Willet's missionary group to head the Chinese congregation.
4
�In 1892 Pon Fang established the first "Chinese Christian Endeavor Society" in the United States. Forty
residents of the Santa Cruz Chinatown were members. The society met on Friday nights, Pon Fang teaching his
followers how to read and write English along with the fundamentals of Christianity.
Since he was a merchant, Pon Fang was able to bring his wife and young son, Samuel, to the U.S. His wife
(whose name apparently was never recorded in the press) was the first woman in the Santa Cruz Chinatown to
have bound feet. While living here she gave birth to four more children: Joseph, Ruth, Esther and Daniel.
After the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906, the population of the Santa Cruz Chinatown began to dwindle
and interest waned in the Congregational mission. Pon Fang, like many local Chinese, moved to San Francisco,
taking his family with him.
PART II
Aside from performing tasks as day laborers, many Chinese men worked in the laundry business. In 1880 there
were already 19 Chinese laundries in the county, employing 70 workers full time. Ten were located in
downtown Santa Cruz.
Because most white males felt laundry work beneath their dignity, the Chinese were able to enter the wash
house business with a minimum of resistance. Chinese laundries were labor intensive and required little initial
investment. They rapidly became the foundation of the Chinese economy.
On entering a Chinese laundry, Otto recalled in one of his historical columns,"One saw a long ironing board
against the wall on each side, with six or seven men ironing ... At the side of each was a sauce bowl filled with
water set on top of a starch box. The Chinese, wearing white cotton blouses, would bend over to fill their
mouths with water and then spray it over the clothes to dampen them." Rocks behind the wash houses were
used for beating the clothes.
Chinese gardeners provided the Santa Cruz community with a large supply of its fresh fruits and vegetables. In
1885 the Santa Cruz Surf reported 125 "soil cultivators" in the city earning $20 a month. One large Chinese
garden was located at the Blackburn Ranch near Chestnut and West Sycamore Streets, and another off King
Street above what is now Mission Hill Junior High.
Henry Biekiewicz, a Polish visitor to the West Coast in the 1870s, reported that "the fruits and vegetables,
raspberries, and strawberries under the care of Chinese gardeners grow to a fabulous size. I have seen
strawberries as large as small pears and heads of cabbage four times the size of European heads." Chinese
vegetable peddlers sold their produce from overflowing baskets balanced on shoulder poles.
The first commercial fishing in Monterey Bay was done by the Chinese, although that industry, particularly
after 1880, was centered on the Monterey Peninsula. The Santa Cruz Chinese--like their counterparts in San
Francisco and New York-- developed close ties with the Italian fishing colony. The Italians provided Chinatown
with a variety of fish (petrale sole, gopher cod, octopus and pompano), which the Chinese dried on racks
located near the San Lorenzo River.
When the Chinese weren't working (and perhaps even when they were), they were often under the influence
of opium. The British had imported the habit from India to China in the nineteenth century, and the Chinese
brought it with them to America.
5
�Otto claimed that the drug was smoked by a "high percentage" of the local Chinese population. Nearly every
shop or laundry had a small room or den set aside for opium consumption. The room usually had a selection of
water pipes and a mattress of some sort on which the user could pass out.
One of the biggest opium busts in the history of Santa Cruz Chinatown took place on November 25, 1925.
Wong Tai Yut was arrested that day by the local sheriff with "two large tins" of the drug estimated in value at
$400.
By far the greatest celebration in Chinatown occurred during the Chinese New Year. The Chinese stopped
working for three days and prepared huge, elaborate meals for the festivities. "Dinners were served with the
finest delicacies," Otto recalled, "pork, chicken, bird's nest soup and shark fins."
On February 1, 1915 the local daily reported that "the Chinese New Year was ushered in last night by a
fusillade of firecrackers, feasting and worship. But the New Year is observed less and less each year as the
Chinatown population decreases..."
By then, wounds from an ugly chapter in Santa Cruz history may have been forgotten--but they had surely
taken their toll.
To state that the Chinese were "driven out" of Santa Cruz, as some historians have suggested, is to
oversimplify greatly the complex web of social, political and economic forces which eventually resulted in the
demise of the local Chinese community; but certainly, the whites did attempt to drive them out.
There were three great waves of anti-Chinese sentiment here, the first beginning in the late 1870s, the second
in 1882 and the third commencing in 1885. At the center of all three was Duncan McPherson, editor and
publisher of the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
In 1879 a Sentinel editorial written by McPherson characterized the Chinese as "half-human, half-devil, rateating, rag-wearing, law-ignoring, Christian civilization-hating, opium smoking, labor-degrading, entrail-sucking
Celestials."
McPherson, of course, was not the only racist in the state, and California's anti-Chinese movement did not
begin here in Santa Cruz. As early as 1850 the Chinese were referred to in the press as "rats," "mongrels" and
"low-animals." In the winter of 1867, the first formal anti-Coolie organization drove laborers away from their
jobs on San Francisco's Potrero Hill. A few months later, a Chinese vegetable peddler was stoned to death
there by an angry mob of youths.
The incipient anti-Chinese sentiment spread throughout the West Coast and culminated in 1877 with the
establishment of the Workingmen's Party of California. While its platform contained a number of decidedly
radical proposals designed to redistribute wealth, the Workingmen's Party was first and foremost an antiChinese organization. Its demagogic leader, Denis Kearney, called for the immediate deportation of all Chinese
laborers from the state.
"Are you ready to march down to the wharf and stop the leprous Chinaman from landing?" Kearney once
addressed an angry mob. "The dignity of labor must be sustained even if we have to kill every wretch that
opposes it... The Chinese must go!"
By January of 1878 the Workingmen's Party had become a major political force in California.
6
�Seventy-five miles down the coast, the Workingmen's organization took on a uniquely Santa Cruz flavor. In San
Francisco the organization was made up largely of white workers--men and women who feared their
livelihoods were threatened by cheap Chinese labor. In Santa Cruz, where the Chinese generally didn't
compete with whites for jobs, the Workingmen were composed largely of the landed gentry and businessmen.
The president of the local Workingmen's club was Elihu Anthony, a wealthy industrialist, landowner and
Methodist minister. Its most vociferous sympathizer was McPherson, who not only published the Sentinel but
according to E.H. Harrison's History of Santa Cruz, had "more buildings in this city than any other man."
Suspiciously missing from the Santa Cruz Workingmen's platform were the party's plans for redistributing
wealth, save for occasional attacks on the railroads. An entire section of the platform, however, was devoted
exclusively to the Chinese:
"Chinese cheap labor is a curse to our land, a menace to our liberties and the institutions of our country and
should be restricted and forever abolished; and no citizen shall be eligible for membership into this club who
employs or knowingly patronizes in any form, shape or manner that class of people known as the Chinese."
The first direct action taken by the local Workingmen was aimed at the Chinese laundries. In March 1880 the
club requested that the Santa Cruz City Council remove all Chinese wash houses from within the city limits.
The Council balked at that blatantly racist proposal, but three months later passed a law which had a similar
effect.
On June 5, 1880 the Council adopted the following ordinance: "No person shall carry baskets or bags attached
to poles carried upon back or shoulders on public sidewalks." Chinese deliverers were forced from the safety
of the sidewalks into the roadway, but the industry survived the restrictive legislation. The ordinance was later
declared unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, the United States Congress in Washington was beginning to express concern with the growing
anti-Chinese activities, sending a commission to the West Coast with orders to investigate the situation. In
1882 legislation was introduced in the Senate which would restrict Chinese immigration for 20 years.
Both houses of Congress passed the bill, but President Chester Arthur vetoed it on April 4 of the same year.
Santa Cruzans were irate with the President's decision. Three years earlier, County residents had voted 2540
to 4 in favor of restricting Chinese immigration, and they were determined to keep further Chinese from
entering their community.
Arthur's veto spurred a spontaneous parade in downtown Santa Cruz. Fanned by the rhetoric of McPherson,
who declared, "The Chinese are a scab on the face of our state," local residents burned Arthur's effigy at the
lower downtown plaza.
Later that year, Arthur signed a slightly modified version of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was amended in
1884, extended indefinitely in 1902, and wasn't repealed until 1943. For over 50 years, Chinese laborers and
their wives were barred from entering this country.
The final great wave of the local anti-Chinese movement had its beginnings in February 1885 and culminated a
year later. By then local Sino-racism was stripped of its Workingmen's facade. The state "Non-Partisan AntiChinese Association" had active clubs in Watsonville, Aptos, Boulder Creek and Felton. In downtown Santa
Cruz, Anthony and McPherson remained at the forefront of the movement.
7
�Once again Chinese laundries provided the initial focus for their attack. A health ordinance regulating sewage
disposal was aimed directly at Chinese wash houses. Soon after the local association called for a boycott of all
Chinese merchants (including vegetable peddlers) and even white-owned businesses which employed
Chinese.
McPherson and his associates didn't stop there. Perhaps motivated by economic self-interest, the Sentinel
publisher called for an extension of the boycott to include his competition, the Santa Cruz Surf, whose fiery
editor, A.A. Taylor, had opposed the original boycott on the grounds that it divided the white community.
A vitriolic debate ensued between the two men. Finally, on December 14, 1885, Taylor played his trump card.
"The poor man who buys a beet from a Chinaman's basket ought to be boycotted," the Surf editorial argued, "
[but] the man who sells or rents to a Chinaman is a reformer and ought to be made governor."
In one of the great ironies of local history, it turned out that McPherson himself was the landlord of a Chinese
laundry and that he had been collecting rent from the "entrail-sucking Celestials" for quite some time. "I have
made a living out of the paper," McPherson once boasted, "and money out of real estate."
Taylor eventually won a lawsuit from the Sentinel and the paper's business manager was later cited by the
state Anti-Coolie League "for failure to act in good faith."
The Sentinel-Surf battle, however, did little to curb local Sinophobia. On February 27 of the following year, the
Anti-Chinese Association staged a county-wide torchlight parade down Pacific Avenue. Hundreds of
association members participated in the march, carrying banners and shouting, "The Chinese must go!"
But the Chinese stayed. In what is surely a tribute to the internal solidity of their Front Street community, the
Santa Cruz Chinese withstood the decade-long effort to drive them out. A major fire in 1887 and the Great Fire
of 1894 finally forced them to move their community, but they did so largely on their own terms--and they
didn't move far.
It would be all too easy to attribute the anti-Chinese sentiment which infested this area to the economic
depression which struck California in the late 1870s and lasted for most of the following decade.
Unemployment rates in San Francisco, for instance, skyrocketed during this period, a factor which certainly
contributed to the bitterness of the white working class.
Such was not the case in Santa Cruz. There was some unemployment here, to be sure, but the whites were not
competing with the Chinese for work. Rather, it seems more likely that the white business community feared
the competition of successful Chinese merchants and attempted to drive them from the marketplace. Oldfashioned racism served as the axle of their movement, and the well-publicized bigotry of Duncan McPherson
and his ilk greased it for over a decade.
While the boycotts and torchlight parades failed in their short-term objectives, they had long-term
implications which eventually resulted in the demise of the Santa Cruz community. The restrictive legislation
which outlawed the immigration of Chinese laborers and women cut the lifeline of the local Chinatown.
Business regulations prevented the Chinese from entering the economic mainstream. Without new blood or
the opportunity for social mobility, the Chinese community atrophied. Only a handful of Chinatowns on the
West Coast survived the subsequent economic and social decay.
8
�In the 1980s, the Evergreen Cemetery which overlooks Harvey West Park is a quiet, serene setting, save for a
few hikers and stray dogs who wander through its pathways. High up one of its southeastern slopes there is a
sprawling bay tree and a cubic structure which looks something like a small incinerator.
Beneath the shadow of the sprawling bay are headstones with Chinese characters on them, another which
reads "Chinese Burial Ground, January 1, 1901," and still another reading "Lee Song, 1851-1929." It was on this
small plot of soil that most of the Santa Cruz Chinese were buried.
"Chinese funerals were elaborate affairs," according to Renie Leaman, a longtime friend of the cemetery.
"Most of Chinatown turned out for the gatherings." When a member of the Santa Cruz community passed
away, a seer or astrologer was consulted to discern the proper day to conduct the burial. Sometimes the wait
lasted as long as two weeks.
A pair of horse-drawn wagons led the funeral processions, one carrying the casket, the other carrying wooden
baskets loaded with oranges, apples, chickens, roast pig, firecrackers and all the possessions of the deceased.
Behind the carriages, men swirled paper streamers to scare away the devil. There were thousands of holes in
the streamers, and the Chinese believed that the devil had to pass through each one in order to get to the
dead person's soul. Occasionally, a member of the procession stomped on the streamer, hoping that the devil
had become entangled in the holes. Firecrackers were also exploded to ward off evil spirits.
At the graveyard the casket and baskets were hauled up the hill. Chinese music and the smell of burning herbs
filled the air. The deceased's possessions were set on fire in the holy oven, while the baskets of food were
situated around the grave and some coins were placed in a plate so that the deceased would not go into the
next life without wealth. But their bodies did not remain in Evergreen.
Many of the Chinese who came to Santa Cruz in the 1800s did not intend to stay here. Certainly, they did not
intend to die here. After a body had been entombed for a decade, it was dug up by family members or friends,
packaged, and sent back to China.
"This is a cherished burial custom," the Sentinel noted in an article dated November 4, 1925. "The Chinese
believe that their bones should have as a final resting place the soil of their flowery kingdom, and no matter
where they die, the bones are unearthed and sent to the burial ground of the villages of their birth." Eighteen
bodies had been disinterred earlier that afternoon.
Scorned and oppressed in America, the Santa Cruz Chinese made sure that their spirits would not meet the
same fate. The land of the Golden Mountain may have taken their sweat and blood, may have turned their
dreams into dust and their culture into a laughing stock, but it would never claim their souls.
Source
This article is a chapter from Santa Cruz is in the Heart, by Geoffrey Dunn. Capitola Book Company. Copyright
1983 Geoffrey Dunn. Reproduced with the permission of the author.
9
�It is the library’s intent to provide accurate information, however, it is not possible for the library to completely
verify the accuracy of all information. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are
incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
10
�
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Climbing Golden Mountain
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Chinese American Community
Chinatowns
Chinese American Community-Prejudice Against
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Dunn, Geoffrey
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Santa Cruz is in the Heart, by Geoffrey Dunn. Capitola Book Company, 1983.
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Santa Cruz Public Libraries
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1983
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Santa Cruz (County)
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ARTICLE
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Copyright 1983 Geoffrey Dunn. Reproduced with the permission of the author.
Minority Groups
-
https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/1612eddc50044cc672a5c7c756332b60.pdf
11488242990041e10d6e0778ba32fc79
PDF Text
Text
To Know My Name: A Chronological History of African
Americans in Santa Cruz County
By Phil Reader
In Memoriam for Helen Weston
From her friends, The Phil Reader family
PREFACE
Sailors of African ancestry were crew members aboard most of the vessels which explored the coast of
California during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Negro trappers and adventurers like Allen Light and Jim Beckwourth, tramped about Santa Cruz county
decades before any white Americans found their way to the area.
Oscar T. Jackson a young African American from Watsonville traveled around the world with all of the leading
Black Minstrel troupes. During the 1880s, he performed before the royal courts of Europe.
London Nelson, [a.k.a Louden Nelson] an ex-slave from Tennessee, left his entire estate "to the children of
Santa Cruz" and this generous bequest made it possible to reopen the local schools after they had been
allowed to close.
Ida B. Wells one of the founders of the NAACP, and a leading figure in Black history, could be found with her
family on the streets of Santa Cruz during the early 1890s.
Daniel Rodgers a Negro 49er from Arkansas, won his own freedom from an unscrupulous master and led a
wagon train of ex-slaves to Watsonville where they established a large, vigorous Black community.
Irva Bowen became the first African American to be elected to office when she won a seat on the Board of
Trustees for the Santa Cruz City Schools in 1978.
INTRODUCTION
Americans of African lineage are a people whose historical legacy is of one bondage. Men and women stolen
from their homes, stripped of their human rights, enslaved, embruted and subjected to every imaginable form
of exploitation. Yet under these most undesirable of circumstances, they have not only persevered, but
expanded as a social, economic and cultural group.
1
�At the very same time, however, assimilation into the "mainstream" of American life has been slow and
fraught with difficulty--that is even if assimilation is a desirable goal in the first place. For this, the reasons are
many and varied, and would require a voluminous amount of space to elucidate upon. But for the purposes of
this study, suffice it to say quite simply that all to often, African Americans have found themselves the subject
of racial and economic prejudice.
Throughout the two hundred year history of Santa Cruz County, however, African Americans are, without
question, the invisible minority. Until recently their numbers were always comparatively small, and this, in a
strange way, may very well have been a boon. Racism has always been a basic component in the socioeconomic makeup of this community, but it has been the more visible minorities which have born the brunt of
this mindless prejudice.
Even a cursory examination of local history will reveal the reoccurring cycle of "scapegoatism" which has long
plagued the non-white citizens of the region. It began at the very advent of colonization during the 18th
century, when the Spanish moved into the area establishing Missions and Pueblos for the duel purposes of
economic gain and religious conversion.
They found living here, a migratory stone age people whom they immediately subjugated, forced them into a
settled way of life and replaced their natural religion with Christianity. The padres looked upon these "Indians"
as simple-minded children; controlling every aspect of their lives. In time, the ravages of European diseases,
such as Small Pox and Syphilis, drastically reduced their number and those few that did survive, were forced
into positions of servitude upon the cattle ranchos which dotted the area during the first half of the l9th
century.
Next, it was the Spanish-speaking native born "Californios", who were to find themselves subjected to the
intolerance and bigotry which so often is unleashed upon a conquered people. Following the American take
over of California in 1848, there occurred a twenty-five year period of intense Hispanophobia during which the
vast majority of the land found its way into the hands of the aggressive Yankees -- most in a dubious manner.
It was a time marked by countless incidents of mob violence taking the form of beatings, murders and
lynchings.
On the heels of this came a highly organized attempt to rid the region of Chinese. The slogan of the day was
"The Chinese Must Go." and it can be found splashed across the pages of area newspapers during the l870s
and 1880s. A wave of anti-Oriental hysteria swept the state and gave rise to the Workingman's Party and the
ratification of a new state constitution denying suffrage to any native of China. Riots in the Chinatown districts
of most towns became common place and, in 1879, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Throughout the remainder of the century one minority group after another became the subject of this cycle of
racism. These periods of oppression normally coincided with fluctuations in the economic scale. The anger and
frustration at a system which brought about "hard times" were, all together too often, taken out on an
innocent scapegoat, usually one of a different color or creed.
At the turn of the 20th Century and World War I, following wave after wave of European immigration, intense
feelings of anti-foreignism and tendency towards isolation surfaced in America. The Great War, and the
patriotic zeal which accompanied it, created the need for a new set of scapegoats and they were found in
these newcomers with their strange languages, customs and ideas. Anyone espousing a so called "antiAmerican" ideology was suspect i.e. Trade Unionist, Socialist, or Anarchists.
2
�However, racism in California hit it's peak at the beginning of World War II, when hundreds of thousands of
west coast Japanese were disposed of their homes and personal property, and sent to Internment Camps in
isolated areas. Even today, the repression continues with a new wave of anti-Latino feelings as expressed in
the passage of the controversial Proposition 187 in 1994.
Throughout every one of these epochs of our local history, there was an African American presence in Santa
Cruz County, but because of their small number, they were spared the intensity of the racial hatred
experienced by other minority groups; no beatings, lynchings, or forced relocations. But this is not to say that
the settlement of black pioneers in the Monterey Bay region was not without incident.
During the 19th century, the Watsonville school system was segregated for a long period of time and between
the World Wars, Negro tourists were barred from hotels and auto camps in Santa Cruz. When the 54th Coast
Artillery Company was stationed at Lighthouse field in 1942, numerous local businesses refused to serve the
members of this all colored unit. In the decades following the Second World War, many of the new African
American families moving into the area found housing difficult to obtain and on several occasions, white
residents attempted to block the integration of their neighborhoods, sometimes resorting to arson. The only
employment available to colored workers were in low paying service industries, including that of a barber,
shoe shiner, or general laborer. So even here in Santa Cruz County, with it's reputation for tolerance, the path
of progress for citizens of African descent has not always been smooth.
Viewed as a whole, however, there is a singular thread of success and accomplishment which runs through the
history of various African American communities which have existed in our region.
During the final decades of the 19th century, sizable Negro settlements could be found in the Watsonville and
Hollister areas. Both were vibrant and long lasting communities, which contributed much to the general
populace. In some areas the race was represented by lone individuals, or single families.
There were Black sailors serving aboard the vessels that prowled the Pacific Ocean on voyages of discovery.
Trappers and explorers like Allen Light and Jim Beckwourth were solitary men, who usually shunned the
company of other men and saw the country while most of it was still quite new and unnamed.
But it was the gold rush of 1849, that great wave of western migration, that brought a generation of African
American pioneers to California. They came from both the North and the South, and were both free men and
slaves. Many of them brought their families and, unlike their white counterpart, a surprising number of
unattached females could be found in the groups. One noble lady, Miss Julia Cole, of the Gilmore Colony, was
104 years of age when she made the journey across the plains.
Once these intrepid pioneers established themselves in the Monterey Bay area, they went on to leave their
mark on local history. Much has been said and written about London Nelson, the Carolina born ex-slave, who,
through a generous bequeath, saved the floundering Santa Cruz School District. In Watsonville, Jim Brodis, a
runaway slave, has made the history books and even had a street named in his honor.
Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck drew upon members of the local Black community as inspiration
for characters in several of his major works. Crooks, the Black hired man in Of Mice And Men is patterned
after Ishmael Williams, a club-footed teamster from the San Benito Valley. Steinbeck fondly remembered the
Strother Cooper family as part of a section on civil rights activists in one of his later works, Travels With
Charley.
3
�But beyond these few examples, the history of local African Americans has remained relatively unexplored.
Virtually unmentioned in the annals of the Monterey Bay area is the fact that Ida B. Wells, one of the major
figures in U.S. Black history, spent a large amount of time in Santa Cruz visiting with her family at their home
on River Street during the 1890s. Also unheralded is the story of the first three Black graduates from local
schools, all of whom went on to become the editors of large circulation newspapers.
This long hidden history is laced with stories of bravery and courage under the most adverse circumstances.
Life under frontier conditions in early day California was difficult enough even for the relatively well-educated
whites from the Northern and New England states. But add to this the double burden of slavery and
discrimination and it is easy to see the outstanding quality of men and women who made up the pioneer
African American communities along Monterey Bay.
What follows is an abbreviated chronological outline of the major events and people in this fascinating history.
It is intended merely as a guideline for further research and story development, and like all history, it is
ongoing. But, at the very least, it can be a starting place which will no doubt lead the diligent researcher to
more interesting vistas and horizons.
CHRONOLOGY 1542-1860
CALIFORNIA COAST 1542
When Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first sighted the coast of California, there were
crewmen of African ancestry aboard his vessel.
THE PACIFIC RIM 1565+
The Manila Galleons, Spanish trading ships making yearly commercial voyages to the east Asia region,
also had a compliment of Negro sailors.
MONTEREY BAY 1602
On December 16, 1602, Sebastian Vizcaino, a Spanish merchant-adventurer, sailed into Monterey Bay
on a voyage of discovery. One able-bodied seaman, who was among those to make first landfall, was
said to have been of African ancestry.
MONTEREY BAY 1770
"The Sacred Expeditions" under Padre Junipero Serra arrived
aboard the San Antonio to establish a mission. Two members of
the crew were Alexo Nuno and Ignacio Ramirez, both former
slaves of African descent.
Grave of Alexo Nuno in Monterey
4
�MONTEREY BAY 1770
The Presidio of Monterey was founded and became the governmental center of Alta California, the
northernmost province of New Spain.
UNITED STATES 1776
The thirteen colonies in British North America declared themselves to be a sovereign nation free from
the rule of the monarchy.
SANTA CRUZ 1791
The Santa Cruz Mission was founded on August 28 1791 by Father Fermin Lasuen.
SANTA CRUZ 1797
The Pueblo de Branciforte was established on the bluffs above the east bank of the San Lorenzo River.
MONTEREY BAY 1818
Hippolyte de Bouchard, a French privateer, flying the flag of Argentine, sailed up the coast and sacked
Monterey, the capital city of Alta California. Many of those aboard his two vessels were Africans.
MEXICO 1822
The Mexican nation was created when the area known as New Spain declared its independence from
the Spanish Empire. Alta California remained a province, with Monterey as its capital.
SANTA CRUZ 1835
Allen Light, a free black and native of Virginia, who was a crew member of the Pilgrim, (the ship which
carried Richard Henry Dana), jumped ship at Santa Barbara and became a famous otter hunter. Known
as "Black Steward", he explored the California coast, including Monterey Bay, where he probed the
Pajaro, Soquel and San Lorenzo rivers in quest of pelts. He was the first African American to set foot in
the land which one day would be Santa Cruz County.
CALIFORNIA 1843
Joseph McAfee, a former slave from Kentucky and Missouri, came west to California in the wake of
John C. Fremont's expedition, settling first in Solano County. In 1846, he joined the Bear Flag Party
when they marched on General Mariano Vallejo at Sonoma. This event began the struggle which ended
with the conquest of California by the Americans in 1848.
CALIFORNIA 1845
Pio Pico, a Mexican political leader of African ancestry, became governor of Alta California.
SANTA CRUZ 1848
Jim Beckwourth, free born native of Virginia, led a life of unparalleled adventure as a mountain man,
trapper, Indian chief, Indian fighter, scout, businessman and horse thief. In 1848, he led a party west to
California via the Santa Fe Trail. For a time, Beckwourth carried the express mail between Nipomo and
Monterey. While on the central coast, Beckwourth took time to explore the Santa Cruz region.
5
�CALIFORNIA 1848
With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, marking the end of the Mexican American War,
Mexico ceded the lands of California to the United States. A few scant weeks later gold was discovered
at Sutter's mill.
SANTA CRUZ 1848
The town of Santa Cruz came into being as a American settlement on the west bank of the San Lorenzo
River.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1849
Daniel Rodgers arrived at the Pajaro Valley with his master from Arkansas on their way to the gold
fields. They worked on the Amesti ranch and cut redwoods in the mountains above Soquel before
continuing on to the mines. By 1852, they were back in Arkansas where Rodgers earned his freedom
and prepared to lead a wagon train of his neighbors out west to the Pajaro Valley.
CALIFORNIA 1849-1853
Countless numbers of African Americans, both free and slave, traveled to California in quest of gold.
Many would later settle in Santa Cruz County. They include, among others, Robert Francis, Joseph
Smallwood, George Chester, London Nelson [a.k.a Louden Nelson], James Brodis, Dave Boffman and
Jim Nelson.
CALIFORNIA 1850
California was admitted to the union as a free state although the Fugitive Slave Law was enforced
during the first few years of statehood. A legislature dominated by southerners refused African
Americans the right of testimony, equal educational opportunity, etc.
CALIFORNIA 1850
The 1850 U. S. Census revealed no identifiable African Americans living in Santa Cruz County.
WATSONVILLE 1851
Jim Brodis ran away from his master while mining on the Yuba River. He escaped to the Pajaro Valley
where he worked for J. Bryant Hill and William F. White. Vowing never to return to his native Kentucky,
he hid out until after Emancipation. Jim later purchased a farm on the Santa Cruz road near the Pioneer
cemetery. There is a street in the area named in his honor.
WATSONVILLE 1851
James Watson, for whom Watsonville is named and the first county judge, arrived at the Pajaro Valley
with " his slave Jim". Although legend has it that Jim earned his freedom in the mines, what became of
him is unknown.
6
�MONTEREY BAY 1852
A band of outlaws, led by a renegade black man-- probably a runaway slave- prowled about the
Monterey Bay region, running off hundreds of head of horses and cattle. After they massacred more
than a dozen people at the San Luis Gonzaga ranch, the gang was chased south by a vigilance
committee.
CALIFORNIA 1852
The 1852 California Census showed no African Americans living in Santa Cruz County.
WATSONVILLE 1852
The town of Watsonville came into being as a settlement at the ford of the Pajaro River.
SANTA CRUZ 1852
Dave Boffman, after earning his freedom in the mines, moved to the Santa Cruz mountains where he
rented a sawmill. He later owned farms in Rodeo Gulch and on Vine Hill. He was the first Black to buy
land in Santa Cruz County.
CALIFORNIA 1852
The Franchise League was organized in San Francisco for the express purpose of gaining the right of
testimony for Negro citizens.
WATSONVILLE 1853
Robert Johnson and his family settled in Watsonville, being the first of Daniel Rodgers' Arkansas River
Valley group to arrive. Johnson bought a large section of land in the East Lake district with the help of
pioneers such as Sanborn, Alexander, Cooper, Martinelli and other like-minded liberal whites.
MONTEREY 1854
The James Anthony family, a Black family who operated a inn and ferry service on the Salinas River,
were massacred by a band of desperadoes.
CALIFORNIA 1855-1857
A series of Colored Citizens Conventions were held at San Francisco and Sacramento aimed at securing
citizenship enfranchisement for African Americans. Santa Cruz was represented by William H. Mills and
later, Philip Bell. Joseph Smallwood, who represented El Dorado county at the meetings, moved to
Santa Cruz in 1868.
SANTA CRUZ 1856
London Nelson [a.k.a Louden Nelson], born in North Carolina, relocated to Santa Cruz after gaining his
freedom in the mines. He earned a meager living doing odd jobs while growing fruit and vegetables on
his home site on Water Street.
7
�CORRALITOS 1856
Lewis Bardin, a slave of the James Bardin family, was brought to California where he worked as a
servant in the Bardin household at Salinas. After ducking out on his old master, he farmed a few acres
in the Corralitos district.
CALIFORNIA 1856
As an offshoot of the Colored Citizens Convention, The San Francisco Mirror of the Times, the first
Black newspaper on the west coast, began publication.
SANTA CRUZ 1857
George Chester, native of Philadelphia, located in Santa Cruz for a short time before moving on to San
Jose where he farmed a tract of land near Gilroy. In 1862, he returned to Santa Cruz and opened up a
series of small businesses.
WATSONVILLE 1857
John Derrick, a recently freed slave, and another of the Arkansas River Valley group, arrived at
Watsonville to join Robert Johnson. He took Up farming and awaited the arrival of Daniel Rodgers. He
would later marry one of Rodgers' daughters and raise a large, very successful family.
SAN JUAN 1858
Ishmael Williams, a club-footed ex-slave from Georgia arrived in eastern Monterey county, later San
Benito county. He established himself at San Juan where he entered into business. The 1860 census
appraised his real and personal property at over $10,000. However, as the result of a bad marriage, he
lost his capital and found work as a teamster at the New Idria Quicksilver Mines, hauling the Cinnabar
to Alviso. He became well known through out the area.
WATSONVILLE 1858
A few black children were allowed seats in the primary school by the teacher Dr. William Miller. But
after a number of white parents complained, the children had to be removed and were taught in
private homes.
CALIFORNIA 1858
The Archy Lee fugitive slave case draws much needed attention to the problem of runaway slaves. It
also sparks another round of Black activism. As a result, Lee was given his freedom and the Fugitive
Slave law was no longer enforced in California.
WATSONVILLE 1859
Richard Campbell, an ex-slave from Alabama, who had come west to California in '49, settled in the
Pajaro Valley. For 33 years, he was employed as the janitor for the Bank of Watsonville.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1860
The 1860 U. S. Census revealed that there were 32 African Americans living in Santa Cruz County.
8
�SANTA CRUZ 1860
Black jockeys and trainers began to appear at the horse racing track located near what is now
Lighthouse Point.
WATSONVILLE 1860
Daniel Rodgers arrived at the Pajaro Valley after a year-long ox cart journey across the plains. He
bought with him his family and the news that a large number of other families would be following him
from Arkansas. He quickly assumed the leadership of a flourishing African American community in
Watsonville.
SANTA CRUZ 1860
London Nelson [a.k.a Louden Nelson] died after a long illness. In his Will, he left his entire estate to the
school children of Santa Cruz to be used for the enhancement of their education. His gift made it
possible for the public school to reopen after white citizens had allowed it to close.
SANTA CRUZ 1860
Ex-slave Dave Boffman, called "Uncle Dave", was bilked out of his land and possessions by then Sheriff
John R. Porter. Uncle Dave lost the suit because Negroes were not allowed to testify in court.
CHRONOLOGY 1861-1899
FELTON 1861
A Black miner named Robins, living in Gold Gulch, was shot in the head during a quarrel over mining
rights. John Lewis, another colored man, was arrested on a charge of Assault with Intent to Commit
Murder. He was tried and acquitted when the jury could not agree.
WATSONVILLE 1861
The local Black community hired Mrs. L. C. Clark to teach African
American children at her home in Watsonville. Dan Rodgers and his sonsin-law Robert Johnson and John Derrick began what is to become a 20
year struggle to break the color line in Watsonville Schools.
UNITED STATES 1861
The American Civil War broke out after secession and the attack on Fort
Dan Rodgers
Sumner. Slavery was to become a flash point of the conflict. Locally, the
residents in the cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz generally supported the Union, while any of those
in the outlying areas, farmers from the southern states and many Irish settlers, took the side of the
Confederacy. The county sent several military units to fight for the north, while there was a limited
amount of activity in the region by Confederate Irregulars.
9
�CALIFORNIA 1862
A second Black weekly newspaper The Pacific Appeal, was founded in San
Francisco by Philip Bell and Peter Anderson.
CALIFORNIA 1862
After much agitation, African Americans were finally granted the right of
testimony.
Philip Bell
SANTA CRUZ 1862
Joe McAfee, the old "Bear Flagger," moved to Santa Cruz where he opened a bootblack stand on Pacific
Avenue. He became an orator for the local Republican Party.
UNITED STATES 1862
In December, President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation.
SANTA CRUZ 1863
The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1st. The long nightmare of slavery was
over. There was much celebration locally among both Blacks and whites.
SANTA CRUZ 1863
Samuel Padmore, an old miner and swamper at several saloons on Front Street, died in his sleep. He
was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery.
UNITED STATES 1865
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General U. S. Grant at Appomattox and the Civil
War ended.
UNITED STATES 1865
The 13th Amendment, formally banning slavery, was passed by Congress.
UNITED STATES 1865
The Ku Klux Klan was founded in Tennessee. While there was some Klan violence in California,
including a church bombing in nearby San Jose, there is no evidence of the "old Klan" ever being in
Santa Cruz county.
CALIFORNIA 1865
Another state convention of colored citizens was held at Sacramento and established standing
committees on education and voting rights. Philip Bell represented Santa Cruz county while Joe
Smallwood attended as a delegate from San Francisco.
10
�CALIFORNIA 1865
Philip Bell, after having a falling out with Peter Anderson, left the Appeal and began to publish The
Elevator. There were then two Black newspapers serving California's African American population.
WATSONVILLE 1865-1870
A large number of newly freed slaves arrived at Watsonville to expand the sizable African American
community already residing there. Many of them were from Arkansas and Tennessee, part of Daniel
Rodgers' contingent. They include William Morris, Emily Smith, Amanda Rodgers Logan together with
her three young sons, Albert, Alfred and Oscar, James Calvin Williams, a blacksmith, and Jane Riley.
WATSONVILLE 1865
Jefferson Rodgers, a newly freed slave, traveled to Watsonville from Tennessee via the horn in the
company of his ex-masters James and George Rodgers. Jeff and his ancestors, back to his great
grandfather, had been servants in the Rodgers household for over 150 years. He took up a farm of his
own and became a much respected farmer in the Pajaro Valley.
WATSONVILLE 1866
A separate "Negro" school was established for African American children on East Lake Avenue. The
land on which it was built was donated by Robert Johnson with the proviso that it be used "as a school
house to which all children shall be admitted irrespective of color for the purpose of education." The
concept of a segregated school was, naturally enough, never a popular idea with the local black
community. During the years of its existence (1866-1879), it had eight teachers; Miss M. J. Moltroupe,
Miss A. Allison, Lois Poole, Mary Bell, the highly popular Miss Josephine Knowlton, Mrs. Kieth, Mary
Hushbeck, and Fannie Gallagher.
UNITED STATES 1866
The first Civil Rights Bill was passed through congress over President Andrew Johnson's veto. The act
conferred citizenship enfranchisement to citizens "of every race and color." Once again celebrations
were held all across the county. The 14th Amendment is also pushed through congress by radical
Republicans, but it needed ratification by the states so it could go into effect.
SANTA CRUZ 1866
The city of Santa Cruz was incorporated.
WATSONVILLE 1867
The first Black church in Santa Cruz county came into being when the Reverend Adam B. Smith of San
Francisco founded a branch chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Watsonville.
WATSONVILLE 1868
The city of Watsonville was incorporated.
11
�WATSONVILLE 1868
Oscar T. Jackson and his brother Jethro moved to Watsonville where Oscar opened a barber shop and
Jethro started a bill posting service. Oscar would later become a famous minstrel and travel world
wide.
SANTA CRUZ 1868
Joseph Smallwood and Robert Francis moved to Santa Cruz from San Francisco and set up shop at the
Pacific Ocean House. They were 49ers who had met while they were living in Coloma, El Dorado
County. Both were free born, well educated, and politically active. Joe Smallwood, a native of
Emmettsberg, Maryland, had left a grown family in Philadelphia when he came west to the mines. One
of his sons was the personal secretary to Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Another,
the Superintendent of Public Schools for York County, Pennsylvania. Joe had been a delegate to the
Colored Citizens Conventions. Robert Coleman Francis, a native of Philadelphia, was not only a
seasoned abolitionist, but a musician of some talent. As a youngster he studied with Frank Johnson,
the most celebrated bandmaster of his day. Francis traveled extensively in both the United States and
Europe with Johnson and was a composer of many musical scores. While in Santa Cruz, he wrote and
arranged the music for the Santa Cruz Brass Band.
UNITED STATES 1868
The 14th Amendment was finally ratified. The 15th Amendment, guaranteeing voting rights to
Negroes, passed Congress, but it too must await ratification by the states.
WATSONVILLE 1869
Alex Wilkins, a barber in Oscar Jackson's shop was shot and killed by outlaws as he was riding home
after attending a Fandango at Whisky Hill (now Freedom).
SANTA CRUZ 1869
The first Black children, those of George Chester and Robert Francis, began attending schools in Santa
Cruz.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1870
The 1870 Census enumerated 53 African Americans living in Santa Cruz county.
UNITED STATES 1870
The 15th Amendment was finally ratified by a 2/3 majority of the states and Black voter registration
began.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1870
Within the first three months after the passage of the 15th Amendment, 100% of the black males living
in the county registered to vote.
12
�CENTRAL COAST 1870
African Americans from throughout the central coast gathered in Allen's Hall at Watsonville to
celebrate the ratification of the 15th Amendment. They were joined in their merriment by white
supporters from all across the county. Joe McAfee and William H. Miller, a Salinas barber, were the
orators of the day. The day long event included a breakfast, a picnic, a pot luck dinner and a dance.
Thomas Snodgrass, an old time Abolitionist and avid supporter of Negro rights, was given an
enthusiastic welcome when he entered the hall. The only drawback to the occasion was when a group
of rowdies threw Cayenne pepper on the dance floor and shouted racial slurs at the dancers. However,
they were quickly driven away.
SANTA CRUZ 1870
Three Negro students had to be removed from Branciforte School when the state Legislature passed a
bill, introduced by State Superintendent of Schools O. P. Fitzgerald, banning African, Oriental and
Indian students from attending public schools. The trustees of Santa Cruz City Schools allowed the
children to return to class in spite of the law.
WATSONVILLE 1871
Benjamin Johnson, the eldest son of Robert Johnson, became the first African American to vote in
Santa Cruz county history, when he cast his ballot in the school trustee election on April 30th.
WATSONVILLE 1871
Gordon and Rosa Ison came west with their former master, John Glenn, from Knoxville, Tennessee.
Gordon, a native of Virginia, found work with the Watsonville Water and Light Company, where he
remained for over 30 years. Rosa Ison, born in Tennessee, was a servant in the household of General
"Stonewall" Jackson during the Civil War.
CALIFORNIA 1871
The Colored Citizen's State Educational Convention convened in Stockton for the express purpose of
furthering the educational goals of African Americans in California. The convention initiated a petition
drive aimed at forcing the legislature to rescind the law banning "children of African descent" from
attending public schools. Joe Smallwood was a delegate to the convention from Santa Cruz and was
elected to the Educational Executive Committee.
WATSONVILLE 1874
Oscar T. Jackson, the barber turned minstrel, moved to the San Francisco Bay area to further his
career. During the next three decades he would tour the world with the leading minstrel troupes of the
day. In 1883, he played a series of command performances before the royal families of Europe.
WATSONVILLE 1875
Virginia native, Strother Cooper, a farmer, arrived at the Pajaro Valley from Missouri bringing his large
family with him. He was an energetic and highly personable young man who quickly endeared himself
to the people of Watsonville. Both he and "Uncle Dan" Rodgers become charter members of
Watsonville's infamous Galoot Club.
13
�WATSONVILLE 1878
Since the opening of the colored school in 1866, the African American families of Watsonville had
sought entry for their children to the regular primary school, for which they paid taxes. Each attempt,
however, had been rebuffed. By 1878, there were 18 students in attendance at the segregated Black
school and the education there was not up to the parents standards. So when school opened in the
spring, they marched their children to the primary school and demanded entrance. But once more they
were turned away. Their reaction was to institute a boycott of the Black school, which then closed its
doors. Robert Johnson, acting as the spokesman for the African American community, quickly filed a
suit demanding their rights as citizens and tax payers. After much confusion, the courts ruled in their
favor, ordering that the Black children be admitted to the primary school. The color line was at last
broken.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1880
The 1880 U.S. Census showed that there were 63 African Americans living in the county.
SANTA CRUZ 1880
Joseph Smallwood Francis, son of Robert Francis and godson of Joseph Smallwood, graduated with
honors (salutatorian) from Santa Cruz High. He was the first African American to graduate from a
regular high school in California. While in school, he had served as the editor of the Leisure Hours, the
school newspaper, and also worked at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Two years later, he passed the entrance
examination to the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in journalism and business.
WATSONVILLE 1882
John Lincoln Derrick, son of John and Martha Derrick, and grandson of "Uncle Dan" Rodgers, graduated
from the Watsonville School with a high school accreditation. The following year, he joined his friend
Joseph Francis at Berkeley -- also as a journalism major.
WATSONVILLE 1882
With the minstrel craze at its height, the young African Americans of Watsonville formed a group called
"The Home Minstrels" and were received enthusiastically by their audiences and the local press.
WATSONVILLE 1883
Black outlaw Charlie Fouche, while drinking at the Long Branch Saloon on Main Street, got into a gun
fight with two Town Constables and was wounded. He was arrested on a charge of Assault with a
Deadly Weapon, found guilty and sent to jail. A letter was found among his personal effects indicating
that he had once been a member of the James Brothers gang.
SANTA CRUZ 1884
Jim Nelson, a much loved street character in Santa Cruz, died on October l9th at the county hospital
after a short illness. "Nigger Jim", as he was commonly known, with his hair twisted up in a series of
braids, had entertained passerbys with his stories of the "old days" on and off for over 20 years. He had
served aboard square riggers out of New Bedford Harbor during the glory days of whaling, worked in
the gold fields of California in the days of '49, and he could "out fist" any man on the west coast.
14
�However, his favorite yarn was about the time he had fought with Napoleon Bonaparte at the battle of
Waterloo. Jim was able to add credence to the story by recounting this famous battle in vivid detail. He
was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery.
SANTA CRUZ 1887
William Morris and young Albert Logan, members of Dan Rodgers' Arkansas group moved from
Watsonville and settled in Santa Cruz, thereby laying the foundation for a new African American
community. Logan bought a large two story house on South Branciforte Avenue.
HOLLISTER 1889
Arkansas native, Daniel Gilmore, founded a "southern-style" plantation in
the Hollister Hills. He sent for a group of his ex-slaves to work on the farm,
offering to pay for their transportation west and $30 per month plus board -a high wage for the time. Over 80 Blacks migrated to California at Gilmore's
request, thereby seeding one of the largest African American communities in
the central coast region.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1890
The 1890 U.S. Census showed the African American community stable at 62
members.
Scott Gilmore
SANTA CRUZ 1890-1910
As the 20th century approached and then turned, the emphasis of the Negro community shifted from
Watsonville to Santa Cruz. One by one the old slavery generation of blacks passed on, while their
children and grand children migrated to San Francisco and Oakland, where there were more
opportunities for a young person. By 1910, the once thriving African American community in the Pajaro
Valley had faded completely away.
SANTA CRUZ 1892-1894
During this time, a number of Negro families settled in the Santa Cruz area.
Among them were William H. Johnson, who worked at the Santa Cruz County
National Bank for 30 years, Lena Donlee, a Southern Hominy dealer on Pacific
Avenue and Jack Harris, a bootblack together with his wife Victoria and their
sons, Carl and Irvin. Two Black Civil War veterans named Alex Penn and
Andrew Hall came to the area, as did the William Tipton family. William and
Fanny Tipton, late of Tennessee and Mississippi, were the parents of several
Ida B. Wells
children and the guardians of two nieces, Anna and Ida B. Wells. The girls'
parents had died during the Yellow Fever epidemic in Mississippi. By the time the Tipton family moved
to Santa Cruz, Miss Ida B. Wells was already famous as a writer and lecturer on the subject of lynching.
Because of her outspokenness on the causes of racial bias, controversy seemed to follow her
everywhere. She became a acknowledged leader in the civil rights and feminist movements. She was
one of the founders of the NAACP, and during the course of her lifetime published several books and
15
�was a columnist syndicated in most of the leading newspapers of the day. Following her death in 1931,
her autobiography appeared posthumously. Fifty years later, her work was rediscovered by a new
generation of black activists and she was made the subject of a PBS Television Special and, in 1989, her
likeness was printed on a U.S. postage stamp. Not enough can be said about the role that Ida B. Wells
played in African American history. Her sister Anna, a 1894 graduate of Santa Cruz High School,
followed in her footsteps and became a lecturer and newspaper editor.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA 1894
Joseph Francis, now a resident of San Francisco, and John Lincoln Derrick, now of Oakland, began to
publish The Western Outlook, a Black newspaper with a large following up and down the west coast. It
would remain in existence until the Great Depression.
SANTA CRUZ 1894
Anna Wells graduated with honors from Santa Cruz High, only the third African American to do so. A
few years later, she moved to the midwest and became the publisher and editor of the Chicago
Searchlight. Therefore the first three Black graduates from Santa Cruz county schools went on to
publish and edit large circulation newspapers.
HOLLISTER 1894
The Gilmore Colony collapsed after a series of disasters. The African Americans of the group moved
into Hollister, where they remained active even up to contemporary times.
SANTA CRUZ 1896
Albert and Mary Logan converted their home on South Branciforte Avenue into a boarding house. For
the next 50 years it became the social center for the Black community in Santa Cruz.
WATSONVILLE 1897
Strother Cooper died at his home on the corner of East Lake and Carr. His family moved to Salinas,
where they were befriended by a young John Steinbeck, who would later write glowingly of them in
Travels With Charley.
WATSONVILLE 1899
Robert Johnson, pioneer and leader of the school desegregation fight; his son Benjamin, the first
African American to vote in the county; and James Calvin Williams, the longtime owner of a
blacksmiths shop on Main Street, all died within two months of each other.
16
�CHRONOLOGY 1900--1990
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1900
The 1900 U.S. Census set the number of Black citizens in the county at 81.
WATSONVILLE 1900
Martha Derrick, daughter of Dan Rodgers, relocated to Oakland where she joined her son John Lincoln
Derrick. The Derricks were the last of the old generation of Negro families to leave the Pajaro Valley.
SANTA CRUZ 1900-1910
Many new African Americans moved to Santa Cruz and enhanced the growing Black population already
there. Among them were the Pinkney family, the Hunter family, the Berry family, Ed Bruce, Ed and Inez
Smith, and Lou Venable. Venable later opened a restaurant on Pacific Avenue named "The Squeeze
Inn" which became a favorite hang out for Santa Cruz High School students.
WATSONVILLE 1903
"Uncle Dan" Rodgers boarded the train at the Watsonville depot for a visit with his daughter Martha
Derrick in Oakland. As he detrained at San Francisco, he was killed in a freak accident. With his passing,
the pioneer Black population of Watsonville no longer existed.
SANTA CRUZ 1905
The Negro community of Santa Cruz was now large enough to support its own house of worship. On
November 19, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church formed a local branch. For this purpose,
they bought land on River Street. During its existence the church had two ministers, the Reverend T. A.
McEachen and Reverend W. W. Howard.
SANTA CRUZ 1906-1910
The Black population formed a baseball team, named the Santa Cruz Colored Giants, who played a full
schedule of games against local white teams. Jack Harris was their manager and coach. Two brothers,
Lou and Floyd Berry, and young Elwood Hunter were star athletes, not only with the Giants, but in the
sports program at Santa Cruz High as well.
UNITED STATES 1909
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP.) was founded in New York
City by a group of black and white progressives. Its purpose was to work for equal civil, political and
educational rights, to demand an end to segregation, secure the right to work, and to enforce the right
of protection from violence and intimidation. It came into being as a result of a series of vicious race
riots in both the north and the south.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1910
The 1910 U.S. Census put the number of African Americans in the county at 83.
17
�SANTA CRUZ 1910-1915
The Black community continued to grow and become active at all levels of society. Colored children
were enrolled at local schools in record numbers. Negro heads of households however, continued to
be restricted to the same old traditional menial jobs in the service industries, including porters, shoe
shiners, cooks, dish washers, and laborers.
SANTA CRUZ 1915
"The Birth of a Nation" or "The Klansman'', a racist movie produced and directed by D. W. Griffith was
shown at local theaters to sell out houses. The NAACP attempted unsuccessfully to seek a ban on the
movie because of its extremely negative portrayal of African Americans and its glorification of the Ku
Klux Klan. The local press called it "the greatest movie ever made." This movie helped bring about a
revival of the Ku Klux Klan.
SANTA CRUZ 1916-1941
During this 25 year period, the attitude of Santa Cruzans toward its African American citizens did an
about face. Up to this point in history it had been a tolerant community throwing up few, if any, road
blocks into the path of their Negro brothers. Now, however, bigotry became a policy in many quarters
as blacks were banned or discriminated against at local hotels, road houses and inns. Negro
vacationers with their tourist dollars were unwelcome visitors at many recreational spots in the
county. Finding housing and jobs became an impossible task, so many Negro families left the area in
anger and discouragement. Even churches, the supposed moral pillars of the community, now refused
to accept Black parishioners.
The causes of this sudden change in attitude are many-- periods of economic down slide, fierce job
competition brought on by the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from Europe, and the lack of
year-round employment generated by the county's continuing reliance upon tourism as its basic
industry, just to name a few. The major reason, however, was the social changes brought on by the
patriotic zeal, anti-foreignism, and isolationist tendencies which ran rampant during the period of
World War I.
UNITED STATES 1917
America formally entered World War I. An unusually large number of African Americans volunteered
and served proudly in the various branches of the Armed Services.
SANTA CRUZ 1918
Arthur Tate, a Watsonville bootblack, was nearly lynched by a group of irate citizens after he was
accused of raping a white woman. He was later sentenced to San Quentin for six years.
UNITED STATES 1921
As World War I ended, many thousands of Negro veterans remained on active duty and made a career
out of the Armed Services.
18
�SANTA CRUZ 1922
Albert Logan, born a slave on an Arkansas plantation in 1860, died at his
home in Santa Cruz. As a small child, he had been brought west by his
mother as a member of the Dan Rodgers party. He had attended the
black school in Watsonville before moving to Santa Cruz in the late
1880s. His wife, Mary, continued to run the boarding house on South
Branciforte.
Mary Logan
SANTA CRUZ 1924
A Ku Klux Klan Klavern was founded in Santa Cruz and for a time was quite visible including a daylight
march in the Miss California parade.
WATSONVILLE 1928
The Klan formed a Klavern at Watsonville.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1930
The U.S. Census revealed that the African American population of the county had plummeted to 64.
SANTA CRUZ 1934
Irvin Harris, a native of Santa Cruz and a graduate of local schools, was run out of town by the Sheriff
and District Attorney after he was found at a party in the company of a white girl "from a well known
family."
SANTA CRUZ 1938
Mary Logan, widow of Albert Logan, died at her home on South Branciforte Avenue. The property
passed into the hands of Ed and Inez Smith, who continued to operate it as a boarding house for black
tourists.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1940
The 1940 U.S. Census enumerated only 18 African Americans in the county, an all time low.
UNITED STATES 1941
The United States entered into World War II. Once again, young African Americans enrolled in record
numbers.
SANTA CRUZ 1942
On Easter Sunday, the 54th Coast Artillery, an all-Black unit from Camp San Luis Obispo, was stationed
at Lighthouse Point, then known as Phelan Park. From that moment on, race relations in Santa Cruz
county were changed forever. Integration was quick and permanent. The reaction of white citizens was
mixed and varied, but this was war time and change was coming like it or not. Local churches and civic
groups welcomed the newcomers with a series of entertainments, dinners, teas, etc. Ed and Inez Smith
transformed their home into a U.S.O. center for the colored soldiers from the 54th and nearby Camp
McQuaide, as well as Fort Ord. When the city fathers tried to make certain parts of the city off-limits to
19
�the men of the 54th, their Chaplain, Captain Baskerville, threatened to boycott "the whole damned
town." Local businessmen were forced to choose economics over racism.
SANTA CRUZ 1944
The 54th Battery was withdrawn from the area as the war wound down. But by the sterling example
which these men set, they left behind a much changed town.
UNITED STATES 1945
World War II was brought to a close with the surrender of Germany and Japan.
SANTA CRUZ 1946-1950
After mustering out of the service, several members of the old 54th returned with their families to
start civilian life in their newly adopted hometown. Among their number were John and Erva Bowen,
Henry and Nina Pratt, Isaac Jackson, Cornelius and Arvenia Bumpus, Fred and Jessie Guliford (with
brother Frank), Russell Dawson, Frank Willis, William E. Jackson and Upsie Hannon. These patriots were
to seed a new African American community. Other Blacks who arrived during this time were Mervin
and Idessie Brantly, and Chylow and Mary Ellen Brown. The Missionary Baptist Church was also
founded to meet the spiritual needs of the African American community.
SANTA CRUZ 1949
A local branch of the NAACP was granted a charter with Chylow Brown, a community activist from
Chicago and Detroit, as president, and Arvenia Bumpus as secretary.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1950
The l950 U.S. Census revealed that there were 106 African Americans in Santa Cruz County.
SANTA CRUZ 1950
After five years of trying, Black veterans were finally admitted into American Legion Post #64.
SANTA CRUZ 1951
The Reverend William Brant of San Francisco, was appointed pastor of the Missionary Baptist Church
and came to Santa Cruz to look for a home to buy, so that he could be near his congregation. He made
a down payment on a small house on Winkle Avenue in the Live Oak district. On the night before he
was scheduled to take occupancy, arsonists set fire to the house, doing major damage. Furthermore,
neighbors coldly suggested that he move his family to another community. In spite of the fact that a
substantial reward was offered for the apprehension of the culprits, the crime went unsolved.
SANTA CRUZ 1951-1960
Throughout the decade, the Negro population of the county continued to grow as more families
relocated to the area. In time a ghetto of sorts came into being in the area of west Santa Cruz
commonly called "the circles." The NAACP, under the leadership of Erva Bowen and Arvenia Bumpus.
flourished as an organization, both political and social, and gave some cohesion to the African
American community.
20
�UNITED STATES 1954
The United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision when it ruled that segregation in
American public schools was illegal.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1960
The 1960 U.S. Census showed that the black population of the county had more then quadrupled, to
504.
SANTA CRUZ 1960-1970
This decade can best be described as a period of growing activism among a new generation of young
Black adults. They joined with their elders to raise the political and social consciousness of the local
African American population. The advent of Cabrillo College and U.C.S.C. only enhanced their efforts by
sponsoring classes and workshops in Black culture and history. The NAACP pushed for fair housing
laws, and together with a new group called the Urban Improvement Organization, lobbied for lowincome housing projects in Santa Cruz County. Their struggles were spearheaded by Erva Bowen and Sy
Rockins, and met with varying degrees of success.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 1970
The 1970 U.S. Census totals showed that the African American population had then reached the 1,000
mark.
SANTA CRUZ 1970-1990
These were decades of victory for the local Black community as low-income housing became a reality
and many new industries located in the county, opening up job opportunities for minority workers.
On the social side of things, the N.A.A.C.P., in conjunction with the Black Cooperative Association,
headed by Black Panther William Moore, began a free breakfast program for Elementary School aged
children as well as a food bank. Among the most dedicated volunteers in this program were Helen
Weston, "Momma" Brown, Lillian McCoy and Esther Bradley Delgado.
Another successful effort by local blacks was the drive to honor London Nelson [a.k.a Louden Nelson],
the ex-slave, who, upon his death, directed that his entire estate be used to further the education of
local children. Spearheaded by Lowell Hunter and Wilma Campbell, it commenced with an attempt to
have the City School Board rename Mission Hill School, the "London Nelson School." Instead, however,
the Board named their administrative offices on Mission Hill, the "London Nelson Plaza." Spurred on by
this victory, the Negro community finally achieved complete success when, in 1979, a new community
center, located at the old Laurel School, was named in Nelson' s honor.
An offshoot of this drive was the election of longtime NAACP activist Erva Bowen to the Board of
Education. Bowen was the first Black to hold an elective office in the history of Santa Cruz County.
The African American population, which currently makes up over 3% of the general populace, has long
since moved beyond the "circles" and can be found scattered throughout the area. The Nelson Center,
U.C.S.C., Cabrillo College and the NAACP continue to promote Black culture and draw attention to
problems which exist within the minority community.
21
�APPENDIX AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Major Local Resources for African American History
Most of the following resource pools are of a general nature, but a patient researcher can abstract a
tremendous amount of historical and genealogical data from their files.
Santa Cruz County Government Center
701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA
County Recorder's Office: Vital Records (Births, Marriages, Deaths), Land Records and Maps.
Clerk of the Superior Court: Wills and Probates.
Board of Supervisors: Board Minutes and Actions.
Santa Cruz Public Library, Downtown Branch
224 Church Street, Santa Cruz, CA.
California History and Genealogy Room
Hundreds of volumes on California history and U. S. genealogy, U. S. Censuses: Several rolls containing
Santa Cruz County enumerations: 1850 to 1920. Genealogy section contains five "How to" booklets on
Black genealogical research. Area newspapers on microfilm from 1854 to present. One video tape copy
of the 1989 P.B.S. Special on the life of ex-Santa Cruz resident Ida B. Wells.
Watsonville Public Library
310 Union Street, Watsonville, CA
Stacks contain several books on California African America history. Watsonville newspapers on
microfilm from 1868 to present.
McHenry Library
University of California at Santa Cruz,
Santa Cruz, CA
Stacks contain numerous volumes on Black history and culture, of vital importance are the works and
autobiography of former Santa Cruz resident Ida B. Wells. Map Room has large collection Santa Cruz
County history, including many indexes. Microform Room has U. S. Censuses (Santa Cruz and Monterey
County rolls) and area newspapers on microfilm from 1854 to present. Special Collections also has
large collection of local history.
History Museum of Santa Cruz County
705 Front Street, Santa Cruz, CA
Archives and Research Center has numerous personal files, journals, reminisces. records, newspapers,
photos, research collections, etc. Mostly north county material.
22
�Pajaro Valley Historical Association
261 East Beach Street, Watsonville, CA
Archives and Research Center has photo collections, diaries, research files, family memorabilia,
newspaper clippings, vital and cemetery records, etc. Pajaro Valley and south county only.
Santa Cruz Sentinel
207 Church Street, Santa Cruz, CA
Library has large collection of newspaper clippings. Most valuable for recent local Black history: 1964
to present.
Out of County Resource Centers
United States National Archives and Records Center
Pacific Coast Regional Branch
Commodore Drive, San Bruno, CA
For Black history and genealogical research, the National Archives have all U.S. Censuses, including
slave schedules. Military and pension records for African Americans who served in any branch of the
Armed Services from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. Also some Freedman's Bureau Field Office
records.
Sutro Library
California State Library
Winston Avenue, San Francisco, CA
A branch of the state library specializing in genealogy. State, county, and local histories, vital records,
surname and locality files. Stacks contain dozens of books on Black history from California and all over
the United States. Also a Black newspaper collection. Most importantly, Sutro has the three volume set
of James de T. Abajian's "Blacks in Selected Newspapers, Censuses and Other Sources." A masterwork
in Black history indexing.
Oakland Public Library
Lake Merritt Drive, Oakland, CA
Local History Room has a large collection of African American oriental material. Vertical files on
individuals, families, and groups. Serial and Newspaper Room have vast accumulation of 19th and 20th
century Black newspapers on microfilm.
Bancroft Library
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
The largest California history collection in existence. Contains a vast amount of material on African
American pioneers. Also has a major collection of Negro newspapers. Houses the James de T. Abajian
Collection consisting of 56 boxes of scrapbooks, note books, card files, etc.
23
�Northern California Center for Afro American History and Life
5606 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland, CA
A private library, archives, and museum dedicated, as its title suggests, to the history and culture of
African Americans in Northern California. Has a large collection of printed material, memorabilia and
photos, also a section on Blacks in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
A Thumbnail Bibliography: Locally Available Books on the History of Blacks in California
Beasley, Delilah L.
The Negro Trail Blazers of California Los Angeles, 1919. A pioneering work in the field of regional Black
History.
Dunn, Geoffrey
Santa Cruz is in the Heart, Capitola Book Company, Capitola 1988. Dunn, in this fascinating look at
Santa Cruziana, dedicates two chapters to local African American subjects.
Goode, Kenneth G.
California's Black Pioneers, McNally & Liftin, Santa Barbara, 1974. A brief introduction to the subject.
Graves-Gray, Kreta.
History of the Santa Cruz County N.A.A.C.P. n.p., Santa Cruz, 1979. An account of the founding and first
thirty years of the local branch organization. Great local history.
Haley, Alex
Roots: The Saga of an American Family Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1976. A
fictionalized account of Haley's family history. Popular novel and television series. Not California
history, just a good story.
Lapp, Rudolph
Blacks in the California Gold Rush, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1977. In this outstanding volume
Professor Lapp has produced the most comprehensive work to date.
Afro-Americans in California Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co.. 1987. Prof. Lapp extends his work up to
contemporary times.
Steinbeck, John
Travels with Charley MacMillan Company Publishers, New York. 1962. In one chapter, Steinbeck writes
about his friendship with the Cooper family of Watsonville and Salinas.
24
�Thurman. A. Odell
The Negro in California before 1890, R & E Research Associates, 1973. A brief guide to 19th century
Blacks in California.
Thurman, Sue Bailey
Pioneers of Negro Origin in California, Acme Publishing Company. San Francisco, 1952. Biographies,
records, photos and history make up this splendid look at Negro history. Included is a chapter on Dan
Rodgers.
Wells, Ida B.
Crusade for Justice, The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells. A Phoenix Book, University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, 1970. The story of one of the great figures in African American History. Wells was a Santa Cruz
resident during the early 1890s.
Source
Copyright 1995 Phil Reader. Reproduced with the permission of the author. Photographs courtesy of Phil
Reader.
It is the library’s intent to provide accurate information, however, it is not possible for the library to completely
verify the accuracy of all information. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are
incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
25
�
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Santa Cruz History Articles
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To Know My Name: A Chronological History of African Americans in Santa Cruz County
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Afro-American Community
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Reader, Phil
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Santa Cruz Public Libraries
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1995
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Copyright 1995 Phil Reader. Reproduced with permission of the author. Photographs courtesy of Phil Reader.
African Americans
Biography
Black People
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Nihon Bunka/Japanese Culture:
One Hundred Years in the Pajaro Valley
By Jane W. Borg and Kathy McKenzie Nichols
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Tradition Dictates Tomorrow: The Pioneers
Chapter 2
100 Years of Agriculture: The Land Blossoms
Chapter 3
Uneasy Settlement: The War Years
Chapter 4
A Time to Reflect: 1945 to Present [1992]
Bibliography
From the booklet Nihon Bunka = Japanese Culture: One Hundred Years in the Pajaro Valley. It
was published by the Pajaro Valley Arts Council in conjunction with the Council's 1992
exhibition of the same name. The text is published on the library’s website with the permission
of the Council. Photographs are courtesy of Bill Tao. Copyright 1992, Pajaro Valley Arts Council.
1
�Chapter 1
Tradition Dictates Tomorrow: The Pioneers
No records are known to exist that precisely pinpoint the date that the Japanese came to the
Pajaro Valley. It is known that twelve Japanese laborers came to the area sometime in 1892,
first to work at a saw mill and later at a hops farm. There is no way to know their thoughts,
their dreams or their fears. We don't even have their names. But just imagine for a moment
what it must have been like for them in a beautiful, rich land filled with promise - but
completely alien in every aspect, for until 1885, few Japanese had ever set foot in America. But
Japan's emigration restrictions were eased that year, and young men came seeking their
fortune here - as so many did from around the world.
Those laborers were the start of the Japanese community in the Pajaro Valley, which would go
on to influence every aspect of life here, even as its people fought discrimination and adversity
to settle in this land.
The California Gold Rush, beginning in the late 1840s, attracted people of all nationalities to the
port of San Francisco. Among them were the Chinese, who worked in the Sierra gold fields, and
who later provided the lion's share of the labor for the transcontinental railroad (1869), the
dykes of the Sacramento and San Joaquin River delta and to complete the Southern Pacific
Railroad Coast Line connection between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
As these monumental projects were finished, the Chinese turned to agricultural work - again
providing a vast labor force needed to support expanding California markets.
Upon the 50th anniversary of the Watsonville Japanese American Citizens League in 1984,
historian Sandy Lydon wrote: "After Japan relaxed laws prohibiting emigration in 1885,
Japanese farm laborers began to replace the aging Chinese in the fields of Hawaii, California,
Oregon and Washington. The number of Japanese living in the Pajaro Valley grew from a
handful in 1890 to over four hundred in 1900, and the young, energetic men soon filled the
slots being vacated by Chinese in agriculture as well as finding employment as domestics,
laundrymen, woodchoppers and railroad workers in the Monterey Bay region."
Kazuko Nakane, author of Nothing Left in My Hands - an outstanding reference for the history
of the first Japanese settlers in the Pajaro Valley - believes that the early settlers had a high
degree of literacy, the vision to become landowners with the ambition to work toward this goal
and a high value placed on mutual aid, all of which led to their future success.
Sakuzo Kimura is believed to be the first Japanese labor contractor, bringing twelve men to
work in an Aptos sawmill and in the Pajaro Valley at an East Lake Avenue hops farm. Kimura, a
man of about 40, made contracts quickly, aided by his fluency in English. He had learned the
language while working for the U.S. Navy, according to Nakane.
As the number of Chinese agricultural workers declined, the number of men emigrating from
Japan steadily increased to work in crops, especially strawberries, on the Central Coast.
2
�In the beginning, the vast majority of Japanese immigrants to the Pajaro Valley were men. Due
to unfamiliarity with language and customs, and to the continuing anti-Asian policies which
created a climate of discrimination, these newly arrived agricultural workers joined together in
"labor clubs," "employment clubs" and "societies" for contract labor, living arrangements and
mutual aid.
Kimura established the earliest known labor club in 1893. After the clubhouse was destroyed by
fire, it was rebuilt in 1897 as the Shinyu (good friends) labor club. The Japanese "labor boss"
system was similar to the Chinese boss system - for an annual fee, the contractor secured work
for the members and acted as a mediator between the
employer and the workers.
In times of unemployment, the workers would also lodge
and cook meals at the club. The clubs naturally became
early social centers for the growing Japanese community.
Japanese boarding houses soon followed, and by 1910
there were ten establishments in Watsonville that provided
lodging, meals and employment information.
"Japanese Club," an Early Pajaro Valley
Labor Club, 1896-1910
Despite being strangers in a strange land, the early Issei
men enjoyed the carefree life of bachelors. Many men
traveled light, with just a buranketto (blanket) over their shoulders.
As bachelors are wont to do, some Japanese men spent their money foolishly. Across the river
in what is now Pajaro, the Chinatown there offered gambling and paid female companionship.
The Chinese gambling houses were nicknamed "Shanghai banks."
But as time went on, the men began longing for family life, and they also found ways to
increase their profits in order to support a wife and children.
As the agriculture of the valley changed from grain and sugar beet cultivation to fruit
production some of the Issei became half-share strawberry farmers. In this arrangement, the
landowner provided the land, plants and equipment, and the Japanese farmer raised the crop.
The profits and risks were shared equally between the two. In the "History of the Japanese
People in Watsonville", written for the 60th anniversary of the Buddhist Temple, it is noted that
the first sharecropper was Senzaemon Nishimura, who worked on the Hopkins Farm.
For most of the Japanese, sharecropping paid far better than contract wages. Eventually, many
Issei farmers became cash tenants, leasing land with an annual payment and retaining all the
crop proceeds. One source reports that in 1900, Ueda Tao became the first Japanese farmer to
lease a strawberry farm. The following year, individuals named Nishimura and Tetsutaro Higashi
also leased land.
The next step in the improvement of farming conditions was the organization of cooperatives in
which individuals pooled their money to lease land in the Pajaro Valley. Among the earliest such
arrangements was the Y.Kosansha Company. Some of those associates were Kumajiro
3
�Murakami, Taroichi Tomioka, and three Yamamoto brothers - Matasuchi, Heitsuchi, and
Taneichi.
At the same time, more Japanese women began to arrive in the
Pajaro Valley, many of them as brides for arranged marriages.
(California and other states had laws preventing interracial
relationships.) For some, the arrangements were made in Japan
between families from the same village who knew each other
well; for others, the bride and groom met only after arrival in San
Francisco. They were called "picture brides" since most had never
met their husbands-to-be, but had exchanged photographs and
letters.
"Picture Brides" ca. 1910
According to the book Japanese American Women: Three
Generations 1890-1990, by Mei Nakano, the women were especially hard-hit by culture shock
in an alien land. Few learned to speak any English at all. Farm laborers' wives had to set up
house in dirt-floor shacks that contained nothing but a bed, a table and a wood stove.
Although some picture brides deserted their husbands because of the hardships, most stuck it
out, compelled by the strong cultural values of gaman (perseverance in the face of adversity)
and giri (a sense of duty). When times were tough, Issei women would shrug and say, "Shikata
ga nai" (It can't be helped).
By 1910, there were 168 Japanese women in the Pajaro Valley. These women not only enabled
the establishment of families, but fostered the growth of community life, businesses and
cultural organizations. As children were born and raised, the entire family worked in the
farming operations, increasing the family's economic security. Children were taught at a young
age to pull weeds and do other field chores. Wives worked in the fields and also took care of
the home and children.
According to Nakane, women also acted as midwives, set up boarding houses and ran
restaurants. Some men also looked for other lines of work, such as Bunkichi Torigoe, who
established a watch and bicycle repair shop in Watsonville in 1909. Others were Yasutaro
Iwami, who set up a barber and billiards shop in 1900; and Keizo Atsumi, who opened a tailor
shop in 1901.
Watsonville's Japantown began to appear at the south end of Main Street around 1905. By
1920, there were public baths, groceries, shoe stores, photographers, a tofu factory, an opera
house, a Japanese school, a stagecoach company and doctors. Peddlers also made trips
between labor camps to sell their wares.
In addition, a Japanese Presbyterian church and a Buddhist temple were established, as was the
Japanese Association, which was founded to fight anti-Japanese laws.
As the population of the Japanese community increased, so did the number of agreements and
laws that restricted their citizenship as well as ownership, and eventually leasing, of land. Under
the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907, Japan continued to allow the departure of wives and
4
�children of men already in the United States, but stopped issuing visas to laborers. In 1911, the
U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization decreed that only Caucasians and people of
African descent could apply for citizenship.
Resentment against the West Coast's Japanese communities had been building for some time,
perhaps due to envy of the immigrants' business success. Nakano reported that newspapers
fanned the flames by printing headlines like:
THE JAPANESE INVASION
THE PROBLEM OF THE HOUR, and
CRIME AND POVERTY GO HAND IN HAND WITH ASIATIC LABOR
California's Alien Land Law of 1913 denied ownership of land to Japanese aliens and restricted
leasing to a maximum of three years. Subsequent legislation in 1921 denied the right to even
lease land. Finally, in 1924, all immigration from Japan ceased under U.S. legislation that
prevented entrance to anyone who was not eligible for citizenship.
The Japanese devised a number of ways to get around the restrictions. Sympathetic lawyers
would draw up land deeds in the names of children, who could own land because they were
born in the United States and thus given automatic citizenship. Older Nisei also bought land for
others, such as Ichiro Yamaguchi, who recalled his life for Nisei Christian Journey: "After I was
21, I had to buy land for other people ... I would sign the papers and they would make all the
payments."
Even though later legislation prevented minors from owning land, some individuals were able
to hold land in the name of an American citizen. For the most part, however, the land laws
reduced the number of independent Japanese growers.
As a result of the land laws, followed by the Great Depression, many Issei never regained their
former economic stature. However, the community they had established in the Pajaro Valley
continued to persevere, until anti-Japanese feeling reached its height at the beginning of World
War II.
5
�Chapter 2
100 Years of Agriculture: The Land Blossoms
Agriculture brought pioneer Japanese immigrants to the Pajaro Valley one hundred years ago. A
century later, agriculture is still the valley's principal economic activity, and Japanese Americans
have played an important role in the success of local agriculture.
The earliest commercial cultivation of strawberries in the Pajaro Valley took place in the late
1860s in the Vega district, on the Monterey County side of the Pajaro River. After the coming of
the railroad in the 1870s and the development of extensive irrigation systems for strawberries
in the 1890s, Pajaro Valley strawberry production increased dramatically. The special
relationship of Japanese families to strawberry cultivation is a major chapter in the history of
the Pajaro Valley.
"The Japanese and Dalmatians (Slavs) have assisted in producing the changes introduced in the
kinds of crops grown. The former, being unusually skillful berry growers, have had something to
do with the expansion of the production of berries until much of the land is thus employed,
whereas before their influx, little of it was so used. The latter have done much to encourage the
growing of apples." (U.S. Immigration Commission, Reports, 1911.)
The unusual skill that Japanese workers demonstrated in working with strawberries was
accompanied by their desire to gain more independence as growers and to be able to retain
more of the profits of production. Another early strawberry cooperative was J. and S. Kosansha,
operated by Otokichi Kajioka and four others.
For the 75th anniversary of the Westview Presbyterian Church, Kenji Shikuma described his
family's early involvement with strawberry growing:
"As I can recall to my memory as related to me by my parents on various occasions,
father (Unosuke Shikuma) came to Watsonville in the year 1902, and his first job was
working in the onion field for which his wage was one dollar a day; dollar and fifteen
cents during the peak days. On the following year, he started growing berries on share
together with some of his friends.
"In 1907 when Mother came here from Japan to join him as a young bride, they started
out their life together as the berry growing family unit by joining other relative and
friend family groups to form an association to lease the ground together. To start with,
the families lived in crudely constructed camp houses roughly furnished with simple
home-made tables, benches, shelves, and wooden bed-frames.
"In most cases, two families occupied the same house separated only by a thin-walled
partition. As time went by and with the coming of children, they managed to work out
for separate housings. Here in this so-called "Strawberry Camp," we of the old Niseis
made our initial start in this world.
6
�"About the time I was a few years old, father leased the ground on his own and fulfilled
his immediate ambition - that of becoming an independent strawberry grower. To
operate a strawberry ranch on somewhat bigger scale and on his own was quite
different from what it was farming on share-crop basis, as it required greater financing
in the first place, the need for working capital.
"He borrowed the money from his trusted Commission House in San Francisco Produce
Market to finance his berry growing, and that he in turn agreed to deliver certain
portion of his crops toward repayment on the loan. The well-known department and
hardware store in town, the Ford's, at that time extended him a credit liberally which
helped him greatly in making his start.
"When he became an independent grower, he took on sharecropper families, provided
each a house, and had each family grow two to three acres apiece. Often times our
home was a social center, as father would always welcome all those on the farm for any
special occasions ..."
About 1920, the largest and most productive strawberry ranch in the world was established
under a partnership between Unosuke Shikuma, Heitsuchi Yamamoto, O.O. Eaton and Henry A.
Hyde east of Salinas on the Oak Grove ranch at Natividad. Strawberries that were previously
shipped in large chests to San Francisco on the railroad, were now transported by motorized
truck with a cooling device, in small wooden trays holding twelve-pint baskets.
In order to overcome many marketing difficulties overproduction, price fluctuations, lack of standardization,
and absorption of profits by the commission houses, the
California Berry Growers Association was formed in 1917. The
association's constitution stated that the board of directors
was to be made up of equal numbers of Caucasian and
Japanese directors.
Family Picking Strawberries on White
Ranch, near Freedom Boulevard, ca.
1920s
The Japanese American Yearbook (1918) states that such an
organization was suggested by Issei who were members of
Kashu Chuo Nokai (California Central Farmers Association), a
Japanese farmers' organization. Members of the California Berry Growers Association's first
board of directors were: Mark Grimes, Sumito Fujii, James Hopkins, O.O. Eaton, J.E. Reiter, R.F.
Driscoll, T. Sasao, T. Kato, K. Shikuma, F.J. Moriyasu, and Philip S. Erlich.
"Naturipe" became the official trademark for the Association in 1922, and in 1958, the name of
the Association was changed to "Naturipe Berry Growers," which is now one of the largest
berry cooperatives in the world.
One of the earliest Pajaro Valley lettuce growers of any nationality was Kyuzaburo "Harry"
(H.K.) Sakata, who immigrated, alone, to Canada from Wakayama province at the age of fifteen.
After working and living with his uncle in Canada for two years, he joined other relatives, and
members of his village in Japan, who were farming near Lompoc, California.
7
�Together they pooled their resources, saved money and eventually
bought land and a thresher. Having received a satisfactory return
for their efforts in raising beans due to good market conditions
during World War I, part of the group returned to Japan, but H.K.
Sakata decided to stay.
After searching for farm land, even as far away as Mexico, he
decided to buy in the Pajaro Valley. By this time, California's Alien
Land Law had come into effect, but with the help of an attorney,
the L and W Land Company was established with the title held in
the name of his minor children, who were United States citizens.
Kyuzaburo Sakata with
Prize Heads of Lettuce
In 1918 Sakata shipped ten teams of horses and the thresher from
Lompoc to Pajaro Junction by Southern Pacific railway, and thus began local farming operations
which his descendants and others have continued to the present day.
Although beans were the main crop in the early days, a great variety of berry and vegetable
crops were gradually added to supply the three local Espindola grocery stores. From 1921
lettuce was produced on the Sakata ranches, and Sakata was one of the first West Coast
growers to ship lettuce, packed in ice, by rail to eastern markets.
The partnership of Travers and Sakata, growers and
shippers, was formed in the 1920s. This enterprise
eventually became Sakata and Son in 1939, producing
sugar beets, lettuce, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage,
potatoes and other crops.
Japanese Laborers Harvesting Beans
Following the enormous disruptions caused by the declaration of war against Japan, all
company debts were settled through the sale of land and equipment, and remaining land was
placed with a property manager and leased to local growers for the duration of the war and the
family's forced relocation in the Poston, Arizona, internment center. Eventually the family's
operation of the Pajaro Valley ranches was resumed, and row crop production takes place
today on several valley ranches.
In an interview with Luella Hudson McDowell in 1987, Hisaje "Frank" Sakata said:
"In concluding, we have had a continuous business history since December, 1917,
although we have not lived here all that time. During the war years, we were guests of
the government in the Salinas Rodeo grounds for three months and a year in the Poston
area of Arizona. Subsequently we lived in eastern Oregon for thirteen years.
8
�"In the Pajaro Valley we have lived and have had neighbors who are Americans of
diverse national origin. It has been a privilege and an opportunity to have amiably done
business with persons with diverse names such as Nielsen, Crosetti, Jericich , Travers,
Gonzalez, Wong, Hudson, Matiasevich, Silliman, Shikuma, Oksen, Eaton and various
others - really a cross-section of Americans from all over the world."
Although flowering plants have always thrived in the climate of the Monterey Bay, the flower
growing industry was not established until after World War II. There were only three
commercial flower growers in the late 1950s.
A particularly interesting chapter of the history of cut flower production was told by Harry
Fukutome in the booklet prepared for the 75th Anniversary of Westview Presbyterian Church.
Japanese Americans in northern California were acutely aware of the devastating postwar
conditions in Japan, and many relief supplies were sent by organizations and individuals. The
plight of thousands of refugees returning from Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria to Japan was one
of these many severe problems.
In 1955 the International Agricultural Fellowship Association (Kokusai Noyukai) arranged for the
emigration of 1,000 agricultural workers to the United States under a refugee act that was in
effect at the time.
In 1973, Harry Fukutome related:
"He (Unosuke Shikuma) personally visited Japan in 1955 and 1956 and interviewed the
young people in Kagoshima and Yamaguchi prefectures and invited eight of them to his
farm and asked them to help him in raising strawberries. These ambitious and grateful
young men were full of hope and not only worked day and night for him, but were
greatly influenced by Mr. Shikuma's character and all were led to Christianity.
"Almost all of them became American citizens. When the Refugee Act Agreement was
fulfilled, each of them chose his own vocation. (The agreement was that they must work
in the sponsor's field for three years.) Some became gardeners, others strawberry
growers, but Akira Nagamine took up flower growing as his goal. He recognized how
Watsonville weather was suited for such industry.
"So, depending heavily upon the support of Shikuma brothers, he planned to become a
flower grower. He became a worker in a flower-growing firm in Mountain View.
"Meanwhile he called his brother, Osamu Nagamine, his brother-in-law, Hachiro
Fukutome, and they all learned the technique of the industry for about three years.
Though they had acquired the technique and the knowledge, they had very little capital.
"So, instead of going on separately, they joined resources and in 1962, they were able to
secure a land which they had long waited for - about five acres on Condit Lane, which
was an apple orchard. They started growing carnations first. At that time, there were
only three flower growers in this area, Ben Craust, Mas Tachibana, and Sakae Brothers.
9
�"Since 1962, besides Nagamine Brothers, others came into this area: Nakashima
Growers, PV Green House and others. When the new growers business and its success
was reported, old timers from the Bay Area moved to Watsonville, and on top of that
when the promotion for cut flowers throughout the country was accelerated, many
refugees from Japan and new immigrants poured into this area primarily to raise
carnations.
"... Come to think of it, we owe so much to the faithful and devout Mr. Shikuma who left
a lasting impression upon us and we cannot forget the personal guidance he gave us at
its beginning."
10
�Chapter 3
Uneasy Settlement: The War Years
Japan's fateful decision to drop bombs on Pearl Harbor did more than destroy ships and planes
- it also exploded the tenuous hold that Japanese immigrants and their descendants had on
their adopted country, the United States.
For Issei and Nisei, the news of the December 7, 1941, attack was more than a declaration of
war. It was the beginning of an inner battle that hurt them more than they could say.
One woman quoted in Mei Nakano's book described her feelings at the news: "An old wound
opened up again, and I found myself shrinking inwardly from my Japanese blood." Watsonville
resident Ichiro Yamaguchi wrote, "When Pearl Harbor was bombed, I felt like somebody shot
me ... I was worried that something might happen to us."
His fears were warranted, since the next day, the assets of the Japanese were frozen and the
arrests of community leaders began. A curfew was imposed as well.
The official spokesman for the Japanese Association, Ichiji Motoki, told the Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian that "these people wish to lead peaceful lives and are not the element of
potential troublemakers." Even so, arrests continued to be made of such "troublemakers" as
Buddhist priests, teachers, ministers, Japanese Association officers and newspaper
correspondents. Charges were never proven against any of them, according to The
Japanese and Japanese Americans in the Pajaro Valley by Eleanor Johnson and Opal Marshall.
Other individuals were questioned by the FBI and kept under surveillance.
It was not long after that the first evacuations were announced. The first was minor, an order
for all aliens to vacate a five-mile radius of the coast. This covered the area west of Highway 1,
including Larkin Valley and the Roache District. It displaced some 23 Japanese families.
According to documents from the California Historical Resources Commission, written by
Salinas resident Violet De Cristoforo, by late January 1942 newspapers were printing
unsubstantiated stories about Japanese American spies and saboteurs. On Feb. 19, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the mass expulsion and
incarceration of Japanese Americans.
By March 1942, many Japanese had left the Watsonville area voluntarily, creating a farm labor
shortage. A committee of Watsonville Nisei even drove to Idaho to see about purchasing an
apple orchard, in hopes of moving the entire Japanese community there. However, according to
Sandy Lydon, the soil was rocky and poor, and their plan had to be abandoned.
Young Nisei men were also given the choice of being evacuated or joining the military, and
many did sign up. Young women also volunteered for the Women's Army Corps and the U.S.
Cadet Nursing Corps.
11
�After March 25, restrictions were placed on the movements of Japanese in Watsonville, Gilroy,
the Monterey Peninsula, Salinas and San Benito County. Between April and June, they were
taken to the Salinas Assembly Center, located at the Salinas Rodeo grounds.
Posters were hung everywhere to give "Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry." The
evacuees could take nothing with them except bedding and linens, toilet articles, clothing,
utensils, plates, cups and unspecified "personal articles."
The Japanese Americans had to sell all they owned or leave it with someone they trusted.
Kazuko Nakane writes that they had to sell their belongings for a fraction of what they were
worth, in order to be ready for the evacuation. Just as when they emigrated from Japan, they
could take only what they could carry.
More than 3,600 Japanese Americans were held at the Salinas Assembly Center until July 4.
Twenty barrack buildings were constructed, measuring 20 by 100 feet. The camp was divided
into blocks made up of 14 barracks each. Each block held about 800 people and had its own
mess hall, laundry and recreation room. The rooms had no shades, curtains, shelves, closets or
lockers, so most evacuees stored their belongings under their beds.
Despite the poor living conditions and general confusion of the time, the center residents
quickly formed a wide variety of social activities. Several enterprising souls put together a camp
newsletter, The Village Crier, to report on the happenings. Activities during this time included
concerts by a glee club and an impromptu band, games of Go and Shogi, Buddhist meetings,
softball games, bridge, art classes and talent shows, according to copies of The Village Crier,
obtained from the Bancroft Library.
The tone of the writing is generally sunny, although in one early issue an editorial appeared,
signed only by the initials G.T.: "We are 3,000 strong with physical features that are alike. Does
that make us think or do the things identically as the next person? Surely, we have minds of our
own."
The author also advised readers, "Belief and faith in the ultimate
success that is our heritage will help us through this adjustment
period. We are not lost. Be strong."
Such was the community spirit of the temporary camp that when
relocation plans were announced, the residents held "Hello,
Arizona!" parties, decorated with paintings of desert scenery.
Ninety percent of the Salinas Assembly Center evacuees were sent
to Poston Relocation Camp in Arizona; 1,222 of them were from
Santa Cruz County. The Watsonville-area Japanese were split
between Poston Camps I and II, according to Lydon.
Watch Tower, Poston,
Arizona, 1942
12
�In Nakano's book, one woman remembers her arrival at Poston Camp: "We arrived in the
middle of a dust storm ... There were times when the electricity went off and we had no water."
Evacuees found these "resettlement communities" surrounded with barbed wire and guarded
by military police.
Accommodations were primitive, to say the least, and arrangements were especially hard on
the very young, the very old and the ill. Most parents and caregivers had to carry several
buckets of water to their living quarters each day.
Sleeping, eating, bathing and using the toilet was a group experience in the camps. The lack of
privacy was particularly difficult for Japanese women. People waited in lines to eat, get shots
and to get jobs.
Accommodations were similar to the temporary camps, modeled on Army barracks. Although
the rooms were bare and bleak, the residents did what they could to become comfortable.
Women ordered material from the Sears-Roebuck catalogue to make curtains, and the men
scrounged lumber from wherever they could to make furniture.
As time passed, evacuees made a wide variety of items
and even created gardens in the desert landscape. Ichiro
Yamaguchi remembers, "In Camp II they had a crafts fair
which was very interesting. I saw all the nice things and
was amazed. People had the time to do these things. They
had no place to go."
The long-time farmers even managed to raise crops and
raise animals, which helped supplement camp meals,
Making Mattresses Out of Hay,
according to Nakano. The government only allotted about Poston, Arizona, 1942
40 cents per meal. At the beginning, the food was
generally abysmal, cooked by inexpert hands and made from whatever was cheapest to buy.
One woman said in Nakano's book, "At one time we were served liver for several weeks, until
we went on strike." But by the end of 1943, the camps produced 85 percent of the vegetables
the evacuees consumed.
There were also a variety of leisure activities at the camps, especially for the children. Scout
troops were organized, as well as dances, concerts and all sorts of athletics. There were also
schools for the youngsters, although the quality of education was uneven, due to the lack of
proper materials and teachers.
Not surprisingly, tensions often ran high. Rumors were always flying. Yamaguchi wrote, "I don't
know how many times I heard that the Golden Gate Bridge fell down, that the Japanese (from
Japan) came and bombed it."
Evacuees could also work, both inside and outside the camp. Inside, they did a variety of jobs,
although the most they could be paid was $19 a day. They could also hire themselves outside
the camp for farm labor. College-age students were also allowed to leave to pursue their
educations.
13
�Group of Internees, Poston, Arizona, ca. 1942-1946
Some did leave the camps and resettle in the interior of the United States. One survey quoted
in Marshall and Johnson's book found that only 33.4 percent of the Watsonville Japanese had
returned by 1946. Some, such as the Shikuma and Sakata families, went to Colorado and
Oregon to farm.
However, many chose not to leave. This was partially due to the questionnaire that had to be
signed prior to leaving the camp, which became known as the "Yes-Yes-No-No" form, which
asked about the person's loyalty to the United States.
Those who answered the loyalty questions with "No" were sent to Tule Lake, the maximum
security center, which also served as a prison for those Japanese who had failed to register for
the draft. The loyalty questions proved horribly divisive for many Japanese families, according
to Nakano.
In the spring of 1944, Executive Order 9066 was rescinded, and the loyal Japanese were finally
allowed to go home. By the end of 1945, the camps had closed. But for the Issei and Nisei,
there was no closing the door on the pain and bitterness they felt for the wasted years in camp.
Some Japanese did repatriate and move back to Japan. Even so, most chose to stay in the
United States and to remake their lives there. By 1949, more than 57,000 had returned to the
West Coast.
14
�Chapter 4
A Time to Reflect: 1945 to Present [1992]
The Issei had come to the Pajaro Valley with dreams of a new land where they could prosper.
Now, after the war, they and their children had to put the pieces of the broken dream back
together.
According to Kazuko Nakane's book, some found their belongings, which had been stored by
churches or trusted neighbors, while others discovered their homes in disarray, their things
stolen or broken. There was prejudice on the part of some Caucasians, while others welcomed
the return of the Japanese with open arms.
The Watsonville Buddhist Temple, which was closed during the war years, reopened in 1945 as
a hostel for the evacuees returning to the area. The Rev. Yoshio Iwanaga, who had been placed
at the Poston II camp and continued to hold religious ceremonies there, also returned to his
church in 1945. He was not only the minister but also hostel administrator.
It took several years, but the lives of the Japanese slowly returned to normal. For the most part,
the farmers went back to farming, and once again the valley bloomed. Strawberry production
had dropped to almost nothing during the war years, but by 1953 was stronger than ever, with
almost 800 acres devoted to that crop, according to Johnson and Marshall.
The Nisei married and began to have their own children. Many Nisei men and women found
expanded job opportunities after the war. Previously, the Japanese had been hired mainly as
laborers and domestics. But afterward, a variety of positions opened up for the bettereducated, who became doctors, dentists, lawyers, teachers and businesspeople. Popular
choices of business included nurseries, florists, dry cleaners, food stores and hotels.
The Watsonville Citizens League once again became active. Formed as a social club in 1934, it
became politicized by the events of the war. In 1947, a group of Nisei men met to reactivate the
league and to pledge its commitment to community service. During 1948-49, the WCL provided
aid to returning evacuees, helping them file claims for losses and assisting those who needed to
re-register to vote.
In 1949, according to Sandy Lydon, the WCL officially became a chapter of the national
Japanese American Citizens League, and changed its name to reflect that. The Japan Society,
which had been the Issei service group, acknowledged the change in leadership and passed its
torch to the Nisei by deeding the younger group its property on Union Street.
In [1956], 1 California's Alien Land Law was repealed by popular vote. [It had been declared
unconstitutional in 1952 by the California Supreme Court in Fujii v. State of California. 2] A
campaign mounted in the late '40s and early '50s by the JACL (in which the Watsonville chapter
took an active role) culminated in the passage of the Walter-McCarran Immigration and
Naturalization Act in 1952, over the veto of President Harry Truman. This law allowed the Issei
to become naturalized citizens. By then, most of the original immigrants were in their 60s and
15
�70s, but even so, dutifully attended citizenship classes, took the test and were sworn in as U.S.
citizens, according to The Continuing Traditions: Japanese Americans, The Story of a People,
published by the Sacramento History Museum.
As time went on, the Japanese American sacrifices during the war were acknowledged, first by
President Gerald Ford in 1976 with a proclamation titled "The American Promise." He stated in
it that, "We know now what we should have known then - not only was the evacuation wrong,
but Japanese Americans were and are loyal Americans."
In 1980, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians was established by
act of Congress. The commission conducted hearings, heard testimony from more than 750
witnesses and examined more than 10,000 documents. In 1983, the commission ruled that the
evacuation and internment were unjustified, and was the result of "race prejudice, war
hysteria, and a failure of political leadership."
The commission estimated the total loss in 1983 dollars to be between $810 and $2 billion,
although other sources say the losses may be as high as $6 billion. This accounts for damages
and losses to businesses, disruption of careers, and long-term loss of income, earnings and
opportunity.
The commission also decided that the government owed Japanese Americans an apology as
well as redress for their losses. A fund was set up by Congress for this purpose.
President Ronald Reagan finally signed the Redress Bill on Aug. 10, 1988, and each surviving
evacuee - about 60,000 across the United States - received $20,000.
Today in the Pajaro Valley, the Issei are gone, but their spirit lives on through three generations
of descendants.
Much of the Japanese social life still revolves around the Watsonville Buddhist Temple and the
Westview Presbyterian Church. Both have done much to keep Japanese traditions alive in the
Pajaro Valley.
The Buddhist Temple has been the umbrella for a wide variety of activities. The temple has
sponsored Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Explorer troops since 1924, according to The Seventy-fifth
Anniversary, 1906-1981: Watsonville Buddhist Temple.
Under the auspices of the temple, there are also groups such as the Fujinkai, a women's service
organization, as well as several Buddhist associations and a Dharma school. Classes are held to
teach ikebana, the art of flower arrangement, and the Japanese tea ceremony. There are also
kendo (a martial art), camera and gardening clubs.
Many of the Christian Japanese attend Westview Presbyterian Church. The church began as a
mission in 1898 and continues to carry on that tradition with a variety of community projects.
Among their benificiaries are the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Pajaro Valley Shelter and
disaster victims in all parts of the country. Currently, the church is raising funds to help
hurricane victims in Hawaii and the South.
16
�Active church organizations include the men's fellowship group, the women's society and a
service group called JOY (Jesus, Others and You).
Westview, the Buddhist Temple and the JACL all provide funds for the Kokoro Nagakko, the
Japanese school based at the temple. The school provides students with knowledge about the
Japanese culture, and is open to students of all races.
The Watsonville Japanese American Citizens League continues to be active as well. In 1984, the
Watsonville JACL, along with chapters from Salinas, Monterey, Gilroy and San Benito County,
co-sponsored the placement of a plaque at the Salinas Rodeo Grounds. The plaque reads:
This monument is dedicated to the 3,586
Monterey Bay area residents of Japanese ancestry,
most of whom were American citizens, temporarily
confined in the Salinas Rodeo Grounds during
World War II, from April to July 1942. They were
detained without charges, trial or establishment of
guilt before being incarcerated in permanent
camps, mostly at Poston, Arizona. May such
injustice and humiliation never recur.
Monument to Monterey Bay Area Residents
And in 1992, the Nisei achieved another milestone Detained in Salinas in 1942
in their recognition. Fifty years earlier, they were
supposed to receive diplomas from Watsonville High School, but could not because they were
in the Salinas camp. On June 13, thirteen of them were handed their diplomas in a special
ceremony.
The local JACL was instrumental in gathering funds in 1965 for the new Watsonville hospital,
and also raised all the money needed to buy a building for the league. They have also done
much to help the Issei in their old age, establishing the Kizuka senior center and providing
activities for them.
The Nisei are now seniors themselves, and the Sansei are picking up where they left off. And
the children of the Sansei, the Yonsei, will eventually leave their mark on the Pajaro Valley as
well.
It has been a long, hard journey, but at last the Japanese Americans can truly call the Pajaro
Valley their home.
Editor’s Notes
1. The date of 1948, originally given in this publication is incorrect. The correct date is 1956.
Source: Okutsu, James. "Asian Land Laws." Asian American Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish,
1995. Vol. 1, p.18.
2. Ibid.
17
�Issei
The first generation. The Issei were born in Japan. Most immigrated to the United States
between 1890 and 1915
Nisei
The second generation, the children of the Issei. American citizens by birth, almost all Nisei
were born before World War II
Sansei
The third generation of Americans with Japanese ancestry, most Sansei were born during or
after World War II
Yonsei
The fourth generation, the children of the Sansei
Gosei
The fifth generation
18
�BIBLIOGRAPHY
Iwata, Masakazu, "The Japanese Immigrants in California
Agriculture,” Agricultural History, v. 36, Oct. 1962: 25-37.
Johnson, Eleanor, in collaboration with Opal Marshall, The
Japanese and Japanese-Americans in the Pajaro Valley.
Watsonville, Calif., Japanese American Citizens League, 1967.
Lydon, Sandy, A Half-Century of Service; The Watsonville Japanese
American Citizens League - 1934-1984. Watsonville, Calif., JACL,
1984.
Nakane, Kazuko, Nothing Left in My Hands; An Early Japanese
American Community in California's Pajaro Valley. Seattle, Young
Pine Press, 1985.
Nakano, Mei T., Japanese American Women; Three Generations
1890-1990. San Francisco, National Japanese American Historical
Society; and Berkeley, Mina Press Publishing, 1990.
U.S. Army WWI Issei
Volunteer from the
Pajaro Valley, 1918
Sacramento History Museum. The Continuing Traditions: Japanese Americans, the Story of a
People, Sacramento, Calif., 1992.
U.S. Immigration Commission. Reports, vol. 24. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
1911b: 431-451.
Westview Presbyterian Church, The Seventy-fifth Anniversary of Mission Work in Watsonville,
California. Oct. 28, 1973.
Westview Presbyterian Church, Nisei Christian Journey: Its Promise and Fulfillment, Vol. II,
Watsonville, Calif., 1983.
Wilhelm, Stephen and Sagen, James E., A History of the Strawberry; From Ancient Gardens to
Modern Markets. University of California, Division of Agricultural Sciences, 1974.
Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 60th Anniversary 1905-1966, 1966; and 75th Anniversary 19061981, 1981; Watsonville, Calif.
Source
Nihon Bunka = Japanese Culture; one hundred years in the Pajaro Valley. It was published by the
Pajaro Valley Arts Council in conjunction with the Council's 1992 exhibition of the same name.
The text is published on the Library's Web site with the permission of the Council. Photographs
are courtesy of Bill Tao. Copyright 1992, Pajaro Valley Arts Council.
It is the library’s intent to provide accurate information, however, it is not possible for the library
to completely verify the accuracy of all information. If you believe that factual statements in a
local history article are incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
19
�
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Santa Cruz History Articles
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Original articles by library staff and by local authors and material from historical books.
Articles on Santa Cruz County history, many with illustrations, are available here.
The Santa Cruz Public Libraries is grateful to our local historians and their publishers for giving permission to include their articles. The content of the articles is the responsibility of the individual authors.
It is the library's intent to provide accurate information. However, it is not possible to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a variety of sources. If you believe that factual statements in an article are incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
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Nihon Bunka/Japanese Culture: One Hundred Years in the Pajaro Valley
Subject
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Japanese American Community
Racism
Evacuation (World War II)
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Borg, Jane W.
Nichols, Kathy McKenzie
Tao, Bill
Pajaro Valley Arts Council
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Nihon Bunka = Japanese Culture; one hundred years in the Pajaro Valley. Published by the Pajaro Valley Arts Council in conjunction with the Council's 1992 exhibition of the same name.
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Santa Cruz Public Libraries
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1992
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Santa Cruz (County)
Pajaro Valley
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Published with the permission of the Council. Photographs are courtesy of Bill Tao. Copyright 1992, Pajaro Valley Arts Council.
Agriculture
County at War
Minority Groups
-
https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/7b3ec7e500a724103df9293d2f9a74dd.pdf
0c432cf79546c7edf9e56ac8b2d05c1f
PDF Text
Text
Executive Order 9066
and the Residents of Santa Cruz County
By Rechs Ann Pedersen
Japanese American Citizens League Float, Watsonville Fourth of July Parade, 1941
Photo Courtesy of Bill Tao
Copyright 2001 Santa Cruz Public Libraries.
The content of this article is the responsibility of the individual author.
It is the library’s intent to provide accurate information, however, it is not possible for the library
to completely verify the accuracy of all information. If you believe that factual statements in a
local history article are incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
1
�Table of Contents
Introduction
Bibliography
Chronology
Part 1: The attack on Pearl Harbor up to the signing of Executive Order 9066
(December 7, 1941 to February 18, 1942)
Part 2: The signing of Executive Order 9066 to the move to Poston
(February 19, 1942 to June 17, 1942)
Part 3: During the internment (July 17, 1942 to December 24, 1942)
Part 4: During the internment (1943)
Part 5: During the internment (1944)
Part 6: The release and the return of the evacuees (January 1945 through 1946)
Citizenship and Loyalty
Alien Land Laws
Executive Order 9066: Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas
Fear of Attack, Fear of Sabotage, Arrests
Restrictions on Axis Aliens
Evacuation: The Restricted Area
Public Proclamation No. 1
Public Proclamation No. 4
Salinas Assembly Center and Poston Relocation Center
Agricultural Labor Shortage
Military Service
Lifting of Restrictions on Italians and Germans
Release of the Evacuees
Debate over the Return of Persons of Japanese Ancestry
Return of the Evacuees
2
�Introduction
"...the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against
espionage and against sabotage." (Executive Order 9066)
"This is no time for expansive discourses on protection of civil liberties for Japanese
residents of the Pacific coast, whether they be American citizens or aliens." Editorial.
(S.C. Sentinel-News. February 19, 1942 [M] p.1.)
"He pointed out that the Japanese race is completely unassimilable with the white
race and that this nation would be better off without them." Editorial. (Riptide. April 3,
1942 p.2)
"Remember also -- persecute these people for the accident of birth -- establish a
precedent and the cold heavy hand of persecution and intolerance may one day rest on
your shoulder because your name is Smith or Jones -- or because you are Protestant or
Catholic or Jew -- white or Negro -- and the persecutors will use this incident as a
precedent." Letter to the Editor by John L. McCarthy. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian,
March 9, 1943. p.6)
By noon April 30th 1942, "no person of Japanese ancestry remained in Santa Cruz
County for the first time in more than half a century..." (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. 4/30/1942 p.1)
It happened here, too
On February 19, 1942, a little more than two months
after the United States entered World War II, President
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. It authorized
the Secretary of War, or his designate, to define military
areas and to exclude from them citizens and aliens alike.
By the authority of Executive Order 9066, General John
L. DeWitt, Western Defense Commander, created
Military Area no. 1 and excluded from it all persons of
Japanese ancestry. Santa Cruz County was part of
Watsonville Boy Scout Troop 87, 1933 - Photo
Military Area no. 1. All Japanese and Japanese-American courtesy of Bill Tao
residents of the County either moved out or were
evacuated and imprisoned in relocation centers. "All this was done despite the fact that not a
single documented act of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity was committed by an
American citizen of Japanese ancestry or by a resident Japanese alien on the West Coast." (1)
Without criminal charges or trials of any kind, these individuals were denied their Constitutional
rights to life, liberty, and property.
3
�Part of the local story
By using quotations and full-text articles from contemporary local newspapers, these articles
begin to show what happened to Santa Cruz County Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and Italians
because of Executive Order 9066. These articles aim to contribute to their story, outlining
events and revealing attitudes and prejudices.
More information
However, these articles are based on newspaper accounts and as such are incomplete in
themselves. They leave out personal experiences and only lightly touch on the broader legal
issues. Articles on the library’s website help to round out the picture. Personal accounts,
descriptions of life in the camps, and discussions of the fundamental legal issues may be found
in books and media available at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries (and other public libraries
around the country).
About this Project
In 1997 the library hosted the traveling Smithsonian exhibition called, "A More Perfect Union".
This exhibition dealt with the constitution issues of the internment of Japanese Americans
during World War II. The focus of the exhibition was nationwide. Using contemporary local
newspapers as the source, the Library decided to add information on the local impact of
Executive Order 9066 to its Website.
Volunteers from the Friends of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries and library reference staff
scanned microfilm back files of the Santa Cruz Sentinel-News (12/1941-1945), Riptide (19411945), Morning Sun (12/1941), and Watsonville Register-Pajaronian (1942--1945). They printed
off articles related to the internment. Out of the stacks of printed articles, the Internet Librarian
(Rechs Ann Pedersen) edited the selections and wrote the articles. The full text of selected
articles were transcribed by volunteers and staff.
A common reaction for all of us working with the newspapers was, "I didn't know that." Helping
to dispel that ignorance was the major purpose of this project.
Footnote
(1) U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Personal Justice
Denied. Civil Liberties Education Fund and University of Washington Press, 1997. p.3.
4
�Bibliography
The following publications were used to compile the chronologies and were sources of
information for the topical articles.
Asian American Chronology. Ed. by Deborah G. Baron and Susan B. Gall. Gale Research, 1996.
Asian American Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
Daniels, Roger. Politics of Prejudice. Atheneum, 1974.
Hatamiya, Leslie T. Righting a Wrong; Japanese Americans and the Passage of the Civil
Liberties Act of 1988. Stanford University Pr., 1993.
The Latino Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish, 1995.
McWilliams, Carey. "The War Years," North from Mexico. Greenwood Pr., 1968.
Riptide (1942--1945)
Santa Cruz Sentinel-News (December 1941--1945)
United States Commission on Wartime Relocation. Personal Justice Denied. Civil Liberties
Public Education Fund and University of Washington Pr., 1997.
Watsonville Morning Sun (December 1941)
Watsonville Register-Pajaronian (1942--1945)
5
�Chronology: Part 1
The Attack on Pearl Harbor up to the Signing of Executive Order 9066
Dec. 7, 1941 -- Feb. 18, 1942
Articles are from the following newspapers:
Riptide, Watsonville Morning Sun (WMS), Watsonville Register-Pajaronian (WRP), Santa Cruz
Sentinel-News (SCS) [E] Evening Edition, [M] Morning Edition
Sources used for the dates of events are listed in the Bibliography.
Date
Dec. 7
1941
Headline
JAPAN ATTACKED THE U.S. NAVAL FLEET AT PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII
LET'S KEEP OUR HEAD! (Editorial)
LOCAL JAPANESE ASSURE THIS COUNTRY OF LOYALITY
Dec. 8 UNITED STATES DECLARED A STATE OF WAR WITH JAPAN
S.C. DIGS IN FOR DURATION OF WAR
Dec. 9 "We are yours to command in this emergency"
MALIO STAGNARO SPEAKS
Dec. 10 LOCAL JAPANESE ARE AGAINST WAR AGGRESSION
GERMANY AND ITALY DECLARED WAR ON THE U.S.; THE U.S. DECLARED
Dec. 11
WAR ON GERMANY AND ITALY
WE ARE LOYAL
Dec.
by Itsumi Oita, co-winner of the American Legion Armistice Day oratorical
12-13
contest.
Dec.13 JAPANESE FUNDS FROZEN HERE, OTHERS OKeh [sic]
AS WE SEE IT
Dec.18 [Editorial in the Sentinel-News on the loyalty and dual citizenship situation
of Japanese nationals and their American-born children]
Dec. 21 JAP SUBMARINE SHELLS TANKER OFF MONTEREY BAY
THE NISEI IN THE CROSS FIRE
Dec. 24
(Editorial reprinted from the Christian Science Monitor)
1942
Jan. 1 'WAIT-WATCH' NEW POLICY OF S.C. WHARFMEN
Jan. 2 MOVEMENT OF ALL AXIS ALIENS NOW RESTRICTED
WAR DEPT. CLASSIFIED JAPANESE-AMERICAN MEN OF DRAFT AGE AS
Jan. 5
ENEMY ALIENS, 4-C
6
Citation
WMS
p.1
WMS
p.1
SCS p.2
SCS p. 2.
SCS p.8
WMS p.
8
SCS p.2
SCS p.1
SCS p. 1
WMS
p.4
SCS p.7
WRP p.1
�ENEMY ALIENS: SPECIFICALLY, HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL GIVE UP
SCS [E]
p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.2
Jan. 13 $25,000 BOND GOAL SET BY LOCAL JACL
Jan. 16 JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS' LEAGUE DECLARES ITS POLICY
ROBERTS COMMISSION REPORT RELEASED--investigated the attack on
Pearl Harbor, concluding that the attack had been assisted by Japanese
Jan. 25
spies in Hawaii; advised preventative action on the mainland for the sake of
national security.
U.S. Justice Dept. announced plans to remove enemy aliens from areas in
the eight far Western states.
Jan. 29
NEW RULE AFFECTS ALIENS HERE
SCS [E]
[Identification Certificates]
p.1
SCS [E]
Jan. 30 LOCAL ALIEN REACTION TO REMOVAL
p.1
TWELVE UNHAPPY ENEMY ALIENS OF SANTA CRUZ
SCS [M]
Feb 1 "Fishermen with 23 sons in Army and Navy are bound to wharf while boats
p.1
lie idle and sea food is needed."
ENEMY ALIENS: "MOTHER" DEFENDS THEM
SCS [E]
[impact on Italians]
p. 8
ALIEN BAN ON S.C. COAST WILL AFFECT HUNDREDS; FEBRUARY 24 IS DATE SCS [M]
p.1
Feb 3 FOR CLEARING AREA
SCS [E]
NO EXCEPTIONS FOR S.C. ALIENS ; CONFUSION AFTER 1ST ORDER HERE
p.1
MONTEREY FARM PARLEY URGES JAPANESE REMOVAL
WRP p.2
CURFEW HITS ALL LOCAL ALIENS; HUGH COAST AREA HIT BY NEW
SCS [E].
REGULATIONS
p.1
MEN WITHOUT A COUNTRY [Editorial]
SCS [E]
Feb. 4 There are two current schools of thought in Santa Cruz regarding enemy
p.2.
alien orders...
OUSTED JAPANESE MAY ASK REHABILITATION AID: "WE'LL ABIDE BY
WRP p. 1
ORDER,' SAYS ONE OF COLONY
AS WE SEE IT [Editorial]
SCS [E]
Production of food is of such major importance to our country ...
p.1
Feb. 5
SCS [M]
MARCONI CLUB CHIEF APPEALS TO GOVERNOR
p.1
NEW ALIEN RULES SEEN
New proposed steps to cope with the Japanese alien-citizen problem on the
SCS [E]
Feb. 6 west coast....the possibility of asking congress for legislation that would
p.1
permit "protective custody" arrest of any citizen for the duration of the
war.
7
�Feb. 11
Feb. 13
FBI ARRESTS 20 JAPS IN MONTEREY BAY TERRITORY; STORE KEEPER IS
TAKEN IN CUSTODY AT WATSONVILLE
NEW ALIEN PROFITEERING CHARGES ARE HURLED HERE.
JACOBY REFUTES RENT CHARGES BY S.C. ALIEN REPRESENTATIVES
SCS [M]
p. 1
SCS p.1
SCS [E]
p. 1
Chronology: Part 2
The Signing of Executive Order 9066 to the Move to Poston
Feb. 19, 1942 -- June 17, 1942
1942
Date
Headline
PRES. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT SIGNED Executive Order 9066.
AS WE SEE IT [Editorial]
"This is no time for expansive discourses on protection of civil liberties for
Japanese residents of the Pacific coast, whether they be American citizens
or aliens."
Feb. 19 SC MARTIAL LAW, RICH COMMENTS
"I do think the people on the whole would feel a lot safer with all Japanese
out of the community. It might be a way of bolstering morale and waking
the people up to the fact the situation is serious."
Feb. 21
Mar. 1
Mar. 2
SCS. [M]
p. 1.
SCS. [M]
p. 1.
SCS. [E]
p. 10.
ALIEN RULES FELT AT H.S.
Feb. 20
Citation
GENERAL JOHN L. DEWITT-- appointed by Secretary of War to administer
Executive Order 9066.
JAPANESE NOT THE ONLY ENEMY ALIENS TO WATCH CLOSELY [Editorial]
FDR AUTHORIZES WAR SECRETARY TO SET UP MILITARY AREAS TO CONTROL
AXIS ALIENS
PACIFIC COAST JAPANESE PREPARE FOR EVACUATION:
"We are preparing our people...to move out. We want them to go without
bitterness, without rancor, and with the feeling that this can be their
contribution to the defense of the United States."
PUBLIC PROCLAMATION NO. 1 -- Western halves of California, Oregon,
Washington, and the Southern Part of Arizona were designated as Military
Area No. 1. Advised "voluntary" evacuation to the interior of the United
States. Persons of Japanese ancestry were to be evacuated first. When this
was completed, the German and Italian aliens would be evacuated.
8
WRP p.4.
WRP p.1
SCS. [M]
p. 1.
�LOCAL ITALIANS FAVORED IN NEW ALIEN EVACUATION RULE
Mar. 3 "...exempted will be the families, including parents, wives, children, sisters
and brothers of Germans and Italians in the armed forces..."
Mar. 4 2500 TO QUIT VALLEY; AMERICAN-BORN INCLUDED IN ARMY ORDER
S.C. ALIENS AMONG FIRST EVACUATED; 60 DAYS IN WHICH ALL MUST GO "
Evacuation of all Japanese, alien and citizen, and Italian and German aliens,
Mar. 5 will be conducted first in such seaport areas as Santa Cruz... "
WHAT OTHER EDITORS SAY:
Fair Treatment For Japanese
Mar. 6 JAPS PLAN EVACUATION; TWO RECEPTION CENTERS SET UP
ALIENS! WARNINGS ARE GIVEN
"Don't sell property at sacrifice prices, continue to work your crops until
Mar. 9 exclusion is ordered officially..."
JAPANESE CENSUS TOTAL LISTED IN S.C. AREA
SCS [E]
p.1
WRP p.1
SCS [E]
p.1
WRP p.8
WRP p.1
SCS. [E]
p. 5
SCS. [E]
p. 5
Mar. 17 PROCLAMATION NO. 2 -- four more states designated as military zones.
PRES. ROOSEVELT SIGNED EXECUTIVE ORDER 9102 ESTABLISHING THE
Mar. 18
WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY.
Mar. 19 NEW RULING STARTS ALIEN EVACUATION
Mar. 24
SCS. [E]
p.1
PUBLIC PROCLAMATION NO. 3 -- established curfew and travel regulation
for Japanese, German, and Italian aliens and Japanese-Americans.
NEW ALIEN CURFEW RULE STARTS FRIDAY
SCS. [E]
p. 1.
PUBLIC PROCLAMATION NO. 4 --prohibited voluntary evacuation and
established mandatory evacuation.
200 JAP FAMILIES REMAIN; WILL DO THEIR BEST ON FARMS SAYS I. MOTOKI WRP p.1.
Mar. 27
SCS. [E]
WANTED: OPERATORS FOR JAP-ABANDONED FARMS
p. 1.
ALIEN RULES TOUGHER, SOME EXEMPTIONS HERE
"Certain designated classes of Italian and German aliens--and a very few
SCS. [E]
Mar. 30
Japanese--Monday held a reprieve from evacuation and military curfew
p. 1.
regulations.."
SCS. [E]
Mar. 31 QUIET EVACUATION LEAVES ONLY 20 JAP FAMILIES
p. 1.
CALIFORNIA FIRED ALL STATE CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES WHO WERE
April 2
JAPANESE AMERICAN
Riptide.
April 3 "LETS DEPORT ALL JAPANESE" [Editorial]
p.2
Mar. 26
9
�CENTERS FOR JAPS OK ARMY SAYS
"Japanese who will be evacuated from the Pajaro Valley soon...were assured
April 13
WRP p.1.
Monday that living conditions in army-established assembly centers will be
adequate."
JAPANESE FARM RULES
"New regulations to assure fair disposal and continued productivity of
SCS. [E]
April 17
approximately 15 farms still operated by Japanese-Americans in the
p. 1.
Watsonville and Santa Cruz area were announced today."
SCS. [M]
April 26 1196 JAPANESE IN COUNTY TO GO THIS WEEK
p. 1.
ASSEMBLY CENTER AT SALINAS RODEO GROUNDS OPENED
April 27
SCS. [E]
JAP FARM PROGRAM PLANS GIVEN
p. 5.
April 28 SALINAS JAPANESE ASSEMBLY CENTER BUSY PLACE AS EVACUEES MOVE IN WRP p.1.
April 29 JAPS DISAPPEAR FROM VALLEY AS EVACUATION ON
WRP p.1.
NO PERSON OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY REMAINED IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
April 30
LAST JAPANESE LEAVE VALLEY IN EVACUATION
WRP p. 1
May 8 POSTON RELOCATION CENTER IN ARIZONA OPENED
THE STORY OF 112,000 JAPANESE IN AMERICA
May 26
WRP p.7
(A series of three Full-Texts: Part one)
THE STORY OF 112,000 JAPANESE IN AMERICA
May 27
WRP p.9
(Part two)
THE STORY OF 112,000 JAPANESE IN AMERICA
May 28
WRP p.7
(Part three)
ARMY COMPLETED EVACUATION OF PERSONS OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY
June
FROM MILITARY AREA No. 1
June 4BATTLE OF MIDWAY--destroyed the Japanese Naval Fleet
6
100th INFANTRY BATTALION CREATED--formed almost entirely of Japanese
June 12
Americans from Hawaii
STARTING SOME DAYS BEFORE, LOCAL EVACUEES WERE MOVED FROM
June 17
SALINAS TO POSTON
10
�Chronology: Part 3
During the Internment
June 17, 1942 -- Dec. 24, 1942
Date
June 17
June 22
June 26
June 30
July 8
1942
Headline
STARTING SOME DAYS BEFORE, LOCAL EVACUEES WERE MOVED FROM
SALINAS TO POSTON
READERS' REFERENDUM--JAPANESE LIKE FOOD AT SALINAS CENTER
A DISSERVICE TO OUR NATION [Editorial]
"Further evidencing the need for national martial law, which Riptide
consistently has advocated, is the action of the Civil Liberties Union which is
endeavoring to nullify the evacuation of Japanese who are American
citizens.."
S.C. ALIEN ORDER IS CLEARED
"All Italian and German aliens, previously by federal order prohibited from
an area including most of the city and all immediate coast territory inside
the Coast Road and Watsonville highway, may return to that once-banned
section..."
HOW MANY LOYAL?
July 17 SCHOOLS IN CITY SUFFER 336 LOSS [school enrollment]
July 21 GIRL OF JAPANESE DESCENT IN TEST OF INTERNMENT
Citation
WRP p.3
Riptide
p.2
SCS [E]
p.1
WRP
p.10
Riptide
p.2
SCS [M]
p.1
POLICE TO HELP FBI KEEP EYE ON OUR ALIENS
"Santa Cruz Police Department must make a complete report of the doings
Sept. 10
of every enemy alien in the city once a week to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and twice a month to an unnamed organization."
SCS [M]
p.8
Sept. 16 S.C. LAD OF JAPANESE DESCENT IS GOOD ARMY CORPORAL
SCS [M]
p.1
THE ARMY COMPLETED THE TRANSFER OF EVACUEES FROM ASSEMBLY
CENTERS TO RELOCATION CENTERS
OUR EX-HOMETOWN JAPANESE BOYS IN THEIR INTERNMENT CAMPS WORK
Oct. 1
ON CAMOUFLAGE NETS AND PLAY BASEBALL
JAPANESE SCHOOLBOYS WRITE FOR RECORDS
Oct. 11 "Boys and girls who last year were pupils in Santa Cruz public schools are
writing back to the school authorities for certified record of their credits."
Oct. 13 ITALIAN ALIENS ALLOWED TO RETURN TO COASTAL AREAS
Oct.
11
SCS [E]
p.1
SCS [M]
p.8
�BIDDLE SAYS ITALIANS NOT ENEMY
Oct. 14
Oct. 19
Oct. 21
Nov. 3
Nov. 18
Nov. 17
Nov. 23
Dec. 24
AGED GERMAN "ENEMY ALIEN" WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE HAD HIS
SAVINGS IN $500 WAR BOND [George Michael Heckel]
CURFEW AND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS LIFTED FOR ITALIAN ALIENS
THEIR ENEMY IS OURS [Editorial]
"Orders of Attorney General Biddle and Lt.-Gen. John L DeWitt, effect last
Monday, in removing the majority of Italian aliens from the status of enemy
aliens, appears amply justified by the findings of the FBI."
ITALIAN FISHING BAN OFF; 50 PER CENT OF CREWS MUST BE U.S. CITIZENS
STRIKE AT POSTON WAR RELOCATION CENTER
MILITARY RULE ON JAP ALIENS
"San Francisco...The Western Defense Command said today all its orders
would remain in force despite a ruling by Federal Judge James A. Fee at
Portland, Ore., that Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt, WDC commander, has no power
to regulate activities of United States citizens."
ARMY ENDS JAP STRIKE AT POSTON
"Loyal Internees Hold Firm, Quell Unrest Among Axis Element."
COAST CURFEW IS LIFTED FOR GERMAN ALIENS
SCS [M]
p.1
SCS [M]
p.1
WRP p.4
SCS p.1
SCS [E]
p.8
WRP p.1
Chronology: Part 4
During the Internment
1943
Date
Jan
Jan. 13
Jan. 16
Jan. 27
Feb. 8
Feb. 24
1943
Headline
442nd REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM ORGANIZED BY PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE--formed from Nisei volunteers from the U.S. mainland and Hawaii
WHAT OF THE WEST COAST JAPANESE?
We learn, from our discussions with various persons, that local people are
divided in their ideas about the problem.
JAPANESE FARM MACHINERY MAY BE PUT TO WORK
PLAN STUDIED TO PUT LOYAL U.S. JAPANESE IN WAR PLANTS
LOYALTY QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTERED TO ALL MEN AND WOMEN
OVER 17 IN RELOCATION CENTERS
DEFENSE COUNCIL RAPS FREEING OF INTERNED JAPS: PROTESTS GOING TO
PRESIDENT, SEC. STIMSON
Pajaro Valley and Watsonville Defense council, in special session Tuesday
12
Citation
WRP p.4
SCS p.1
SCS p.1
WRP p.1
�Mar. 9
Mar. 20
Mar. 26
Mar. 28
Mar. 30
Apr. 2
Apr. 6
Apr. 8
Apr. 16
Apr. 24
Apr. 25
Apr. 26
May 21
May 28
night, adopted a resolution protesting the War Relocation authority's
proposed program of releasing Japanese evacuees...
RESOLUTION AGAINST JAP PROGRAM
Following is the resolution adopted Tuesday night by the Pajaro Valley and WRP p.1
Watsonville Defense council
JAPANESE EVACUEES MUST BE KEPT UNDER STRICT SURVEILLANCE
WRP p.4
AMERICAN PRINCIPLE CITED BY MCCARTHY IN DEFENSE OF JAPS
WRP p.6
WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE CONDITIONAL
LEAVE PERMITS TO DETAINEES
ALIEN FISHING BAN HITS 15 IN SANTA CRUZ
SCS p.1
JAP NATIONALITY QUESTIONS PUT TO SUPREME COURT
SCS p.1
SUPREME COURT ASKED TO RULE ON JAP-AMERICAN EVACUATION
WRP p.1
RELEASE OF NATIVE-BORN JAPS FROM CAMPS ASKED BY SENATOR
WRP p.1
MOVING JAPS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
WRP p.6
POLITICALLY SPEAKING
SCS [E]
...Legislators and farmers have been fretting over the wasted farm
p.10
machinery left behind by interned Japanese farmers...
DEWITT ATTITUDE ON JAPS UPSETS PLANS: MANY READY FOR RETURN TO
COAST
By FRED MULLEN
WASHINGTON (UP) - The attitude of Lt.-Gen. John L. DeWitt that "a Jap's a WRP p.1
Jap," has upset for the present an administration plan to return to useful
work on the Pacific coast a majority of the 110,000 Japanese evacuees in
relocation camps, it was learned Friday.
JAP CITIZENSHIP RESTS ON OLD CASE BEFORE HIGH COURT.
WRP p.3
SUPERVISORS PROTEST RELEASING OF JAPS
WRP p.1
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SUPERVISORS DEPLORE ARMY'S ACTION IN TAKING
SCS [M]
SOLDIERS OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY
p.1
A LETTER FROM POSTON
Do you consider for a minute that we American citizens of Japanese ancestry
WRP p.3
are being treated fairly in being placed in a concentration camp, although it
is not called concentration camp by our government, but theoretically it is?
HERE'S TEXT OF SUPERVISORS' RESOLUTION ON JAPANESE
WRP p.4
WAR PRISONER FARM HANDS
WRP p.3
JAP CITIZENSHIP
Patriots who really work at it are the Native Sons of the Golden West, who
held their 66th annual convention last week...to keep all Japs in the
WRP p.3
relocation camps until other arrangements can be made and to bar forever
American-born Japanese from United States citizenship.
13
�July 7
July 8
NEW WARNING ON RELEASING OF JAPANESE
...might result in turning trained saboteurs loose in this country...
'TEETH' PUT IN JAP ALIEN LAND LAW
... Gov. Earl Warren Tuesday signed the Engle bill (8B140) putting more
"teeth" into the alien land law of 1920 ...
POSTON JAPS USED GOVERNMENT CARS FOR FISHING TRIPS AND PICNICS,
DIES GROUP TOLD
JAP'S SIEGE AT POSTON REVEALED
GOV. WARREN OPPOSES JAPS' RETURN TO STATE IN WARTIME
Outbreaks of violence at the Poston, Ariz. relocation center late last year
were caused by the return of 365 Japanese from "dangerous alien" camps in
New Mexico and North Dakota, Norris James, War Relocation Authority
intelligence officer, told a Dies subcommittee here.
POSTON JAPS ARMED, DIES GROUP TOLD
RACE PREJUDICE BLAMED FOR REMOVAL OF JAPANESE
U.S. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS CONSTITUTIONALITY OF CURFEW LAW IN
HIRABAYASHI V. UNITED STATES
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS CONVICTION OF TWO JAPS
WASHINGTON (UP) -The supreme court Monday upheld the convictions of
Gordon K. Hirabayashi and Minoru Yasui, American citizens of Japanese
descent, for violating evacuation and curfew orders of the U.S. army.
JAPS MUST BE WATCHED SAYS WARREN
COLUMBUS, O. (UP) - The release of 150,000 Japanese now held at
relocation centers may lead to widespread sabotage and a "second Pearl
Harbor in California," Gov. Earl Warren of California said Monday.
SUPREME COURT BACKS DEWITT
HEARING ON JAP ISSUE HERE JULY 7
The California State Senate Interim Committee on the Japanese problem...
will hold a hearing here on Wednesday afternoon...
JAP-AMERICAN ARMY PRIVATE WANTS 'CHINAMAN'S CHANCE' TO PROVE
LOYALTY TO THE US
CALIF. STATE SENATE INTERIM SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS ON THE
"JAPANESE PROBLEM' HELD IN WATSONVILLE
WRA DIRECTOR IRED BY DIES' JAP PROBE
MAJORITY OPINION AT JAP HEARING--KEEP THEM OUT AFTER THE WAR
July 9
SANTA CRUZANS TESTIFY AT WATSONVILLE JAP HEARINGS
July 15
TULE LAKE DESIGNATED AS CENTER FOR DETAINEES WHO WOULD NOT
SIGN LOYALTY OATH
May 31
June 8
June 10
June 11
June 12
June 14
June 18
June 21
June 22
June 29
July 6
July 7-8
14
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.3
WRP p.2
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.3
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.6
WRP p.1
WRP p.6
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
SCS [E]
p. 1
�July 16 NO MORE JAPS IN COUNTY IS WISH OF THE MAJORITY
July 25 BENITO MUSSOLINI FELL FROM POWER
Aug. 24 ARMY WILL NOT SUPERVISE JAPS AT RELOCATION CENTERS
Sept. 14 FR SAYS MOST JAP EVACUEES ARE LOYAL
Oct. 13 ITALY DECLARED WAR ON GERMANY
Oct. 18 JAPANESE-AMERICAN SOLDIERS UNDER FIRE AT BENEVENTO BATTLE
8200 DISLOYAL JAPS NOW AT TULE LAKE;
Oct. 22
10,000 BY JAN. 1
Oct. 23 WAR DEPARTMENT PAYS TRIBUTE TO JAPANESE-AMERICAN TROOPS
Oct. 29 SULLEN JAPS REFUSE WORK AT TULE LAKE
Nov. 22 JAP SUBVERSIVE GROUP HAD HEADQUARTERS HERE, CHARGE
Dec. 9 BIDDLE SAYS JAP-AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP CAN BE REVOKED
Riptide
p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.6
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
WRP p.1
Chronology: Part 5
During the Internment
1944
1944
Date
Headline
WAR DEPT. REINSTATED THE DRAFT FOR NISEI DETAINEES
JAP ISSUE ON HOME FRONT:
Jan. 20 DeWITT REPORT SAYS EVACUATION MILITARY NECESSITY
JAP ISSUE ON HOME FRONT:
FAIR PLAY GROUP FEARS PRECEDENT, FILES ARTICLES
'SOUL-STIRRING HATE' NEEDED TO WIPE OUT JAPS--GARDNER
"For the last two years, some of us, privately and publicly, have asserted that
Feb. 1 the Japanese, as a race, are absolutely bad, that they are inherently,
biologically and traditionally vicious, inherently inhuman, totally unfit for
association with any human being..."
FRESNO TEST CASE
Feb. 7
LOOMS ON SEIZURE OF STORED JAP EQUIPMENT
April 8 DRAFT BOARDS HAVE PROBLEM IN RECLASSIFICATION OF JAPANESE
Citation
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.6
WRP
p.2
ICKES BACKS WRA HANDLING OF JAPANESE
Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes Thursday denounced "professional race
WRP
April 13 mongers" who oppose release of loyal Japanese-Americans from relocation
p.1
camps and said that people who deny them decent treatment "don't believe
in the constitution of the United States."
15
�FIRST STEP IN CAMPAIGN TO TAKE LAND FROM ALIEN JAPS NOW HELD
THROUGH 'DUMMIES'
April 28 NISEI IN US ARMY WON'T BE USED IN COMBAT AGAINST JAPS
May 20
May 27
May 29
June 10
3 JAP EVACUEES FACE MONTEREY CO. LAND CHARGE
Criminal complaints charging conspiracy to violate the alien property act of
1920 were filed against three Japanese in superior court at Salinas Friday by
Monterey County District Attorney Anthony Brazil.
WHAT OTHER EDITORS SAY-- AFTER THE WAR
(From San Francisco Chronicle)
LETTER FROM JAPANESE AMERICAN IN SERVICE
... For us Japanese-Americans, we have two battles to win..."
100th INFANTRY BATTALION AND 442nd REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM
FORMALLY UNITED
Aug. 8 FOUR FORMER LOCAL JAPANESE-AMERICANS LEAVE POSTON FOR ARMY
Sept. 23 HARRY F. MADOKORO'S LETTER BEFORE DEATH
Oct. 3
Oct. 10
Nov. 15
Nov. 17
Nov. 18
WRA CHIEF SAYS HEROISM OF NISEI IN ITALY SOFTENING OPPOSITION TO
JAPS RETURN
ATTORNEYS-GENERAL FILE BRIEF IN JAP EVACUATION CASE
Attorneys-generals of California, Oregon and Washington Monday joined in a
brief filed with the supreme court asking that restrictions against JapaneseAmerican citizens in Pacific coastal areas be removed "as soon as national
security permits."
RETURN OF JAPANESE
- Under the Constitution, American-born Japanese cannot legally be
prevented from returning to California once the military prohibition against
their residence here is lifted. But the problem is not simply one of law codes,
and any attempt to solve it by legalistic means alone must surely fail....The
story of the Japanese in California before the war is that of a large
concentrated minority, unassimilable and acquisitive.
RETURN OF JAPANESE STIRS MANY PROTESTS
... Feeling is particularly bitter in Salinas, home of the American tank
company which suffered heavy casualties on Bataan. Watsonville police said
they had not been notified of the arrival or impending arrival of any Japanese
evacuees here. Officials also said they had received no reports to
substantiate a rumor that a "dead Jap was found on the beach road" Friday
morning.
WARREN TALKS WITH ARMY ON JAPS RETURN
SACRAMENTO (UP) - Gov. Earl Warren, commenting on complaints against
16
WRP
p.3
WRP
p.3
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.6
WRP
p.6
WRP
p.6
WRP
p.3
WRP
p.3
WRP
p.3
WRP
p.4
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.1
�the return of several Japanese to California, Saturday disclosed he had
discussed with officers of the army's Western Defense command the possible
danger of large scale release of evacuated Japanese....
CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION DIRECTOR SAYS JAPS WILL RETURN
...He declared the exclusion order was not based on military necessity but
Nov. 20 was the "unfortunate result of the ancient prejudice of such groups as the
Associated Farmers ... and certain labor unions which resented the
competing cheap labor of the Japanese."
ANDERSON SAYS 800 JAPANESE BACK; FDR TELLS STAND
WASHINGTON (UP) - Shortly after Rep. John Z. Anderson, R., Calif., had
declared 800 Japanese evacuees had been permitted to return to the west
Nov. 22
coast, President Roosevelt Wednesday had expressed the belief that
Japanese-Americans, who are American citizens, cannot be locked up in
concentration camps indefinitely.
WRP
p.5
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.1
Nov. 24 HENRY IZUMIZAKI KILLED IN ACTION
PUBLIC PROCLAMATION NO. 21 ISSUED--War Dept. revoked mass exclusion
Dec. 17 of persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast. The Proclamation
went into effect Jan. 2, 1945.
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES THAT EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066
CONSTITUTIONAL IN KOREMATSU V. UNITED STATES; ALSO RULES THAT
GOVERNMENT COULD NOT DETAIN LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS IN DETENTION
IN ENDO, EX PARTE
Dec. 18 VIOLENCE IS FEARED; GOV. WARREN CALLS UPON POLICE
HIGH COURT RULES 'LOYAL JAPS' FREE
SIDELIGHTS ON LIFTING OF EXCLUSION BAN ON JAPANESE
EXCLUSION BAN OFF
Dec.19
COZZENS TELLS WRA PLANS IN RESETTLEMENT OF JAPANESE
ICKES SAYS MOST JAPANESE EVACUEES 'CHOOSE TO REMAIN' WHERE THEY
ARE
Dec. 22 DISAGREES ON JAPANESE ISSUE
OTHER EDITORS' VIEWS
Dec. 28 We have been asked what other editors of smaller city daily newspapers
think about the lifting of the exclusion order against west coast Japanese.
Dec. 21
17
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.1
WRP
p.6
WRP
p.8
WRP
p.1
WRP p.
WRP
p.4
�Chronology: Part 6
The Release and Return of the Evacuees
January 1945 through 1946
Date
Jan. 2
Jan. 8
Jan. 12
Jan. 19
Jan. 25
Jan. 30
Feb. 2
Feb. 3
Feb. 12
Feb. 24
April 2
1945
Headline
INTERNED JAPANESE AMERICANS ALLOWED TO RETURN TO WEST COAST
Public Proclamation No. 21 revoked mass exclusion of persons of Japanese
Ancestry. Individual exclusions were still in effect.
SCHOOL HEADS IN PLEDGE ON RETURN OF JAPANESE PUPILS
[INDUSTRIAL AND FARM JOBS]
UC PROFESSOR SAYS RETURNING JAPANESE WILL NOT THREATEN FARMERS'
ECONOMIC SECURITY
REP. ANDERSON STAND ON JAPS
..."There are two primary reasons why I have consistently opposed the lifting
of the exclusion order and the return of Japanese-Americans at this time.
First, of course, is the question of security for citizens of Pacific coast states
while the Pacific war continues, and second is the safety of the JapaneseAmericans themselves.
HOLLYWOOD LEGION TIFF ON JAP ISSUE
FRANK SAKATA HERE ON BUSINESS TRIP
Frank Sakata, Pajaro valley Nisei who was evacuated three years ago, and
who now is farming with his family in eastern Oregon, was here on business
Monday and Tuesday. He was accompanied by another former local Nisei,
"Sox" Yamaguchi. ...As far as is known, Sakata and Yamaguchi were the first
Nisei to visit the valley since the army lifted the evacuation ban early in the
year.
'MONTEREY BAY COUNCIL ON JAPANESE RELATIONS' TELLS STAND, INVITES
MEMBERSHIPS
SEIFERT TELLS JAP RELATIONS COUNCIL STAND
"... I honestly believe I am as free of any kind of race prejudice as any human
being can be and I cannot see where any other racial problem could arise
which would be fraught with as much danger to our future generations as
the Japanese problem."
NATIVE SONS SEEK LAWS TO GOVERN JAPANESE IN STATE
500 JAPANESE BACK ON COAST
War Relocation authority records completed through Feb. 17 show that 413
Japanese went to California, 43 to Washington, 33 to Oregon, and 32 to
Arizona.
LOCAL NISEI WITH 'O'CONNOR TASK FORCE'
18
Citation
WRP p.4
WRP p.4
WRP
p.12
WRP p.4
WRP p.8
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WRP p.1
WRP p.4
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WRP p.1
WRP p.3
�April 10
May 2
May 7
May 7
May 25
June 1
June 5
June 7
June 12
June 19
June 22
July 9
July 11
July 13
July 27
July 30
Aug. 6
Aug. 9
Aug. 29
Sept. 2
Sept. 4
Sept. 5
'IF I WERE A JAPANESE-AMERICAN'
... I would remember the fact, without admitting that I am a slacker, that I
wasn't required by the government to risk my life in the war while other
American citizens were so required with the result that many of them were
wounded, shocked or killed.
GERMAN FORCES IN ITALY SURRENDERED
GERMANY SURRENDERED
INCORPORATION PAPERS ON BAY COUNCIL OF JAPANESE RELATIONS FILED
IN SALINAS
JAP FAMILY WITH 3 IN ARMY SEEK TO RETURN HERE
Residents of Brommer avenue in the Live Oak districts are being sounded
out as the welcome which might be accorded the Otsuki family...
ICKES RAPS JUDGE WHO TRIED MAN IN NISEI TERROR ATTACK
WRA HOPES TO LIQUIDATE ITS ACTIVITIES BY NEXT JANUARY
FRESNO DA HITS ACLU CHARGE IN NISEI TROUBLE
REFITTING OF RELEASED NISEI INTO CIVILIAN LIFE IN WEST IS CAUSE OF
GROWING CONCERN
89 NISEI GIVEN YEAR SENTENCE AS DRAFT EVADERS
OVERSEAS OFFICER'S VIEW ON NISEIS
2111 NISEI CASUALTIES REPORTED BY US ARMY
MYER SAYS SOLDIERS WILL ACCEPT NISEI
COZZENS SAYS CHARGES AGAINST WRA ARE 'FALSE'
STATE GETS MORE POWER TO SEIZE ALIEN LAND HOLDINGS
WRITES FROM CHINA ON JAPANESE-AMERICANS
ARMY OFFICER TELLS OF NISEI IN COMBAT
GEN. PRATT SAYS HE HAS SOLE AUTHORITY, RESPONSIBILITY IN RETURN OF
JAPANESE TO COAST
WATSONVILLE NISEI RETURNING FROM ITALY
U.S. DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB ON HIROSHIMA
U.S. DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB ON NAGASAKI
STATE GIVEN JAP LAND IN SALINAS AREA
JAPAN SIGNED THE TERMS OF SURRENDER
PUBLIC PROCLAMATION No. 25--ended individual exclusion of Japanese
and Japanese Americans from the West Coast.
JAPANESE EXCLUSION IS ENDED
With the war department and the Western Defense command issuing
proclamations terminating the exclusive [sic exclusion?] program Tuesday
night under which persons of Japanese ancestry were banned from the
three west coast states, the Pajaro valley's present Japanese population of
19
WRP p.5
WRP p.5
Riptide
p. 3
WRP p.6
WRP p.3
WRP p.5
WRP p.8
WRP p.3
WRP p.5
WRP p.1
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WRP p.3
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WRP p.6
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�approximately 77 individuals was expected to increase steadily in the next
few weeks. ...
RETURNING JAPANESE
It has been this newspaper's steady contention that return en masse would
Sept. 6 so complicate housing and other economic factors that incidents would
occur despite the best efforts of the WRA and others who want to see law
and order maintained.
Sept. 8 HOSTEL SLATED FOR RETURNING JAPANESE AT GILROY SPRINGS
FIRST GROUP OF EVACUEES RETURN TO S.C. COUNTY
74 JAPANESE EVACUEES HERE
Sept. 12 In the first group movement since lifting of the Japanese exclusion program
Sept. 4, 74 Japanese evacuees arrived at Watsonville junction Wednesday
morning...
C C SURVEY ON RETURNING JAPANESE
Sept. 18 ...This questionnaire propounded inquiries on the attitude of local people
with respect to the proposed return of Japanese to this locality. ..."
JAPANESE SURVEY
To the Editor:
I have just noted the very recent C.C. survey concerning the ever-present
Sept. 20 Japanese problem in our midst.... Of late we have been learning of an
increasing number of "Jap lovers" - people meeting the trains to usher these
homecomers back to the Promised Land, while many are throwing their
doors all but off the hinges to see that these people have employment.
Sept. 21 97 MORE JAPANESE ARRIVE HERE; CIO GROUP HEARS TALK
Sept. 24 FLARE THROWN AT BUDDHIST TEMPLE HERE
Sept. 25 VIOLENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN WATSONVILLE
NISEI PLEA FOR UNDERSTANDING
To the Editor:
Quoting from G.W. Cornell's letter of Sept. 20 to the editor, "everything
Sept. 26 possible should be done to encourage all Japanese to return to their native
land and ..." Perhaps we could have just as easily relocated elsewhere but,
my dear Mr. Cornell, because CALIFORNIA was our native land, we have
returned.
EVACUEE COUNCIL HEAD IN PLEA TO SEC. BYRNES
CORNELL'S FINAL COMMENT ON EVACUEES
... If it had not been for the great protecting arm of our democracy that
Oct. 4 removed you and others of your race in the spring of '42 and safely housed,
fattened and clothed you after the FBI had unearthed so many hidden
firearms, shortwave sets, etc., in your homes - the Lord only knows what
might have been your lot.
Oct. 6 SOLDIERS PROTEST ACTION AGAINST JAPANESE
20
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WRP p.1
WRP p.6
WRP p.3
WRP p.8
WRP p.8
WRP p.5
�Oct. 11
Nov. 28
Feb. 6
April 25
April 19
May 15
May 15
May 26
June 30
CPL. JACK KIRBY DECRIES NISEI DISCRIMINATION
"Since my return from the prison camps, I have been noting with growing
WRP p.6
alarm the discrimination against Americans of Japanese ancestry in this area.
..."
POSTON RELOCATION CENTER CLOSED.
1946
WRA OFFICES IN DISTRICT SHUT BY MAY
WRP p.5
ALIEN JAPANESE NATIONALITY LAW FACES TEST
WRP p.8
WATSONVILLE WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY OFFICE CLOSED
STATE WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY OFFICE CLOSED
STATE WRA OFFICES CLOSE; 75 PER CENT OF JAPANESE EVACUEES
WRP p.8
REPORTED RETURNED
NISEI SOLDIER MEMORIAL SERVICE SET FOR THURSDAY
WRP p.2
WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY PROGRAM OFFICIALLY ENDED
21
�Citizenship and Loyalty
Japanese American Citizens League Float, Watsonville
Fourth of July Parade, 1941 – Courtesy of Bill Tao
Intertwined throughout the War are the issues of
the citizenship and the loyalty of persons of
Japanese ancestry. Japanese immigrants were
legally denied citizenship; their children born in
the U.S. were citizens. The U.S. government and
many Americans expected persons of Japanese
ancestry to prove their loyalty to the U.S. A
common assumption was that race is the same as
nationality. Some individuals believed that persons
of Japanese ancestry were treacherous by nature
and would be inherently loyal to Japan.
Citizenship
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, leaders in the Japanese and
Italian communities quickly made public announcements of loyalty to the United States.
December 7, 1941:
I. Motoki, secretary of the Japanese association [said], "As far as the Japanese
community here is concerned, we pledge our whole-hearted loyalties to this country
which we love. Most of the Japanese here, say 95 per cent, are residents of more than
25 years standing in Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley and are in a true sense
Americans. The only thing is they did not become American citizens because the law
does not provide privileges of naturalization to them. There have been many petitions in
the past from different organizations seeking this goal of becoming American citizens."
(Watsonville Morning Sun. December 7, 1941. p.1)
December 9, 1941:
MALIO STAGNARO SPEAKS...Malio Stagnaro, spokesman, Sunday night vouched for
the sincerity of the Italian colony on the municipal pier and said this community has
"nothing to fear" from their loyalty to the nation they have adopted. "There are only a
few aliens in the local fishing colony," he said, "but these men have sons in the United
States navy or the U.S. army and are 100 per cent behind this nation." (Santa Cruz
Sentinel-News. December 9, 1941. p. 2.)
Mr. Stagnaro went on to say, "Some have taken out their first papers and will take out final
papers as soon as the necessary time has elapsed." (Ibid). He was referring to the process of
becoming a naturalized citizen. Citizenship classes continued throughout the War and
newspapers regularly carried lists of new citizens. For those living in the U.S who were born in
22
�Japan--no matter how long they had lived here or what their personal wishes--U.S. citizenship
was not a possibility.
No Naturalization
The limitations on citizenship and immigration for Asians was longstanding and in effect at the
outbreak of World War II. In 1922, the U.S. Supreme Court in Takao v. United States upheld the
Naturalization Act of 1790 which prohibited Asians from citizenship. The Immigration Act of
1924 (also called the National Origins Act) put quotas on immigrants from specific countries and
totally barred the Japanese. These laws were not changed until the Immigration and Nationality
Act of 1965. (1)
Dual Citizenship
Children born in the United States whose parents were Japanese (called Nisei), were
automatically U.S. citizens. In addition, some of them were also citizens of Japan. Japanese law
stated that when a child was born to a Japanese father, the child was a citizen of Japan
regardless of where the child was born. The United States did not recognize this dual
citizenship, but Japan did. Japan could compel military service from a person with dual
citizenship. However, this obligation could be enforced only if the person were in Japan. In
1914, Japan changed its law so that Nisei could renounce their Japanese citizenship. By 1930,
half of the Nisei were dual citizens. By 1943, the number was reduced to one-fourth. (2)
At the start of the War, an editorial in the Santa Cruz Sentinel-News explained the dualcitizenship situation and brought up questions of loyalty.
December 18, 1941:
AS WE SEE IT
...for the most part the Nisei - the American born Japanese - can be depended upon to
stand by the United States. He [Ernest Hauser] feels that the Kibei - the American born
Japanese who were sent to Japan in childhood for training and who have returned to
this country - are the crux of the whole problem. "These Kibei, returning to this country
with American passports, are, to all intents and purposes, Japanese. They have spent
their childhood and adolescence in Japan. They think in Japanese and they speak
Japanese. They are imbued with the spirit of Nippon, with its strong elements of loyalty
to the Emperor and to the Rising Sun. What would be easier for Japan's military and
naval authorities than to send some of the over here with appropriate instructions?"...
(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. December 18, 1941.p.1)
Removing citizenship
The Native Sons of the Golden West, which had a local parlor in Santa Cruz County, called for
stripping the children of Japanese immigrants of their citizenship and/or their voting rights.
They filed a suit in Federal court which was dismissed in July 1942. They appealed to the U.S.
Supreme Court and lost. They talked about a constitutional amendment.
23
�April 24, 1943:
JAP CITIZENSHIP RESTS ON OLD CASE BEFORE HIGH COURT
...a California case being appealed to the Supreme Court may provide a test of the 46year old court decision under which citizenship is granted to American-born children of
Asiatics who are prohibited from becoming naturalized citizens. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian April 24, 1943 p. 3)
May 18, 1943:
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO DENY CITIZENSHIP TO US BORN JAPS WILL BE
SOUGHT
San Francisco (UP) - John T. Regan, grand secretary of the Native Sons of the Golden
West, said Tuesday a bill amending the constitution to deny American citizenship to
Japanese born in this country would be revived immediately in congress. ..."Now that
the supreme court has decided that the 14th amendment insures citizenship to nativeborn Japanese, then the only thing to do is to amend the constitution. These people
should never again be permitted to enjoy the blessings and privileges of American
citizenship," he said. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. May 18, 1943 p. 3.)
Issue of Loyalty
Throughout the War, the loyalty of persons of Japanese ancestry, citizens and non-citizens, was
a public issue. It appeared in the public statements of officials and organizations, editorials, and
letters to the editor. The impossibility of telling if a person was loyal was used as a reason for
evacuating all persons of Japanese ancestry--though not for evacuating persons of Italian and
German ancestry. Possible disloyalty was stated as one of the reasons for not allowing evacuees
back to the West Coast. (When the threat of sabotage was no longer seen as likely, the threat
of violence against the evacuees displaced loyalty as a public reason.)
February 24, 1943:
JAPANESE EVACUEES MUST BE KEPT UNDER STRICT SURVEILLANCE [Editorial]
The defense council stresses one point that no one can dispute - who knows for sure
whether a Japanese, whether alien or American born, is loyal to the United States? Even
the Japanese evacuees themselves have admitted they cannot tell! ...Americans have
been known to "bend over backwards" many times in efforts to be tolerant but the
events of Dec. 7, 1941, and subsequent activities of the "yellow aryans" have shown
only one thing - the Japanese government is determined to conquer and humble the
United States or commit national hari-kari in the attempt. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. February 24, 1943 p. 4)
On February 8, 1943, a loyalty questionnaire was administered to all adult men and women in
the camps and was used as proof that citizens were loyal. It was a major element in the
granting of release from the camps. Even when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that American
24
�citizens could not be imprisoned, "It upheld constitutionality of the removal program by a 6 to 3
decision, and was unanimous in holding that” (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. December 18,
1944. p.1)
Ultimately, the question remains, why should this particular group of American citizens have to
prove that they were loyal when other groups did not have to?
"Remember also -- persecute these people for the accident of birth -- establish a
precedent and the cold heavy hand of persecution and intolerance may one day rest on
your shoulder because your name is Smith or Jones -- or because you are Protestant or
Catholic or Jew -- white or Negro -- and the persecutors will use this incident as a
precedent." John L. McCarthy. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, March 9, 1943. p.6)
Footnotes
(1) "Aliens ineligible to citizenship," Asian American Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish, 1994.
Vol. 1. pp. 18-19.
(2) "Dual citizenship," Ibid. Vol. 2. p. 383-384.
25
�Alien Land Laws
California land laws had been passed prior to World War II and were in effect throughout the
War. They denied "aliens ineligible to citizenship" land ownership rights given to citizens and
other aliens. "Aliens ineligible to citizenship" meant Asian aliens since they were the ones who
were ineligible for naturalization under U.S. immigration laws. The Alien Land Law of 1913 (also
known as the Webb-Heney Bill) provided that:
"Aliens not eligible for citizenship and corporations in which the majority of the stock was
owned by ineligible aliens had to comply with the land ownership provisions of any treaty
existing between the countries involved. The U.S.-Japan Treaty of 1911 made no mention of
any right of Japanese aliens to own land." (1)
It also provided that the State could take over any land found to be in violation of the law.
The Alien Land Law of 1920 enacted
further restrictions. It prohibited the
transfer of land to noncitizens by sale or
lease. Aliens not eligible for citizenship
could not hold land in guardianship for
their children who were citizens. If it
was determined that land was
purchased in one person's name, but
with money from an Asian alien, the
Family Picking Strawberries on White Ranch, near Freedom
land would automatically become state Boulevard, circa 1920s - Courtesy of Bill Tao
property. "Despite the punitive
provision of the Alien Land Laws, evasions were largely ignored. Between 1912 and 1946, only
seventy-six escheat proceedings were filed in California under the Alien Land Laws." (2)
Although court proceedings may have been infrequent, strengthening and enforcing alien land
laws was an issue during the War.
Strengthening the Law
June 8, 1943:
'TEETH' PUT IN JAP ALIEN LAND LAW
Sacramento (UP) - Gov. Earl Warren Tuesday signed the Engle bill (8B140) putting
more "teeth" into the alien land law of 1920 designed to prevent Japanese from farming
in the manner they used before the war. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June 8, 1943
p. 1.)
26
�July 11, 1945:
STATE GETS MORE POWER TO SEIZE ALIEN LAND HOLDINGS
[The] state's power to seize alien property holdings under the alien land act was
strengthened by two bills signed by Gov. Earl. Warren. ... One of the bills removes the
time limit on the state's prosecution of cases under the 1920 law, affecting cases
involving agricultural property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars... The other gives
the attorney general power to instruct district attorneys to assist in alien land law cases.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. July 11, 1945. p.3.)
Local Support for Alien Land Laws
Local newspapers do not indicate popular stand on alien land laws. They were on the books and
there was no public call to repeal them. The Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors publicly supported
them.
May 14, 1944:
SUPERVISORS APPROVE LOS ANGELES LEGAL EFFORT TO RETURN TO STATE ALL
JAPANESE-OWNED FARM LAND
The county supervisors last week went on record as approving the legal action filed by
Los Angeles County to return all Japanese farm land to the state. At the same time the
supervisors approved a letter from Santa Cruz Parlor of Native Sons of the Golden West
back the action taken by the southern county. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. May 14, 1944.
p.10)
Monterey Bay Area Case
May 20, 1944:
3 JAP EVACUEES FACE MONTEREY CO. LAND CHARGE
Criminal complaints charging conspiracy to violate the alien property act of 1920 were
filed against three Japanese in superior court at Salinas Friday by Monterey County
District Attorney Anthony Brazil. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. May 20, 1944. p.1)
March 10, 1945:
JAP ALIEN LAND CASE TRIAL IN MONTEREY COUNTY
Action to declare an escheat (or reverting) to the state of Monterey County land
previously farmed by Yeizo Ikeda has been submitted on briefs to Superior Judge A.G.
Jorgensen after a trial in Salinas. Action was brought against Ikeda by the state of
California through Dist.-Atty. Anthony Brazil over 72 acres of land, valued at $40,000,
located in the Carr flat. The district attorney claimed the property which has been
standing in the name of Toshi Hanzone, a citizen, was in reality owned by Ikeda and
therefore was a violation of the alien land laws. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March
10, 1945. p.1.)
27
�August 29, 1945:
STATE GIVEN JAP LAND IN SALINAS AREA
Approximately 72 acres of farm land Wednesday is under state ownership following
an alien land law decision against Yeizo Ikeda, a Japanese alien at Salinas. Superior Judge
H.G. Jorgensen awarded the land to the state Tuesday. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. August 29, 1945. p.1.)
End of California Alien Land Laws
In 1952, the California Supreme Court found the Alien Land Law of 1913 unconstitutional in Fujii
Sei v. State of California. In 1956, all Alien Land Laws were repealed in California by popular
vote. (3)
Footnotes
(1) Okutsu, James. "Asian Land Laws." Asian American Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish,
1995. Vol. 1, p.16.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Ibid. Vol. 1, p.18.
28
�Executive Order 9066:
Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas
February 19, 1942 (Federal Register, Vol. VII, No. 38):
Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against
espionage and against sabotage to national-defense materials, national-defense premises, and
national-defense utilities...
Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and
Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of War,
and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any
designated Commander deems such action necessary or desirable, to prescribe military areas in
such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine,
from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any
person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of
War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War
is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom,
such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the
judgement of the Secretary of War of the said Military Commander, and until other
arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military
areas in any region or locality shall supersede designations of prohibited and restricted areas by
the Attorney General under the Proclamations of December 7 and 8, 1941,(1) and shall
supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said
Proclamations in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.
I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to
take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to
enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area herein above
authorized to be designated, including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies,
with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies.
I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Departments, independent establishments
and other Federal Agencies, to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in
carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid, hospitalization, food,
clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities,
and services. . . .
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
29
�Fear of Attack, Fear of Sabotage, Arrests
The United States was not at war with Japan when, on December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the
U.S. Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The day after, the United States declared war on Japan. During
the first part of the War, the newspapers carried articles that reveal fears of external attack and
internal sabotage. Those fears, along with naked racism against those of Japanese ancestry, are
evident in the public calls for the evacuation of the West Coast and later used as reasons for
opposing the return of the internees.
Fear of Attack
In the beginning of the War, the fear of attack was not without basis. Hawaii had just been
attacked and other near attacks were reported. Authorities warned of possible danger.
December 9, 1941:
POPULACE CALM AS WATSONVILLE PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS AT 7:23 P.M.
'Hostile planes' approached the central California coast Monday night, resulting in
blackouts which plunged Watsonville and other coast cites into sudden unexplained
darkness..."This was an actual attack, " General Ryan said. "There were hostile planes off
shore. Then they turned around. Two strong squadrons were picked up by detectors
approaching the Golden Gate. They moved north to Eureka, then south toward
Monterey." (Watsonville Morning Sun. December 9, 1941 p.1)
December 21, 1941:
JAP SUBMARINE SHELLS TANKER OFF MONTEREY BAY
The Japanese war came close to Santa Cruz yesterday when a submarine rose to the
surface 20 miles off the southern tip of Monterey Bay, took eight shots with a deck gun
at the 6700-ton tanker 'Agwiworld' and missed every shot... (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News.
December 21, 1941 p.1)
December 23, 1941:
COASTAL WATERS COMBED FOR ENEMY SUBS
Four Attacks reported off California--U.S. defense forces Monday threw air, surface
and undersea vessels into the search for enemy marauders who have approached as
close as 20 miles to the California coastline in a series of daring submarine raids to shell
and torpedo American coastal shipping. (Watsonville Morning Sun. December 23, 1941
p.1)
30
�February 1, 1942:
BLIMP PATROL ALONG COAST OF CALIFORNIA
A blimp patrol was established over the central California coastline today, augmenting
the alert watch of attack and bombing planes and surface craft." (Santa Cruz SentinelNews. [M] February 1, 1942. p.1)
February 13, 1942:
BULLETIN
Santa Cruz will receive soon 16,896 gas masks, one for every citizen on the basis of
the 1940 census figures... (Santa Cruz Sentinel. [E] February 13, 1942. p.1)
July 3, 1942:
STIMSON WARNS OF JAP "FACE-SAVING" RAIDS ON COAST
Los Angeles (UP)--Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson said Friday that the Japanese still
may attempt "face saving" bombing raids on the west coast despite American naval
victories in the Pacific. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. July 3, 1942. p.2)
July 6, 1942:
BEACH RESIDENTS URGED TO WATCH OUT FOR INVADERS
The executive committee of the state council of defense has issued a warning to all
citizens, particularly those residing along or near the ocean, to be on the alert for enemy
landing parties. Kenneth R. Hammaker, executive director to the council said,"...Despite
the vigilance of our navy and coast guard patrol boats, it is possible for a submarine to
come to the surface near our coast and land saboteurs." (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian July 6, 1942. p.2)
Fear of Sabotage; Neighbors and Japanese Leaders Arrested
The Roberts Commission, which investigated the attack on Pearl Harbor, released its report on
January 25, 1942. The report stated that the attack had been assisted by Japanese spies in
Hawaii and advised preventative action on the mainland for the sake of national security.
Although there was no sabotage or subversive activity in Santa Cruz County (or anywhere on
the West Coast), residents did not know that at the time. Fears were fueled by reports of
coastal attacks and enemy sightings in the newspaper; residents read that government
authorities arrested individuals in the County, but were not given any follow up or explanations;
and some individuals were predisposed to suspect axis aliens and all persons of Japanese
ancestry of subversive activities.
On the day of the surprise bombing, the Watsonville Morning Sun carried a front page article,
31
�FBI officials said their men were ready for an expected order to round up and intern
all Japanese nationals and pro-Japanese suspects in the San Francisco bay area. Such an
order, if it comes, might result in a roundup of the hundreds of Japanese nationals in the
Pajaro Valley. Such an order has not been issued yet. (Watsonville Morning Sun.
December 7, 1941. p. 1)
The FBI had more than 2000 Japanese Americans under surveillance prior to the outbreak of
the war. These individuals were classified in three groups (A, B, or C) depending on how
dangerous the FBI believed them to be. "Within the next forty-eight hours, the FBI arrested
1291 Japanese from the 'ABC' list as well as some German and Italian nationals. With this
sweep, the FBI was convinced that all of the potential saboteurs were in custody and that no
further action needed to be taken." (1) However, in Santa Cruz County arrests continued for
some months and public expression of fear of sabotage continued for years.
February 10, 1942:
MONTEREY BAY ENEMY ALIENS RAIDED
FBI agents and police raided residences, stores and hotels occupied by enemy aliens
in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties today, arrested at least 20 aliens, and seized
quantities of contraband, including guns, ammunition, radios and binoculars." (Santa
Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] February 10, 1942. p. 1.)
February 11, 1942:
FBI ARRESTS 20 JAPS IN MONTEREY BAY TERRITORY; STORE KEEPER IS TAKEN IN
CUSTODY AT WATSONVILLE
Twenty Japanese were arrested, a truck-load of ammunition confiscated and
quantities of other contraband seized Tuesday in an FBI raid on Japanese colonies in
Santa Cruz and Monterey counties... (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [M] February 11, 1942
p. 1)
February 12, 1942:
MARTIAL LAW NEARER, ALIEN WORRY GROWS
Santa Cruz today faced the possibility of martial law to effectively protect the area
from possible sabotage and fifth column activity. This county could be included in all
state prohibited areas so affected. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. February 12, 1942 [E]
p.1.)
February 19, 1942:
SC MARTIAL LAW, RICH COMMENTS
Commenting on proposed martial law to evacuate Japanese citizens, Mayor Edwin L.
Rich said Wednesday [the previous day of the article] ..."I do think the people on the
32
�whole would feel a lot safer with all Japanese out of the community. It might be a way
of bolstering morale and waking the people up to the fact the situation is serious."
(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [M] February 19, 1942. p. 1)
4TH JAP JAILED HERE; CAFE OPERATOR HELD WITH GUN HIDDEN IN KNIFE
A 62 year-old Japanese restaurant proprietor who has lived in Watsonville for 42 years
was revealed Wednesday as the fourth local enemy alien to be arrested and held for
possible internment. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 19, 1942. p.1.)
February 22, 1942:
JAPANESE NOT THE ONLY ENEMY ALIENS TO WATCH CLOSELY [Editorial]
And while the authorities have been bearing down hard on Japanese nationals, we
must believe that they are not blind to the dangers from German and Italian nationals
who are disloyal to this nation. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 22, 1942. p.4)
TWO SANTA CRUZ JAPANESE SEIZED IN ROUND-UP OF THOSE HELD POTENTIALLY
DANGEROUS
As part of a coast-wide raid of "enemy aliens considered potentially dangerous" the
FBI reached into Santa Cruz yesterday and took two Japanese into custody. The two
men were Thomas Kadotani...head of the Santa Cruz Japanese association, and T. Kai...,
a leading member of the group. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. February 22, 1942. p. 1)
February 23, 1942:
AT WATSONVILLE:
The FBI arrested 10 in Watsonville, all Japanese, over the week-end...The Watsonville
arrests completed the roundup of the officers and directors of the association here,
following earlier apprehension of Hatsusabura Yagi, president, a barber by trade...Those
arrested during the week-end, listed as "potentially dangerous aliens," were picked up
on presidential warrants. The Japanese taken in the first raid, which did not include
Santa Cruz, were arrested on search warrants for premises, which contraband was
apparently the prime motive for search. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] February 23,
1942. p. 1)
February 24, 1942:
SUB ATTACK SPURS ALIEN CLEAN-UP
...Growing demands Tuesday to clear even American-born Japanese from the Santa
Cruz and other coastal areas developed from Monday night's submarine shelling of an
oil refinery near Santa Barbara, as alien Japanese, as well as non-citizen Germans and
Italians, moved from the horn-shaped strip of Santa Cruz county, surrounding the bay to
permitted areas. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] February 24, 1942. p. 1)
33
�March 4, 1942:
TWO ALIENS ARRESTED IN SANTA CRUZ RAID
Twelve FBI agents working the 15 local officers conducted a series of raids on alien
residences here yesterday...a Japanese alien ...and an Italian alien. (Santa Cruz SentinelNews. [M] March 4, 1942. p. 1)
March 6, 1942:
WATSONVILLE JAPS ARRESTED IN NEW RAIDS BY FBI MEN
FBI agents in the most extensive raids in two weeks, struck again Friday in the
Watsonville-Salinas district seizing members of secret Japanese military societies. (Santa
Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] March 4, 1942. p. 1)
March 10, 1942:
FBI SEIZED 4 MORE JAPS IN WEEKEND RAID [Watsonville] (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News.
[M] March 10, 1942. p. 1)
After the Evacuation
March 10, 1943:
2 GUNS FOUND IN EX-JAP HOME, NOT 'LARGE CACHE'
Rumors that a large cache of weapons left by evacuated Japanese had been located in
the Pajaro valley were spiked here Tuesday night by the FBI. N.J.L. Pieper, special agent
in charge of the San Francisco office of the FBI, said two loaded revolvers, a small box of
ammunition and an eight-inch knife were found by local police and FBI agents in the
former home of Harry M. Kimoto on San Juan road but no large cache of weapons had
been uncovered. Kimoto is located now at the WRA camp at Poston, Ariz. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. March 10, 1943. p. 1)
June 3, 1943:
'LOYALTY OF JAP CAN'T BE DETERMINED ON MASS BASIS'
SACRAMENTO (UP) - The loyalty of a Japanese can't be determined on a mass
basis and all law enforcement officers must be vigilant to detect Japanese
espionage, Nat J.L. Pieper, special agent in charge of the San Francisco FBI office,
late Wednesday told members of the Pacific Coast International Association of
Law Enforcement Officials. ..."You can't judge Japanese on a mass basis, as all
good or all bad, because you must resolve each case individually," Pieper said.
"The Jap doesn't think as a white man does. He is tricky and superstitious. It
requires painstaking questioning and investigation. And although the Japanese
are away from the coast, we haven't stopped working on them. We are still
looking for espionage because the Japanese will use innocent stooges wherever
34
�they can. Persons who befriended them before the war often are susceptible to
giving information inadvertently under the Japanese 'stab-in-the-back' policy."
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June 3, 1943. p. 1)
June 21, 1943:
JAPS MUST BE WATCHED SAYS WARREN
Columbus, O. (UP) - The release of 150,000 Japanese now held at relocation centers
may lead to widespread sabotage and a "second Pearl Harbor in California," Gov. Earl
Warren of California said Monday. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June 21, 1943 p. 1)
November 22, 1943:
JAP SUBVERSIVE GROUP HAD HEADQUARTERS HERE, CHARGE [Dies Committee]
Watsonville, at one time, was "central headquarters" of the Japanese Butoku-kai or
"North American Imperial Way society," which was organized in 1929...The War
Relocation authority has accepted the word of the Japanese that the Butoku-kai was
merely a sports organization... Sworn statements were obtained from witnesses
qualified to testify to the un-American activity of this Nisei organization. The purpose of
the Butoku-kai in the United States was to train the Nisei in the military arts as practiced
by the Japanese army... (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, November 22, 1943. p.1)
Lt.-General DeWitt, head of the Army's Western Defense Command, stated in a report that the
attacks on the West Coast were aided by signals from shore and implied that the signals were
made by persons of Japanese ancestry.
January 23, 1944:
SHORE SIGNALS AIDED JAP ATTACK ALONG WEST COAST SAYS REPORT BY GEN.
DEWITT
Washington--Signals from the shore aided the Japanese in attacks on the west coast
early in the war, but after the evacuation of 110,442 Japanese from the area the
signaling was "virtually eliminated."...For several weeks after Pearl Harbor, he reported,
every ship leaving a west coast port was attacked by an enemy submarine. "This seemed
conclusively to point to the existence of hostile shore-to-ship (submarine)
communication " he said..."It is interesting to note that following the evacuation,
interception of specious or unidentified radio signals and shore-to-ship signal lights
were virtually eliminated and attacks on outbound shipping from west coast ports
appreciably reduced." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. January 23, 1944. p.2.)
Footnote
(1) Kitayama, Glen. "Japanese American Internment". Asian American Encyclopedia. v.3 pp.
719--721.
35
�Restrictions on Axis Aliens
JAPANESE HERE CAN EXPECT TO BE TREATED FAIRLY, SAYS MOTOKI
"I urge all Japanese persons in the Pajaro Valley to continue with their work and
industry the same as heretofore, since I am satisfied that we shall be fairly treated by
the government, even though we may not be citizens of such nation," I. Motoki,
secretary of the local Japanese Association... (Watsonville Morning Sun. December 9,
1941. p. 1)
December 7, 1941, a Sunday, Japan bombed the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor. The Watsonville
Morning Sun carried the grim news and warned:
FDR MAY ASK FOR DECLARATION OF WAR MONDAY MORNING
Japanese bomber squadrons, torpedo planes and parachute troops attacked the
United States' great naval and air bases in Hawaii at dawn Sunday, blasting furiously at
warships and war installations...FBI officials said their men were ready for an expected
order to round up and intern all Japanese nationals and pro-Japanese suspects in the
San Francisco bay area. Such an order, if it comes, might result in a roundup of the
hundreds of Japanese nationals in the Pajaro Valley. Such an order has not been issued
yet. Many Japanese in this area are American citizens with only a comparatively few of
the older residents being native of Japan. (Watsonville Morning Sun. December 7, 1941.
p.1)
Over the next months, local residents were arrested by the FBI. Various regulations and
restrictions began right away and were followed a month later by restricted areas and
evacuation.
Bank Accounts
Dec.13, 1941:
JAPANESE FUNDS FROZEN HERE, OTHER OKeh
Funds in local banks of Japanese nationals are entirely frozen under orders issued by
the U.S. Treasury department. Access to their accounts is allowed for Japanese citizens,
those born in this country or in American possessions, as Hawaii, and now residing here.
In the case of the accounts of even the American Japanese, the banks must exercise
discretion and determine that funds dispersed will not be used for the benefit of a
national not licensed by the Federal Reserve Bank. No orders have been received Friday
concerning procedure for accounts of Italian and German nationals. (Santa Cruz
Sentinel-News. December 13, 1941. p.2)
Four days later, the Federal Reserve announced that banks could conduct business with
Japanese nationals who had resided continuously in the U.S. since June 17, 1940. (Watsonville
36
�Morning Sun. December 17, 1941. p. 1) However, the following articles indicates that there may
still have been problems:
January 4, 1942
IMPOUNDED T.B. MONEY
The Santa Cruz County Anti-Tuberculosis Association finds itself in possession of a
number of checks which it cannot cash. The Japanese residents of the entire Santa Cruz
County have always been liberal and numerous contributors to the anti-tuberculosis
work. When war was declared and funds of aliens in our banks tied up by federal order,
the association found that it had on hand a score or more of checks with the names of
Japanese upon them which cannot be cashed immediately. The Japanese have been
such staunch supporters of the association that it is anticipated that every one of the
checks will eventually be good. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [M] January 4, 1942. p. 1)
The impact on Japanese-owned businesses and individuals is not reported in the newspapers.
Hunting and Fishing
December 27, 1941, the California Division of Fish and Game announced that no hunting or
fishing licenses would be sold to enemy aliens. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. December 27, 1941.
p.5) On the same day, the Sentinel-News carried a front page article announcing that only U.S.
citizens could go into the coastal waters. This restriction took away the livelihood of many of
the Italians in the area who were commercial fishermen.
December 27, 1941:
... It was estimated in Santa Cruz that about 20 of the 55 fishermen will be forbidden
to fish by the citizenship requirement. In Monterey, one wharf spokesman said that the
citizenship requirement has put a big crimp in the local market fishing activities. He
pointed out that some 125 members in his group only 14 are able to meet the new
rules. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. December 27, 1941. p. 1)
January 1, 1942:
'WAIT-WATCH' NEW POLICY OF S.C. WHARFMEN
A general attitude of hopeful waiting is on display among members of the wharf
colony--fishermen, boat owners, and wharf workmen. Wartime restrictions have been
imposed upon waterfront activities, bringing business almost to a standstill. (Santa Cruz
Sentinel-News. December 27, 1941. p.7)
37
�Cameras and Shortwave Radios
December 28, 1941:
EVERY ENEMY ALIEN MUST SURRENDER ALL CAMERAS AND SHORT WAVE RADIOS
Every enemy alien--Japanese, German, Italian--in Santa Cruz County, who has a
camera or short wave radio set in his possession, must surrender it to the police in Santa
Cruz or Watsonville, or to the sheriff's office, before 11 o'clock tomorrow morning ...
The order resulted from army reports that unauthorized radio messages were being
received and sent on the west coast. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. December 28, 1941 p.1)
Liquor Licenses
January 1, 1942:
JAPANESE LIQUOR PERMITS CANCELLED
Liquor Law enforcement officer Jerry O'Brien yesterday all liquor licenses held by
Japanese in this district. He said there had been four Japanese holding licenses in Santa
Clara County, eight in Santa Cruz County, 12 in Monterey County, and 16 in San Luis
Obispo County (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] January 1, 1942. p.2)
Registering a Car
January 2, 1942, persons of Japanese ancestry who wanted to transfer ownership of an
automobile or register a new one, had to provide the state of California with one of the
following: certified copy of a birth certificate, or court order establishing citizenship, or signed
statement made under oath stating that he/she was not an enemy, ally of enemies or a
national of any enemy county or ally of any enemy county. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. January
2, 1942. p. 5)
Travel Restrictions and Firearms
The U.S. Department of Justice placed restrictions on travel and the ownership of firearms.
January 2, 1942:
MOVEMENT OF ALL AXIS ALIENS NOW RESTRICTED
Pajaro Valley's Japanese, German and Italian nationals must turn in all firearms in
their possession to police authorities before 11 p.m. Monday, and must confine their
travel to the community in which they reside unless given permission to the contrary...
For nearly three weeks, Watsonville police have been receiving firearms from both
Japanese nationals and citizens here following the request of the Japanese association,
through I. Motoki, that they voluntarily turn in their firearms and cameras to police for
the duration of the war. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, January 2, 1942. p.1)
38
�Identification Papers and Registration
At the end of January, the Federal government and the State of California required axis aliens to
register.
January 29, 1942:
All Santa Cruz Japanese, German and Italian aliens, 14 years and over, today were
ordered by proclamation of Gov. Culbert Olson to apply to this post office during the
period Feb. 2-7 for certificates of identification. Olson's proclamation followed a similar
one by President Roosevelt. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, January 29, 1942. [E] p. 1)
February 2, 1942:
ALIENS START TO REGISTER IN SANTA CRUZ
Between 1200 and 1500 Santa Cruz aliens of enemy nationality are expected to
register this week at Santa Cruz post office under the new alien registration act effective
today... [Registration period was from Feb. 2 through Feb 7.Later extended to Feb. 9]
(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] February 2, 1942. p. 8)
Curfew and Further Travel Restrictions
U.S. Attorney General Francis Biddle issued new rules severely limiting the movement of axis
aliens .Violators would be subject to arrest and internment.
February 4, 1942:
CURFEW HITS ALL LOCAL ALIENS; HUGH COAST AREA HIT BY NEW REGULATIONS
Italian, Japanese, and German aliens are subjected to a 9 p.m. curfew and permitted
to travel only between their jobs and them home after February 24th...The curfew
restrictions are:
1. Between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. all enemy aliens shall be within the place
of residence indicated on their identification certificates.
2. At all other times they must be found only at the place of residence or
employment indicated on their identification certificates, or going between these two
places, or within an area of not more than five miles from the place of residence.
(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News [E] February 4, 1942. p.1.)
During the period of voluntary evacuation, Public Proclamation No. 3 was issued on March 24,
1942. It set out new curfew and travel regulations for Axis aliens. For the first time, it
established them for Japanese-Americans also.
39
�NEW ALIEN CURFEW RULE STARTS FRIDAY
American-born Japanese of Santa Cruz and the county will go under strict curfew
restrictions Friday under new orders of Lieut. Gen. John L. DeWitt, commander of the
Western Defense Command. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. March 24, 1942. [E] p. 1)
Evacuation
Throughout this period of restrictions, local newspapers reported the calls/demands for the
removal of aliens from the West Coast by various groups and government officials. On January
29th, the U.S. Justice Department announced plans to remove Axis aliens from specific areas in
all of the eight Western States. It was the beginning of the evacuation.
40
�Evacuation: The Restricted Area
POSTERS ON ALIENS HERE
Posted throughout Santa Cruz prohibited areas are posters warning enemy aliens that
they must leave prohibited zone by midnight, February 24. The placards, in English,
German, Italian, and Japanese, say: "Notice--Enemy aliens prohibited area No. 28--The
United States government requires all aliens of German, Italian or Japanese nationality
to vacate this area by midnight Feb. 24. Go to the nearest local public employment
office of the United States employment service for details." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News.
[E] February 17, 1942. p. 9.)
"After all, gentlemen, we are at war!"
Calls for the removal of axis aliens and Japanese-Americans appear in the local newspapers
throughout the first months of the War. The justifications given were that evacuation would
protect the country against sabotage and that it was impossible to tell a loyal American of
Japanese ancestry from disloyal one. A couple of typical examples:
January 31, 1941:
LEAGUE OF CITIES WANTS ALL JAPANESE MOVED FROM COAST
Los Angeles (UP)--President Roosevelt was asked Friday night by the League of
California Cities to order the immediate evacuation of all Japanese, American-born as
well as aliens, from the entire "combat zone" along the west coast. The message to the
President explained a "concerted and well-timed attack by saboteurs on a state-wide
basis could inflict irreparable damage" and said city officials believed now was the time
to act. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. January 31, 1941 p. 2)
February 4, 1942:
MEN WITHOUT A COUNTRY [Editorial]
There are two current schools of thought in Santa Cruz regarding enemy alien
orders...It can readily be seen why a blanket order should be issued. Who, after Pearl
Harbor, is to determine the spy from the gentle old man? Who could possibly take the
responsibility of weeding the evil from the good? And why should the lives of
thousands, even locally, be endangered because one bad apple might be scrutinized and
labeled "OK."... After all, gentlemen, we are at war! (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, [E]
February 4, 1942. p. 2)
The Restricted Area
Executive Order 9066 is known as the document that authorized the evacuation and,
ultimately, the internment of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans. However, prior to
Executive Order 9066, the U.S. Justice Department created restricted areas. Axis aliens, not
citizens, were banned from these areas. San Francisco and Los Angeles already had restricted
41
�areas when the U.S. Justice Department announced plans to create additional ones on January
29, 1942. Although the details were not known yet, leaders in the Italian and the Japanese
communities reacted to the news:
January 30, 1942:
LOCAL ALIEN REACTION TO REMOVAL
Santa Cruz' many Japanese, Italian and German aliens did not look too happily Friday
upon threat of their forced removal from vital areas, which undoubtedly would include
Santa Cruz, and subsequent action today which would restrict their holding of lands and
possibility of revoking all their business and professional licenses...
Kadotani is president of the Japanese Association here and is fully recognized as
spokesman. He had been an organizer of the earlier meeting here of businessmen and
officials with Japanese leaders to insure friendly relations despite the war.
"I hope it doesn't come," he said, "but if it does we'll abide by the rules and take it."
He estimated at least one or two in every local Japanese family would be affected
since the parents are almost entirely of Japanese birth...
Italian fishermen at the wharf who would be affected by such an order are "taking it
on the chin like real men," a spokesman for them, Robbie Ghio of Santa Cruz Fisheries,
said.
"Their reaction is that they'll take it just the way it comes. They're giving their flesh
and blood to the navy and their money to the government, but what the government
says they'll do."...
(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] January 30, 1942. p.1)
The restricted area was a coastal strip running the whole length of the western United States. In
Santa Cruz County, the evacuation area included workplaces and homes, impacting Italian and
German aliens in Santa Cruz, as well as Japanese aliens.
February 2, 1942:
ALIEN BAN CARRIED TO THIS AREA
The federal alien crackdown reached Santa Cruz County Monday...The restricted area,
following route no. 1, includes the 12 aliens on the wharf, cuts across the city [of Santa
Cruz] to include Live Oak, Twin Lakes, Capitola, and all the territory inside the
Watsonville-Santa Cruz highway. Hundreds of aliens of all three nationalities are
affected. In some local areas it will be necessary for entire families to move. (Santa Cruz
Sentinel-News. [E] February 2, 1942. p. 1)
42
�February 3, 1942:
The Watsonville end of the county is sparsely populated in the restricted zone
although there is a colony of Japanese farmers along the Beach road. Unofficial
estimates revealed that between 20,000 and 25,000 people of the county's 45,000
inhabitants live in the restricted zone. Of these people, about 1500 families have alien
members that will have to move out. In some instances the entire family will have to
move, but those will be rare cases. According to Attorney General Biddle, the aliens
must be moved out of the restricted area by February 24. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News.
[M] February 3, 1942. p.1)
ALIEN BAN ON S.C. COAST WILL AFFECT HUNDREDS; FEBRUARY 24 IS DATE FOR
CLEARING AREA
Hardest hit will be the Italian fishing colony at the wharf and the artichoke growers up
the coast The Watsonville end of the county is sparsely populated in the restricted zone
although there is a colony of Japanese farmers along the Beach Road. (Santa Cruz
Sentinel-News. [M] February 3, 1942. p.1)
Because many Italian and Japanese aliens worked in fishing and agriculture--vital food
production--it was hoped that they might be excluded from the evacuation order, but they
were not.
ENEMY ALIENS: "MOTHER" DEFENDS THEM
Young children in alien Italian families facing removal from the federal-designated
restricted area in Santa Cruz are frightened, adults are bewildered and worried, the
fishing industry at the wharf will be hard hit and boys are holding up enlisting for navy
service because of the threat to the breadwinner of the families (Santa Cruz SentinelNews. [E] February 3, 1942. p. 8)
Families who had homes within the restricted area, had to find housing elsewhere. There were
charges of rent profiteering.
February 12, 1942:
NEW ALIEN PROFITEERING CHARGES ARE HURLED HERE ... Mary Carniglia ... claim[ed]
that in some cases, landlords are jumping rents because of the home scarcity, that
others are taking deposits and then renting the home to higher bidders and returning
the original deposit and that still others are refusing to rent homes to families with
children. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] February 12, 1942 p. 1.)
43
�February 13, 1942:
JACOBY REFUTES RENT CHARGES BY S.C. ALIEN REPRESENTATIVES
... refuted statements that those families forced to move from this prohibited area are
being subjected to rent profiteering.(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News.[E] February 13, 1942 p1)
The Japanese Aliens
February 4, 1942:
'WE'LL ABIDE BY ORDER,' SAYS ONE OF COLONY
Pajaro valley's alien Japanese population will accept quietly the government's edict,
removing them from a coastal area roughly bounded by State Highway no. I ... Motoki
said he believed the loyal Japanese could do a better job of policing the entire Japanese
population than any government, city or county organization could do. "We know our
own people," he said.
Twenty-three families within the city limits would be affected by the order. Not all
members of the family are aliens, however, but non-aliens would probably want to
move to keep the families intact. Average size of a Japanese family is five.
In areas outside of Watsonville Japanese families with one or more alien members
are:
Roache district and Larkin valley - 26 families.
Beach road district - 15 families.
Pajaro - three families.
Springfield and Trafton district - four families. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian p.1))
February 14, 1942:
JAPANESE AMERICAN LEAGUE TOPS BOND GOAL BY $12,000
The Watsonville chapter of the Japanese American Citizens' League went "over the
top" by $12,000 in its defense bonds sales campaign ... The original goal in the monthlong drive was $25,000 but sales totaled $37, 211.75... (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
February 14, 1942. p. 1)
The German Aliens
Only one reference to German aliens was found in the local newspapers. On February 13, 1942,
George M. Heckel, a 73-year old local resident, committed suicide. He was a German alien who
lived in the restricted area and was despondent over moving out of his home. Months later, a
follow up article appeared.
AGED GERMAN "ENEMY ALIEN" WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE HAD HIS SAVINGS IN $500
WAR BOND (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [M] October 14, 1942. p.1)
44
�Evacuation: Public Proclamation No. 1
JAPS CALL EVACUATION "DIABOLIC"
"...obviously the constitutional rights of those American-born Japanese have been
ruthlessly trampled upon in the heart of the resentment aroused by their own [the U.S.]
political and military errors. The viciousness of the American government in persecuting
a helpless, strictly civilian and manifestly innocent minority will remain in history as one
of the blackest crimes ever committed by the so-called great powers." [Japanese radio
propaganda] (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 5, 1942. p.7)
Executive Order 9066
From the start of the War, the U.S. Justice Department had established restricted areas, from
which enemy aliens were excluded. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive
Order 9066, which authorized the Secretary of War, or his designate, to define military areas. It
also gave the power to exclude from a designated military area both aliens and citizens alike.
Executive Order 9066
February 19, 1942:
AS WE SEE IT [Editorial]
This is no time for expansive discourses on protection of civil liberties for Japanese
resident of the Pacific Coast, whether they be American citizens or aliens. (Santa Cruz
Sentinel-News. February 19, 1942. [M] p. 1)
S.C. MARTIAL LAW, RICH COMMENTS [Edwin L. Rich, S.C. Mayor 1941-1942]
..."I do think the people on the whole would feel a lot safer with all Japanese out of
the community. It might be a way of bolstering morale and waking the people up to the
fact the situation is serious..." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. February 19, 1942. [M] p.1)
Although an official order had not been issued yet, newspapers carried reports of evacuation
and possible "protective custody."
February 19, 1942:
ALIEN CONTROL STEPS PRESSED IN CALIFORNIA
"Once a Jap, always a Jap," Rankin [Cong. Rep, D-Miss.) said. "I'm for taking every
Japanese ... and putting him in a concentration camp. We take cameras, guns, and radio
sets from alien Japanese, Costello [Cong Rep., D-Calif.] remarked, "but we don't take
cameras, guns and radio sets from their children who are American citizens. The only
solution to the question is to remove from the area completely those persons who are
likely to commit sabotage." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. February 19, 1942 [M] p. 1.)
45
�February 20, 1942:
JAPANESE-AMERICAN EVACUATION PROPOSED
Further evacuation plans, United Press reported from were being discussed in joint
Justice-War Department conferences ... Under consideration were plans for martial
licensing of all persons in defense areas, and possible legislation for "protective custody"
arrests of citizens and aliens alike. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 20, 1942.
p. 1.)
February 21, 1942:
FDR AUTHORIZES WAR SECRETARY TO SET UP MILITARY AREAS TO CONTROL AXIS
ALIENS
President Roosevelt Friday authorized the Secretary of War to take control of certain
areas of the United States and to exclude from such areas any persons, citizens and
aliens alike. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 21, 1942. p. 1)
February 23, 1942:
NISEI MAY BE FORCED TO EVACUATE
Hundreds of nisei--Japanese American citizens--in the Pajaro Valley awaited a possible
evacuation order Saturday. President Roosevelt Friday night empowered the Army to
oust both aliens and citizens from "defense zones" the Army may prescribe ... The
presidential order met with approval from California leaders had demanded curbs on
Japanese Americans. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 23, 1942. p. 1)
February 28, 1942:
ARMY ALIEN ORDER AWAITED
San Francisco--Alien and American-born Japanese awaited with mounting
apprehension Friday for new army regulations barring them from additional sections of
California, Oregon and Washington ... Even Japanese-American leaders agreed that
should be removed from the coast in an effort to forestall possible fifth column activity.
Testifying before the Congressional Committee on Defense Migration in Portland, Hito
Okada, national treasurer of the Japanese-American Citizens League said aliens should
be evacuated and, if necessary, even Japanese who are American citizens. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. February 28, 1942. p. 1.)
March 1, 1942:
PACIFIC COAST JAPANESE PREPARE FOR EVACUATION:
..."We are preparing our people," said the youthful official, "to move out. We want
them to go without bitterness, without rancor, and with the feeling that this can be
their contribution to the defense of the United States. We want to convince them that it
46
�will be patriotic to make this sacrifice, and a sacrifice it will be. We want them to go
protesting but one thing--their patriotism to the flag of the United States." [M.
Masaoka, national secretary and field executive of the Japanese American Citizens'
League] (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. March 1, 1942 [M] p. 1)
Public Proclamation No. 1
General John L. DeWitt, Western Defense Commander, was assigned to administer Executive
Order 9066. By its authority, he issued a series of proclamations. Public Proclamation No. 1 was
issued on March 2, 1942. It expanded the restricted area established by the U.S. the Justice
Department by designating the western halves of California, Oregon, Washington and the
southern part of Arizona as Military Area No. 1. Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese,
German, and Italian aliens were excluded from it. Voluntary removal to the interior of the U.S.
was advised.
The day after Proclamation No. 1 was issued, the Santa Cruz Sentinel-News announced possible
exemptions for German and Italian aliens and the order of the evacuation.
March 3, 1942:
LOCAL ITALIANS FAVORED IN NEW ALIEN EVACUATION RULE JAPANESE HIT HARD,
MUST MOVE
Santa Cruz county Tuesday was included in a coastwise strip from the Canadian to the
Mexican border from which eventually all Japanese, alien and citizen, will be required to
move and the same evacuation will be requested for Italian and German aliens with
certain exceptions.
The exceptions for the German and Italian aliens, who will not be evacuated until
after work of moving out the Japanese is completed, are:
1. Those 70 years of age or over will not be required to move "except when
individually suspected."
2. Also exempted will be the families, including parents, wives, children, sisters and
brothers of Germans and Italians in the armed forces," unless such removal is required
for specific reasons. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, [E] March 3, 1942. p.1)
Although persons of Japanese ancestry were to be evacuated first, all Axis aliens were
preparing to leave.
March 4, 1942:
2500 TO QUIT VALLEY; AMERICAN-BORN INCLUDED IN ARMY ORDER
Twenty-five hundred Japanese, both alien and American-born, German and Italians
will leave the Pajaro Valley under evacuation plans announced Tuesday [March 3, 19421
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 4, 1942. p. 1)
47
�S.C. ALIENS AMONG FIRST EVACUATED; 60 DAYS IN WHICH ALL MUST GO
Evacuation of all Japanese, alien and citizen, and Italian and German aliens, will be
conducted first in such seaport areas as Santa Cruz... (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News March
5, 1942. [E] p. 1)
JAPS PLAN EVACUATION; TWO RECEPTION CENTERS SET UP
San Francisco--Three hundred leaders of the Japanese-Americans Citizens' League
open a three-day session here Sunday to for evacuation of their nationals to "reception
centers" to set up by the Western Defense Command.... The camps will established to
register evacuees and to determine their capabilities before moving them to permanent
locations for duration of the war. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 6, 1942. p.1)
Individuals were promised help, assured that they would be treated fairly, and were warned to
be careful when selling their property.
March 4, 1942:
WON'T PUSH JAPS AROUND
...alien control coordinator said today he hoped Japanese would be removed from
prohibited areas on the west coast within 60 days, but that "we are not going to push
them around .... We are going to give these people a fair chance to dispose of their
property at fair prices ... It has come to our attention that Japanese farmers have been
stampeded into selling their properties for little or nothing and it is our purpose to see it
that unnecessary sacrifices are not forced upon them." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News.
March 4, 1942. [E] p. 1)
March 9, 1942:
ALIENS! WARNINGS ARE GIVEN
Don't sell property at sacrifice prices, continue to work your crops until exclusion is
ordered officially... (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. March 9, 1942. [E] p. 5)
PROPERTY OF ALIENS TO BE SAFEGUARDED
An Alien property custodian system was established today by the U.S. Treasury to
protect interests of 120,000 Japanese aliens and citizens and German and Italian aliens
who will be evacuated by the army from the vital Pacific coast defense area... In the case
of agricultural properties, on which crops presently might be growing...attempts would
be made to arrange for leasing or selling the property or for continued attention to the
growing crops with a view of preventing their loss. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. March 10,
1942. [E] p. 5)
On March 18th, Executive Order 9102 established the War Relocation Authority (WRA).
48
�Milton S. Eisenhower was named the WRA's first directory, charged with the responsibility of
seeing an orderly evacuation of designated persons from the restricted military areas took
place. Although the order did not explicitly call for relocation camps, the newly created WRA
was given wide discretion in deciding the fate of the Japanese Americans who were forced to
leave their homes. On March 21, Congress backed the evacuation measures by passing Public
Law 77-503. The law made anyone convicted of violating a military order subject to a civil
penalty of a $5,000 fine, up to one year of imprisonment, or both. During this time, although
the West Coast was declared a theater of war, martial law was never declared and habeas
corpus was not suspended. The civil court system was in full operation throughout the war, and
anyone charged with espionage or sabotage could have been properly tried. Yet the federal
government proceeded with its plans for a mass evacuation and incarceration of American
citizens and resident aliens, based solely on race, without any individual review.
A government office was opened to help evacuees. (1)
March 18, 1942:
OFFICE TO HELP ALIENS TO BE SET UP HERE
Opening of a primary services center in Watsonville was announced Tuesday night by
the Wartime Civil Control Administration. The center will help handle the property,
personal effects and personal problems of Japanese and Americans who will be
evacuated ... offices will be opened [also] in Santa Cruz and Monterey. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. March 18, 1942. p.1.)
March 19, 1942:
"WERE HERE TO SEE ALIENS GET FAIR DEAL", SAYS FANE [Supervisor of the program in
the Watsonville office]
...the new program, directed by the Farm Security under orders from the Western
Defense Command and Fourth Amy, intended to supervise fair disposition of land being
evacuated by Japanese and to aid qualified farmers in taking over the land and obtaining
operating credit...He cautioned "as long as they know they have to go, the sooner they
take action the better the deal that can be made for them. No one trades successfully
overnight." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. March 19, 1942 [M] p. 2)
Footnote
(1) Hatamiya, Leslie T. Righting a wrong; Japanese Americans and the Passage of the Civil
Liberties Act of 1988. Stanford Univ. Press. 1993.
49
�Evacuation: Public Proclamation No. 4
LOCAL JAPANESE TO LEAVE THEIR MONEY IN BANKS
"To express our appreciation for and faith in the people and city of Watsonville and
Pajaro Valley, we assure you that we will keep our money here ... We lived here, did
business and made money. We invested here more than $2,000,000 and leave that
investment in the Pajaro Valley. We will take advantage of modern methods of banking
by mail and we shall do our banking business by mail from the place where we will move
in the near future." [ I. Motoki] (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 8, 1942. p. 1.)
Moving Before the Forced Evacuation
On March 19th, evacuees were advised against about making quick deals when selling or
renting property. In reality they were not given much time. The next day, the Western Defense
Command declared, "It behooves the Japanese and Japanese-Americans to close their affairs at
once and be prepared to start moving." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 20, 1942. p. 1)
It was a forewarning. Public Proclamation No. 4 was issued six days later, announcing the
replacement of the so-called voluntary evacuation with a forced evacuation. After Sunday,
March 29, 1942, evacuees would be forbidden to leave the area and had to await evacuation
under Army supervision. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 26, 1942. p. 1.)
Several dozen families hurried to move before the end of the voluntary evacuation.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 30, 1942. p. 1.) Farmers had no option to leave. Since
food production was considered vital to the well-being of the country, to leave a farm was
considered sabotage.
March 31, 1942:
QUIET EVACUATION LEAVES ONLY 20 JAP FAMILIES
A quiet exodus by voluntary evacuees up to Sunday midnight's deadline leave only 20
families of Japanese aliens and Americans in the northern section of the county to await
compulsory evacuation under Army orders...Lawton described the Japanese aliens and
citizen alike as "very philosophical and quite calm" in acceptance of the army edict.
(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. March 31, 1942. [E] p. 1)
Waiting for the Evacuation Deadline
When the evacuation would take place was not known for some weeks. What had been
announced earlier was that the families that remained would first be taken to the Salinas rodeo
grounds, called an Assembly Center. From there, they would be transferred to "reception
centers."(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. April 4, 1942. [M] p.8)
50
�April 13, 1942:
CENTERS FOR JAPS OK ARMY SAYS
Japanese who will be evacuated from the Pajaro Valley soon ... were assured Monday
that living conditions in army established assembly centers will be adequate.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 13, 1942. p. 1)
The Deadline
On April 21st, the deadline for the evacuation was announced. It was only seven days later:
April 30, 1942. In those seven days, all persons of Japanese ancestry were removed from Santa
Cruz County.
April 21, 1942:
FINAL EVACUATION ORDERS ISSUED FOR SANTA CRUZ The axe fell Tuesday on
Japanese aliens and citizens still remaining in Santa Cruz county for their compulsory
evacuation by noon of April 30 ... Santa Cruz county Japanese will report Friday and
Saturday of this week to a station established at Veterans' Memorial building
[Watsonville]...The evacuees will transported to the Salinas assembly center... (S.C.
Sentinel-News. April 21, 1942. [E] p. 1)
April 26, 1942:
1196 JAPANESE IN COUNTY TO GO THIS WEEK
The 1196 will represent 216 families who signed up with the Civilian Wartime Control
Administration in the memorial in Watsonville Friday and yesterday. Of the 1196 total,
the north end of Santa Cruz County will send 86, representing 17 families, most of
whom have been resident on berry farms. (S.C. Sentinel-News. April 26, 1942. [M] p. 1)
Disposal of Farms
During this time, arrangement had to be made for the transfer of the remaining farms.
April 17, 1942:
JAPANESE FARM RULES
New regulations to assure fair disposal and continued productivity of approximately
15 farms still operated by Japanese-Americans in the Watsonville and Santa Cruz area
were announced today. (S.C. Sentinel-News. April 17, 1942 [E] p. 1)
April 27, 1942:
JAP FARM PROGRAM PLANS GIVEN
51
�Evacuation of all Japanese and Japanese-Americans from Santa Cruz County means
that all Japanese farm operations in the area must be transferred to new operators with
the next five days ... (S.C. Sentinel-News. April 27, 1942. [E] p. 5)
The Move
The Salinas Assembly Center opened on April 27, 1942. The same day, the first group to leave
the County under Army supervision departed. The evacuation continued over the next three
days.
April 27, 1942:
63 JAPANESE IN FIRST UNIT TO EVACUATE
Sixty-three Pajaro Valley and Santa Cruz County Japanese, the vanguard of the
Japanese-Americans and alien Japanese ... left Monday morning for the Salinas assembly
center where they will stay until dispatched to permanent reception center locations.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 27, 1942, p. 1.)
April 29, 1942:
JAPS DISAPPEAR FROM VALLEY AS EVACUATION ON
The Japanese, whose mass migration into the fertile Pajaro Valley at the turn of the
century marked a milestone in this district's agricultural history, climbed aboard big
buses in front of the Veterans' Memorial hall Wednesday--their big trek reversed after
nearly a half-century...(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 29, 1942. p.1)
April 30, 1942:
LAST JAPANESE LEAVE VALLEY IN EVACUATION
By noon Thursday, no person of Japanese ancestry remained in Santa Cruz County for
the first time in more than a half-century ... Twenty-one buses Wednesday took 689
persons to Salinas ... Five aged and invalids were taken to Salinas by ambulance.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 30, 1942. p. 1)
The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian reported on December 18, 1944 that, "A total of 1301
persons of Japanese ancestry were excluded from Santa Cruz county in the spring of 1942,
according to U.S. census bureau records. Of this number, 931 were citizens and 370 were
aliens."
The Evacuation Out of the County Stops
The order of the evacuation was supposed to be:
1. Those suspected of sabotage or subversive activity
2. Japanese aliens
3. Japanese-Americans
52
�4. German aliens
5. Italian aliens (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 5, 1942. p.1.)
However, once all persons of Japanese ancestry had left Military Area No. 1, or were in
Assembly Centers, the forced evacuation stopped. Other restrictions on German and Italian
aliens were progressively lifted.
53
�Salinas Assembly Center and Poston Relocation Center
Local newspaper articles of the time give us a very limited picture
of life at Salinas or Poston--or any of the other internment camps
(relocation centers). However, as newspapers were a main source
of information, what we see in the papers indicates how little most
residents in the County actually knew about the camps and their
former neighbors.
Salinas Assembly Center
The Salinas Assembly Center, located on the Salinas Rodeo
Grounds, was an intermediate stop in the evacuation of the
Japanese and Japanese-Americans from this area. On April 27,
1942, "sixty-three Pajaro Valley and Santa Cruz County Japanese,
the vanguard of the Japanese-Americans and alien Japanese...
[left] for the Salinas Assembly Center where they will stay until
dispatched to permanent reception center locations. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. April 27, 1942. p.1)
Watch Tower at Poston with
Armed Guards - Courtesy Bill
Tao
From April through July 1942, the Salinas Assembly Center was used to house the evacuees. A
few reports appear in the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian during that time:
SALINAS JAPANESE ASSEMBLY CENTER BUSY PLACE AS EVACUEES MOVE IN
Each evacuee received a number when registered by the employment service at the
armory. Families were ushered to barracks, sufficiently large for five average families
and furnished with cots... (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 28, 1942. p.1)
700 JAPS AT SALINAS CENTER NOW WORKING
Nearly one-fifth of the Japanese now at the Salinas assembly center have jobs around
the camp, officials reported Thursday. Present population of the center is 3587, not
including 30 American civilian employees. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian May 28,
1942. p.6)
GRADUATION EXERCISES FOR FORMER LOCAL JAPANESE AT SALINAS
Former Japanese students of Watsonville, now located at the Salinas assembly center,
held graduation exercises at the center Friday afternoon...Thirty high school diplomas
and six elementary diplomas were taken over to former local students by school
authorities. In addition to awarding of diplomas, several received gold star seals for
membership in the scholarship federation. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. June 19,
1942. p.1)
54
�READERS' REFERENDUM--JAPANESE LIKE FOOD AT SALINAS CENTER
...We have been in the Salinas assembly center undergoing new experiences for
nearly two months. At first, things were not so well organized but today as we are
almost ready to make our next move to our relocation center, everything is running
smoothly though our efforts of the past months. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. June
22, 1942. p.3)
Poston Relocation Center
Poston Relocation Center, May 23, 1942. A new group
of internees has just been unloaded from the buses in
the background - U.S. National Archives, Photo by
Fred Clark
In June and July 1942, the evacuees were moved
from Salinas to the Poston Relocation Center.
Poston was located in La Paz County, Arizona, 12
miles south of the town of Parker. It opened May 8,
1942 and by September, 1942, nearly 18,000
persons were interned there. (1) Ironically, on the
Fourth of July, 1942, the Register-Pajaronian
reported that, "The 1500 Japanese at the Salinas
Assembly Center, including 1200 from the Pajaro
Valley, left for their new relocation center at Poston,
Ariz. They went in a special train." (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. July 4, 1942. p.1)
At first the news about Poston, though infrequent, was positive:
JAPS RISE US FLAG AT RELOCATION CENTERS
San Francisco (UP)--Japanese in evacuation centers at Manzanar, Tule Lake and
Poston, Ariz. observed the Fourth of July with "flag raising ceremonies and other
patriotic exercises," the War Relocation Authority reported Saturday. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. July 6, 1942. p.2)
OUR EX-HOMETOWN JAPANESE BOYS IN THEIR INTERNMENT CAMPS WORK ON
CAMOUFLAGE NETS AND PLAY BASEBALL
"I have been working on camouflage nets for the army," writes Art "Fiddles" Kitahara
until recently at Santa Anita assembly center in Arcadia. Kitahara was a lightweight
football and basketball star at Santa Cruz High. (S.C. Sentinel-News. October 1, 1942. [E]
p. 1)
JAPANESE SCHOOLBOYS WRITE FOR RECORDS
Boys and girls who last year were pupils in Santa Cruz public schools are writing back
to the school authorities for certified record of their credits. (S.C. Sentinel-News.
October 11, 1942. [M] p. 8)
55
�LOCAL JAPANESE AT POSTON HAVE "COUNTY FAIR"
Residents of Poston, Ariz., the new community where most of the Japanese from the
Pajaro Valley are residing and farming now, recently completed a successful" county
fair," according to the Poston Press-Bulletin, copies of which have been received by
Watsonville residents. Saburo Kido, chairman of the fair, said that,"...By pulling
together, I am sure we can build in this Arizonan desert a community which will stand
forth as our contribution to the national welfare during this World War II." (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. October 28, 1942. p.3)
Poston Strike
In November 1942, there was a general strike at Poston over the arrest of two internees. The
situation developed because some internees physically assaulted two other internees who
were suspected of being informants or collaborators with the camp administrators. November
14, Camp administrators rounded up fifty internees for questioning, detaining two of them and
scheduling them for trial in an Arizona State Court. The internees demanded the release of the
two men. When administrators refused, a protest, followed by a general strike resulted.
November 23, one of the men was released and the strike began to end. (2)
JAPS STRIKE AT POSTON; REFUSE TO WORK
Poston, Ariz. (UP)--The fourth day of a general strike in the huge Japanese relocation
center here began Saturday, with 8500 members of the colony refusing to do any of the
work assigned to them. The strike was believed to be the first mass defiance of
authority since the War Relocation Authority began the task of removing over 160,000
Japanese from the states of Oregon, Washington, and California... Cause of the strike
was not announced, but it was believed to stem from the filing of charges of attempted
murder against a wrestler following an unpublicized series of gang fights. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. November 21, 1942. p.1)
ARMY ENDS JAP STRIKE AT POSTON
Loyal Internees Hold Firm, Quell Unrest Among Axis Element. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. November 23, 1942. p.1)
Dies Committee
The Dies Committee was the popular name for the House of Representatives' Select Committee
on UnAmerican Activities, which had been established in 1938. In June 1943, the Dies
Committee held hearings on the internment camps. Anti-evacuee groups testified with
accusations and unsubstantiated claims. The following testimony referring to Poston was
reported in the local press.
900 JAPANESE RELEASED FROM POSTON
LOS ANGELES (UP) - Ralph M. Gelvin, associate project director of the Poston, Ariz.,
Japanese relocation center, told the Dies committee that 900 Japanese have been
released permanently from the Poston camp and that 1100 others are at liberty on
seasonal leave. Gelvin, first witness to testify before the congressional committee
56
�investigating the Japanese relocation centers, said most of the 900 persons released
were allowed to leave within the past six months. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June
9, 1943 p. 4.)
POSTON JAPS USED GOVERNMENT CARS FOR FISHING TRIPS AND PICNICS, DIES
GROUP TOLD
LOS ANGELES (UP) - Japanese evacuees in the Poston, Ariz., relocation center used
government automobiles to go on picnics and fishing trips, an official of the center told
a Dies subcommittee investigating the camps. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June 10,
1943 p. 3.)
POSTON JAPS ARMED, DIES GROUP TOLD
LOS ANGELES (UP) - Japanese evacuees at the Poston, Ariz., relocation center have
armed themselves with every available weapon and may have been responsible for a
Santa Fe train wreck near the camp, a witness testified at a Dies subcommittee hearing.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June 14, 1943 p. 3.)
JAPS' SIEGE AT POSTON REVEALED
LOS ANGELES (UP) - Japanese at the Poston, Ariz., relocation center held Caucasian
camp employees under siege and threat of death for a week during riots there last
November, H.H. Townsend, former camp supply officer, told a Dies subcommittee.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June 11, 1943 p.2)
The War Relocation Authority (WRA) appeared before the Committee, calling the testimony
ignorant or false.
DIES COMMITTEE STATEMENTS ON JAPS RAPPED
WASHINGTON (UP) - Dillon S. Myer, Director of the War Relocation Authority said
Friday that the statements of the Dies Committee about management and surveillance
of Japanese evacuees "revealed either an ignorance of the policies and procedures of
this agency or a willful intent to misrepresent the situation." (Register-Pajaronian June
4, 1943 p. 1)
The Dies Committee issued its final report in September 1943. It was
"extremely mild, advocating segregation, a new board to investigate evacuees to be
released, and Americanization program in the camps. For the first time the government
had taken on the anti-Japanese groups, and it had won. Not only were the Committee's
recommendations consistent with WRA policy and planning, but every bit as important,
the Committee was denounced by the national press for its prejudice and procedure.
The tide had turned. The rest of the country no longer shared the West Coast view." (3)
57
�End of Exclusion and Closing of Poston
On December 17, 1944, the Western Defense Command issued Public Proclamation No. 21,
which revoked mass exclusion orders but retained individual exclusion. The Proclamation order
went into effect January 2, 1945. Individual exclusion orders were revoked in Public
Proclamation No. 24 on September 4, 1945. (4), (5) Poston Relocation Center closed November
28, 1945. (6)
JAPANESE EXCLUSION IS ENDED
With the war department and the Western Defense command issuing proclamations
terminating the exclusive program Tuesday night under which persons of Japanese
ancestry were banned from the three west coast states, the Pajaro valley's present
Japanese population of approximately 77 individuals was expected to increase steadily
in the next few weeks. ... (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 5, 1945 p. 1)
Footnotes
(1) United States National Park Service. Confinement and Ethnicity. Chapter 10. Poston
Relocation Center. (Website) Website visited May 28, 2008.
(2) "Poston Strike," Asian American Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. p. 1240.
(3) United States Commission on Wartime Relocation. Personal Justice Denied. Civil
Liberties Public Education Fund; University of Washington Pr. 1997. p. 226.
(4) Ibid. p. 235.
(5) "Japanese American Internment Timeline," Asian American Village. IMDiversity.com.
Visited on May 28, 2008.
(6) "Poston," Asian American Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. p. 1240.
58
�Agricultural Labor Shortage
FARMERS ADVISED TO FILL LABOR NEEDS NOW
"The tremendous drain upon farm labor by the war industries selective service and
evacuation of Japanese and enemy aliens has created a critical problem in virtually all
farming sections of California," said Dalton. [Herbert Dalton, USDA War Board chairman]
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian May 21, 1942. p.9)
So many men away in military service
resulted in shortages of workers and
changes in the makeup of the labor
force all over the nation. (Well-known
is the movement of women into the
labor force to continue the needed
work done by men.) In Santa Cruz
Travers and Sakata Packing Shed, Watsonville - Courtesy of Bill Tao
County, Executive Order 9066
brought additional labor shortages
and concern for the production of food. [Please note: the information presented here is taken
only from contemporary, local newspaper articles. It is not intended to be a complete study and
may not present a complete picture of the situation--RAP]
Restricted Areas
January 30, 1942, Santa Cruz residents read that the U.S. Justice Department planned to
remove enemy aliens from defense areas in the eight far Western states. The coastal area was
declared prohibited.
February 2, 1942:
FEBRUARY 24 IS DATE FOR CLEARING AREA
The federal alien restricted area ruling of Attorney General Francis Biddle brought
wartime reality into the heart of Santa Cruz County yesterday when all the area west of
state highway No. 1 (the Coast road and Watsonville highway) south of Laguna Creek to
the Carmel River was declared a restricted zone. Thus the heart of the city of Santa Cruz
was included in the restricted zone, with the Coast road running down Mission Street
then out Water Street to Soquel Avenue and out the Watsonville highway, the border of
the restricted area. Several hundred aliens will be affected by the ruling according to a
survey conducted by the Sentinel-News last night. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, [M]
February 3, 1942. p.1)
Being restricted from the coastal areas meant that Italian fishermen could not go out to fish.
Axis aliens who farmed the coastal lands could no longer work their fields. At first there was
hope that something could be worked out so that food production could continue, but there
were no exceptions.
59
�February 3, 1942:
ALIEN BAN ON S.C. COAST WILL AFFECT HUNDREDS
Hardest hit will be the Italian fishing colony at the wharf and the artichoke growers up
the coast, the survey revealed. According to Donald Younger, over 3500 acres of
artichokes and Brussels sprouts are farmed by Italian-American families in the county.
Younger estimated that about half of these farmers are aliens. Representatives of the
Sprout Growers' association and local shippers did not know last night how many of the
growers would be affected by the ruling, but stated that probably 75 per cent of the
workers on the ranches are aliens. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, [M] February 3, 1942. p.1)
February 2, 1942:
NO EXCEPTIONS FOR S.C. ALIENS; CONFUSION AFTER 1ST ORDER HERE
Italian, Japanese and German aliens in Santa Cruz who may have harbored a hope
that some disposition would come to exclude them from the evacuation order, had
those hopes completely quashed Tuesday… Locally it appeared Tuesday artichoke and
Brussels sprouts growers along the coast between Santa Cruz and Davenport, in whose
field alien Italians are employed to quite an extent, and the fishing industry at the wharf
will bear the brunt of evacuation...The growers definitely face a labor shortage,
according to Louis Poletti, manager of the Davenport Producers Association,
representing a large majority of the artichokes and sprouts growers. Most of the fields
are in the restricted area he said, and aliens cannot set foot within the designated limits.
(S.C. Sentinel-News. February 2, 1942. [E] p. 1)
February 2-3, 1942:
MONTEREY FARM PARLEY URGES JAPANESE REMOVAL
This resolution was in variance to a similar resolution adopted earlier this week by the
Santa Cruz County economic conference which recommended that Japanese not be
removed from coastal areas but instead be retained for agricultural work under close
surveillance. The Santa Cruz group cited the shortage of farm labor as the reason for the
recommendation. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 3, 1942. p.2)
February 5, 1942:
AS WE SEE IT [Editorial]
Production of food is of such major importance to our country that we feel confident
the government will work out a system whereby evacuation of aliens from the banned
farming areas will be accomplished without disrupting agricultural industry in the
affected areas... (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. February 5, 1942 [E] p.1)
Public Proclamation No. 1 designated the western halves of California, Oregon, and Washington
and the southern part of Arizona as a military area. The Proclamation warned that individuals
60
�might be excluded from this area in the future. "Voluntary" evacuation was recommended.
Ultimately, only those of Japanese ancestry were evacuated, although the German and Italian
aliens were still restricted from certain parts of the County.
March 18, 1942
USDA BOARD STUDIES DATES OF EVACUATION
"Naturally it is desirable that in areas where their work is essential to protect
important acreages of growing crops, Japanese farmers be permitted to remain as long
as reasonable. The county USDA War Board has been instructed to recommend the
earliest possible date by which the evacuation might be effected without resulting in
serious crop loss." [Herbert Dalton, Board chairman] (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
March 18, 1942. p.2.)
Public Proclamation No. 4
Public Proclamation No. 1 restricted access to certain parts of the county, but individuals were
free to move where they chose outside the military area--"voluntary" evacuation. Public
Proclamation no. 4 ultimately applied only to those of Japanese ancestry and made evacuation
mandatory. Many families hurried to leave before the new proclamation was official on March
27, 1942. Farmers did not have that option. They were required to stay and work their farms.
To leave was considered sabotage.
March 27, 1942:
200 JAP FAMILIES REMAIN; WILL DO THEIR BEST ON FARMS SAYS I. MOTOKI
Approximately 200 Japanese families will remain in the Pajaro Valley until the official
moving notice following the voluntary evacuation deadline at midnight Sunday...
Japanese farms "look good this year with fine crops of berries, lettuce and garlic
expected." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 27, 1942)
March 27, 1942:
WANTED: OPERATORS FOR JAP-ABANDONED FARMS
Failure of Japanese and Japanese-Americans working agricultural land in the county to
continue operations until the time they must evacuate will be considered sabotage...
(S.C. Sentinel-News. March 27, 1942. [E] p. 1)
Farms owned by Japanese and Japanese Americans were let to other farmers.
March 27, 1942:
"More than 40 Japanese and Japanese-American farmers who must evacuate from
this county have listed their farming operations with Frane [Myron C. Frane, farm
security field agent for the Army's wartime civilian control administration service center
61
�in the county]. Less than half that number of qualified farmers wishing to take over
operations have filed with his office. Japanese and Japanese-American land listed for
sale or lease constitutes 342 acres of land, of which 242 acres are planted chiefly to
strawberries, bush berries, garlic and seed crops. The farms range from one acre to 30
acres. A farm-to-farm canvass was conducted that revealed majority of the larger
operators already have made satisfactory arrangements." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, [E]
March 27, 1942, p. 1)
August 28, 1942:
The agricultural division of the Army's Wartime Civilian Control Administration today
announced that 70 per cent of the farm land operated by west coast Japanese and
Japanese Americans had been transferred to other operators..." (Santa Cruz SentinelNews, [E] August 28, 1942. p. 9)
Continued Shortages
Restrictions were progressively lifted for Italian and German aliens and they could return to
work.
July 1, 1942:
ITALIAN, GERMAN FARMHANDS AVAILABLE UNDER NEW ORDER
Several thousand Italian and German farmhands and fruit pickers will be made
available for work in California fields and orchards under a new proclamation...[it]
revoked an order prohibiting all German and Italian aliens from residing in or entering
nearly 100 designated areas in the state. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. July 1, 1942.
p.10)
Newspaper articles indicate that there was still an agricultural labor shortage. Just how the
labor shortage was managed in the County is unclear. On the state level, Governor Olson spoke
with the War Relocation authorities on the possibility of releasing interned Japanese for farm
work in military zones. Olson repeated a previous statement that release of the Japanese
seemed the only feasible solution for California's growing farm labor shortage. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. July 7, 1942. p.7) That Fall 10,000 evacuees were on leave from the camps,
employed as seasonal workers. They are credited with saving the sugar beet crops in several
states, but they did not work in California that year. (2), (3)
Various solutions
Using soldiers to fill the labor shortage was suggested and rejected.
August 25, 1942:
DEWITT WILL NOT ALLOW SOLDIERS TO DO FARM WORK
62
�San Francisco (UP)--California's critical farm and cannery labor shortage took a turn
for the worse Tuesday. Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt...turned down a request by California
canners and growers that soldiers be released from duty to work in canneries and
orchards...Agricultural authorities believed generally that Mexican laborers be[ing]
imported would not arrive in time to save crops. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
September 9, 1942. p. 1)
In May of 1942, the United States and Mexico negotiated an agreement to help alleviate the
wartime labor shortage. The Bracero Program, which lasted until 1964, arranged for Mexican
citizens came into the United States to work on farms and railroads. (1), (2)
September 9, 1942:
IMPORTATION OF MEXICAN WORKERS GETS WMC OKEH
Washington (UP)--The War Manpower Commission has approved a program for the
immediate importation of 1500 Mexican farm workers to help harvest the California
sugar beet crop. William Hopkins, regional WMC director for the Pacific coast, said an
additional 150,000 local workers must be recruited to meet acute farm labor shortages
in California. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 9, 1942. p. 7)
In the fall of 1942, the editor of the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian called for volunteers to
help with the harvest, indicating the seriousness of the problem.
September 16, 1942:
WE MUST BE PREPARED TO MEET FARM LABOR EMERGENCY [Editorial]
More than likely, heads of Watsonville business concerns soon will be asked to close
their store for several hours a day so that their employees may help harvest this valley's
apples and tomatoes. Experienced agriculturists here declare that the critical period in
the farm labor situation will be reached in a week or 10 days. The pinch in the shortage
of field and orchard pickers will be felt then. If there are not enough regular farm
workers or volunteers ready to work, the employees of business houses must help save
the crops. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 16, 1942. p.4)
Convicts were released and used in some areas of California.
September 17, 1942:
CONVICTS USED TO AID CROP HARVESTING
San Quentin (UP)--Plans for greater use of California's prisoners as emergency
farmhands were disclosed Wednesday as a second group of 43 convicts and one guard
left San Quentin to assist in harvesting crops...The group of 43 that left Wednesday will
pick cucumbers in Sutter county. The first group of 43 was sent to San Joaquin river
delta area… Two additional groups of 43 each will leave next Saturday and Monday to
63
�harvest sugar beets in San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties. Judge Pacht said 100
inmates of Folsom prison have been given conditional paroles and will be available for
sugar beet harvesting in Yolo and Sacramento counties. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian September 17, 1942. p. 2)
The following article indicates that the Bracero Program had not gone well the previous fall and
that there was concern for the upcoming harvest. The solution proposed was, not to use
evacuees, but to use Italian prisoners of war.
May 21, 1943:
WAR PRISONER FARM HANDS
But the farm labor problem is still unsolved, while the season speeds on toward
harvesting time and farmers worry and wonder if this year the federal government will
heed the warning and get promised Mexican labor here in time to save the crops - a
project bungled last year...The Italian, it is argued, has not cared for this war, and
certainly not for the part forced on him, from the beginning... He has a natural friendly
feeling for Americans. He is assimilable, as the Jap can never be. And he, as well as the
Jap, is a born farmer. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. May 21, 1943 p. 3)
Fall 1943, Mexican workers were employed in the County. From the next article, it sounds as if
Mexican workers continued to be employed here in the later War years as well.
October 1, 1943:
MEXICAN NATIONALS' PROBLEM
From various sources of late we've heard that a large number of Mexican nationals -brought to this area to aid in harvesting record-breaking crops -- are getting tired of
their work here and want to return home. No little alarm is felt in some circles about the
condition because state agricultural leaders tell us that the Mexican nationals are sorely
needed in California to help get in the 1943 Food for Victory....work with them to make
their stay in California more pleasant. (Watsonville Register Pajaronian. October 1,
1943. p.6)
November 20, 1945:
JAPANESE DOING SP TRACK WORK AT SC, APTOS
Ten Japanese - five at Santa Cruz and five at Aptos - are being employed on railroad
track work to help relieve the acute shortage of section hands, the Southern Pacific Co.
announced at Santa Cruz Tuesday. Loyalty of the workmen has been certified by the
government, the announcement said. ...The manpower shortage is made critical at
present by the repatriation of Mexican nationals who have been employed on the tracks
during the war. Some 13,000 Mexican nationals were employed by Southern Pacific at
64
�one time for this work, but with expiration of their contracts, they are returning home at
the rate of 1300 monthly. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 20, 1945. p 3.)
Footnotes
(1) McWilliams, Carey. North from Mexico. Greenwood Press, 1968 [c. 1948]. p. 265-266.
(2) Martinez, Manuel Luis. "Bracero Program." The Latino Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish,
1995. Vol 1. pp. 193-194.
(3) United States Commission on Wartime Relocation. Personal Justice Denied. Civil Liberties
Public Education Fund and University of Washington Pr., 1997. p. 181-182.
(4) Watsonville Register-Pajaronian September 1, 1942. p. 1
65
�Military Service
"...I only wish I could get those bigots, those hate mongers - those super patriots here
to see what Hell war is. Here in the front we're respected as fellow Americans fighting
for the same cause and we're proud as hell to be in there pitching - doing our share of
the work. My only hope is that I'll be able to go back just to see if it's all worthwhile."
--Letter from Harry F. Madokoro, who was a Japanese American from Santa
Cruz County and a soldier in the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team. He was
killed in action in Italy in August 1943 and awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 23, 1944, p 3)
HOLLYWOOD LEGION TIFF ON JAP ISSUE
Hollywood (UP) - World War II veterans in Hollywood Post 591 were threatened
Thursday with withdrawal of their American Legion charter for admitting to membership
Harley M. Oka, honorably-discharged Japanese-American soldier. ...Conceding that any
honorably discharged veteran is entitled to American Legion membership, Horton
criticized the post particularly for publicizing their action without official permission and
condemning the Hood River, Ore., Post which removed Japanese-American soldiers'
names from its roll of honor. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. January 25, 1945. p. 8)
At the start of the War, Italian Americans and Japanese Americans were serving in the U.S.
Armed Forces. Further enlistments of Japanese Americans were blocked on January 5, 1942,
when the War Department classified draft-age Japanese Americans as enemy aliens. Nearly all
Japanese Americans who had already volunteered for the Armed Forces were discharged and
reclassified, first as 4-F (physically not fit for service) and then as 4-C (enemy aliens). (1)
In the first few months of 1942, Public Proclamations issued by the Western Defense Command
ordered the evacuation of Axis aliens and Japanese Americans out of the military area that
included Santa Cruz County. Having a child in the Service provided a means of avoiding
evacuation--but only for Germans and Italians.
"A progressive evacuation of the five classes of aliens and citizens:
1. Those suspected of sabotage or subversive activity
2. Japanese aliens
3. Japanese-Americans
4. German aliens
5. Italian aliens.
German and Italian aliens who have children in the Armed Forces of the United States
probably will not be required to move." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 6,
1942. p.1)
66
�The Japanese American community urged the government to
give it a chance to prove its loyalty by allowing service in the
military. (2) Many Nisei welcomed the draft, although a few felt
that the draft was another humiliation and 315 young men
refused to be inducted. (3) The position of one young man was
carried in the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, "I have lost faith
completely in the real sincerity of governmental and general
societal actions concerning the Japanese, whether civilian
Japanese or Japanese in the army of the United States."
(Complete letter in “Draft Boards have Problem in
Reclassification of Japanese”, Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
April 8, 1944.)
Ted Kamo at Camp Roberts. He
In June 1942 the 100th Infantry Battalion was created and
finished his military training a
few days before the attack on
consisted almost entirely of Japanese Americans from Hawaii.
Pearl Harbor.
Six months later, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was
established by Presidential decree and included Japanese
Americans from Hawaii and the mainland. The achievements of the 442nd were impressive,
with "18,143 medals for valor, including 1 Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 1
Distinguished Service Medal, 588 Silver Stars, 5,200 Bronze Stars, and 9,486 Purple Hearts." (2)
Along with stories of the opposition to the release and return of Japanese and Japanese
Americans to the West Coast, the local papers carried news about the accomplishments and
heroism of the 442nd. Whether or not it was true in Santa Cruz County, the head of the War
Relocation Authority said that heroism of the Nisei softened the opposition to the return of the
Japanese and Japanese Americans to their former homes.
October 3, 1944:
WRA CHIEF SAYS HEROISM OF NISEI IN ITALY SOFTENING OPPOSITION TO JAPS
RETURN
"In the past several months the temper of public opinion on this issue has been
changing rapidly and unmistakably," Myer said. "Some private organizations that
formerly advocated total exclusion and mass deportation of Japanese-Americans have
softened and modified their attitudes. This change has been brought about, I am
convinced, primarily by the magnificent combat record of Japanese-American boys in
the uniform of the U.S. army." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. October 3, 1944, p 3)
Newspapers also carried news of the Japanese American soldiers who had once lived in Santa
Cruz County:
May 29, 1944:
LETTER FROM JAPANESE AMERICAN IN SERVICE
67
�...a former Japanese resident of Watsonville (now in the service)..."...I have been
serving my country with pride and honor for three years now, and during that time I
have undergone a severe test of prejudice and discrimination because of my physical
appearance and characteristics. For us Japanese-Americans, we have two battles to win,
the first one is against our enemy abroad and the second one is the fight for our rights
and pursuit of happiness..."I also pray that the people of Watsonville and elsewhere
may understand us Niseis in the armed forces of the U.S. We serve our country, and
fight for one cause and determination, and that is to preserve our freedom of rights and
liberty..." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. May 29, 1944, p 6)
August 8, 1944:
FOUR FORMER LOCAL JAPANESE-AMERICANS LEAVE POSTON FOR ARMY
Four former residents of Watsonville were among 74 Japanese-Americans leaving
here Friday for Fort Douglas, Utah, for entry into the United States Army. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. August 8, 1944, p 6)
September 19, 1944:
OTSUKI
Cpl. Issie Otsuki, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. K. Otsuki, formerly of the Live Oak
district, writes from somewhere in Italy that he had been there for about two months.
Before going overseas Cpl. Otsuki trained at Camp Crowder, Mo. and Camp Shelby,
Miss. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. Sept member 19, 1944. p. 8.)
November 15, 1944
4 MORE FORMER LOCAL BOYS ENTER SERVICE
POSTON, -Ariz. (Special) - Hideo Akiyama, son of Utaro Akiyama, Hiroto George
Tanaka, son of Mrs. Kou Tanaka, and Tom Tadaji Murakami, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Kumajiro Murakami, all formerly of Watsonville, were among 57 boys who left the
Poston Relocation center for active duty in the United States army early this month.
Tanaka and Murakami graduated from Watsonville High school and Akiyama from
Poston High. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 15, 1944, p 4.)
November 19, 1944:
TAMAKI IWANAGA JOINS ARMY FROM RELOCATION CENTER
Poston, Ariz. Tamaki Tom Iwanaga, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kameki Iwanaga and formerly
of Santa Cruz, Calif., was among the 57 boys who received an elaborate send-off as they
left the Colorado River relocation center today to begin active duty in the United States
Army at Fort Douglas, Utah. Iwanaga attended Santa Cruz high school prior to
evacuation and graduated from Poston high school in 1943. Also serving in the Army at
68
�the present time are two brothers, Cpl. Sam Iwanaga at Fort Snelling, Minn., and Pvt.
Noby Iwanaga at Camp Barkley, Texas.
November 24, 1944:
HENRY IZUMIZAKI KILLED IN ACTION
PFC Henry S. Izumizaki, 23, former resident of Watsonville and a graduate of
Watsonville High school in 1940, was killed in action in France on Nov. 2 while fighting
with the 442nd combat regiment. ... His death increases the number of gold stars on the
Poston center service flag to 11....His brother, PFC James Izumizaki, was reported
wounded in France on Oct. 17. Another brother, Pvt. Arthur is stationed at Camp
Blanding, Fla. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 24, 1944, p 1)
February 13, 1945:
SHIGETSUGI MORIMUNE AGAIN WOUNDED IN ACTION IN FRANCE
POSTON, Ariz. (Special) - PFC Shigetsugi Morimune, former resident of Watsonville,
Calif., was wounded in action Jan. 17, while fighting with the 442nd infantry in France, ...
PFC Morimune already holds the Purple Heart decoration for wounds received in France
last October.A graduate of Watsonville Union High school in 1939, PFC Morimune, 23,
volunteered for army duty and was inducted into service March 4, 1944 at Poston. ... A
brother, Pvt. Harry Morimune entered the army from Poston last November.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 13, 1945 p 3.)
February 14, 1945:
3 LOCAL NISEI GET COMBAT INFANTRYMAN'S BADGE IN FRANCE
6TH ARMY GROUP, FRANCE (Special to Register-Pajaronian) - One hundred and forty
American soldiers of Japanese ancestry from California, now with the 442nd JapaneseAmerican combat team, have been awarded the combat infantryman's badge for
exemplary conduct in action in the Vosges mountains of eastern France with the 7th
Army. ...During their action, they took part in the rescue of the now famous "Lost
Battalion" of World War II near Bruyeres, France. Men awarded the combat
infantryman's badge include: Watsonville: PFC Toshio Manaba, 356 Ford St.; PFC Kenji
Hirokawa, Rt. 3; Pvt. T. Goto, Rt. 3. Salinas: Sgt. Roy Sakasegawa, 141 Lake St.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 14, 1945 p 2.)
February 23, 1945:
TWO LOCAL NISEI GET GOOD CONDUCT MEDALS
SIXTH ARMY GROUP, France (Special to Register-Pajaronian) - Fifty-one American
soldiers of Japanese ancestry, with the 442nd Japanese-American combat team, have
been awarded the good conduct medal for exemplary conduct during the past year or
more in the army. ... Among the soldiers who were awarded the good conduct medal
69
�are: From Watsonville, Calif., PFC James Izumizaki, Cpl. George N. Matsumoto.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 23, 1945 p 5.)
July 30, 1945:
WATSONVILLE NISEI RETURNING FROM ITALY
WITH THE FIFTH ARMY Italy (Special to Register-Pajaronian) - Sgt. Shigara Hirano of
Watsonville, Calif., is returning to the United States from the Fifth Army in Italy with an
adjusted service rating score of 85....His parents live at 220-3-D, War Relocation center,
Poston, Ariz. Watsonville (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. July 30, 1945 p 6.)
September 26, 1945:
SGT. YOSHIO FUJITA AWARDED BRONZE STAR
HQ. TWENTY-FIRST CORPS, SEVENTH ARMY, Germany (Special) - Yoshio Fujita, 28 of
Watsonville, Calif., has been awarded the Bronze Star medal for meritorious service with
the 522nd field artillery battalion in Italy, France and Germany. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. September 26, 1945 p 1.)
November 6, 1945:
LOCAL NISEIS AT FORT SNELLING LANGUAGE CAMP
M/Sgts. Buddie Nagase and William Waki, graduates of Watsonville High school, are
instructors at the Japanese language camp at Fort Snelling, Minn. ...The Fort Snelling
school is the only one of its kind in the world and it furnished approximately 4000 highly
trained Japanese-American linguists to allied forces in the Pacific theater. ...Among the
Pajaro valley niseis trained at the school and then sent to the Pacific area are [T/5's?]
Kay Yamauchi, Tadashi Hashimoto, Sateru Takemoto and Toshio Kimoto. [We apologize
if any names were misspelled; the copy was difficult to read.--RAP] (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. November 6, 1945 p 5.)
December 12, 1945:
PFC KIMURA RETURNS TO US FROM ETO
PFC Roy S. Kimura, brother of George Y. Kimura, Rt. 3, Box 103, Watsonville, has
returned to the United States after serving with the 90th Infantry division - ... Kimura
was a rifleman and scout and has two Bronze Stars, Combat Infantryman's badge, Good
Conduct ribbon, American defense ribbon. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. December
12, 1945 p 6.)
After the War, a memorial service was held in Watsonville for local Nisei soldiers.
70
�NISEI SOLDIER MEMORIAL SERVICE SET FOR THURSDAY
Memorial services for Japanese-American soldiers of the U.S. Army who lost their lives
in World War II are to be held Thursday morning at 10 o'clock at the Watsonville Pioneer
cemetery under the auspices of the Young Buddhist association. Rev. Y. Iwanaga of the
Buddhist church will lead the services to which the public is invited. Watsonville soldiers
for whom the services will be held include Henry Izumizaki, Harry Madokoro, Konjo
Nitta, Charles Fujiki, and Paul Hariuchi, all privates first class. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. May 26, 1946 p. 2)
Footnotes
(1) Asian American Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. p. 482.
(2) Ibid. Vol. 2. p. 483.
(3) United States Commission on Wartime Relocation. Personal Justice Denied. Civil Liberties
Public Education Fund and University of Washington Pr., 1997. p. 246.
71
�Lifting of Restrictions on Italians and Germans
After the Japanese and Japanese-Americans were evacuated from Military Area no. 1, the order
for Italian and German aliens to evacuate was dropped. Other restrictions were progressively
lifted for all Italian and German aliens. (Italian and German aliens who had a close relative in
the U.S. military were already exempted from exclusion orders and, for Italian aliens, curfew
regulations.)
No banned areas for Italian and German aliens
In Santa Cruz County, the evacuation of the Japanese and Japanese Americans was completed
by April 30, 1942. A month later, June 30th, General DeWitt revoked the orders that banned
Italian and German aliens from certain areas in the Western states.
June 30, 1942:
S.C. ALIEN ORDER IS CLEARED
...All Italian and German aliens, previously by federal order prohibited from an area
including most of the city and all immediate coast territory inside the Coast road and
Watsonville highway, may return to that once-banned section -- subject to curfew and
other restrictions. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] June 30, 1942 p.1)
BIDDLE SAYS ITALIANS NOT ENEMY
...effective October 19 Italian aliens would no longer be classed as alien enemies,
because, he [Attorney General Francis Biddle] said, 'from that time on the exoneration
which they have so well earned will be granted them.' (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News, [M]
October 13, 1942. p.1)
Six days later, the travel and curfew restrictions on Italian aliens were removed by Lt-General
DeWitt, with this warning:
October 19, 1942:
The Army emphasized that the new order did not change the status of German or
Japanese aliens, or persons of Japanese ancestry, and also pointed out the necessity of
"continued vigilance and exclusion of individuals dangerous to the military security of
the coastal front." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. October 19, 1942. p.1)
A few weeks later, the regulation forbidding Italians to fish was changed by President
Roosevelt. The amended regulations classified Italians as "aliens" rather than "enemy aliens."
This meant that they could go fishing-- but with the stipulation that fifty percent of the crew be
United States citizens.
72
�November 3, 1942:
Santa Cruz municipal wharf spokesman declared that there are some 14 Italian
nationals in the fishing colony. These men have been land bound since December 7.
They own 16 lampara launches, or about one-fourth of the total number of boats
engaged in pre-war fishing operations.
The clause in the amendment signed by the president [on Nov. 2] requiring "50 per
cent of the crew of each vessel to be of American citizenship" will particularly hurt the
Santa Cruz men inasmuch as they operate small one man launches. This might prove
necessary for them to carry an "American citizen passenger" with them out on the high
seas. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [M] November 3, 1942. p. 1)
Lifting restrictions on German aliens
In December 1942, curfew and travel restrictions were lifted for German aliens in the eight
western states. The reason given by Lt-General DeWitt was,
"The need for the curfew no longer exists as other security measures have been
provided." (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. [E] December 12, 1942. p. 5)
Additional Information
Male Notte, the untold story of Italian relocation during World War II, by Geoffrey Dunn.
“Police to Help FBI Keep Eye on Our Aliens.” Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. September 10, 1942.
[M] p. 8.
73
�Release of the Evacuees
MOVING JAPS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
It will be decidedly interesting to hear what the Supreme Court has to say about this.
On first thought, it strikes the average American that it would be unconstitutional to
move a citizen from his property and uproot him from his business and surroundings
and confine him to certain premises against his wishes, without any trial or opportunity
to be heard in the matter. That is a highhanded manner of treating any American
citizen, in ordinary times. But our constitution grants the president extraordinary
powers in time of war. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian April 6, 1943 p. 6)
ANDERSON SAYS 800 JAPANESE BACK; FDR TELLS STAND
Washington (UP)...President Roosevelt Wednesday had expressed the belief that
Japanese-Americans, who are American citizens, cannot be locked up in concentration
camps indefinitely. ...The president, noting that he was talking about JapaneseAmerican citizens, said the danger had finished in most cases but that as a matter of
practical fact about 25 per cent of the evacuees had replaced themselves in other parts
of the country. He said there is a feeling among lawyers that under the constitution
these people cannot be kept locked up in concentration camps because American
citizens have certain privileges. This feeling, the president said, was activated to a great
extent by the wonderful record of Japanese-American soldiers in Italy. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. November 22, 1944, p. 1)
From the start of the internment, internees could leave the camps for the purposes of either
continuing their collection education or to harvest crops. (1) When Dillon Myer took over as
Director of the War Relocation Authority in 1942, he made resettlement a priority. During 1943
and 1944, there were changing requirements for leaving the camps, but one unchanging
requirement was proving loyalty. Loyal internees, as determined by the government, were
eligible for leave. Disloyal ones were segregated and sent to the camp at Tule Lake. For an
excellent explanation, see Personal Justice Denied. (2) Internees were released from camps to
relocate to places outside the West Coast and in some cases, back to the West Coast.
July 7, 1943:
MORE JAPS TO BE RELEASED
Washington (UP)--The War Relocation Authority is preparing to segregate in a single
community Japanese evacuees considered hostile to the United States and to release
loyal evacuees for jobs that aid the war effort...[WRA Director Dillon S. Myer] said WRA
since last July has released 10,000 evacuees to take permanent places in normal
communities. An additional 6,000 have been granted temporary leave to work on farms.
"In all these months," he said, "not one case of disloyal activity on the part of these
74
�people has been reported from any reliable source." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
July 16, 1943. p.1)
WRA DIRECTOR IRED BY DIES' JAP PROBE
Washington (UP) -- Director Dillon S. Myer of the War Relocation authority said
Wednesday his agency is without authority to intern American citizens of Japanese
ancestry for more than brief periods unless they are charged with being disloyal of
subversive. Myer, for the second consecutive day, defended before a Dies
subcommittee the relocation authority's program of releasing loyal Japanese.
(Watsonville Register Pajaronian, July 7, 1943. p.1)
November 20, 1944:
RELOCATION OF JAPANESE IN NATION
Washington (UP)--The War Relocation Authority reported today that Japanese
American civilians evacuated from the west coast have been relocated in every state
except South Carolina....Illinois topping the list, having 8,085 evacuees, the majority
living in Chicago. Other states reported as having more than 500 evacuees are: Colorado
with 3,352; Ohio, 2,599; Utah, 2,146; Michigan, 2,121; Idaho, 1,639; Minnesota, 1,396;
New York, 1,289; Washington, 914; Missouri, 650; and New Jersey, 555...The report
disclosed that 2,146 Americans of Japanese ancestry left relocation centers to join the
U.S. Army...(Santa Cruz Sentinel-News [E]. November 20, 1944. p.2)
November 22, 1944:
800 JAPANESE RETURNED TO PACIFIC COAST HOMES
...Under present War Department policies, he [Rep. John Z. Anderson (R-Calif.)]
explained, Japanese evacuees are allowed this privilege where mixed marriages are
involved or where some member of the family is in military service, if loyalty to this
county is proven. (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. November 22, 1944. [M] p. 1)
Court Cases
Japanese Americans challenged the detainment and evacuation in court. The legal issues are
very important to the internment and to the rights of all citizens then and in the future. Could a
society with a constitution establishing our rights to liberty and equal protection under the law,
allow our government to deny those rights to any group of citizens based on race? Because this
project focuses on the local events, it is beyond its scope to discuss in detail the issues here or
to mention all the court cases here. More information on these issues is available in the books
listed in the bibliography.
The U.S. Supreme Court Decision
On December 18, 1944, the United States Supreme Court rendered decisions in two cases
relating to the evacuation. "The Supreme Court ruled today that the Army's removal of
Japanese-Americans from the west coast early in 1942 was constitutional at the time it was
75
�carried out, but that citizens must be permitted to return to their homes when their loyalty to
this country is established…" (Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. December 18, 1944. [E] p. 1)
December 19, 1944:
JAPANESE
The court, in a unanimous verdict written by Justice William O. Douglas, ruled Monday
that Miss Mitsuye Endo, of Sacramento, who had been found "loyal", should be given an
unconditional release from Camp Topaz in Utah.
Douglas said that loyalty is a matter of heart and mind - not of race, creed or color and held that the authority to detain or grant a citizen a conditional release on
espionage or sabotage grounds "is exhausted when his loyalty is conceded." At the same
time, the tribunal ruled 6 to 3 that the evacuation program under which the army
removed 112,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from the Pacific coast in 1942 was a
constitutional use of the war powers granted by congress. Justice Hugo L. Black, in
writing the majority opinion, pointed out that the court's ruling affirmed the exclusion
only as "a military necessity." The program had been challenged by Fred Toyosaburo
Korematsu, San Leandro, Calif., now in Camp Topaz and under a five-year probationary
sentence for failing to report for evacuation. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
December 19, 1944 p.1.)
Lifting of the Exclusion Order
One day before the Supreme Court decision, December 17, 1944, the Western Defense
Command issued Public Proclamation No. 21. It officially revoked the mass exclusion order,
effective January 2, 1945. Exclusion orders on particular individuals were revoked in Public
Proclamation No. 24 in September 1945.
December 22, 1944:
"BEAT SUPREME COURT" ON ORDER SAYS ICKES
Washington (UP) - Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes boasted Friday that the
executive branch "beat the supreme court by approximately 24 hours" in revoking
blanket orders excluding persons of Japanese ancestry from the west coast. Asked at a
press conference why the ban was lifted at this time, he replied: "It was time to issue
the order, the Japanese had demonstrated that they were entitled to their full rights as
citizens." The court had before it two cases on the exclusion issue, and on Monday ruled
that loyal citizens of Japanese descent could not be further detained after their loyalty
had been established. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. December 22, 1944. p. 2.)
Footnotes
(1) United States Commission on Wartime Relocation. Personal Justice Denied. Civil Liberties
Public Education Fund and University of Washington Pr., 1997. p. 180
(2) "Loyalty: Leave and Segregation." Ibid. pp. 185--212.
76
�Additional Information
DeWitt Attitude on Japs Upsets Plans. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, April 16, 1943. p.1
What other Editors Say After the War. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. May 27, 1944, p. 6.
Other Editors' Views. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. December 28, 1944, p. 4.
Supreme Court Asked to Rule on Jap-American Evacuation. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian
March 30, 1943. p. 1.
Supreme Court Upholds Conviction of Two Japs. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. June 21,
1943 p.1.
77
�Debate over the Return of Persons of Japanese Ancestry
A Letter from Poston: Do you consider for a minute that we American citizens of
Japanese ancestry are being treated fairly in being placed in a concentration camp,
although it is not called a concentration camp by our government, but theoretically, it
is? (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 26, 1943. p. 3)
"I personally feel that no Japs, I do not care what their sentiments may be, should be
released from concentration camps, unless they be exchanged for Americans held in the
Philippines or Japan." [Congressman J. Parnell Thomas, Republication from New Jersey
and a Dies Committee member.] (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. May 14, 1943. p.1)
Shortly after the evacuation from the West Coast was completed, the debate began about
whether the evacuees should be allowed to return. Up until the later part of the War, the
majority of the opinions that appear in the local newspapers are against their return. Some are
against their return until the end of the War and others against their return ever. Some groups
and individuals even wanted all persons of Japanese ancestry stripped of their citizenship and
deported. The reasons given for the opposition: threat of sabotage by the evacuees, possible
retaliatory violence by other citizens because of war atrocities committed by the Japanese, and
various other reasons based on racism.
January 13, 1943:
WHAT OF THE WEST COAST JAPANESE?
We learn, from our discussions with various persons, that local people are divided in
their ideas about the problem. Some believe the Japanese should be allowed to return
and take up their activities - largely agricultural pursuits - from where they left off.
Others favor their return but with privileges lessened - in other words, merely as farm
workers. A third group is vehemently opposed to their return at all. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. January 13, 1943. p. 4)
Government Officials
April 24, 1943:
SUPERVISORS PROTEST RELEASING OF JAPS
By unanimous vote, supervisors of Santa Cruz County Friday afternoon approved a
resolution protesting removal of evacuated Japanese from War Relocation centers
unless under specific orders and direction of the United States army and also protesting
inclusion of American-born Japanese into the U.S. army. The resolution was patterned
after those recently adopted by Monterey and San Benito counties. In turn, those
counties had patterned their resolutions on the one passed early in February here by
78
�the Pajaro Valley and Watsonville Defense council. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
April 24, 1943 p. 1)
HERE'S TEXT OF SUPERVISORS' RESOLUTION ON JAPANESE
Here are the six points of the resolutions adopted Friday afternoon by the Santa Cruz
board of supervisors protesting releasing of Japanese from relocation centers and the
inclusion of native born Japanese in the U.S. army... (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
April 26, 1943 p. 4)
May 14, 1943:
REP. ANDERSON 'ON HIS TOES' ON JAPANESE PROBLEM
Congressman Jack Anderson is doing an excellent job in focusing the attention of the
House of Representatives on the problem of West Coast Japanese evacuees, judging
from the May 5 Congressional Record account of his address to the House...[Mr.
Anderson] told his colleagues that "I find that the vast majority of the citizens in my
district are definitely opposed to the return of any Japanese to the Pacific coast states
while the war is in progress." ... Mr. Anderson also rapped the army order permitting
American born Japanese now in the US army to return to the coast on furloughs. He
called the order an "utterly incomprehensible and contradictory policy for the war
department to adopt".... We are pleased to see our California congressmen "on their
toes" in this matter of great importance to the Pacific coast. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. May 14, 1943. p. 6.)
June 21, 1943:
JAPS MUST BE WATCHED SAYS WARREN
Columbus, O. (UP) - The release of 150,000 Japanese now held at relocation centers
may lead to widespread sabotage and a "second Pearl Harbor in California," Gov. Earl
Warren of California said Monday. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. June 21, 1943 p. 1)
January 19, 1945:
REP. ANDERSON STAND ON JAPS
San Jose (Special) - Because of some misunderstanding in regard to Congressman John
Z. (Jack) Anderson's attitude regarding Japanese evacuees, the representative from this
district has issued the following statement to clarify his stand on the matter: ..."There
are two primary reasons why I have consistently opposed the lifting of the exclusion
order and the return of Japanese-Americans at this time. First, of course, is the question
of security for citizens of Pacific coast states while the Pacific war continues, and second
is the safety of the Japanese-Americans themselves. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
January 19, 1945. p. 4)
79
�April 13, 1944:
ICKES BACKS WRA HANDLING OF JAPANESE
Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes Thursday denounced "professional race mongers"
who oppose release of loyal Japanese-Americans from relocation camps and said that
people who deny them decent treatment "don't believe in the constitution of the
United States." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. April 13, 1944, p.1.)
November 4, 1944:
ANDERSON DENIES JAP RUMOR; JOHNSON EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE
The intense eighth district congressional race was nearing its climax Saturday.
Congressman Jack Anderson denied rumors that he favored return of evacuated
Japanese to this section. Rep. Anderson said a "whispering campaign has started that
after election I would seek to have Japanese returned to the coast. The charge is false
and ridiculous." ...He also emphatically denied his opponent's accusation that he did not
represent the "common man. This is a deliberate attempt to stir up class hatred." he
said. "As far as I am concerned there are no class distinctions. I consider it my duty to
represent all of my district, regardless of color, creed, occupation, race, possessions or
political affiliations." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 4, 1944, p.1.)
Local Groups
February 24, 1943:
JAPANESE EVACUEES MUST BE KEPT UNDER STRICT SURVEILLANCE
The defense council stresses one point that no one can dispute - who knows for sure
whether a Japanese, whether alien or American born, is loyal to the United States? Even
the Japanese evacuees themselves have admitted they cannot tell! ...Americans have
been known to "bend over backwards" many times in efforts to be tolerant but the
events of Dec. 7, 1941, and subsequent activities of the "yellow aryans" have shown
only one thing - the Japanese government is determined to conquer and humble the
United States or commit national hari-kari in the attempt. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. February 24, 1943 p. 4)
DEFENSE COUNCIL RAPS FREEING OF INTERNED JAPS: PROTESTS GOING TO
PRESIDENT, SEC. STIMSON
Pajaro Valley and Watsonville Defense council, in special session Tuesday night,
adopted a resolution protesting the War Relocation authority's proposed program of
releasing Japanese evacuees from relocation centers and the plan to incorporate some
28,000 American-born Japanese into the United States army and copies of the
resolution will be sent to President Roosevelt, Secretary of War Stimson, the WRA,
congressmen and senators. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 24, 1943. p. 1)
80
�RESOLUTION AGAINST JAP PROGRAM
Following is the resolution adopted Tuesday night by the Pajaro Valley and
Watsonville Defense council: ...(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian February 24, 1943 p. 1)
June 15, 1943:
SALINAS 802 TO 1 AGAINST JAPS' RETURN
Salinas residents questioned in a chamber of commerce poll voted 802 to 1 against
permitting "loyal Japanese to return to Pacific coast states during the war, it was
announced Tuesday. The chamber said the votes represented a total of 12, 688 farmers,
merchants, ministers, workers, professional men and women, labor union
representatives and veterans and civic organizations. Ballots were cast on a delegation
basis. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian June 15, 1943 p. 1.)
June 24, 1943:
PRAISES SALINAS VOTE ON JAPANESE
To the Editor: May we extend the glad hand to the Salinas valley farmers, we surely
feel proud of them. They are real citizens of the grand old USA and we are sure there is
not one place over here that will vote for the return of the adherents of the Rising Sun.
Our contempt goes to the one who voted yes - he is really a sorry object. His fellow men
feel for him WE know. We sincerely hope all of the concentration camps will keep the
Japanese penned up for the duration and then send them back to the ruins of Tokyo
where they rightfully belong. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. June 24, 1943. p. 3.)
Other Local Groups Taking a Public Stand Opposing the Return of the Evacuees:
Lions Club (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 10, 1943. p. 5.)
Chamber of Commerce of the Pajaro Valley (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. August 13,
1943. p.6)
Pomona Grange (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. August 13, 1943. p.6)
Santa Cruz Farm Bureau (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. June 26, 1944, p.3)
Pajaro Valley Historical Association (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 17,
1944. p. 4)
Letters to the Editor
In the spring of 1943, the Register-Pajaronian asked its readers for their opinions on the
"Japanese Problem." Responses were printed in the Reader's Referendum section of the paper.
Here are some excerpts:
...If a man or woman was born in Japan, regardless of whether citizenship papers have
been taken out, he or she should be sent home to Japan at the end of World War II.
[Note: the law denied naturalization to persons born in Japan--RAP.] Harry Fischer.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 17, 1943. p. 4.)
81
�...I would like to ask this same man if he remembers when many a businessman in
Watsonville would rather back a Japanese farmer than a white farmer....Remember
there are Japanese born under the American flag and the pledge to that flag says
"liberty and justice for all"...A Subscriber (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 2,
1943. p. 12.)
...Your denunciation of the Japanese as a race reads like Hitler's denunciation of the
Jews as a whole. The kind of thing that happened in 1935 in Germany, when the Jews
were deprived of their citizenship by decree could happen in the United States...but it
could not happen without changing or violating our established constitutional rights...if
such changes were made, the very foundation principles on which our nation has been
established and maintained go with them. We would then be no better off than the
nations now at war with us...Rev. Mack McCray, Jr. First Baptist Church, Watsonville.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 3, 1943. p. 6.)
...When it is all over pass a law to send every one back to Japan and allow no more here
in our country. I spent many days in the bloody and muddy trenches in France in the
first World War for the freedom of our country and the American people and not for
barbarians and to those who think we are mistreating the Japs, let them, after the war,
go back to Japan with the Japs. C.A. Enlow. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 5,
1943. p.3.)
...the evacuees have three square meals a day. That's more than our boys have at the
front in the thick of the battle...H.J. Silva (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 6,
1943. p.6.)
...our coping with the Japanese doesn't come under the heading of democratic and
Christian means, and if the Rev. will stand by and watch us storm our government
representatives with telegrams, letters, and cards, he'll understand we're truly
Americans, not destroying the principles and freedom of our great nation but building
and restoring...A Subscriber (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. March 8, 1943. p.3.)
"One of your correspondents says that we are at war not with the Japanese empire but
with the entire Japanese race. I beg to differ with the writer - we are not at war with the
race - we are at war with the Japanese nation! ...Remember also that a man is presumed
to be innocent until proven guilty by satisfactory evidence... John L. McCarthy
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian March 9, 1943 p. 6)
...for the duration let every Jap be held in concentration camps--this is war--if one is
loyal, let him consider that as his part of the war effort...Mabel R. Curtis (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. March 9, 1943. p.2.)
82
�Public Hearings
The California Senate held public hearings around the state to gather public opinion on the
return of the evacuees. Even before it completed its hearings, the committee publicly
announced its conclusion.
June 19, 1943:
STATE COMMITTEE OPPOSED TO JAPS' RETURN TO COAST
Turlock (UP) - A resolution expressing "unalterable opposition" to return of Japanese
to California during the war was adopted by the state senate interim committee
investigating all phases of the Japanese situation when it concluded its session here. The
committee, which meets in Merced Saturday, adopted the resolution before hearings
were completed because the preponderance of evidence already submitted showed
residents of California were strongly opposed to resettlement. Copies were sent to D.S.
Meyer, national director of the War Relocation Authority, and all members of the
legislature. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. June 19, 1943 p. 6)
On July 7 and 8, 1943, the committee held hearings in Watsonville.
June 29, 1943:
HEARING ON JAP ISSUE HERE JULY 7
The California state senate interim subcommittee on the Japanese problem has
accepted an invitation from the Chamber of Commerce of the Pajaro Valley and will
hold a hearing here on Wednesday afternoon, July 7, at 2 o'clock...(Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. June 29, 1943. p.1.)
July 8, 1943:
MAJORITY OPINION AT JAP HEAR--KEEP THEM OUT AFTER WAR
Out of the mass of testimony presented at the state senate interim committee
hearing in Watsonville Wednesday afternoon appeared one definite fact -- the majority
of Santa Cruz county residents do not want the Japanese evacuees back during or after
the war... (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. July 8, 1943 p.1)
July 9, 1943:
MAJORITY OPINION:
While there are some here who sincerely believe that Japanese can return after the
war and take up where they left off, the great majority of Monterey Bay region
residents do not want them back -- for many reasons.
This should be apparent to anyone who heard testimony given at the state senate
interim committee hearing here whether due to "racial prejudice," "war hysteria," "fear
83
�of trouble or race riots," or plain "dislike and distrust," they are bound to make
themselves felt when the state legislature garners together all the facts, figures and
opinions presented at the hearing throughout the length and breadth of California.
We think Santa Cruz County's own senator, Ray Judah, summed the majority opinion
up well when he declared that "we got along with the Japanese before the war but then
we suddenly discovered that we cannot associate idealism with that race." (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. July 9, 1943 p.1.)
Debate and Protests
Throughout 1944, the debate continued over the release and return of the evacuees. Among
the strong voices opposing their return, are other voices defending their rights.
September 27, 1944:
FRED HOUSER SAYS SERVICEMEN SHOULD HAVE VOICE IN ISSUE OF JAPANESE
RESETTLEMENT
California's military servicemen and women, particularly those who are fighting the
Japs in the South Pacific, should have a voice in deciding the issue of permitting
Japanese to resettle in California, it was declared here Tuesday afternoon by Lt.-Gov.
Fred Houser, republican candidate for United States senator. Houser, campaigning in
Santa Cruz county as a part of his state-wide tour, ... met with groups in Santa Cruz and
Watsonville. "Neither Harold Ickes nor any other bureau chief in Washington should
flaunt Japs in the face of Californians during the war, nor permit their return over the
objections of the people of this state who know the Japs so well," Houser declared.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 27, 1944.)
October 10, 1944:
ATTORNEYS-GENERAL FILE BRIEF IN JAP EVACUATION CASE
Attorneys-generals of California, Oregon and Washington Monday joined in a brief
filed with the Supreme Court asking that restrictions against Japanese-American citizens
in Pacific coastal areas be removed "as soon as national security permits." The brief was
filed in the case of Fred T. Korematau. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. October 10,
1944, p. 3)
November 15, 1944:
RETURN OF JAPANESE
Under the Constitution, American-born Japanese cannot legally be prevented from
returning to California once the military prohibition against their residence here is lifted.
But the problem is not simply one of law codes, and any attempt to solve it by legalistic
means alone must surely fail....The story of the Japanese in California before the war is
84
�that of a large concentrated minority, unassimilable and acquisitive. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. November 15, 1944, p.4)
November 20, 1944:
CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION DIRECTOR SAYS JAPS WILL RETURN
LOS ANGELES (UP) - Roger Baldwin, American Civil Liberties union national director,
predicted Monday army orders evacuating Japanese-Americans from the west coast
soon would be lifted either by the U.S. Supreme Court or by the army itself. ...He
declared the exclusion order was not based on military necessity but was the
"unfortunate result of the ancient prejudice of such groups as the Associated Farmers ...
and certain labor unions which resented the competing cheap labor of the Japanese."
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 20, 1944. p. 5)
It was announced in December 1944 that the exclusion order would be revoked the following
month. Nevertheless, the public debate continued.
December 22, 1944:
MONTEREY OFFICERS PLEDGE COOPERATION ON JAPS' RETURN ... Meanwhile in
Hollister, Assemblyman Jake Leonard expressed a thought reportedly held by many in
the district when he said: "Whether or not the Japanese come back depends upon the
attitude of the local people. If we do not want him, we can refuse to sell or rent him
land; we can refuse to employ him or to deal with him. The responsibility lies not with
the Jap but with us. Except under the war powers act there is no way we can legally
keep him out except by refusing to deal with him." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
December 22, 1944. p 2.)
DISAGREES ON JAPANESE ISSUE. To the Editor: Your insipid and practically antidemocratic editorial in Tuesday evenings paper (regarding return of Japanese) is a
sickening display of shoddy thinking to the mind of at least one soldier who has now
served his country for over three years....Those of the status quo school, you come too
close to this group to be very helpful, are in for a rude shock if they think the American
soldier doesn't know what he is fighting for. We are fighting for equal rights for all races
and groups; opportunity for all, not those hereditarily fortunate. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. December 22, 1944.)
Additional Information
Nihon Bunka / Japanese Culture; 100 Years in the Pajaro Valley, by Kathy McKenzie Nichols and
Jane W. Borg. Chapter 3: Uneasy Settlement: the War Years.
85
�Return of the Evacuees
JAPANESE BACK IN SAN JOSE
San Jose (UP) - James Yamamoto, 40-year-old Japanese-American, ...born in San Jose
and a graduate of Campbell High school, was one of the first Japanese-Americans
permitted to return to the west coast area from which he was evacuated with others of
his race in 1942. Sentiment among his neighbors and friends was that he had never
"caused any trouble and should be left alone" on his berry farm. Yamamoto himself said
simply that he was "glad to be back." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 20,
1944. p.1.)
PACIFIC VETS RESTORE DESECRATED JAPANESE CEMETERY AT STOCKTON
Stockton (UP) - Youthful veterans of the Pacific war who just a few months ago were
shoveling dead Japanese into coral trench graves, now are carefully restoring a
desecrated Japanese cemetery here. Under the direction of Jack Vineyard of Stockton,
Calif., ex-marine raider battalion member, a group of 28 discharged veterans now
students at the College of the Pacific has voluntarily assumed responsibility for the care
and restoration of the burial ground. ...All of the men were bitter in their denunciation
of citizens who sat by while the desecration continued, as well as of those who
committed the acts. "I thought we were fighting against this sort of thing, not for it,"
said ex-marine Bob McDonald, Pacific Grove. "It makes me mad to come home to
something like this." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. July 20, 1945. p. 2.)
Although some individuals had returned to the West Coast in 1944, the majority returned after
the Western Defense Command lifted its exclusion order. Public Proclamation No. 21, issued
on December 17, 1944, revoked the mass exclusion order and took effect on January 2, 1945.
Public Proclamation No. 24 revoked exclusion orders on individuals in September 1945.
The first evacuees back to the Watsonville area came only as a visitors.
January 30, 1945:
FRANK SAKATA HERE ON BUSINESS TRIP
Frank Sakata, Pajaro Valley Nisei who was evacuated three years ago, and who now is
farming with his family in eastern Oregon, was here on business Monday and Tuesday.
He was accompanied by another former local Nisei, "Sox" Yamaguchi. ...As far as is
known, Sakata and Yamaguchi were the first Nisei to visit the valley since the army lifted
the evacuation ban early in the year. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. January 30,
1945. p.1)
In May, the Riptide reported on a family returning to Live Oak.
86
�May 25, 1945:
JAP FAMILY WITH 3 IN ARMY SEEK TO RETURN HERE
Residents of Brommer Avenue in the Live Oak districts are being sounded out as the
welcome which might be accorded the Otsuki family... While the majority of the
neighbors felt that it might be best for all concerned if the Otsuki family postponed their
return until the Japs have been crushed, they say they feel no animosity toward the
former residents and if they return - well, there simply is nothing to do but accept them.
(Riptide p.3)
Japan signed the terms of surrender on September 2, 1945. At the beginning of September, 77
persons of Japanese ancestry had returned to the Watsonville area. By the end of September,
the number increased significantly. Most local evacuees had been sent to the camp at Poston,
Arizona. It began closing down sections in the fall and was completely closed by November 28,
1945.
September 5, 1945:
JAPANESE EXCLUSION IS ENDED
With the war department and the Western Defense command issuing proclamations
terminating the exclusive [sic exclusion?] program Tuesday night under which persons
of Japanese ancestry were banned from the three west coast states, the Pajaro Valley's
present Japanese population of approximately 77 individuals was expected to increase
steadily in the next few weeks. ...F. E. Rhodes, head of the local WRA office in the
Lettunich Bldg., said Wednesday that WRA estimates expect 40 per cent of the
evacuated Japanese to return. In the Pajaro valley, where 2300 were evacuated the
latter part of March, 1942, that would mean approximately 900 will be returning in the
next six months to a year... Inmates who are unable to manage for themselves when the
camps are closed will be assisted by the War Relocation authority and local agencies of
their home areas, it was said. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 5, 1945 p. 1)
September 12, 1945:
74 JAPANESE EVACUEES HERE
In the first group movement since lifting of the Japanese exclusion program Sept. 4,
74 Japanese evacuees arrived at Watsonville junction Wednesday morning, Fred
Rhodes, local WRA official stated. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 12, 1945
p. 1)
September 21, 1945:
97 MORE JAPANESE ARRIVE HERE; CIO GROUP HEARS TALK
Second large group of returning Japanese to the Pajaro valley arrived Friday morning
with 97 men, women and children leaving the train at Watsonville Junction, Fred
87
�Rhodes, local WRA official announced. ...The new arrivals bring the valley's Japanese
population to nearly 250. WRA estimates show that 900 of the 2300 evacuated
Japanese are expected to return eventually from relocation camps. (Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. September 21, 1945 p.1)
The War Relocation Authority Office (WRA)
The WRA opened an office in Watsonville to help returning evacuees on January 7, 1945. Its
purpose was to assist persons of Japanese descent in resettling. The office closed April 19,
1946. "Although the WRA is closing its office, it is planned to form a group in the Pajaro valley
to continue assisting returned evacuees in any resettlement problems. ... Those desiring to aid
the group or committee carry on after the WRA office closes may contact local officials at the
Stoesser Bldg., telephone 2202, or they may contact the Rev. George Goodwin, telephone
2316." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. January 18, 1946. p.1.)
Employment and Housing
According to the head of the local War Relocation Authority's office in Watsonville, the "biggest
problem facing local WRA representatives is housing. Jobs, Rhodes said, are plentiful, but
hostels will have to be established throughout this area to house the returning Japanese. The
Buddhist temple on Union St., is ready to be used as a hostel." (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. September 5, 1945 p.1)
Besides the Buddhist temple, property owned by Mr. Sakata, who had visited the area earlier in
the year, was used as housing.
September 8, 1945:
HOSTEL SLATED FOR RETURNING JAPANESE AT GILROY SPRINGS
Hostel accommodations for servicemen and ex-servicemen and women of Japanese
ancestry and their families will be made available through arrangements completed this
week between the Presbyterian Home Missions board and the War Relocation authority
for joint sponsorship of Gilroy Hot Springs, owned by Frank Sakata, formerly of the
Pajaro valley and now of Oregon. The hostel will be taken over Sept. 15. ...The hostel
will be available to Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara county Japanese.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 8, 1945 p. 1)
Property
"Some found their belongings, which had been stored by churches or trusted neighbors, while
others discovered their homes in disarray, their things stolen or broken." (1) The newspapers
do not tell us if the returnees had problems reclaiming their farms as was reported in some
places along the West Coast. Nor do we know from newspaper accounts if they still had their
farm equipment. Newspaper articles indicate that the equipment may have been used by or
sold to other farmers.
88
�March 18, 1943:
WRA REVEALS JAPANESE FARM EQUIPMENT BEING SOLD TO FARMERS
Sacramento (UP) - Most of the farm equipment, owned by Japanese and JapaneseAmericans when they were evacuated from the west coast, has been placed in farmers'
hands to be used in 1943 crop production, the War Relocation authority revealed
Thursday. According to Director Dillon S. Mayer, of the WRA, only about 150 tractors
remain to be sold by the WRA property office in California, Washington, and Oregon.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian March 18, 1943 p. 1.)
April 10, 1943:
"It is not known just how much Japanese equipment is stored in the Pajaro Valley, a
survey Saturday showed. It was reported that some machinery formerly used by
Japanese in the Pajaro Valley had been sent to the San Joaquin Valley and other state
points prior to the evacuation last spring. However, it is believed that a considerable
amount of the stored equipment could be used here this year. (Watsonville RegisterPajaronian. April 10, 1943. p.1)
Reaction to the Return
"There was prejudice on the part of some Caucasians, while others welcomed the return of the
Japanese with open arms." (2)
September 18, 1945:
C. C. SURVEY ON RETURNING JAPANESE
President Don O. Colegrove of the Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture of the
Pajaro Valley, Tuesday issued the following report on the recent survey regarding the
public attitude of members on the return of Japanese evacuees: "At the request of
many of its members, the chamber recently sent a questionnaire to its entire
membership, which embraces a broad cross-section of the business, industrial and civic
life of the city of Watsonville and its environs. This questionnaire propounded inquiries
on the attitude of local people with respect to the proposed return of Japanese to this
locality. ..." (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 18, 1945 p.1)
JAPANESE SURVEY
To the Editor: I have just noted the very recent C.C. survey concerning the everpresent Japanese problem in our midst. This report certainly demonstrates that our
locality has a goodly majority of red-blooded Americans. Of late we have been learning
of an increasing number of "Jap lovers" - people meeting the trains to usher these home
comers back to the Promised Land, while many are throwing their doors all but off the
hinges to see that these people have employment. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
September 20, 1945 p. 8)
89
�Violence
December 18, 1944:
VIOLENCE IS FEARED; GOV. WARREN CALLS UPON POLICE
With Gov. Earl Warren calling upon all chiefs of police and sheriffs in California to "join
in uniform compliance to prevent intemperate action," west coast residents Monday
prepared for the return of Japanese aliens and citizens of Japanese descent after two
and a half years of enforced absence... (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. December 18,
1944, p.1.)
The violence against returnees that had been feared by many, did materialize in some areas of
California. The Library found one reported incident in the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
September 24, 1945:
FLARE THROWN AT BUDDHIST TEMPLE HERE
Watsonville had its first case of public hostility against returning Japanese Monday,
2:10 a.m., when unidentified persons threw or shot a flare toward the Buddhist temple,
corner of Bridge and Union St., which is being used as a hostel by the Japanese.
(Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 24, 1945. p.1)
September 25, 1945:
VIOLENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN WATSONVILLE [Editorial]
Watsonville police and Santa Cruz county authorities, investigating the first public
hostility here against the returned evacuees, lost no time in declaring that persons
found guilty of inciting trouble will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. This is as
it should be and their attitude will be backed by all civic-minded and progressive
citizens. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 25, 1945. p. 6)
Our Native Land
September 26, 1945:
To the Editor: Quoting from G.W. Cornell's letter of Sept. 20 to the editor, "everything
possible should be done to encourage all Japanese to return to their native land ..."
Perhaps we could have just as easily relocated elsewhere but, my dear Mr. Cornell, because
CALIFORNIA was our native land, we have returned. (Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.
September 26, 1945 p. 3)
90
�Footnotes
(1) Nakane, Kazuko, Nothing Left in My Hands; An Early Japanese American Community in
California's Pajaro Valley. Seattle, Young Pine Press, 1985. (As quoted in Nihon Bunka. Chapter
4: A Time to Reflect: 1945 to Present)
(2) Ibid.
Additional Information
500 Japanese Back on Coast. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. February 24, 1945. p 1.
A Half-Century of Service; The Watsonville Japanese-American Citizens League, 1934-1984, by
Sandy Lydon.
Ickes Says Most Japanese Evacuees 'Choose to Remain' Where They Are. Watsonville
Register-Pajaronian. December 21, 1944, pg 1.
Nihon Bunka / Japanese Culture; 100 Years in the Pajaro Valley, by Kathy McKenzie Nichols
and Jane W. Borg.
Chapter 3: Uneasy Settlement: the War Years
Chapter 4: A Time to Reflect: 1945--1992.
Returning Japanese. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. September 6, 1945. p.6.
Warren Talks with Army on Japs Return. Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. November 18,
1944, p.1
Source
Copyright 2001 Santa Cruz Public Libraries.
91
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Santa Cruz History Articles
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Executive Order 9066 and the Residents of Santa Cruz County
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Wars-World War II
Evacuation (World War II)
Japanese American Community
Italian American Community
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Pedersen, Rechs Ann
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1940s
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County at War
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<p>In the Pajaro valley are hundreds of Japanese - both American citizens and Japanese nationals. In the past, there has been every indication that these Japanese are loyal to the United States.</p><p>Let us remember this in our sudden anger and fury at the Japanese nation for its sudden "undeclared war" attack on Pearl harbor and Manila.</p><p>We urge no show of feeling against these residents of the Pajaro valley who are just as stunned by the attack on this nation as we are.</p><p>There should be no unwarranted rumors circulated about these residents. If, however, you feel that you have really important news which the government should have, notify the police department or the FBI at San Francisco.</p><p><b>AND ABOVE ALL LET'S KEEP OUR HEAD IN THIS CRISIS WHICH STRIKES CLOSER TO HOME THAN MANY MAY REALIZE. DON'T GO OFF "HALF-COCKED" AND COOPERATE IN EVERY WAY WITH THE AUTHORITIES WHO HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR SUCH AN EMERGENCY FOR MONTHS.</b>"</p>
Original Format
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PAPER
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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LN-1941-12-07-848
Source
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<i>Watsonville Morning Sun</i> , page 1
Date
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1941-12-07
Coverage
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1940s
Title
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Let's Keep Our Head!<br />[Editorial]
Subject
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Wars-World War II
Evacuation (World War II)
Japanese American Community
Italian American Community
Rights
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Copyrighted by the Watsonville Morning Sun. Reproduced by permission.
Publisher
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Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Format
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TEXT
Language
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EN
Type
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NEWS
DOCUMENT
County at War
Minority Groups