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Cal State University, Fullerton
(CSUF)

P.O.Box 6846
Fullerton, CA 92834 - 6846
Office: Pollak Library South (PLS) 363

714 278-3580
COPH@fullerton.edu

Office hours:
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(12:30 - 1:30 lunch)

Reading Room/Archives and Thesis Binding: Mon. through Fri. 9am-4:30pm
 
JAPANESE-AMERICAN HISTORY COLLECTION

A through F

G through L

M through R

S through Z


McCORMICK, David F. (1903—  )
O. H. 1604
Interviewer:                Billy Stark
Date:                          April 8, 1978
Status:                        Edited, 16 pp.
Tape length:                30 min.

Santa Fe Railroad employee who worked in Parker, Arizona during World War II discusses handling of freight for Poston War Relocation Center; layout of camp; camp conditions; rationale for necessity of camps such as Poston; loyalty investigation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and local resentment toward camp.

 

MASUKAWA, Betty Oba (ca. 1912—  ) (full-text)
O. H. 175
Interviewer:                Diane Tappey
Date:                          November 2, 1983
Status:                        Not transcribed
Tape length:                60 min.

Nisei daughter of a pioneer Fullerton, California Japanese— American family discusses father’s activities in citrus farming; family fruitstand operation, education in both public and Japanese language schools; marriage in 1934; impact of the Depression on the family; World War II evacuation experiences at Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona; and postwar return to Fullerton.

 

MILLER, Hubert E. (ca. 1905—  )
O. H. 1384
Interviewer:                David J. Bertagnoli
Date:                          October 4, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1974, 11 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                25 min.

Lone Pine, California automobile dealer amplifies conditions at Manzanar War Relocation Center; arrival of caravan at Manzanar from Los Angeles, California; sale of internee automobiles; economic impact of camp on neighboring communities; personal and area reaction to evacuation.

 

MILLER, Pauline (1906—  )
O. H. 1393
Interviewer:                Arthur A. Hansen and David J. Bertagnoli
Date:                          December 20. 1973
Status:                        Completed 1976, 15 pp.1 index, photo
Tape length:                35 min.

Wife of Lone Pine, California auto dealer assesses economic impact of Manzanar War Relocation Center on her community; internee—townspeople interaction relative to World War II; and reaction to controversial wording on the 1973 Manzanar historical marker.

 

MINEKI, Misako (ca. 1916— )
O. H. 1766
Interviewer:                Carolyn Watanabe
Date:                          November 3 and 1.2, 1979
Status:                        Not transcribed
Tape length:                3 hrs.

A resident of Glendale. California and daughter of Japanese parents who had immigrated to Hawaii in the early 1900s. describes various childhood experiences in pre—World War II Hawaii while living on the large Bennung estate where her father was employed as a caretaker until the owner’s death; her school days at both public and Japanese schools and high school attendance in Honolulu. the only high school on the island of Oahu; family life and employment during and following the Depression; operation of the family dairy farm followed by the unique family business of growing and marketing watercress; her 1939 noncontract marriage to a policeman who was taken into the home guard following Pearl Harbor; personal experiences of Pearl Harbor and its aftermath; internment of Japanese in Hawaii; discrimination; marriage laws, customs, and social mores of the Japanese.

 

MORI, John Yukio (1949—  )  (full-text)
O. H. 1231
Interviewer:                Betty E. Mitson
Date:                          December 21, 1972
Status:                        Completed 1977, 51 pp., index, photos
Tape length:                3 hrs.

A Sansei and conscientious objector to the Vietnam war discusses alternate service as partner in Amerasia Bookstore, a nonprofit organization serving Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo; activities in Young Ruddist Association; parents’ reaction to his current life—style; and long term effect of World War II evacuation.

 

MUKAEDA, Katsuma (1890—  )
O. H. 1341
Interviewer:                David Buniasz
Date:                          November 28, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1976, 10 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                30 min.

Chairman of Japanese American Cultural Center and former president of Japanese Chamber of Commerce recounts conditions of prewar Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo, its wartime conversion into a black community, postwar reestablishment as a Japanese—American cultural and commercial center. Includes comments on discriminatory legislation, prewar Japan—American relations. World War IT relocation, camp conditions, wartime repatriation procedures, consequences of internment, and contemporary civil rights movement.

MUKAEDA, Katsuma (1890—   )
O. H. 1341b
Interviewer:                 Paul F. Clark
Date:                          May 22, 1975
Status:                        Completed 1978, 13 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                60 min.

An Issei picked up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on December 7, 1941 describes his experiences as a leader and spokesman for Japanese internees at the Department of Justice internment camps: Missoula, Montana; Fort Silt, Oklahoma; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

 

MUMEMITSU, Tad (ca. 1923—  )
O. H. 132
Interviewer:                Katherine H. Snope
Date:                          August 16, 1976
Status:                        Edited/restricted, 17 pp.
Tape length:                60 min.

Gardena born Nisei and Orange County businessman describes his childhood in Westminster, California; prewar family farming; racial discrimination; dispersion of land and equipment as result of family’s relocation to Arizona’s Poston War Relocation Center; camp life, and return to Westminster area. Some postwar thoughts and impressions noted.

 

NAKAMURA, Harry (1930—   )  (full-text)
O. H. 649
Interviewer:                John McFarlane
Date:                          May 2, 1971
Status:                        Completed 1976, 17 pp., index
Tape length:                30 min.

Recollections of a farm boy evacuated from San Luis Obispo, California area to Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona. Comments on military service of brothers and the 442nd Regiment during World War II and his own duty during the Korean war.

 

NAKASHIMA, Men Hanako (1919— ) 
0.H. 1368
Interviewer:                 Janus Gennawey
Date:                          July 17, 1973
Status:                        Final typed, 23 pp.
Tape length:                60 min.

Nisei memories of athletic girlhood; evacuation to Santa Anita Assembly Center, Los Angeles, California where she witnessed a riot; eventual move to Rohwer War Relocation Center, Arkansas; and marriage in an out—of—camp ceremony.

NISHIZU, Clarence I. (1912—  )
O. H. 5a*
Interviewer:                 Richard D. Curtiss
Date:                          January 1, 1966
Status:                        Completed 1977, 30 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                1 hr. 15 min.

Former block manager at Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming details evacuation from Buena Park, California; life within Heart Mountain, and successive resettlement to North Dakota, Idaho, and Colorado; postwar escheatment court case over family property.

 

NISHIZU, Clarence (1910— )
O. H. 5b
Interviewer:                Arthur A. Hansen
Date:                          June 14, 1982
Status:                        Not transcribed
Tape length:                3 hrs.

Longtime Nisei leader of the Japanese—American community in Orange County, California discusses at length family and community experiences in prewar days of the county with specific references to educational and farming development in the settlements of Buena Park, Garden Grove, Anaheim, and Stanton; institutions such as language schools and churches serving the community; Nisei athletic activities; prewar Japanese customs, cultural arts, and the Japanese American Citizens League and his role in it.

 

NITTA, Hitoshi (1917—  )  (full-text)
O. H. 3
Interviewer:                Richard D. Curtiss
Date:                          February 7, 1966
Status:                        Completed 1977, 33 pp., index, photos
Tape length:                1 hr. 15 min.

Nisei rancher from pioneering Orange County, California family discusses management of truck farming business from Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona through a bank trust with a Mexican— American foreman. Camp experiences and post—World War II return to Orange County.

 

NITTA, Mary (1916—  ) 
O. H. 1127a
Interviewer:                Ruth Wilkerson
Date:                          March 27, 1972
Status:                        Transcribed, 28 pp.
Tape length:                60 min.

Among the last evacuated from California, this Nisei interviewee served as a nurse at Arizona s Poston War Relocation Center Hospital. Discusses marriage to Hitoshi Nitta (O. H. 3).

 

NITTA, Mary (1916—   )  
O. H. 1127b
Interviewer:                Karen Reisdorf
Date:                          July 19, 1973
Status:                        Transcribed, 47 pp.
Tape length:                1 hr. 30 min.

Describes family background; World War II evacuation to Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona; camp life; medical facilities; marriage in camp, and return to Orange County, California with husband and infant son.

 

NITTA, Munoru (1918—   ) 
O. H. 114
Interviewer:                John McFarlane
Date:                          March 21, 1972
Status:                        Edited/closed, 29 pp.
Tape length:                1 hr. 15 min.

Orange County, California Nisei poultry rancher from pioneering county family discusses evacuation and camp life at Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona; resettlement to Cleveland, Ohio; return to southern California; post—World War II litigation pertinent to family landholdings.

 

NITTA, Mitsuo (ca. 1920—  )
O. H. 1327
Interviewer:                Rolf Janssen
Date:                          August 12, 1976
Status:                        Final typed, 22 pp.
Tape length:                1 hr. 15 min.

Nisei farmer/businessman from pioneering Orange County, California family gives prewar biographical information with emphasis on Japanese Americans in Orange County. Discusses World War II evacuation, experiences in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the role of the Japanese American Citizens League before and after the war.

 

ODANAKA, Woodrow (1925—  )  (full-text)
O. H. 1382
Interviewer:                Patrick H. West
Date:                          July 16, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1976, 24 pp., index
Tape length:                60 min.

Impressions of a Nisei concerning pre—World War II family produce business in Los Angeles, California; evacuation experience at Santa Anita Assembly Center in California, and Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado; wartime college experience in Minnesota; and Army military intelligence duties in the Philippines and occupied Japan.

 

OKIMOTO, Elaine S. (1928—   )    (full-text)
O. H. 1080
Interviewer:                Betty E. Mitson
Date:                          April 4, 1972
Status:                        Completed 1977, 27 pp., index
Tape length:                1 hr. 30 min.

Nisei farm girl evacuated from Dunuba, California to Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona, recounts experiences of camp life, resettlement to college in Ohio, eventual attendance at University of California, Berkeley, translation work with United States occupation forces in Japan. Comments on effect of illegal entry and cultural factors on behavior.

 

OPLER, Morris Edward (1907—  )  
O. H. 1600
Interviewer:                Arthur A. Hansen and David A. Hacker
Date:                          June 4 through 6, 1978
Status:                        Not transcribed
Tape length:                16 hrs.

University of Chicago trained anthropologist and community analyst at Manzanar War Relocation Center, California details personal background, educational training, and prewar professional experiences. In—depth discussion of War Relocation Authority and Community Analysis Section, later work in Office of War Information, and postwar personal history.

 

PARKER, Clifford R. (ca. 1900— ) 
O. H. 1354
Interviewer:                Sherry Turner
Date:                          August 26, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1977, 8 pp., index
Tape length:                15 min.

Retired fire chief for Tule Lake War Relocation/Segregation Center briefly recounts impressions of camp life.

 

PEDERSEN, Mrs. 0. E. (ca. 1910—   )  
O. H. 1364
Interviewer:                Sherry Turner
Date:                          August 25, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1977, 12 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                15 min.

Wife of former Tulelake, California police chief relates her experiences at Tule Lake War Relocation/Segregation Center during husband’s employment with internal security force, War Relocation Authority personnel, reaction of surrounding communities to camp, and attitudes of internees.

 

PEDNEAU, Bessie K. (1919—  )
O. H. 1388
Interviewer:                David J. Bertagnoli
Date:                          October 4, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1974, 9 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                15 min.

Third—generation American of Chinese ancestry living in Owens Valley, California remembers nearby Manzanar War Relocation Center and comments on state historical marker placed at campsite in 1973.

 

PEDNEAU, Frank L. (ca. 1915—  ) 
O.H. 1399
Interviewer:                David J. Bertagnoli
Date:                          October 4, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1974, 8 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                10 min.

An Owens Valley, California resident reflects on Japanese— American evacuation and historical marker placed at Manzanar War Relocation Center in 1973.

 

PENDLETON, Judith Matthias (1935— ) 
O. H. 1514
Interviewer:                Paul F. Clark
Date:                          December 2, 1974
Status:                        Edited, 25 pp.
Tape length:                1 hr. 30 min.

Native of Bridgeton, New Jersey describes 1943 relocation of four hundred Japanese—American families from Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming to Seabrook Farms food processing plant in New Jersey; initial concerns of local community and eventual acceptance of Japanese Americans; C. F. Seabrook, founder of the business; friction among Japanese Americans; displaced persons brought in from northern Europe after the war; and physical and recreational features of the area.

 

RAUB, Harry (ca. 1915—    )
O.H. 1398
Interviewer:                David J. Bertagnoli
Date:                          October 12, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1976, 12 pp., index, photos
Tape length:                15 min.

Director of Eastern California Museum in Independence, California traces historical origins and political circumstances behind placement of 1973 Manzanar historical plaque. Impressions of wartime internment shown by recent Japanese—American visitors to the museum.

 

RUNCORN, Ed. H. (ca. 1910—  )    
O. H. 1332
Interviewer:                 Janus Gennawey
Date:                          July 8, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1977, 29 pp., index, photos
Tape length:                1 hr. 15 min.

Former associate superintendent of the War Relocation Authority Cooperative Enterprises discusses formation and operation of co—ops relative to Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado and Tule Lake War Relocation/Segregation Center in California.

 

RYCHMAN, Fannie (ca. 1900— ) 
O. H. 1355
Interviewer:                Sherry Turner
Date:                          August 27, 1973
Status:                        Completed 1977, 10 pp., index, photo
Tape length:                20 min.

Wife of retired Tule Lake, California farmer expresses attitude toward nearby Tule Lake War Relocation/Segregation Center.

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