Sunday, December 17, 2017

Mas Masuda: A hero's century in Orange County

ABOVE: Masao Frank Masuda receives recognition at the Orange County Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum on the grounds of the Fullerton Arboretum, on January 15, 2017, with remarks by Professor Emeritus Arthur Hansen (at podium), with his son, Marvin (standing behind him).  Born in Orange County in September 1917, Mas was a graduate of Huntington Beach High School and served in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service during World War II.  He received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2011, also receiving an honorary degree from Santa Ana College where he had been enrolled at the time of the attack by Japan at Pearl Harbor. (Photograph, M. Urashima, January 15, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   "Acts of courage can be remembered for ages", wrote columnist Stephen Greenhut fifteen years ago, in November 1992, as he recalled R.C. Hoiles, publisher of the Santa Ana Register (later, Orange County Register and Freedom Communications).  Hoiles bought the newspaper in 1935 with a guiding philosophy to "believe in moral principle and have enough courage to express these principles and point out practices and beliefs that violate moral principles."

   Greenhut provided an example of moral courage in his 1992 column by citing a recent visit by an 84-year-old Japanese American gentleman, Mas Masuda. He said Mas "showed up at the Register building looking to thank someone" for what R.C. Hoiles did for the Masuda family and others in the 1940s. The Santa Ana Register was one of the few newspapers to publicly oppose the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans, while other publications were stirring the pot of mistrust.

LEFT: Excerpt of a column penned by Stephen Greenhut--published nationally--which mentions the visit by Mas Masuda. (The Odessa American, November 24, 2002)

   At the time, the Orange County Register staff would not have known they were speaking to a future Congressional Gold Medal honoree, but they knew the significance of the actions taken by R.C. Hoiles and the sacrifice of the Masuda family.  Acts of courage seem to come second nature to the Masuda family and Mas Masuda was no exception. 

   Mas was one of the four Masuda brothers who served in the U.S. military during World War II.  He was 24 years old when his family was forcibly removed from California and sent to confinement in Jerome, Arkansas, and later, Gila River, Arizona.  On the night of December 7, 1941, the Orange County sheriff came for his father, Gensuke, at their Talbert (Fountain Valley) farm, while his wife, Tamae, and nine children watched.  

   Long a civic leader in Orange County, Gensuke had been among the Japanese pioneer community--including elders of the Wintersburg Mission--who helped fund a community school in Talbert in 1927.  Gensuke and others in the Japanese American community had written a check, and provided equipment and food for children attending grammar school, prompting the teachers to voice their gratitude to the Santa Ana Register.

   "It was so sudden," Mas told Los Angeles Times reporter David Reyes in 1992, of that night on the Orange County farm on December 7, 1941. "They loaded my dad and other parents who were Issei and put them on a bus.  We asked where they were taking them, but they didn't give us any answers." 

RIGHT: The Santa Ana Register posted the draft registration of Masao Masuda and his brother, Kazuo, in October 1940. Kazuo and Takahashi Masuda entered the U.S. military in September 1941. Kazuo was killed in action in Italy with the "Go For Broke" 442nd in 1944, in an act of valor for which he was posthumously presented the Distinguished Service Cross in 1945. (Santa Ana Register, October 23, 1940) 

   After first leaving for Fresno, California, the family was sent to Jerome, Arkansas, and later, to Gila River, Arizona. While waiting to enter the U.S. military, Mas helped support the family by working in camp as a mechanic.  

   Mas was in the U.S. Military Intelligence Service (MIS), when he learned his brother, Kazuo, had been killed in action in Italy with the "Go For Broke" 442nd.  (Read more in the December 10, 2017, post, "Two Decembers: 1934 and 1948", http://historicwintersburg.blogspot.com/2017/12/two-decembers-1934-and-1948.html


LEFT: A report of the federal War Relocation Authority in 1945 cited the threats directed at Mary Masuda as the family returned to their farm in Talbert. After this incident--which gained the attention of General Joe Stillwell--the War Relocation Authority issued a national bulletin calling for an end to threats and violence as Americans of Japanese descent returned to their homes. (Problems of Resettlement, War Relocation Authority, June 1945)

   It was while serving in the MIS that Mas learned of his sister, Mary, being threatened verbally and physically as the family began returning to Orange County from the Gila River camp in 1945.  The threats by the Native Sons of the Golden West, or what the De Moines Register referred to as "town hoodlums", prompted a stern response by the War Relocation Authority--and later, by General Joe Stillwell--and made headlines across the country.  

   The Courier-Journal newspaper of Louisville, Kentucky, was more direct, with a headline "Gang last May menaced sister" on December 9, 1945. The Courier-Journal reported a group of men had "attempted to terrorize" Mary Masuda and that 'the War Relocation Authority listed her case as an 'incident of planned terrorism' against Japanese Americans in California". 

   The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military award that can be given to a member of the U.S. Army for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force.  General Stillwell stated during the presentation of the medal that "the Distinguished Service Cross is only a little thing, but in making this presentation, we want to convey to you and your family the deep respect and admiration of every decent American."

RIGHT: Private First Class Masao Masuda returns the salute of General Joe Stillwell at the Masuda family farmhouse in December 1945, at the posthumous presentation of the Distinguished Service Cross for his brother, Kazuo Masuda. (Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1945)

   Private First Class Masao Masuda was at the family's Talbert farmhouse, in uniform, as General Stillwell presented posthumously the Distinguished Service Cross for his brother, Kazuo. As has been reported on this blog previously, the future President Ronald Reagan--then an Army captain--was present at the ceremony.  Reagan again remembered the Masuda family when signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, forty years after the funeral services for Kazuo Masuda in the Wintersburg Japanese Church in Wintersburg Village--now Huntington Beach--in 1948.


LEFT: A photograph, circa 1945, of Masao Masuda in his Army uniform on a tractor at the family farm in Talbert, now Fountain Valley, Orange County, California. (Photograph, M. Urashima, December 16, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   The legacy of his brother, Kazuo, the family's bravery in the face of threats, and his own service during World War II in the MIS is something Masao Masuda carried for a lifetime as a point of honor.  It is a reminder to have courage and stand one's ground for moral principles, the sentiment voiced by the Santa Ana Register's R.C. Hoiles when he defended the Masuda family.

   When he returned to Orange County after World War II, Mas wanted to return to farming.  Mas gathered his family and constructed a large roadside farm stand that became a popular destination for the best of locally-grown produce.  Mas created a good life for his family, while continuing to take a leadership role in community affairs with the Japanese American Citizens League and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.


LEFT: Mas Masuda is installed on the board of directors for the Orange County chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in 1960, along with other congregants of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission, Clarence Nishizu and Leonard Miyawaki.  The Orange County JACL had held its first meeting in the second church building of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission in January 1935. (Los Angeles Times, February 11, 1960)

   Mas got to see his brother, Kazuo, honored as the namesake of Kazuo Masuda Middle School in Fountain Valley and for the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670. He got to hear President Ronald Reagan speak about his family and their contributions and sacrifice at the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, the formal apology and reparation to Japanese Americans.  

   Mas was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011, along with an honorary degree from Santa Ana College where he had been enrolled when America entered World War II.  He was honored at the Orange County Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum in January 2017.  And, in February 2017, he got to see his brother's uniform and story shared this year on the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.


RIGHT: The "Go For Broke" Congressional Gold Medal displayed at the Orange County Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum when Masao Masuda was honored in January 2017. Congressional Gold Medals are awarded to individuals "who have performed an achievement that has an impact on American history and culture that is likely to be recognized as a major achievement in the recipient's field long after the achievement." (Source: Congressional Research Service, Congressional Gold Medals, 1776 - 2016, CRS Report RL30076)  (Photograph, M. Urashima, January 15, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   Mas saw generations of Masudas take their place in Orange County and passed on his ethics for hard work, along with a love for the sweeter things in life, including his love of sports and fishing. The Santa Ana Register reported his catch of a whopping 33 1/4-pound dolphin fish at the San Diego albacore grounds in September 1976, when he was 59.  Mas also passed on his sense of duty in giving back to the community and was a presence at the annual Memorial Day program with Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670 each year, including Memorial Day 2017.  

   Masao Masuda was as a congregant of the Wintersburg Church--the legacy of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission his family had attended--where his memorial was held on Saturday, December 16, 2017.  An Orange County hero.


ABOVE: A photograph tribute to Masao Masuda at his memorial services at the Wintersburg Church, capturing moments from his life over the past century.  Far right, he stands with Los Angeles' KABC Channel-7 news anchor David Ono at the annual Memorial Day program in 2015 at Westminster Memorial Park in Orange County, California. (Photograph, M. Urashima, December 16, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Two Decembers: 1934 and 1948

ABOVE: Eighty-three years ago, the Santa Ana Register reported on the gathering to dedicate the Wintersburg Japanese Church held on December 9, the second mission building and one of three buildings at Historic Wintersburg associated with the Wintersburg Japanese Mission. Already noted as one of the oldest Japanese missions in California, the congregation was marking its 30-year anniversary of the founding as they dedicated the Spanish Revival style church at the corner of present-day Warner Avenue and Nichols Lane. (Santa Ana Register, December 10, 1934)

   In December 1934, the communities of Wintersburg Village and Huntington Beach gathered to dedicate the newest house of worship for the Wintersburg Japanese Mission.  Formally recognized as a Church with the Presbyterian Church USA in 1930, the Wintersburg Japanese Mission was marking its 30th anniversary in 1934.

   The first Mission building also had opened in December, in 1909, followed shortly by the Manse (parsonage).  Reverend Joseph K. Inazawa and his wife, Kate Alice Goodman, were there for the 1910 dedication and services, as was Charles Furuta, the Furuta farm; and Reverend Terasawa and Dr. Ernest Adolphus Sturge, who had helped found the Wintersburg Japanese Mission in 1904. 

LEFT: The program for the Wintersburg Japanese Church dedication featured remarks by Church elders, including Charles Furuta and Kyutaro Ishii.  Charles and Yukiko's daughter, Kazuko (Kay), spoke on behalf of the Sunday school program, while her cousin, Sumi Akiyama played a violin solo.  The Treasurer's Report was delivered by Shuji Kanno, father of California's first Japanese American major, the first mayor of Fountain Valley, James Kanno. Note the program states "motion pictures to be taken". (Wintersburg Japanese Church dedication program, December 9, 1934. Courtesy of Furuta family.) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    The 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Church building is home to significant events that are part of the reason the Historic Wintersburg property is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Treasure
  
   It was home to the first Japanese American Citizen League meeting in Orange County. The Church and Mission buildings were shuttered during World War II incarceration, prompting the Presbyterian Church USA to formally apologize in 2014 for "abandonment" of the congregation.  The 1934 Church building is one of six historic structures that are part of the Furuta farm and Wintersburg Japanese Mission complex at National Treasure Historic Wintersburg. All six structures have been deemed restorable by the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

RIGHT: The first meeting of the Japanese American Citizens League in Orange County, California, is held in the Wintersburg Japanese Church, one year after the church building was dedicated. (Santa Ana Register, January 28, 1935)

   Fourteen years after the dedication of the Church building in 1934--and after Orange County's Japanese American community had returned from World War II incarceration--the Church held a program of national significance.  The body of Orange County hero, Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda with the "Go For Broke" 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was returned home from Europe.  He had been killed in action in Italy in 1944, and--in an event that received national media coverage in 1945--Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda's family was presented with his Distinguished Service Cross by General Joe Stillwell and an Army captain who would one day be President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.

   On August 27, 1944, Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda, a graduate of Huntington Beach High School, voluntarily led two men on a night patrol across the Arno river and through the heavily-mined and booby-trapped north bank. Hearing movements to his right he ordered his men to cover him while he crawled forward and discovered that a strong enemy force had surrounded them. 

    Realizing that he was trapped, he ordered his men to withdraw while he engaged two enemy automatic weapons. At the sacrifice of his life, he enabled his comrades to escape with valuable information which materially aided the successful crossing of the Arno river.
Finally, in 1948, Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda was returned home to be laid to rest. 

LEFT: The services for Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda noted in the Santa Ana Register.  His grave site at Westminster Memorial Park in Westminster, California, is home to the annual Memorial Day program with the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670. (Santa Ana Register, December 10, 1948)

   The funeral services were held in the Wintersburg Japanese Church in 1948 with a military honor guard. The funeral procession made its way down Beach Boulevard to the Westminster Memorial Park for the burial, where Marines from El Toro Marine Corps Air Station fired a 21-gun salute.

ABOVE: The funeral procession for Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda, a member of the "Go For Broke" 442nd Regimental Combat Team, makes its way north on Beach Boulevard from the services at the Wintersburg Japanese Church to the Westminster Memorial Park on December 9, 1948. Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda was remembered by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.  (Courtesy of Dennis Masuda) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    In 1988, at the official signing of the Civil Liberties Act, Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda and his family were remembered by President Ronald Reagan.  

   Watch President Reagan speak in 1988 about visiting the Masuda family decades earlier in 1945:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcaQRhcBXKY  (Video courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library)

   Members of the Masuda family and Clarence Nishizu, a congregant of the Wintersburg Japanese Mission, were at the signing with President Reagan, who had visited the Masuda family when he was a young Army captain at their Talbert farmhouse with General Joe Stillwell in 1945. Captain Ronald Reagan and General Joe Stillwell were there to award posthumously the Distinguished Service Cross for Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda.

RIGHT: The annual Memorial Day program at the grave site of Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda in Westminster Memorial Park with the Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670. (Photo, M. Urashima, May 25, 2015) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    Today, the 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Church building remains standing and is one of six historic buildings that are part of National Treasure Historic Wintersburg, listed as one of America's Most Endangered Historic Places in 2014 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and listed as one of Orange County's Most Endangered in 2017 by Preserve Orange County.  The grave site of Staff-Sgt. Kazuo Masuda is home to the annual Memorial Day services held by Kazuo Masuda Memorial VFW Post 3670. The 21-gun salute remains part of the annual Memorial Day program, at which all military veterans are honored for their valor and service. 

ABOVE: The Wintersburg Japanese Church on dedication day, December 9, 1934. The congregation fund raised and built their second church building during the Great Depression, a major effort in the rural farming community of Wintersburg Village. (Photograph courtesy of Wintersburg Church) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima. 

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Join us for Holidays in Huntington Beach 1917!

ABOVE: The R.G. Tashima Co. market was one of the first markets in Wintersburg Village and was a feed and seed store, as well as a general food staples market.  Originally opened by Tsurumatsu "T.M." Asari, it was later owned by Gunjiro Tashima, who had started working at the market as a clerk.  Historic Wintersburg honors this part of our pioneer history, setting up the market tent with historical displays on the lawn of the Newland House Museum. (Photograph courtesy of Huntington Beach Historical Society)

    Historic Wintersburg and the Huntington Beach Historical Society host the fourth annual Holidays in Huntington Beach, a free, open house event on Friday, December 1, from 6 pm to 9 pm.  Each year, we roll the clock back a century. This year it is 1917!

   Historic Wintersburg will again set up the Tashima Market tent with historical displays.  We'll have historical highlights from 1917, the year America entered the first World War.

RIGHT: Nancy Hayata, a classically trained dancer with Little Tokyo Dance Club, will perform on the lawn of the Newland House Museum at 7 pm.  Nancy has performed at the annual Huntington Beach Cherry Blossom Festival supporting the Sister City program with Anjo, Japan, and is a volunteer on the Festival committee.  This year at Holidays in Huntington Beach 1917, Nancy Hayata performs to Kitaguni no Haru, or, "Spring in the North".  The song is a longing for one's childhood hometown and expresses that spring will come after a cold winter, "White birch, blue sky, south wind. The magnolias blooms in that hill in the North...Yellow roses, morning mist, a watermill, A children's song is heard in the North Country, Ah, spring in the North..."

    Historic Wintersburg will have a special gift for the first 200 guests at the free, open house event. We have compiled a sampling of authentic recipes reflecting the pioneers of Wintersburg Village and Huntington Beach Township in 1917.
  
LEFT: "A taste of 1917: Recipes from a century ago" is a selection of recipes from 1917 cookbooks and bartender guides, a taste of what was on local pioneer tables. Do you know how to make Economy Vinegar? Mushi Ahiru (baked duck)? Have you ever tried a Barking Dog or Fluffy Ruffles cocktail? Or, how about Sweet Potato Wagashi? We hope you'll enjoy trying a few of these dishes or drinks over the holidays! (Photograph, B. Haynes, November 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  

   During World War I, Americans were asked to conserve food resources, such as wheat and sugar, as part of the "Food Will Win the War" campaign directed by the newly-created U.S. Food Administration director Herbert Hoover.  However, the agricultural abundance and wild game in Orange County meant that self-sufficient residents in the peatlands still ate well, sharing their bounty and special foods with each other. There are some tasty dishes in "Taste of 1917"!  

   The gates open at 6 p.m.  Nancy Hayata performs on the lawn of the Newland House at 7 p.m.  And, Santa magically arrives at 7:30 p.m.  The young-in-years and the young-at-heart are welcome.

   We invite you to continue the pioneer holiday tradition of Wintersburg Village and Huntington Beach Township and join us back in 1917 to bring in the spirit of the season!  

ABOVE: We'll make sure to bring the candy canes, you bring your 1917 spirit! We ask our guests to set your timepiece back a century and dress in 1917 attire.  If you arrive by horse and buggy, please tie up outside the fence. (Photograph, M. Urashima, December 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima. 

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Preserve OC Wants to Save Orange County's vanishing landmarks: Historic Wintersburg

ABOVE: The 1912 Furuta bungalow at Historic Wintersburg, one of six extant structures that have survived the past century on the former goldfish and flower farm, also home to the Wintersburg Japanese Mission.  The six structures on the four and a half acre farm include: the 1912 Furuta bungalow, the Furuta barn (circa 1908 - 1912), the 1947 post-WWII Furuta house, the 1910 Wintersburg Japanese Mission, the 1910 manse (parsonage), and the 1934 Great Depression-era Wintersburg Japanese Church. (Photo, M. Urashima, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   "They stand as windows to the past, reminding us of our triumphs and warning of our trespasses." 
                  Historic Preservation Group Wants to Save Orange County Landmarks, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2017

   Read the feature in the Los Angeles Times about the urgent effort to save Orange County's disappearing history. Among the significant, endangered historic places on the list for nonprofit Preserve Orange County: the National Treasure Historic Wintersburg.

   "Though their histories hold important dictums for society, their walls can be under siege in a region defined by unyielding development. But a new organization, Preserve Orange County, hopes to combat the industrial colossus from devouring history."

   Read the Los Angeles Times feature by Ben Brazil: http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-wknd-et-preserve-oc-20171116-story.html

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima. 

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Historic Wintersburg named one of Orange County's Most Endangered historic places


   Preserve Orange County was founded in 2016 by Orange County residents who identified a need for a central organization concerned with historic preservation in the County. As a nonprofit organization, their mission is to work through education and advocacy to promote conservation of Orange County’s architectural and cultural heritage. 

   Preserve Orange County believes that "historic resources are essential to maintaining and improving the livability, diversity, sustainability and economic vitality of our communities. Our goal is to strengthen the work of local activists and volunteers with county-wide support, and increase awareness throughout the county of our shared built heritage."   

LEFT: The Sexlinger Orchard and its 1914 bungalow in Santa Ana is considered "one of the region’s oldest unaltered orange groves" and is included with Historic Wintersburg as one of the County's Most Endangered.  The land was acquired by the Sexlinger family in 1913, three years after the Wintersburg Mission opened its doors.  Only a handful of the original 500 citrus trees on the five-acre parcel remain today, even though the property had received historic designation by the City and after the Old Orchard Conservancy offered to purchase the property for historic preservation.  Demolition occurred in May 2016, during national Historic Preservation Month.  The property--expected to retain only 16 citrus trees after residential development--remains endangered.  (Photograph courtesy of Los Angeles Times, Christina House, "One of O.C.'s last orange groves gets historic designation", June 6, 2012)

   "Orange County’s built environment is made up of historic resources (buildings and landscapes) that date from the late 1700s when Native American and European people made contact and permanent settlements were established," explains Preserve Orange County. "Each era since has left us with reminders of who lived here, and how they contributed to Orange County’s success. Early on there was Mission San Juan Capistrano, and Los Rios Street, the oldest continuously-occupied residential street in California."

RIGHT: The view from the 1794 Montanez Adobe in the Los Rios Historic District of San Juan Capistrano.  The Montanez Adobe was restored by the City of San Juan Capistrano and the County of Orange, and is now part of a historic park in the Los Rios neighborhood.  The San Juan Capistrano Historical Society is currently restoring the Silva Adobe nearby.  (Photograph, M. Urashima. February 13, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   "The county has two National Landmarks considered to have significance for the entire nation, Arden- the Helena Modjeska House and Gardens- and the Richard M. Nixon Birthplace," notes Preserve Orange County.  "But these recognized sites are just the beginning: Orange County has been in continuous development for 240 years and has hundreds of historic places, most of which are not yet recognized or protected."  

    Historic Wintersburg has been included on the list of six historic places deemed by Preserve Orange County to be Orange County's Most Endangered.  Historic Wintersburg is the oldest on the list, representing well over a century of both Orange County history and significant American history.

   In 2013, the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service inspected Historic Wintersburg and followed up with a report stating the property is potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, Japanese American Settlement of the American West.    

LEFT: The 1912 Furuta bungalow is one of six historic structure at Historic Wintersburg, the majority being over a century old. The property retains three structures for the Wintersburg Japanese Mission, founded in 1904, and three structures of the Furuta Gold Fish Farm. The Furuta barn is the last pioneer barn in Huntington Beach. (Photograph, M. Urashima. April 18, 2014) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   The National Trust for Historic Preservation was formally established through an Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1949, directing the the Trust to acquire and preserve historic sites and objects of national significance and provide annual reports to Congress on its activities.  Congress furthered the importance of saving places important to American heritage by passing the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966.

RIGHT: Initials carved into the side of Pacific City Hall, 122 Main Street, the oldest wooden structure in the original township and the site of the founding of Huntington Beach. The majority of the structure was demolished in 2016. The Pacific City Hall building was moved to the Main Street location by or before 1903 by Phillip Stanton, prior to the involvement of Henry Huntington in 1904. Just prior to its demise, it was a gelatto shop.  The upstairs floor was remarkably untouched and retained its rustic pioneer quality. (Photograph, M. Urashima. April 8, 2015.) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

   The eligibility of Historic Wintersburg for the National Register of Historic Places was confirmed by the City of Huntington Beach historic resources survey conducted by Galvin Preservation Associates and received by the Huntington Beach City Council in 2014, http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/files/users/planning/Historic_Context_and_Survey_Report_Final_Draft.pdf.
   
LEFT: Gold glass from the 1934 Wintersburg Japanese Church was installed in windows flanking both sides of the structure during the Great Depression, a time when stained glass manufacturing dropped significantly in the United States due to cost.  Like the 1910 Mission, the local farming community raised funds to construct the Church building.  The gold color of the poured glass is thought to symbolize light or the presence of enlightenment. (Photograph, M. Urashima. October 24, 2016) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   In June 2014, Historic Wintersburg was named one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, based in Washington, D.C., https://savingplaces.org/collections/11-most-endangered-2014#.WdUtNNEXSM9   It remains the first and only historic place in Orange County to make the list of America's 11 Most Endangered.

   In 2015, Historic Wintersburg was designated a National Treasure by the
National Trust for Historic Preservation, one of less than 100 National Treasures in the United States, https://savingplaces.org/places/historic-wintersburg#.WdUs3dEXSM9Historic Wintersburg remains the first and only historic place in Orange County deemed a National Treasure.

   Is the 21st Century the moment where Orange County begins to recognize and save more of its unique heritage? Once lost, the historic places that anchor us with a "sense of place", community memory, and civic pride can never be recreated.

   Learn more about Preserve Orange County and support their mission to help "promote the conservation of Orange County's architectural and cultural heritage" at https://www.preserveorangecounty.org/

ABOVE: Tattered volumes inside the Orange County Archives in Santa Ana contain the statistics of the County's pioneers, each one of them representing a unique, mostly untold story. Very few sites remain where today's generation can visit the authentic places that share the history and contributions of Orange County's pioneers. (Photograph, M. Urashima. 2014) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Wintersburg blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima. 

Friday, September 29, 2017

Hometown Teams closes Saturday, September 30!

ABOVE: Packing up after Saturday! Historic Wintersburg's joint exhibit with the Smithsonian Institution's "Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America" ends this Saturday, September 30, at the Heritage Museum of Orange County.  More information at www.heritagemuseum.org (Photograph, M. Urashima, August 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED     

   This is your last chance to see the traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit, "Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America"--with the exhibit by Historic Wintersburg on Japanese American sports history in early 20th Century Orange County--at the Heritage Museum of Orange County.  

  The exhibit closes on Saturday, September 30.  Information and directions to the Heritage Museum of Orange County at http://heritagemuseumoc.org/

    Our thanks to the Heritage Museum team for including us and for hosting our movie night on the grounds of the 12-acre Museum, with stars Chris Tashima and Derek Mio!  Here's a look back a the Hometown Teams opening and at movie night with the stars, under the stars!

ABOVE: Historic Wintersburg's exhibit is in the Quilter's Cottage at the Heritage Museum of Orange County, along with part of the Smithsonian Institution exhibit. (Photograph, M. Urashima, August 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ABOVE: Young movie goers arrive early to meet stars Derek Mio (left) and Academy Award winner Chris Tashima (right) before the picnic blanket movie night.  (Photograph, M. Urashima, September 9, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED    

ABOVE: Star of film and television, Derek Mio chats with the early crowd arriving to set up their picnic before movie night. Derek is an alumnus of Huntington Beach High School and made his debut role in the film, Day of Independence, with actor-director Chris Tashima. (Photograph, M. Urashima, September 9, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED    

ABOVE: Derek Mio, to the left of his film poster image for Day of Independence, with actor-director Chris Tashima, at the outdoor movie night at Heritage Museum. The award-winning short film producer, Chris Tashima, also brought film memorabilia for the crowd. (Photograph, M. Urashima, September 9, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ABOVE: As the sun set and movie-goers finished their picnic, the film screening began.  "Day of Independence" was followed by "The Sandlot". Our thanks to Heritage Museum of Orange County for the beautiful venue, near the historic Maag farmhouse on the gazebo lawn. (Photograph, M. Urashima, September 9, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ABOVE: Heritage Museum of Orange County board of directors chairman Drew Hatcher (left) with Heritage Museum director Kevin Cabrera on opening night of "Hometown Teams", in front of the Historic Wintersburg exhibit. (Photograph, M. Urashima, August 18, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED    

ABOVE: One of the images included in the Historic Wintersburg exhibit at "Hometown Teams" is of Kaizo Nishi at the Xth Olympiad at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1932. This was the first time a martial arts demonstration had been held at the Olympics. Students who had practiced in the Huntington Beach chile pepper warehouses of Masami Sasaki and the Orange County judo-bu were included in the demonstration, receiving special Olympic medals.  Los Angeles is home to the summer Olympics again in 2020! (Photograph snip: Kaizo Nishi at the Los Angeles Coliseum, 1932, University of California Fullerton Center for Oral and Public History, PJA 089) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

ABOVE: Also in Historic Wintersburg's exhibit at "Hometown Teams" is a spotlight on Huntington Beach High School alumnus and member of the "Go For Broke" 442nd during World War II, Kazuo Masuda.  The image on the right his Kazuo Masuda's uniform, as the Smithsonian Institution prepared it for exhibit earlier this year in Washington, D.C.  Excerpts from a historical booklet on local sports from Hungtington Beach High School coach "Cap" Sheue, "Oiler History and Traditions", explains the contributions of Japanese American athletes at the high school. (Photograph collage, M. Urashima, August 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED      
ABOVE: Media coverage for the outdoor movie night in the Rafu Shimpo newspaper, the Japanese-English daily based in Los Angeles.  The Rafu Shimpo once had a branch office and post office box in downtown Huntington Beach in the early 20th Century. (Courtesy of Rafu Shimpo)

ABOVE: Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force member Barbara Haynes gets her photo with star Derek Mio next to the film poster for "Day of Independence". Barbara is wearing a "yogores" shirt from the film, which means she might be up to a little trouble. (Photograph, M. Urashima, September 9, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED    

LEFT: Adam England, Iron Pear Tree Inn, (right) and Kathy Williams in historical sports attire at opening night for "Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America" at the Heritage Museum.  England perfected a Scottish accent for the event and stayed in character.  In case he looks familiar, England is a regular at the Huntington Beach Historical Society's annual Civil War Days. (Photograph, M. Urashima, August 18, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   What's next?  Time to start finding your pioneer duds and start the holiday season in historic fashion!

   Mark your calendar for the evening of Friday, December 1, when Historic Wintersburg joins the Huntington Beach Historical Society for a pioneer gathering, Holidays in Huntington Beach 1917, at the Newland House Museum!


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