Historic Wintersburg Joins Smithsonian Institution exhibit 'Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America' at Heritage Museum

ABOVE: Take a look!  The Historic Wintersburg exhibit on Japanese American sports history in early 1900s Orange County is in the "Quilter's Cottage" at the Heritage Museum of Orange County, with a portion of the traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. (Photo: Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 19, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

   Historic Wintersburg joins the team for the traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit, Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America, for a limited, six-week engagement, August 19 through September 30, 2017, at the Heritage Museum of Orange County in Santa Ana, California.  

LEFT: Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America is open in two of the historic structures at the 12-acre Heritage Museum of Orange County. Historic Wintersburg is in the Quilter's Cottage, at left, near the Carriage House and blacksmith barn. (Photo: Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 19, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

   Historic Wintersburg’s exhibit in Heritage Museum’s Quilter's Cottage shares history of early 20^th Century Japanese American sports teams of Orange County. The exhibit includes images and sports news, in the words of the Nisei (second generation Japanese American) and clips from the Santa Ana Register. Among the teams featured are the Orange Groves, a baseball team that practiced across the road from the Wintersburg Japanese Mission in the 1920s.

   The exhibit is open 11 am to 3 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.  Heritage Museum docents are in the exhibit areas to help with information and answer questions.

RIGHT: Bonshichi Yoshimura and Masami Fujino were players on the Orange Groves, or OGs, circa 1922. The Orange Groves were one of the first Japanese American baseball teams in Orange County. They practiced and played games at the "Wintersburg diamond", an open lot in Wintersburg Village that is now part of Huntington Beach, near the Tashima market (where they changed into their uniforms). (Photo snip, Center for Oral and Public History, California State University Fullerton, PJA 188) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

   Bring your picnic blanket and meet the stars under the stars!  An outdoor "picnic blanket" family movie night will be hosted by Historic Wintersburg and Heritage Museum, 6 pm, Saturday, September 9, on the lawn near the historic Maag farmhouse.  

LEFT:  Historic Wintersburg will host a screening of the award-winning short film, "Day of Independence", directed by Chris Tashima. The film stars Derek Mio, who grew up in Huntington Beach and played baseball with the Ocean View Little League. (Poster image, ©2003 Cedar Grove Productions,Photography/design by Dennis Mukai) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

   There will be movie theater concessions and some surprise gifts for movie-goers.  Admission is free for this baseball-themed family film night under the stars! 

   The double-header includes "Day of Independence" with Academy Award®-winning director-actor Chris Tashima ("Visas and Virtue", "Lil Tokyo Reporter", "Under the Blood Red Sun", the upcoming "Go For Broke") and actor Derek Mio ("Greek", "House M.D.", CSI", "Bones", "NCIS:LA, and "The Good Wife").  Mio is an alumnus of Huntington Beach High School and played baseball with the Ocean View Little League in Huntington Beach.  

RIGHT: Chris Tashima, director of "Day of Independence", also stars in the film as the umpire.  (Photo,Chris Tashima as The Umpire in "Day of Independence", ©2003 Cedar Grove Productions, Photo by Shane Sato)
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

   "Day of Independence"—nominated for a regional Emmy in 2005—explores the sacrifices and triumphs of those who endured World War II confinement through courage and the all-American game of baseball.  The screening of this award-winning short film will be joined by stars Chris Tashima and Derek Mio for the film's introduction and discussion with the audience.

LEFT: Star of "Day of Independence", Derek Mio, is an alumnus of Huntington Beach High School and played with the Ocean View Little League in Huntington Beach. He is now a television and film star, and stand-up comic. (Photo, Courtesy of IMDb) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

   Following "Day of Independence" is the feature-length cult classic, "The Sandlot".  Set in the summer of 1962, "The Sandlot" is a coming-of-age story of a group of young baseball players in California's San Fernando Valley.  In an iconic scene, the team unknowingly plays with a ball signed by "the Great Bambino", Babe Ruth.

    Heritage Museum of Orange County is located at 3101 West Harvard Street in Santa Ana, about 15 minutes from National Treasure Historic Wintersburg.  Head east on Wintersburg Road (Warner Avenue), left on south Fairview Avenue, and left on Harvard Street.  Heritage Museum will be on your right.  The 12-acre Museum grounds contain a number of historic structures such as the Kellogg House, wilderness trails, blacksmith shop, and rose garden.

RIGHT: Huntington Beach residents Kathy Williams and Adam England stop by the Historic Wintersburg exhibit at the exhibitor's preview night, for which guests were asked to wear their favorite sports team attire.  Adam—who some might recognize from the annual Civil War reenactments organized by the Huntington Beach Historical Society in Huntington Beach Central Park—is Chief Operating Officer at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center.  He had a spot on Scottish accent!  (Photo: Exhibitors preview night for Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America, Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 18, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

   Hometown sports and more than just sports.  Sports shape our lives, help us survive uncertain times, bring us joy and humor, and unite us as a community with shared experiences.   Join Historic Wintersburg at the Heritage Museum as we explore the history and importance of sports in American life, and in the history of Orange County.

BELOW: The Historic Wintersburg exhibit on the wall of the Quilter's Cottage, during the installation of the exhibit. The cases in front are from the Smithsonian Institution.  This is the second traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit that Historic Wintersburg has participated in at Heritage Museum of Orange County, the first being "Journey Stories" in 2014. (Photo: Historic Wintersburg exhibit, Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 17, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

BELOW: Heritage Museum Executive Director Kevin Cabrera (far right), with staff and volunteer docents in front of the Historic Wintersburg exhibit. (Photo: Historic Wintersburg exhibit, Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 15, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  

BELOW: Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force member Art Hasegawa during installation of the exhibit at Heritage Museum. (Photo: Historic Wintersburg exhibit, Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 17, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

BELOW: The outdoor picnic blanket movie night will be held on the lawn near the historic Maag farmhouse, with movie concessions in the gazebo. Come meet the stars and enjoy a baseball-theme movie night! (Photo: Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 17, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

BELOW: Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force member Rebecca Nehez lifts a cushion on the Smithsonian Institution's bleacher display to find out how nachos got their name.  This display is inside the Carriage House. (Photo: Rebecca Nehez at Heritage Museum of Orange County, M. Urashima, August 18, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

BELOW: Wear your favorite sports jersey or t-shirt to our Saturday, September 9, outdoor movie night at Heritage Museum! This one is from our featured film, "Day of Independence".  (Photo: M. Urashima, July 31, 2017) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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