Remembrance:Eugene Tagawa and Sharon Maeda attend the Day of Remembrance Ceremony at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Wash.Listening In:Blaine Memorial UMC church members critically listen to Kiku Hughes, a cartoonist. She reads her poetry and complements her readings with illustrations of her late grandmother, Ernestina, who was incarcerated in one of the 10 camps. Representation Matters: Members from Blaine Memorial UMC attended the Day of Remembrance Ceremony at the Washington State Fairgrounds on February 18, 2023. Many of the members were either survivors or have family members who were sent to the Puyallup Fairgrounds 81 years ago when it became an Assembly Center before heading to the Minidoka Incarceration Camp. Family Names:Marina Kozu and Ron Nobuyama look for their family names on panels. The Day of Remembrance Ceremony honored 81 years since the issue of Executive Order 9066. Over 7600 Japanese and Japanese Americans were incarcerated behind barbed wire fencing on the Puyallup Fairgrounds, now known as the Washington State Fairgrounds. The majority of the population was from Seattle, but people from Fife, Puyallup, Kapowsin, Eatonville, Snohomish, and Alaska were forced to live in horse stalls, animal pens, or barracks. This assembly center was open between April to September 1942.The Beat of the Drum:Seattle Kokon Taiko opens and closes the ceremony with a few powerful musical pieces. Cranes:Shig and Rae Nishida receive tsuru (cranes) because they are “Camp Survivors.” In Solidarity:Day of Remembrance Part II included a caravan to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash. The solidarity with the Japanese American community and those who are in the NWDC link the past and present injustices, drew attention to worsening conditions inside NWDC.Sharing of stories:On February 19, Blaine Memorial remembered 81 years since the issuing of E.O. 9066. Church members including Donna Sekijima, Pam Ikegami, Jerry Ikegami, Dorothy Rutherford, Shizue Watanabe, Dale Watanabe and Nina Chinn shared their stories about camp life, their parents’ experiences in camp or their experiences living in the “Free Zone.” Thank you to Gail Nomura for your strategic planning and organizing of this special worship service.The latest issue of the Beacon newsletter is ready for viewing. Click the image above.
