Mitsuye endo medal of honor8/13/2023 ![]() ![]() The bombing of Pearl Harbor led to terrible consequences for Japanese Americans. Mas was in his third year of study in electrical engineering at the University of Washington when Imperial Japan struck Pearl Harbor. Their twin sons, Mas and Hiroshi Odoi, graduated from Ilwaco High School as co-valedictorians in 1939. Mukilteo’s Odoi family moved to Nahcotta, in southwestern Washington in 1931. Japanese elders built a large community center for programs, movies, games and other recreations. Deep pools along the creek’s mile-long course provided fish for consumption. A creek ran down the ravine from large reservoirs higher up in forested land. The village comprised a number of unpainted dwellings situated about 600 feet along each side of a plank and dirt road. ![]() With support from Crown Lumber, Mukilteo’s Japanese community built a village in a ravine just above the lumber mill. Although no marker has been found, a baby girl, Kaijo Tamai, died of crib death in 1918 and is also believed buried here. Mukilteo’s historic Pioneer Cemetery contains grave markers honoring three Japanese employed by Crown Lumber: Tokumatsu Shirai, who was killed when a large log rolled over him in 1908, Goro Wadatani, who died of apoplexy in 1908, and Rikimatsu Okamura, who died in 1913. In 1918, unions succeeded in obtaining an 8-hour workday and, by 1930, the labor rate had increased to $3.50 per day for 8 hours work. ![]() The company considered their Japanese mill workers to be industrious and trustworthy employees who needed very little supervision once they were instructed in their jobs.Ĭommon labor rates for Mukilteo’s mill workers in the early 1900’s were $2.00 to $2.50 per 10-hour workday. In 1905, our population was estimated at 350, of which 150 were Japanese families who lived in Japanese Gulch and whose breadwinners worked at the lumber mill.Ĭrown Lumber had one employee called the “book boy” who represented the Japanese employees in all matters related to their work, recruitment, families, and housing. In nearby Everett, for example, some local citizens organized in 19 to drive out Japanese workers from the Clark-Nickerson Mill.Īlthough there was some initial resistance in Mukilteo, efforts to drive out Japanese workers here failed because of the strength of the Crown Lumber Company which needed these workers. In many parts of the region, competition from these foreign workers was not welcomed by American workers who were moving into the territory from the east. In the early 1900s, many Japanese men came to Mukilteo to work for the large lumber mill here. ![]() Odoi had been born in a humble three-room house in Mukilteo’s Japanese Gulch. Speakers at the ceremony included Mayor Don Doran, Mas Odoi, David Tanabe and Beverly Dudder Ellis. They gathered around the monument that supports a bronze origami crane, which symbolizes the historic roots and the continuing goal of peace and harmony among all peoples. On June 9, 2000, descendants of original Japanese immigrants joined with present citizens of Mukilteo to dedicate the symbol honoring the town’s historic example of harmonious race relations. Located in Centennial Park, 1126 5 th Street, the monument was erected on May 30, 2000, by the Mukilteo Historical Society, the City of Mukilteo, and Mukilteo Japanese Americans. Next month marks the 20 th anniversary of the dedication of a monument commemorating the harmonious relationships between early Mukilteo residents and families of Japanese workers at Crown Lumber Company. By Peter Anderson, Director, Mukilteo Historical SocietyĪuthors Note: Portions of this article are taken verbatim from a brochure “The Mukilteo Japanese Memorial” published by the Mukilteo Historical Society. ![]()
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