In September of 1941, David Miller (far left) and Chief Jobe Charley (far right), the 81-year-old patriarch of the Yakima Nation's Great Council, came with their wives to the Federal court in Tacoma to plead the case for their treaty fishing rights. They came to argue that the Bonneville dam had backed up the waters of the Columbia River and its tributary, the White Salmon River, spoiling their "usual and accustomed" fishing grounds. Mr. Miller's wife Bessie Charley-Miller is seated next to him. (Additional identification provided by a family member)

Indians of North America--Tacoma--1940-1950; Judicial proceedings; Miller, David; Charley; Chief Jobe; Charley-Miller, Bessie;

By the end of May of 1942, more than 7,000 people of Japanese ancestry from Seattle and the surrounding area, including 1200 from Tacoma, were being detained at "Camp Harmony," a temporary assembly center built hastily by the army in Puyallup. They stayed there for four months, until they were shipped to the Minidoka Relocation Center in Southern Idaho to wait for the end of the war. In this photograph taken May 16, 1942, Seattleites Beverly Higashida (2 years old), Lillian Fujihara, seven month old Wayne Kaniko and his mother Mrs. M. Kaniko all smiled for the camera. Whole families were sent to the camp, each assigned a one room "apartment." The Japanese proceeded to make a home out of the almost unbearable conditions, forming a government, school and devising entertainments. Their values remained intact and their spirits high. (T. Times 4/30/1942, pg. 9)

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Children riding bicycles & tricycles; Fujihara, Lillian; Higashida, Beverly; Kaniko, Wayne;

The biggest enemy at "Camp Harmony" was boredom. Here a game of sandlot baseball has been organized to give this group some exercise and fresh air. More than 7,000 people of Japanese descent were interned at the camp. Men, women and children were crowded into a small living space. The orderly Japanese soon devised ways to keep their people occupied. Classes were mandatory for children and available for adults. Arts, crafts and recreational activities were devised. Entertainment was brought in; movies were shown. Every effort was made to make life appear ordinary.

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945;

While interred at "Camp Harmony", in May of 1942, three unidentified Japanese Americans built their own furniture for their barracks "apartments." The Puyallup Assembly Center "Camp Harmony" had been constructed by the Army in less than 3 weeks. The living quarters were makeshift barracks divided into "apartments," consisting of a single room no larger than 18 x 20 feet in which a whole family of up to 7 would live. Furnishings consisted of one army cot per person. Each "apartment" had a stove for warmth, one bare bulb hanging from the ceiling by a wire for light and one window. There was no running water. Toilets and showers were communal with no privacy dividers, until the Japanese built them themselves. As Spring passed, the detainees scrounged wood and tools and began constructing rough tables and chairs. Homes were created in the rough surroundings.

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Carpentry;

In the spring of 1942, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, more than 100,000 residents of Japanese ancestry were forcibly evicted from their homes in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Alaska and sent to temporary assembly centers, from there to be sent to internment camps in remote inland areas to sit out the war. The Puyallup Assembly Center, hastily erected by the Army in less than 3 weeks and known as "Camp Harmony," was utilized from April 28- September 12, 1942. On May 16, 1942, two year old Beverly Higashida and Lillian Fujihara were getting acquainted with Mrs. M. Kaniko and her seven month old son Wayne. The pictured group was all from Seattle. By the end of May, more than 7,000 people were crowded into the camp. The stoic Japanese made the best of a bad situation, forming their own government, schools and entertainments. The worst aspect of the camp was boredom in the confined quarters. A call went out for recreational materials, such as young Wayne's tricycle. (T. Times 4/30/1942, pg. 9)

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Children riding bicycles & tricycles; Fujihara, Lillian; Higashida, Beverly; Kaniko, Wayne;

Mrs. Mito Kashiwagi and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Y. Kashiwagi, decorate a window in the barracks at "Camp Harmony" with sheer curtains in this photograph from May, 1942. In the Spring of 1942, more than 100,000 residents of Japanese ancestry from WA., OR., CA. , AZ. and AK. were forcibly rounded up and sent to internment camps. The hastily erected "Camp Harmony" in Puyallup served as a temporary assembly center, where 7,000 residents from the Seattle and Tacoma area waited while more permanent detention centers were erected. They lived in makeshift barracks, where each family was assigned one room, approximately 18 x 20, with a heating stove, bare light bulb and one window. The barracks had no running water. They shared communal showers, one for each 250 detainees, and toilets. The interns set about making these green wood boxes a home. Wood was scrounged to make furniture, curtains were sewn and hung at the windows, and drawings and pictures from calendars were tacked to the walls. (T. Times 4/30/1942, pg. 9)

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Kashiwagi, Mito--Family;

On May 16, 1942, an everyday game of marbles among a group of boys is captured by the photographer; except that these Japanese American boys, Tasuo Matsuda, Yoshinori Kondo and Hira Matsudo, are being held at "Camp Harmony," an assembly center in Puyallup for the evacuation and relocation of Seattle and Tacoma area residents of Japanese ancestry. Over 7,000 of them, including 1200 from Tacoma, were detained there from April 28 - September 12, 1942 before being shipped out to Minidoka Relocation Center in Southern Idaho. They lived in makeshift barracks divided into "apartments," one per family. The furnishings consisted of one army cot per person. There was no running water. Toilets, showers, mess halls and laundry room were communal and located a walk away. Privacy was non existent. The Japanese tried to keep life as normal as possible for the children, forming their own schools when the U.S. government provided none. (T. Times 4/30/1942, pg. 9)

Camp Harmony (Puyallup); Relocation camps--Puyallup; World War, 1939-1945--Relocation camps; Japanese Americans--Evacuation & relocation, 1942-1945; Marbles (Game); Children playing with marbles; Matsuda, Tasuo; Kondo, Yoshinori; Matsuda, Hira;

Hashimoto-Fujita wedding. A formal portrait of the bride and groom, their wedding party and four generations of their families. The large group stood in front of a Buddhist altar on November 12, 1950.

Japanese American families--Tacoma; Weddings--Tacoma--1950-1960; Wedding costume--1950-1960; Brides--1950-1960; Grooms (Weddings)--1950-1960; Altars--Tacoma;

December, 1953, graveside exposure of Japanese-American funeral for Mr. Yonezo Mizoguchi, 83 years of age. Mr. Mizoguchi lived at 1710 Tacoma Ave. So. He was born in Japan and came to the United States in 1908. He had lived in Tacoma for 6 years, after retiring in 1941 from 46 years of farming. He was a member of the Buddhist Church. He was survived by his wife Taka and three sons, Hiroto, Kanae and Charles M.- all of Tacoma, and one daughter Mrs. Masaye Shigeno and nine grandchildren. (TNT 12-15-1953, pg. 30) TPL-10139

Japanese Americans--Tacoma; Cemeteries--Tacoma; Funeral rites & ceremonies--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A Native American chief in headdress and buckskins gazes at the remainder of downed trees on November 27, 1954. He is standing on a trailer hitch of the large truck that will haul the giant peeler log through the streets of Bellingham as part of a parade. Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co. had arranged for several giant Douglas firs to be cut and transported for this special parade. Photograph ordered by Georgia-Pacific Plywood Co. TPL-8281

Indians of North America--Bellingham; Logs;

The Tacoma Buddhist Church at 1717 Fawcett Ave. held an O-bon Festival on Sunday, July 19, 1959. Dressed in kimonos with obis around their waists and zori sandals on their feet are (l to r) Carol Hayashi, Lynne Nakagawara, Laurie Tanabe, Kathy Tanabe, Atsuko Duchi and Joyce Nakagawara. The festival opened at 7 p.m. with a religious ceremonial dance. This was followed by a selection of colorful Japanese folk dances. Japanese paper lanterns were used as decoration, and Japanese flower arrangements by the women of the Buddhist Fujin-Kai were on display in the church basement. (TNT 7/17/1959, pg. 14) Picture ordered by the Tacoma Buddhist Church

Kimonos; Japanese Americans--Tacoma; Girls--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hayashi, Carol; Nakagawara, Lynne; Tanabe, Laurie; Tanabe, Kathy; Duchi, Atsuko; Nakagawara, Joyce;

A large group of Japanese Americans are pictured on the steps of Jones Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus during the Pacific Northwest District Methodist and Youth Conference on November 27, 1960. Photograph ordered by the Japanese Methodist Church.

Japanese Americans--Tacoma; Religious meetings--Tacoma;

Grand opening of Ed Taylor Barber & Beauty Salon. Beauticians Alice Burns (foreground) and Willie May Harris smile at the photographer while at work with two customers. On February 23, 1969, Ed Taylor celebrated the grand opening of his remodeled combination beauty salon and barber shop at So. 23rd & K (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Way). Photograph ordered by Puget Sound National Bank.

Barbershops--Tacoma--1960-1970; Beauty shops--Tacoma--1960-1970; Hairdressing--Tacoma--1960-1970; Ed Taylor Barber & Beauty Salon (Tacoma); Burns, Alice; Harris, Willie May;

Ed Taylor Barber & Beauty Salon. View of exterior of modern one-story building with traditional barbershop striped pole attached. February 23, 1969, saw the grand opening of the remodeled Ed Taylor Barber & Beauty Salon in the So. 23rd and K (now Martin Luther King Jr Way) neighborhood. Photograph ordered by Puget Sound National Bank.

Barbershops--Tacoma--1960-1970; Beauty shops--Tacoma--1960-1970; Signs (Notices); Facades--Tacoma--1960-1970; Ed Taylor Barber & Beauty Salon (Tacoma);

In February of 1969 Edward Taylor (far left) showed a new electric hair clippers to an unidentified customer in his newly remodeled barber shop. Mr. Taylor opened the Ed Taylor Barber & Beauty Salon at 2151 South K Street (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Way) in Tacoma's Hilltop area in 1965. With "lots of hard work" and help from the Small Business Administration he was able to develop a salon that could accommodate all types and textures of hair. In a News Tribune article published in February of 1972 he was shown working on the hair of Mel Jackson, at that time administrative assistant to Tacoma's city manager.

Barbershops--Tacoma--1960-1970; Beauty shops--Tacoma--1960-1970; Shaving equipment; Ed Taylor Barber & Beauty Salon (Tacoma); Taylor, Edward;

Panorama of a large, formally dressed standing party.

Panorama of the Sons and Daughters of Norway Convention, Trip to Mt. Tacoma (Rainier)

Yasuda-Miyamotoa wedding with the groom and bride in front of the alter engaging with children.

Bride at the Yasuda-Miyamotoa wedding in front of altar decorated with candles, floral arrangements and Buddhist images.

Group of men with their fists down on a table at the Yasuda-Miyamoto wedding with a lit cigar resting on a glass of liquor below.

Bride at the Yoshihara-Ikeviri (sp?) wedding with floral arrangements and candles in the background.

Wedding of University of Washington graduates Luana Chizuru Uyeda and Dr. Keith Hiroshi Yoshino.

Family gathering before or after the wedding of University of Washington graduates Luana Chizuru Uyeda and Dr. Keith Hiroshi Yoshino.

Panorama of the Japanese-American Citizen's League Inaugural Banquet.

Aki Yotsuuye Funeral photograph with large floral arrangements located inside of a Buddhist temple.

Saraki-Sagami wedding photo at the altar.

Paulson-Burns wedding photo with attendees gathered around a table holding large punch bowls and kransekake topped with Finnish and American flags.

Yasuda-Miyamoto wedding photo of the couple inside of a vehicle with plaid interior seating.

Yasuda-Miyamoto wedding photo of bride and groom cutting the cake with floral arrangements, fruit bowl and 7-Up bottle in the background.

Overhead shot of Yoshihara-Ikejiri wedding with bride and groom walking down the aisle and large floral arrangement in the background.