Dear Editor,
Currently being the director emeritus/archivist of the Yakima Valley Museum, I was the director of the museum at the time when the exhibition “Land of Joy and Sorrow — Japanese Pioneers of the Yakima Valley” was planned and opened in 2010. So, I would like to thank the Pacific Citizen for its coverage of our February 2018 Day of Remembrance program and exhibition.
We were so excited to see the coverage of our events in two issues of the Pacific Citizen (Feb. 9-22, 2018, and March 9-22, 2018), and it appears your readers found our story of interest as well. Recently, the Takeo Kato Family of Northern California came to our museum to see our exhibit due to the coverage in the P.C. They did not have family ties to the Yakima Valley or Heart Mountain but wanted to see our exhibit since they were traveling in the State of Washington.
We spent several hours together looking at the exhibit and other parts of the museum as well as discussing the history of the Japanese pioneers in the Yakima Valley and those that returned after World War II. It was a lovely afternoon, and this would not have been possible without your coverage.
Patti Hirahara, who is a contributor to the P.C., helped the museum start our development of the exhibit 10 years ago, and along with the help of the descendants of the Yakima Japanese American families across the United States, we have been able to chronicle their history.
This year, our exhibit is eight years old but still continues to be a popular attraction here.
Thank you so much again for featuring our story.
Sincerely,
John A. Baule, Director Emeritus/Archivist, Yakima Valley Museum
