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Published: August 2nd 2023
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2023: I visited the Nisei Farmers League again yesterday with a writer from Portland. He is researching a book to publish, some of which revolves around our family. 2021: I visited the Nisei Farmers League office last Thursday. The nail (first photo) is what the UFW used to sabotage the Nisei farmers equipment, tractors, vehicles. It is made of two nails that are welded together. The sign was used by the Nisei formers to identify themselves to the sheriff or other law enforcement. The lithos are originals from each of the Relocation camps around the country. I photographed only Arkansas and Arizona, where our family was sent. (Note: each litho is #6 of only 45. President Reagan received #5 of each camp litho.) I went to Gila area this past weekend, but it is closed now due to Covid. (Update: I was able to visit Gila River last March for the first time. It was bittersweet, and very emotional. Back to yesterday: The President, Manuel Cunha led my guest through some of the important history of the Japanese farmer, the SJ Valley raisin industry, the Bracero program, and the battle with the UFW back in the 70s and 80s. He showed
me a roster of farmers who were "charter" members (1473) of the Nisei Farmer League. Not only did it include almost all Japanese American farmers in the Valley, it included many others, including our Armenian, Italian, and Portuguese friends and neighbors. Some of these people you may know, like the Boragnos from Sanger, the Pinheiros and Esajians from Kingsburg. It was quite moving to see the universal support. But most alarming was the amount of acreage now devoted to making raisins. At its height, it was over 200,000 acres. It is now about 23,000 acres, most of which is mechanized. I was in shock! My Uncle Sus was an active member of the Nisei Farmers League. Mostly a quiet and thoughtful man, he rarely showed emotion on popular issues. But the battle against UFW and Chavez was a "battle cry" for him. He spent countless hours, day and night, helping protect other farms owned by Japanese Americans from the sabotage of the UFW. Even my brother was hired to patrol Japanese owned vineyards and orchards at night to keep vandalism and trouble at bay. Even prized farm equipment was ruined by sugar in the diesel and gas tanks in farm
equipment. Steve, the Portland writer, and Manuel also discussed the "lost" land as the result of the Japanese incarceration after Pearl Harbor. Though most land owned by Japanese farmers had no mortgage, considerable amounts of farmland were lost due to non-payment of both property and irrigation taxes. Our family is thankful that our temporary landlords paid our taxes so we could return to the farms once the war ended, and the camps were closed. Last March 24
th (2022), the Nisei Farmers League celebrated their 50
th Anniversary, with Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau as MC. Our minister, Reverend Akiko Miyake-Stoner gave the invocation, and scholarships and Agriculturists of the Year awards were presented.
I hope this legacy of activism, solidarity, and brotherhood continues for another fifty years.
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