Pasadena Nikkei Seniors, Inc.595 North Lincoln Avenue, Suite 101-A, Pasadena, CA 91103

Volume 20, Issue 1 NEWSLETTER March, 2020

March 28th Luncheon,April 16th Pala Trip Cancelled

As part of the effort to prevent the spread ofcoronavirus (COVID-19), the Pasadena Nikkei Seniors’Board of Directors has decided to cancelthe monthly March 28 PNS luncheon andthe April 16 Pala Casino Bus Trip. Thestatus of the April luncheon and otherupcoming PNS activities will bedetermined and announced at a laterdate. We apologize for the inconvenience, but giventhe current uncertainty of the spread of this disease,we all need to remember that the health and wellbeingof our members is of the utmost importance.

Mourning the Passing of Kiyoshi TakedaThe Pasadena Nikkei Seniors mourns the recent pass-ing of Mr. Kiyoshi Takeda, Past President of the PNS,who served in that position for over 30 years. In 1985,with the assistance of his wife, Miyuki, he started thestill popular monthly lunch program, and also introduceda number of PNS activities, including a bridge club, ex-ercise class, handicraft class, and a karaoke class. Healso organized numerous domestic and internationaltrips, and during his tenure, PNS membership soared tonearly 400 members. Mr. Takeda was also actively in-volved with the PJCI, serving on its Board of Directors,as well as serving terms as President of PasadenaGakuen and the Pasadena Kendo Dojo. For his manycontributions to the Japanese American community, hewas honored as a Nisei Week Pioneer in 2008.

Nuccio Nursery VisitOn an overcast March morning, 21 PNS members gath-

ered at Nuccio’s Nursery in the foothills of Altadena for alesson on camellias and azaleas. Owner Tom Nucciogreeted the crowd with a tray full of cut camellias and pro-vided interesting tidbits of information detailing differencesand similarities among the various flowers.As rain began to fall, everyone moved under an over-

hang where Tom then demonstrated a technique for graft-ing a camellia leaf cutting on to a freshly cut stem, whichin a few months would result in a brand new camelliaplant.Despite the rain, members of the group then proceeded

to scour the nursery grounds, selecting azaleas to takehome for planting in their gardens. Many thanks to Itsy Otafor making the arrangements for an interesting, fact filledvisit.

Beginning with this issue, newsletters are being sent electroni-cally to PNS members for whom we have email addresses.Newsletters are still being printed and mailed via the USPS tothose without email access. If you received the newsletter viaemail but would prefer to have a printed hard copy, please con-tact Ron Toshima with your request at toshima@sbcglobal.net.Conversely, if you received a hard copy but would prefer anelectronic copy, please send your email address to Ron.

Esther Takei Nishio was part of a test case in 1944launched by two Pasadena men, including QuakerHugh Anderson, to promote the return of JapaneseAmericans to the West Coast from concentrationcamps. When Nishio arrived in Pasadena in September1944, anti-Japanese residents formed a "Ban the Japs"committee and harassed her and her host family. With-in a week, the main agitator changed sides and thefuror died down.

Esther Takei Nishio1925 - 2019

Picture courtesy of La Pintoresca Library

PNS Welcomes the Year of the RatOver 200 Pasadena Nikkei Senior members and guests gathered at the Pasadena Buddhist Temple in late

January to welcome in the Year of the Rat. Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek and Deputy Consul Hiroki Matsuo,representing the Los Angeles Office of the Consulate General of Japan, greeted the crowd with warm words ofwelcome. 2019 Miss Pasadena JCI, Marika Gotschall, was also on hand to introduce 2019 Nisei Week Queen JuliYoshinaga and her court.

As is the custom every year, PNS members turning 88 years old were also recognized and honored. The 88thbirthday is celebrated as Beiju in Japanese culture, a revered milestone, and this year there were 7 members sohonored: Harry Kawahara, Robert Kikkawa, Fred Miwa, Ken Sakaida, Marion Tani, Bob Uchida, and RobertYokoyama.

Special tribute was also paid to the late Esther Takei Nishio, who passed away in the fall of 2019. In 1944,Esther was the first Japanese American released from the internment camps to see how Americans would reactto a JA’s reentry into mainstream society. Her life paralleled another prominent Pasadena native, JackieRobinson, as both of them were instrumental in having their Japanese and African American peers accepted intoan oftentimes brutally unaccepting White society.

Honored for their volunteer service to the PNS were Bobby Fukumoto and Robert Takata, who’ve taken careof the ever-popular Bingo games at the monthly luncheons for many years. Entertainment was provided by localband, Decades of Rock (DORK), headed by the father-daughter duo of Ron and Veronica Ota. The afternoon wascapped off with the distribution of a number of raffle prizes to many lucky winners in the crowd.

Donations The Pasadena Nikkei Seniors gratefully acknowledge and thank the following individuals for theirdonations. Please let Ron Toshima know if anyone has inadvertently been overlooked and they will be acknowl-edged in the next newsletter.Kay AbeJune ChinCliff & Akimi ChingJane FraustoBobby FukumotoSachi HamadaRed & Alice HamaneElsie HayashiBob & Yoshiko HayashiMits HinoIrene HirashikiToru and Diane HisayasuKelly HokyoHiroko InouyeLouise InouyeGini IshidaChris Iwamiya

Michiko IwamotoMabel IwamotoJudy IzumoTami KameiHarry & Jane KawaharaLillian KawashimaHatsumi KitaniVictoria LeonWing & Evelyn LewSumi MaruyamaGene MasudaKiku MatsumotoDon & Kathy MatsumotoMary MatsumotoKirk & Caroline MayedaCathy MikuniJean Miwa

Takako MurashigeYae NagaiCarol NakauchiMas NishikawaHiroko NishiyamaDave & Mary NoguchiSteve & Joan OgawaBob & Barbara OkadaItsy OtaDeena OtaCarol OyamaDorothy PotterPhil SakaKen & Rosalie SakaidaFrank & Marian SataShane SatoScott & Shelley Shinmoto

Joanne SooHooBeverly StapletonRoy & Pam SunadaEmiko TagamiBryan & Jeri TakedaMarion TaniAki TodaMitzi ToshimaRon & Jeannie ToshimaNancy ToyotaBob & Mae UchidaJoe & Agnes UchidaMitsie YanariRobert & Yukiko Yokoyama

PNS New Year Party Raffle Prize DonorsClifford ChingRon & Cindy DyoLouis InouyeWandy JungKathleen KubotaShig NishioBob & Barbara OkadaJoAnne Soo HooGeorge SugimotoMitzi Toshima

PNS Calendar of EventsApril 25.......PNS Luncheon at PJCI (subject to change)

May TBD....Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden TourMay 16.......Pasadena Buddhist Temple Fundraising DinnerMay 23.......PNS Luncheon at PJCI (subject to change)

June TBD...Temecula Blueberry Farm/Pechanga CasinoJune 6........Miss Pasadena JCI Matsuri BBQ at Pasadena Buddhist

TempleJune 18......Pala Casino Bus TripJune 20......PNS Luncheon at PJCI

Nancy ToyotaBob & Mae UchidaJohnny’s Sport ShopPasadena Buddhist TemplePasadena Buddhist

Womens AssociationPNS Craft Class/Social

GroupSansei Legacy Please call or email Ron Toshima (626-799-6684) or Ron Dyo to reserve space for

lunch.Contact Wade Utsunomiya about casino trips.