JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE HISTORY
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JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE HISTORY |
HISTORY OF THE CLEVELAND CHAPTER OF THE JACL
Cleveland Chapter of JACL was founded under the leadership of Abe Hagiwara and others in 1946. At that time, the membership numbered 145 and had the annual budget of $14,000. Joe Kadowaki, Henry Tanaka, Bill Sr. and Mary Sadataki., Ken Asamoto are remembered as the early leaders.
The chapter started its community newsletter, The Bulletin in 1946 also. It started as a mimeographed paper using a typewriter and stencil. It continues today written on a computer and is available on line at the chapter website, www.lkwdpl.org/jacl .
Traditionally, the program activities included bowling, Tennis club, picnic, Easter party with an Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween party, Christmas party, Bazaar known as Holiday Fair, Installation Dinner, Day of Remembrance and Scholarship Luncheon. JACL sponsored several elegant formal dances in the major hotel ballrooms in late 1950s and early 1960s.
There was a Women’s group known as Junior Matrons that provided social and educational programs for younger women. Many young Christian Niseis attended the Japanese Christian Fellowship group which offered religious education and social activities.
More recent programs include active community-wide presentations of traditional dancing by the Shojoji (children's) Dancers sponsored by the JACL Cleveland Chapter. The group was founded in the 1950’s by Linda Omura, Yoshiko Baker and Dolly Semonco. This dance troupe was active and well received in 1970s but it died down as the original group of children grew up and moved on but it was revived in mid 1990s by former dancers, Beverly (Hashiguchi) Kerecman and Nanci Taketa who are the current instructors. Again, they are in high demand for many cultural diversity programs countywide.
Even more recently, Taiko group was formed in Oberlin, twenty miles west of Cleveland under leadership of Roy Ebihara and others with the support of JACL board. It is very well received and in high demand. The group is offering a summer training seminar for the greater Clevelanders.
Under the strong leadership of Henry Tanaka, Edwin Ezaki and others, the Education committee presented an all day seminar for social study teachers on Japanese Internment Experiences in 2002 and the Speakers Bureau continues to be very active and in high demand.