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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022 Issue 2 - Aoki & Wife Happy.pdfT he weight of so many expectations are on every new couple’s shoulders: family, societal, religious, and, not least of which, the hopes and aspirations of one another. When twenty-year-old Helen Gladys Emery and twenty-five- year-old Gunjiro Aoki met in 1908, they met as fellow students of Christianity. A year later, they launched an 800-mile trek up the West Coast, in search of a place where they could marry and settle among people who would accept their “interracial” marriage. Jeered and hooted by mobs in California and shunned by their friends, Helen and Gunjiro did find a more hospitable place in Seattle and Kennydale and, for a time, they were happy. Born in 1883 in Shinano, Japan, Gunjiro Aoki immigrated to San Francisco in 1902, where he was a student of philosophy and religion. His older brother, Rev. Peter Chojiro Aoki, had arrived two years earlier and was already an important figure in California Episcopalianism.1 Peter arranged for Gunjiro to work and study Christianity with Rev. John Abbott Emery, archdeacon of the Episcopal diocese of San Francisco. Gunjiro served as a domestic worker in Rev. Emery’s home in Corte Madera, while studying with the archdeacon.2 Emery’s wife RENTON HISTORICALSOCIETY & MUSEUM Spring March 2022 Volume 53 Number 2 Continued on page 5 “AOKI & WIFE HAPPY QUARTERLY By: Elizabeth P. Stewart With This Ring on exhibit now at Renton History Museum. President's Message, by Jessica Kelly, President. Museum Report by Elizabeth P. Stewart, Director. Also In This Issue... 2 43 8 Collection Report by Sarah Samson, Curator. “ 2 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM Exhibit opens MARCH 2 MUSEUM RECEIVES KING COUNTY GRANT The museum has received a one-time grant from King County Council and Councilmember Reagan Dunn for $2,500. The much-needed funds will go toward purchasing new shelving that will be used for artifact storage in our offsite storage location. The new shelving represents another step in our collection storage improvements that enable the museum to better care for historic artifacts. Late in 2021 Councilmember GEORGE MANO (1930-2022) We are sad to note the passing of one of Renton’s significant community members, George Mano. George was the son of Kikujiro and Riki Mano, owners of Earlington Greenhouse 1938–1995. The Mano’s were incarcerated in Minidoka Detention Center in Idaho during WWII with 9400 other Japanese. After WWII, he completed a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Dunn was able to stop by the museum in person to deliver the check and see the museum's exhibits. We appreciate the ongoing support of the King County Council and Councilmember Dunn! and then launched a 32- year career at Boeing. The Manos have been generous in sharing their family history with the Museum—his loss is a profound one. W ith This Ring is a historical look at marriage in Renton in all its richness, from finding a partner to weddings to working partnerships to same-sex unions. Using objects and photos from our collection, including many wedding gowns, this exhibit begins with the difficulties of finding a partner in a mostly male frontier town and shows the ways in which happy marriages helped solidify the community. With This Ring is the product of many years of research into Renton’s varied unions—happy and not-so-happy—and the remarkable stories surrounding them. Museum Reopening Call for Reservations With ringthis George with wife Irene, ca. 1955 SPRING QUARTERLY, 2022 | 3 MUSEUM REPORT QUARTERLY Spring 2022 Elizabeth P. Stewart Director T his month we opened an exhibit titled With This Ring, about the history of marriage in Renton. Using objects, photos, and clothing from our collection, this exhibit lays out the many marriage stories Curator Sarah Samson and I have been collecting over the years. From happy sixty-year unions to contentious divorces to marriages interrupted by war, these stories showcase the ways in which our individual decisions begin to make up a community’s history. And we get to display a row of beautiful wedding gowns! (Renton men, we are looking for your wedding attire.) Whatever we look for in a partner, our marital decisions are based on fulfilling our day-to-day needs, family expectations, social obligations, and our goals and aspirations. So when young Fred Smithers eloped with Annie Dillon, he could not withstand his mother’s disapproval and the couple divorced. Alice Ludvigson was approaching “old maid” status in 1919 when she met and quickly married Louis Hilton, little suspecting that he was more interested in her money than in a happy match. Closer to the present, Rentonites Kevin Poole and Bryce Miller worked long and hard to legalize their loving union and a Supreme Court decision in 2013 finally made that possible. This newsletter’s feature article about the marriage of Gunjiro and Helen Aoki showcases the remarkable pressures some couples must withstand. Married in 1909, at a time when many states actually barred marriage between whites and people of Asian descent, Gunjiro and Helen faced constant scrutiny, public disapproval (sometimes violently expressed), and continual newspaper coverage. Every decision they made together—finding a place to live, purchasing a home, securing a job, having children—was shaped by the racist restrictions of their time, and yet they made their marriage work for twenty years. Their story tells us a lot about how larger societal issues shape what we do, and how our individual choices can create resistance to the worst social pressures. These are the kind of stories we love to bring to Rentonites, ones that help us all learn more about the past, make sense of the present, and shape our vision for a better future. by Elizabeth P. Stewart, Museum Director RENTON HISTORICAL QUARTERLY Sarah Samson Graphic Design & Layout Karl Hurst City of Renton Print & Mail Services RENTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jessica Kelly, President Colleen Lenahansen, Vice Pres. Staci VanderPol, Secretary Daryl Delaurenti, Treasurer Lynne King, 2022 Rhea Kimble, 2022 Mike Lennox, 2022 Laura Clawson, 2023 Amy Elizabeth Gorton, 2023 Maryann DiPasquale, 2024 Elizabeth Stewart, Board Liaison MUSEUM STAFF Elizabeth P. Stewart Museum Director Sarah Samson Curator of Collections & Exhibitions Stephanie Snyder Museum Office Aide RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM 235 MILL AVENUE S RENTON, WA 98057 P (425) 255-2330 F (425) 255-1570 HOURS: Wednesday - Friday 10:00am - 4:00pm ADMISSION: $5 (Adult) $2 (Child) Research for this exhibit actually helped us uncover the identity of "Mysterious Mattie," an unidentified bride in nine historic photos. Watch for that story in June! As you can see from this Facebook comment we recieved about preparing for With This Ring, you can't please all the people all the time, but we try to explore enough different topics in the course of a year that lots of people can find things to enjoy. 4 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE W e are looking for new Board Members. With three members finishing their terms this summer, we have open positions available. Truly, the best way to find out if you’d like to share your time and talents is to join us for a Board Meeting - meet us, ask questions, and experience what we do in real time. We meet on the last Tuesdays of the month (contact us for the Zoom link). If you want to join the board, contact us to request an application. We look forward to meeting you! Recently, we had the pleasure of holding a Valentine’s Bouquet fundraiser, selling beautiful flower bouquets contributed by AE Events & Design to raise money for the museum. Our Fundraising Committee tapped into the talents of Amy Elizabeth Gorton to create this event primarily to raise funds, but we loved how much we were able to interact with the community and encourage their interest in coming to the new exhibit, With This Ring, which opened three weeks later. It was a successful event, and we look forward to creating more new ways to fundraise and increase the awareness about the museum. Looking forward, we see a year full of great opportunities to support the museum. We are working to put together a larger fundraising event for the fall. We continue to care for our collection; it is ever growing out of the space we currently have for it. Updating our capability to communicate with our current and future members is also a huge win – we recently purchased a new tool to give our members the ability to renew their membership online, along with other much-needed features. We hope to have that feature fully operational soon. One of those features is giving us more options to reach out to the community, as our Outreach Committee works on a strategy to increase awareness about the museum. We also have a few of our members working to update our Bylaws and policies. It is an amazing time to be providing support to our excellent museum – amazing exhibits to showcase our diverse history, staff with extremely experienced research skills and more, the list goes on… Join us! by Jessica Kelly, Board President Jessica Kelly President Board member Amy Elizabeth Gorton (right) and her business, AE Events & Design, contributed beautiful bouquets that were sold to raise funds for the museum. SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: RHS acknowledges we RHS acknowledges we are on the unceded are on the unceded traditional land of traditional land of the Duwamish people. the Duwamish people. A people forced to A people forced to relocate, but who have relocate, but who have persevered.persevered. The Museum views the history of Renton to include since time immemorial to today and is committed to exploring that through its partnerships, exhibits and programs. A few of the lovely bouquets made by AE Events & Design. SPRING QUARTERLY, 2022 | 5 Sophronia and his daughter Helen were also living, working, and studying with Gunjiro. Young Helen Gladys Emery quickly fell for the serious student. The two began a cautious courtship, knowing that their parents, the church, and their friends would not approve. When Rev. Emery noticed their “growing intimacy,” Gunjiro found a position elsewhere, rather than leave a misimpression, but the couple continued meeting.3 Gunjiro and Helen fell in love at a time of rabid anti- Japanese feeling in California. As early as the Naturalization Act of 1870, Japanese immigrants were designated permanent aliens and as such had no access to many of the protections Americans could expect. Alien land laws barred them from owning property and employers freely discriminated against people of Asian descent. All this stemmed from a constellation of racist fears anchored in the belief that Japanese were inferior as a race and that intermarriage would weaken the “white race.” So when Helen broached the subject of marriage with her parents, their immediate response was shock and opposition. Rev. Emery sent his daughter on a three-month European tour, but the courtship continued by letter. The three-month cooling-off period did give her mother time to think, however, and when Helen returned, still insistent on marriage, Sophronia’s heart had softened.4 Continued from page 1 Cover photo: Article in the Seattle Times, 20 Jun 1909, p.57. (Left) Headline from the San Francisco Call, 25 Mar 1909, p.1. (Right) Headline from the San Francisco Call, 25 Mar 1909, p.2. Helen’s mother described her own evolution of anti- racist thinking. “My daughter loves Mr. Aoki…and that ends it as far as we are concerned…. The arguments against his color and his birth are petty and unchristian,” she told reporters. “His color or his position is immaterial to me, and it would be un-Christian [sic] for me to allow them to interfere with my daughter’s happiness.”5 Her position was courageous at a time when their friends had begun to reject them and crowds of young men had started gathering in front of their home. “Nowhere else but in California would there be so much uproar over a marriage of this character,” Sophronia asserted. “In this state, with its petty, childish, blind hatred of the Japanese race, [these objections] can only be heard.”6 But as their engagement advanced, Rev. Emery could not be reconciled with the idea of his daughter marrying a Japanese man. Rev. Emery stopped coming home; his wife and daughter were on their own to face the mob. When they discovered that the state of California would not issue a license for a wedding between a white woman and a Japanese man, Sophronia helped the couple prepare for a pilgrimage to find a more hospitable home.7 Newspaper stories trace their quest to find a state that would enable them to become man and wife.8 At every stop on “AOKI & WIFE HAPPY “ 6 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM the Northern Pacific line, angry crowds awaited them. First, they tried Salem, Oregon, but a friend alerted them about the waiting crowd and they got back on the train. The three stopped in Portland, where the Mayor threatened the couple with arrest if they tried to get a license.9 They were met at Tacoma by Rev. Emery, who had decided it was his responsibility to see his daughter safely settled, however much he opposed her decision.10 Finally, on their arrival in Seattle, they found no excitement or “unusual demonstration.”11 Rev. Emery had arranged for the couple to be wed on a steamer in international waters, but at the last minute, Rev. H. H. Gowen at Seattle's Trinity Episcopal Church agreed to perform the service. The two quickly secured a marriage license and were married at 11:45 am at Trinity Church. Their wedding party consisted of Mrs. Emery and Helen’s father, “against his strongly protested opposition,” and hotel proprietor J. W. Sunada.12 The ceremony having been safely completed, Rev. Emery got back on the train home, “a heart-broken man.”13 “I came north for the sole purpose of seeing that she was legally married,” he said. “I do not care to talk of her choice or of the man except to say that the whole thing is to be regretted.”14 His unwillingness to come around essentially ended his marriage; although it does not appear they ever divorced, Sophronia Emery stayed with the Aokis for the rest of her life.15 The Aokis heard no end of experts explaining why their marriage was wrong, and Sophronia, Helen, and Gunjiro repeatedly expressed themselves mystified about why anyone would care.16 They steadfastly maintained that the marriage was a private matter, and beyond the admonition that judging people by their race or color was unchristian, they refused to engage with the anti-Japanese prejudice. For his part, Rev. Gowen, the officiating minister, said, “The way in which public sentiment has expressed itself in this particular case has not been creditable to the usual American sense of fair play or chivalry towards those who act contrary to the general trend of public opinion.”17 The bride and groom made their plans, heedless of the opinions of others. Hoping to start a chicken ranch, they looked at property along the Renton streetcar line in the Atlantic City, Rainier Valley, Dunlap, and Kennydale neighborhoods, as well as Bellevue. In April, they chose “a two-story cottage painted white, with considerable ground around it for a garden and chicken coops, at Cade Station, in Dunlap.”18 The situation sounded idyllic, but it was the beginning of a pattern of settling and moving. There were several reasons for this. Because Japanese were barred from owning real estate in Washington state, the Aokis had a third party purchase the home, a situation rife with opportunities for fraud.19 And while they were house- hunting, “they attracted such attention on the [street] car that quickly the story of their house-hunting overspread the entire country.”20 “I don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Aoki will be invited to many social functions here this summer,” declared one neighbor.21 By June they were looking further north on the Eastside. They had often visited Gunjiro’s friends at a neighborhood near Bellevue, “the nucleus of an American- Japanese colony that believes in the closest kind of domestic as well as foreign relations between the two races.”22 Numerous interracial couples had settled there, with the aim of “demonstrating to the world in the most striking fashion possible The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California) · Tue, Nov 28, 1922 · Page 11https://www.newspapers.com/image/457839464 Printed on Mar 1, 2022 Copyright © 2022 Newspapers.com. All Rights Reserved. The Aoki family, 1922. Back row (L-R): Donald, Helen, and Sophonia. Front row: John, Dorothy, Gunjiro, and baby Connie. (San Francisco Examiner, 28 Nov 1922, p.11.) Inset: headline from the Oakland Tribune, 14 Jul 1910, p.2. Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California) · Thu, Jul 14, 1910 · Page 2 https://www.newspapers.com/image/78013264 Printed on Mar 2, 2022 Copyright © 2022 Newspapers.com. All Rights Reserved. SPRING QUARTERLY, 2022 | 7 that the two races are really equal.”23 “We respect other people’s views and do not inflict ourselves on them,” insisted Mrs. J. C. Matsura, a resident of the neighborhood.24 In July Helen and Gunjiro had settled in Kennydale, another racially and ethnically diverse community. Again, they had chosen a cozy cottage with several acres of land where they raised vegetables, chickens, and several cows. Here they welcomed the birth of their first daughter, named Sophronia Frances after Helen’s supportive mother.25 The birth of her daughter created an opportunity for Helen to try—once again—to reconcile her father to her little family, but it was also the occasion for more comment on the issue of miscegenation, a pejorative set of beliefs about the inferiority of children of interracial marriages.26 “The birth of the child brought the couple a new and even more unenviable prominence,” one reporter observed (without evidence).27 If the writer meant that having children opened the Aokis up to new scrutiny, he was correct. The couple left Kennydale sometime in 1910, and wherever they moved next—Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sonoma County—there was a newspaper or an expert waiting for evidence that their marriage was falling apart or that their children were mentally disabled. Newspapers made allegations of abuse that the couple would then deny, or post rumors about an impending break-up.28 In one case, a few days after their one-year wedding anniversary the Seattle Times published a spurious Seattle Post-Intelligencer piece alongside their reporting that refuted it. “Emery and Aoki Marriage Given Up as Failure,” the P-I headline shouted; “Morning Paper Fakes Story of Aoki Separation” countered the Seattle Times.29 It is no wonder, then, that this twenty-two-year-old new mother might crumple under the nonstop scrutiny of those who would enforce the racial order.30 In May 1910 Helen relocated to Carson City, Nevada with her mother and baby, to establish residency that would allow her to divorce Gunjiro quickly.31 She started divorce proceedings in June 1910, charging desertion and nonsupport.32 But a few days later, the two had reconciled and had decided to settle in Los Angeles. Still, her stress was evident: “Do you suppose I would have decided to continue to live with Mr. Aoki if I did not love him?” she snapped at one reporter.34 Their move to California seemed to cement the relationship, even if the press continued to wait for their marriage to fall apart. Newspapers commented on their supposed poverty and Gunjiro’s inability to make a living. At a time in which market gardening was assumed to be the highest aspiration for a Japanese man in the U.S., Gunjiro was an intellectual who sought to make his living with his mind. In Los Angeles he worked as a realtor and an interpreter; in the 1920s he started his own business as a psychologist in an Eastern tradition.35 The Aokis had four more children: John (b. 1910); Dorothy (b. 1912); Donald (b. 1914); and Mary Constance (b. 1919).36 By 1925 the two had a ranch in Geyserville, Sonoma County, and were regularly mentioned in the newspaper’s social columns as they entertained prominent Sonoma residents.37 Things had finally settled down for the Aokis. The last attack their marriage sustained was the news in 1922 that four of their children—baby Connie was too young—had scored at the genius level on the then-standard Continued on page 10 The Aoki children (L-R): Donald, Sophronia, baby Connie, Dorothy, and John, 1922. (Seattle Star, 4 Dec 1922, p.9) 8 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM S teaming, ironing, padding, pinning, sewing and so much more! This is a short list of the tasks required to get garments ready to go on exhibit. For our current exhibit, With This Ring, I spent about two weeks preparing the eleven garments on display and fitting them to their dress forms. Prior to that, all the wedding-associated garments had to be assessed to see which were in good enough condition to be able to withstand being exhibited. Long story short, it is not a quick process behind the scenes making exhibits happen when garments are involved. One of the trickiest parts of exhibit work is finding and augmenting dress forms to fit historic garments. As consistent and adequate nutrition became more readily available in the U.S. over the past century, the average height of Americans has risen sharply, as has our corresponding width. Adults on average were 3-4” shorter in the late 1800s. In a previous exhibit I had to use a twelve-year-old’s dress form to display an adult’s WWI uniform. Modern dress forms look like modern Americans, COLLECTIONS REPORT by Sarah Samson, Curator of Collections & Exhibitions which is great! It is, however, a huge issue when you’re trying to fit an early 1900s wedding dress for a woman who was barely 5’ tall and wore a corset. Fitting historic clothing gets even trickier when you factor in that the dress forms can’t move their shoulder blades like we do when we pull a shirt on over our heads. Combine that with the fact that historic clothing is almost never stretchy, and a fair amount of the time doesn’t include closures (like zippers or eye hooks). The end result is that even if the clothing would fit on a particular dress form, you can’t actually get it safely onto said dress form. (Are you screaming yet? Because I sure was!) I have been through this process many times now and, thankfully, I made sure to give myself that two weeks of prep time to safely get our garments onto the dress forms. The above photos are of a 1942 satin wedding dress worn by Mary Eleanore O’Brien Tomalin. This dress would have fit on a dress form one size larger but with the shoulders unable to move, I was unable to safely use that size form. The photo of the left shows what the dress looked like on the smaller dress form without any augmentation. The second photo shows what the dress looked like with the dress form’s torso built up in size using cotton batting. The third photo shows the dress ready for exhibit after adding arms. Seven of the dresses in With This Ring required some level of special fitting and four of them were quite tricky. Fortunately, I like problem-solving and puzzles, because each dress is its own conundrum. It takes a lot of trial and error and patience—this is not a process you can rush. Hopefully I’ve done our dresses justice and when you come see them, I hope they help tell the story of Renton’s history. Sarah Samson Curator MEMORIAL DONATIONS November 16, 2021 - February 28, 2022 Lewis Argano Steve & Lynn Anderson Susie Bressan Steve & Lynn Anderson Harley Brumbaugh Linda Aitken Bob & Olive Corey Janet Henkle Margaret Feaster Linda Aitken Ila Hemm Jeff & Charli Lee Tom & Beth Kirksey Elizabeth P. Stewart Don Persson Nick Vacca Richard Illian Donovan J. Lynch Pearl Lindberg-Burrows Donovan J. Lynch Peter Newing Deborah Newing MEMORIAL DONATIONS OF $100 OR MORE Bill Anardi Darlene Bjornstad Janet Blencoe Pearl & Don Jacobson Douglas Cobb Glenn Knowle Margaret Feaster Nancy Fairman Joanne Henry Jim & Fran Bourasa Donna Kerr Nelson Orville Nelson DONATIONS OF $10,000 OR MORE Eda & Teresa Pozzobon Fund, Renton Regional Community Foundation DONATIONS OF $1000 OR MORE Marlene & Roger Winter DONATIONS OF $500 OR MORE Andee Jorgensen Community Fund, Renton Regional Community Foundation Dave & Monica Brethauer Stephen & Theresa Clymer Lydia Delmore Nancy Fairman Renton High School Old Timers' Alumni Association Dana & John Rocher DONATIONS OF $100 OR MORE Norm & Carol Abrahamson Jim & Char Baker Kory Ball Black Diamond Historical Society Jim & Fran Bourasa Don Burrows Cynthia M. Buster-Burns Janet Christiansen Julie Curtis Charles & Jeanette Delaurenti Daryl Delaurenti Deloris M. Dewing Dorothy M. Finley Shari Fisher Stanley Greene Barbara Horton Derric & Irma Iles Mike & Keiko Intlekofer Charlie & Mary Isaacson In honor of Louise George's 104th birthday Charles & Karen Jones Lynne & Mike King Bill & Jennifer Kombol Phillip Lobaizo Donovan J. Lynch Richard Major Gerald & Mary Marsh Stefanie McIrvin Sue & Mike Moeller Fay A. Moss Armondo & Angela Pavone Sandra A. Polley Mary Riley Sally Rochelle Dana Rollison Basil Simpson Karen Uitting DONATIONS Steve & Lynn Anderson In honor of Daisy Ward's 91st birthday Joseph Adriano Carol Howard Aguayo Joy Allison Al & Shirley Armstrong Marjorie Avolio Lee & Judy Baker Pam Barei Diana Bartley Laurie & Brent Beden Nancy & Paul Berry Carolyn Boatsman Lynn Bohart Andy Boissonneau Karen Boswell Glenn & Janet Bressan Mary Lou Burdulis Dian Burrows Bradley Campbell Donna Chevalier Betty Childers & Steven Denison Laura Clawson Ron & Sharon Clymer Gene & Judy Craig Rich & Linda DeCample Doug & Marcia Delaurenti Fred & Gloria Delaurenti Jeff Dineen Michael Dire In honor of the Class of‘58 Kate Dugdale Paul & Nancy Duke Diana Durman Marilyn Edlund Karren Emmons Dorothy M. Finley Patricia L. Flattum Joy Garner Amy Elizabeth Gorton Janet Rae Graham Katie Harshbarger Dan Hemenway Philip R. Hoge Barb Horton Monica Jeppesen Nathan Jones Lynne King Reba Lawrence Shirley Lindberg Roberta Logue Pete Maas Jenan McNeight David Metz Lucy Miller Brian Mishler Beth Mitcham Tom & Linda Morris Meris Mullaley Marsha Nissen Judith Peters John & Joyce Peterson Tom Pratt Craig Preston Marilyn Ragle Marsh & Fran Remillard Lauren E. Ross Anne Rush Steven Shark Susan Sommer SPRING QUARTERLY, 2022 | 9 Linda Knowle Glenn Knowle Peter Newing Hazel Newing Shirley Newing Hazel Newing John Nissen Glenn Knowle Don Persson Delores Christianson Terry & Dennis Higashiyama Jim Sundvall Carolyn Sundvall St. Charles Place Antiques Sally & Joe Steiner Bree Stendal Elizabeth P. Stewart Neil & Margaret Storey Jenny & Greg Swanson Dee Thierry Jana Tobacco Irene Tonkin Bernard Unti Jon VanderMeulen Amy Ward Marjorie Wickham Mary P. Wittman David Yotsuuye MATCHING DONATIONS Facebook Foundation IN-KIND DONATIONS McCorkle & Associates 10 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM IQ test. News of the test seemed to serve as evidence that the old fear of miscegenation—multiracial children supposedly weakening the white race—was incorrect, an assertion that many others felt compelled to refute. Once again, the Aoki family was at the center of a debate not of their own making. They wisely refused to comment, although they did pose for some lovely pictures of the whole family.38 But by 1930 the couple was living in separate houses, Helen with her mother in Berkeley and Gunjiro in San Francisco. Helen told the census-taker that she was a widow, a sure sign that the couple had decisively split.39 Gunjiro died in San Francisco on Feb. 6, 1932, aged 54.40 Eighteen months later, Helen applied to restore her citizenship, lost when she married an unnaturalized man; she also petitioned to change her name to “Oakie” and had her children’s last names changed as well.41 We can speculate about whether she intended the name change to erase her Japanese connection or to shake journalists permanently. In 1934 Helen Oakie married Lindley Eddy, official photographer for Sequoia National Park. The two moved to Grass Valley, CA with her daughter Connie and mother Sophronia. The family lived quietly, although local papers reported often on their travels to visit sons John Oakie, Donald Oakie, and, later, Connie Oakie Cunningham. Sophronia died in 1936, aged 80, and Helen’s second husband Lindley died in 1944. When Helen died in July 1947, there was no mention in her obituary of her past notoriety as a party to the first Japanese- white marriage recorded in California.42 END NOTES Newspapers in 1909 did not hesitate to use anti-Japanese slurs as common usage. We have not reproduced those in the text, but have left them in newspaper headlines, as a reminder of the climate of the times. 1 “Will Quit State to Wed Aoki,” San Francisco Call, 24 Mar 1909, p.1. 2 “Archdeacon’s Daughter Engaged to Japanese,” Seattle Times, 11 Mar 1909, p.2; “Will Quit State to Wed Aoki,” San Francisco Call, 24 Mar 1909, p.1. 3 “White Girl is Wed to Jap in Seattle,” Seattle Star, 27 Mar 1909, p.7. 4 “Will Quit State to Wed Aoki,” San Francisco Call, 24 Mar 1909, p.1. 5 “Will Quit State to Wed Aoki,” San Francisco Call, 24 Mar 1909, p.2. 6 “Will Quit State to Wed Aoki,” San Francisco Call, 24 Mar 1909, p.2. 7 “Will Quit State to Wed Aoki,” San Francisco Call, 24 Mar 1909, p.1; “Helen Emery Leaves Home Amid Angry Throng’s Hisses,” San Francisco Call, 25 Mar 1909, p.1; “Tin Can Tied to Cupid’s Wing,” Seattle Times, 25 Mar 1909, p.1; “Girl’s Love for Oriental Wrecks Home of Her Father,” Seattle Times, 28 Mar 1909, p.1+. 8 “Girl Arrives to Wed Jap,” Seattle Times, 26 Mar 1909, p.1; “Father Emery Has Charge of Bridal Party,” San Francisco Call, 27 Mar 1909, p.5. 9 “Woman Balks at Wedding,” San Francisco Call, 24 Mar 1909, p.2. The day before, Portland police made a great show of arresting Stella Hurns and S. Matuoka as they arrived from California, intending to marry. Mrs. Hurns changed her mind about the wedding after the arrest. 10 “Girl Arrives to Wed Jap,” Seattle Times, 26 Mar 1909, p.1. 11 “Father Emery Has Charge of Bridal Party,” San Francisco Call, 27 Mar 1909, p.5. 12 “Jap Weds Archdeacon’s Daughter; Married by Dr. Gowen of Trinity Church,” Seattle Times, 27 Mar 1909, p.1. 13 “Girl’s Love for Oriental Wrecks Home of Her Father,” Seattle Times, 28 Mar 1909, p.1+. 14 “Jap Weds Archdeacon’s Daughter,” Seattle Times, 27 Mar 1909, p.2; “Girl’s Love for Oriental Wrecks Home of Her Father,” Seattle Times, 28 Mar 1909, p.1+. 15 Sophronia Emery began telling census-takers she was widowed as early as 1910, indicating her belief that her marriage was over. 1910 Oakland census. Rev. Emery died in London in 1922, on a yearlong European tour, during which he was reportedly working on his memoirs. He was buried in London. His obituaries do not mention his wife or his only daughter. “Archdeacon in Dead in Europe.” Oakland Tribune, 18 Nov 1922, p.5; “Archdeacon Emery Dies in London,” San Francsico Chronicle, 18 Nov 1922, p.11. 16 “Girl’s Love for Oriental Wrecks Home of Her Father,” Seattle Times, 28 Mar 1909, p.1+; “Marriage Was Wrong Says Matthews,” Seattle Times, 28 Mar 1909, p.3. 17 “Rev. H. H. Gowen, Who Explains his Religious Duties; Divine Defends Marrying Aoki to Miss Emery,” Seattle Times, 29 Mar 1909, p.1. 18 “Aokis Find Home in Seattle Suburb,” Seattle Times, 10 Apr 1909, p.1. 19 “Happy with Aoki, Says White Wife,” San Francisco Call,” 12 Apr 1909, p.1. Aoki paid a realtor to purchase the property for him and then paid the shadow owner back and received “some sort of deed.” 20 “Aokis Find Home in Seattle Suburb,” Seattle Times, 10 Apr 1909, p.1. 21 “Happy with Aoki, Says White Wife,” San Francisco Call,” 12 Apr 1909, p.1. 22 H. L. K. “How American Women and Japanese Husbands Live in Lake Washington Colony,” Seattle Times Magazine, 20 Jun 1909, p.5. Like many integrated neighborhoods in the first half of the twentieth century, this neighborhood never really evolved a name. 23 H. L. K. “How American Women and Japanese Husbands Live in Lake Washington Colony,” Seattle Times Magazine, 20 Jun 1909, p.5. Continued from page 7 24 H. L. K. “How American Women and Japanese Husbands Live in Lake Washington Colony,” Seattle Times Magazine, 20 Jun 1909, p.5. 25 “Mrs. Helen Aoki Now Proud Mother,” Seattle Times, 24 Jul 1909, p.1; “Daughter is Born to White Wife of Aoki,” San Francisco Call, 25 Jul 1909, p.17. The birth of the couple’s daughter four months after their wedding may explain some of the archdeacon’s misgivings, as well as his eventual supervision of the wedding ceremony itself. 26 “Aoki, Bride and Child Reach City,” San Francisco Call, 3 Nov 1909, p.1. 27 “Aoki, Bride and Child Reach City,” San Francisco Call, 3 Nov 1909, p.1. 28 “Aoki Denies Matrimonial Difficulties,” Seattle Times, 26 Dec 1909, p.3; “Wife of Japanese Seeks Forgiveness,” Seattle Times, 28 Dec 1909, p.4; “Aoki and Wife May Go to California,” Seattle Times, 27 Jan 1910, p.2. 29 “Morning Paper Fakes Story of Aoki Separation,” Seattle Times, 31 Mar 1910, p.1. 30 The Aokis were under constant surveillance; on the train on the way to Salt Lake City for their honeymoon, fellow passengers asked the porter to eject the two for their affectionate conduct. “Aoki Creates Sensation on Passenger Train,” Seattle Times, 17 Apr 1909, p.12; “Aoki and White Wife Travel to Salt Lake,” San Francisco Call, 18 Apr 1909, p. 39. 31 “Mrs. Gunjiro Aoki A Resident of This City,” Daily Appeal (Carson City, NV), 26 May 1910, p. 1. 32 “Mrs. Aoki Sues for Divorce in Nevada,” Seattle Times, 7 Jun 1910, p. 21. 33 “Aokis Depart for Family Home Here,” San Francisco Examiner, 18 Jun 1910, p.8; “Aoki and Wife Happy in Their Reconciliation,” Seattle Times, 19 Jun 1910, p.1; “Gunjairo [sic] Aoki Wins Back Wife,” Daily Bonanza (Tonopah, NV), 19 Jun 1910, p.1. 34 “Aokis Depart for Family Home Here,” San Francisco Examiner, 18 Jun 1910, p.8. 35 1914 Los Angeles City Directory; 1916 Los Angeles City Directory; “American and Japanese Blood Bring Genius,” Oakland Tribune, 28 Nov 1922, p.17; Advertisement, Oakland Tribune, 14 Aug 1923, p.24. 36 U.S. Federal Naturalization, Petition for Citizenship for Helen Gladys Aoki, 1933. 37 Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), 24 Jul 1925, p.9; “Home from Tahoe,” Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), 4 Sep 1925, p.10. 38 “American and Japanese Blood Brings Genius,” Oakland Tribune, 28 Nov 1922, p.17; “Progeny of Jap-White Union Amaze,” San Francisco Examiner, 28 Nov 1922, p.11. The Japanese Exclusion League countered that “American children still retain their supremacy in the matter of intelligence.” “Eurasian Not Super-Child, League Holds,” San Francisco Examiner, 17 Dec 1922, p.70. 39 1930 Berkeley, CA census; 1930, San Francisco, CA census; 1920 Oakland, CA census. Helen’s last name was listed as “Oaki” in 1930. 40 Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), 20 Feb 1932, p.5; “Japanese Who Wed Daughter of Bishop Dies,” Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA), 20 Feb 1932, p.5. Gunjiro’s great-niece Brenda Wong Aoki, actor, storyteller, and playwright, has preserved the family history in a play and stories; see “Uncle Gunjiro’s Girlfriend by Brenda Wong Aoki,” Historylink Essay #7716, 1 Apr 2006, https://historylink.org/File/7716, accessed on 1 Mar 2022. 41 U.S. Federal Naturalization, Petition for Citizenship for Helen Gladys Aoki, 1933. For more on expatriated women, see Sarah Samson, “Unwilling Expatriates,” Renton History Museum Quarterly Newsletter, Sep 2017, p.1+. 42 “Graveside Rites Set For Tomorrow,” Visalia (CA) Times, 10 Nov 1936, p.1; “Lindley Eddy, Former Sequoia Photographer Dies,” Visalia (CA) Times, 7 Jun 1944, p.7; “Helen Gladys Eddy Funeral Rites Held,” Visalia (CA) Times, 1 Aug 1947, p.4. SPRING QUARTERLY, 2022 | 11 MEMBERSHIP FORM Please select a membership level: Individual $30 Student/Senior $20 Family $40 Benefactor $75 Patron $150 Business/Corporate $175 Life membership $750 Basic memberships Sustaining memberships Name: Address: Phone: Payment information Visa or MC #: Exp. date: Signature: Please make checks payable to Renton Historical Society. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation! Your donations help us provide new exhibits and exciting programs. 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I t d o e s n o t c o v e r t h e r i g h t s f e e w h i c h i s c h a r g e d s e p a r a t e l y . Renton History Museum 235 Mill Avenue South Renton, WA 98057 Phone: 425.255.2330 Fax: 425.255.1570 rentonhistory.org CVV code: Total: $ GIVING TUESDAY FUNDRAISER Robin Adams Karen Adams Thomas Kathy Agapov Trish Ajamie Andrew Andyb Lynn Bohart Dan Clawson Eric Cumley Erin Davis Daryl Delaurenti Gloria Delaurenti Maryann DiPasquale Kathy Dirks Kate Dugdale Ila Eells Mike Espinosa Amy Elizabeth Gorton Christine Green Beth Greggs Laurie Gutenberg Chris Johnson Shelley Johnston Lynne King Jolene Lea Jerry Lenahan Katie Lenahan Colleen Lenahansen Allyson Mixer Colleen Monahan Jean Munro Chelsea Nelson Milla Nizar Julie Pearse Julie Perez Ginny Rabago Derek Redline Vera Risdon Linda Steves Elizabeth P. Stewart Jack Sturm Debra Trail Dorothy Westlund Lisa Yamasaki NEW MEMBERS Glenn Knowle Doug & Marcia Delaurenti Molly & Lena McIrvin Debbie Faull-Schwarz & Dennis Schwarz John Suzick William Yeckel BUSINESS MEMBERS The Lakeshore PATRON MEMBERS Jennifer Davis Hayes Terry & Dennis Higashiyama Renee Lund BENEFACTOR MEMBERS Karl Hurst Judy Matson Mary P. Wittman Sonja Mejlaender GIFT MEMBERSHIP DONORS Al Armstrong Margaret Gambill Glenn Garrett Barbara Horton Judy Leu Stefanie McIrvin RHM PINTEREST PAGE Want to delve further into the topics covered in our exhibits? Check out our Pinterest! Our staff regularly updates Pinterest boards that correspond with ongoing exhibits. Currently, we’re featuring a “History of Marriage in Washington” board to accompany With This Ring, with photos and stories about topics of interest such as mail order brides, married women in the workplace during the Great Depression, and activists who fought for marriage rights and benefits for LGBTQ+ couples in the 1970s and beyond. We’re also currently featuring a Black History Month board and boards based on past exhibits. We look forward to adding an Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage board this upcoming May. Connect with us at https:// www.pinterest.com/ rentonhistorymuseum! RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM 235 Mill Ave. S Renton, WA 98057 Mary Jane Adams and Mike LaJoy on their wedding day at St. Anthony's Church, 1955. (RHM# 1998.027.4944) IN HINDSIGHT...