This day in history - February 19

[seamusTX]

1846 - The government of the newly admitted State of Texas was formally installed. The first governor was J. Pinckney Henderson.

Henderson had come to Texas in 1836, raised a company to fight for independence, served in the government of the Republic of Texas, and played a role in the state constitutional convention. He served one abbreviated term as governor, declining to run for re-election. He later was appointed to the U.S. Senate for a term that ended in 1858, when he died at the age of 50.

Unlike Austin, Houston, et al., his name has nearly vanished into history. There is a monument to him in San Augustine, where he lived for a time. The City of Henderson in East Texas is named for him.

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/ea ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1881 - Kansas added prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages to its state constitution.

No one in Kansas has suffered the ill effects of the demon rum since then.

1942 - Pres. Roosevelt ordered the internment of American citizens of Japanese ancestry.

1945 - U.S. Marines began the assault on Iwo Jima, a battle that would last over a month and result in nearly 7,000 American deaths.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[Rex B]

1964 - My lovely wife was born.

[Keith B]

1964 - My lovely wife was born.

Well, tell Mrs. Rex B Happy Birthday for us!!

[seamusTX]

Happy Birthday Mrs. B.

= Jim

[Rex B]

thanks, I will. She was installing a new set of Lasergrips when I left this morning.

[NcongruNt]

1942 - Pres. Roosevelt ordered the internment of American citizens of Japanese ancestry.

There's an interesting bit of my family history related to this.

When the internment of Japanese Americans occurred, masses of children were displaced from their parents. My grandparents on my father's side took in several of these children and cared for them as their own family. I have always had the utmost admiration for my grandparents for their incredible compassion and humanity, especially considering how tight resources were during WWII. The WWII generation truly is one we can all look up to.

My family was also involved in with efforts of ordinary citizens to provide some relief and support to soldiers going to war, traveling on trains across the country. There was a well-known stop in North Platte, Nebraska where the people from all around the region would bring food and items paid for and produced out of their own pockets for soldiers at this stop during their long trip, at all hours of the day and night. IIRC, not one train was missed during the entire war. The fact that these people saved their absolute best for these efforts (for example, families saving sugar for baking and cooking for soldiers, while relying on honey for their own needs) is awe-inspiring. It is difficult to imagine such an effort happening in this day and age. There's a book written on this very subject: Once Upon a Town, by Bob Greene. It's great reading, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Edited to add: There's a good article on the North Platte Canteen by NPR: http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/fea ... ne/greene/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[seamusTX]

Were Japanese-American children separated from their parents? I was under the impression that the children went to the camps as well.

Younger generations may not be aware of the intense hatred and fear Americans felt for all people and things Japanese after Pearl Harbor, even though Japanese Americans had absolutely nothing to do with it.

- Jim

[NcongruNt]

Were Japanese-American children separated from their parents? I was under the impression that the children went to the camps as well.

Younger generations may not be aware of the intense hatred and fear Americans felt for all people and things Japanese after Pearl Harbor, even though Japanese Americans had absolutely nothing to do with it.

- Jim

I don't have an immediate source to cite for you, but I've heard anecdotal evidence from several individuals that this is what happened in many cases. It's well-known in my family that my grandparents cared for displaced Japanese-American children. I'll see what I can find on the internets and from my relatives.

[NcongruNt]

Just talked to my aunt. She did not have a lot of detail, but her understanding is that they were given the option of working the farm (my family were farmers) instead of being in a camp. From what I can find, college-age Japanese-Americans at the time were sometimes given permission to attend school, provided that they stay within certain areas. It's possible that farm work (especially critical at the time) could have fallen under this kind of provision. I learned from a cousin that there were lots of camps in Nebraska at the time (POW and otherwise, as well), so the area my family was in may have made this possible.

They were 2 boys, teenage or perhaps early 20s, brothers or cousins. My aunt told me that that one of them was able to return to California (where his family had land), as someone had kept their land for them (instead of suffering terrible losses of mandatory quick-sale, as was a very common occurrence), and become quite successful there after the war. She said that from time to time he would send raisins and walnuts from his crops back to my family. She believes that he has since passed on, unfortunately.

[jimlongley]

The separation of the children from their parents varied greatly. My grandmother had a "house boy" in Hawaii before the war, who was nisei, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, he went to California to be with the rest of his family and then the government caught up with him, at first he was interred, and then he got drafted. Talk about adding insult to injury.

I spent a year in North Platte one week, and about the only things worthwhile that I could find during my off time was the Nebraskaland Days museum, and its exhibit about the North Platte Canteen. Actually I was up there to provide election support in the little town of Tryon, NE, but the only accomodations my company could find to put me up in were in North Platte.

A woman in Tryon, whose name had long since escaped me, told me she was one of the canteen workers late in the war, and that I should visit the museum and exhibit.

I also had lunch at the airport restaurant, which is quite the social gathering place there, and there was a great deal of memorabilia, and a woman working there who also said she worked in the canteen as a teenager.

I would go back to North Platte.