Title:
Letter from Paul H. [Kusuda] to [Afton] Nance, 1943 May 9
Creator:
Kusuda, Paul H., 1922-
Subject:
Nance, Afton Dill
Japanese Americans-- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
Description:
Handwritten letter from Paul H. Kusuda to Afton Nance, 1943 May 9.
32 – 3 – 3 Manzanar Relocation Area Manzanar, California May? (Mother’s Day)
I can’t remember the date and I’m too lazy to get up to see. Dear Mrs. Nance, A few days ago, I received
your letter in which you stated that a package was on its way to me. I waited for it with open arms ---- and mouth. It came
a day late. Denk you. It was a nice package ---- contained four small jars of jelly, some wafers for horses dovers, small
cookies, hard candy, and a checkers set. I did not eat the board and checkers. It was really a good deal. Denk you again.
I game some of it away; so the contents are just about all gone now. It’s really amazing how quickly things to eat disappear.
It’s almost uncanny. The book arrived on the same day. I shall give it to the girl as soon as is convenient for me ---
perhaps today. She entered the hospital a couple of days ago and had her appendix yanked. I think that it was a case of
chronic appendicitis, but apparently, she decided to have a grand opening nevertheless. By the way, the name of the art student
(if I didn’t tell you before) is Miss Lily Yamada. If I feel energetic enough, I shall totter up to the hospital to visit.
May 12 Wednesday Well --- on Sunday, I visited Lily. She was very pleased to receive the book. Undoubtedly, she
will write to you if she hasn’t already done so. Apparently, you made a wise choice in the book which you purchased for her.
She didn’t expect such a gift, so she was really pleasantly surprised. Since I first started this note to you, a few more
of my acquaintances have left this Center. It seems as though a large number of people has relocated, but I have heard from
a fairly reliable source that only about two hundred have gone. That seems to be a small number out of 10,000 doesn’t it?
The time will come soon when most of the fine people will have left this Center (that will include PHK, of course!). Over
the weekend, Dr. Allen A. Hunter of the Hollywood Congregational Church, author of several books including “Out of the Far
East”, was visiting Manzanar. Saturday evening, I attended a gathering (about 35 to 40 people) and heard Dr. Hunter discuss
various topics. It was a little over my head (I’m still a youngster, you know) and I didn’t get too much out of it. I seriously
doubt whether very many others did. On Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m., a group of about ten of us (all crazy people, no doubt)
and Dr. Hunter met at a little stream which flows just inside the fence to the south of Manzanar. We meditated for an awfully
long time --- almost 45 minutes. It was all right, I suppose, but my gosh – I didn’t know what to meditate about. The wind
was blowing --- a cold north wind. I just about froze to the spot where I was standing. My nose almost fell off --- or so
I thought. It was a good experience, but ----! I shall write again soon. My – what a poor correspondent I am! Cordially,
Paul H.
Publisher:
Japanese American National Museum
Date:
1944 May 9
Type:
text
Format:
1 item ( 2 p. letter ) ; sheet 26 x 20 cm.
Identifier:
JANM_098
2001.175.74
Language:
eng
Relation:
Coverage:
Manzanar (Calif.)
Rights:
Copyrighted;
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in this collection must be submitted to the Hirasaki National Resource Center at
the Japanese American National Museum (hnrc@janm.org).
Japanese American National Museum
Letter from Paul H. [Kusuda] to [Afton] Nance, 1943 May 9