Inventory of the Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides SPC.2021.014

Jennifer Hill

California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections

2021-05-28

University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)

1000 E. Victoria St.

Carson, CA 90747

archives@csudh.edu

URL: https://www.csudh.edu/libarchives/

Contributing Institution: California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections

Title: Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides

Identifier/Call Number: SPC.2021.014

Physical Description: 229 Megabytes 231 jpeg files

Date (inclusive): 1930-1994

Date (bulk): 1955-1956

Abstract: This collection includes digitized negatives, photographs, and presentation board from the Blue Circles, Little Misses, and Jr. Misses social organizations. The presentation board consists of images from the 1930s and 1990s of the Blue Circles, a Young Women's Christian Girl Reserves group affiliated with the Centenary Church in Los Angeles. The negatives in the collection are of the Little Misses and Jr. Misses social organization, which were also part of the Young Women's Christians Association Girl Reserves group. The negatives include images of picnics, holiday events, slumber parties, and camping trips. All of the collection has been digitized, and some of the photographs are available online.

Language of Material: English .

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Preferred Citation

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Related Materials

This collection is part of the California State University Japanese American Digitization Project. For related materials please consult: CSU Japanese American Digitization Project.

Processing Information for Digitized Material

The Gerth Archives and Special Collections created digital reproductions from the original material for long-term preservation and access. These preservation files (12.6 Gb, 231 tif files) were scanned to and stored on the Gerth Archives and Special Collections Deparment Drive. For more information on the best practices and standards for the digitization process, please see: CSU Japanese American Digitization Project technical reference guide.

Existence and Location of Originals

Donor retained presentation board and negative slides.

Existence and Location of Copies

Some of the photographs are available at the CSU Japanese American Project site: Blue Circle and Friends/Komai Family Slides

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

The access files are JPG files stored on the Public Use Drive. Access to the files is available on-site in the Gerth Archives and Special Collections reading room. Please request copies at the reference desk.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Blue Circle and Friends/Komai Family Slides was loaned to the Gerth Archives and Special Collections for digitization in 2020.

Scope and Contents

The Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides (229 Mb, 231 jpeg files) include digitized negatives, photographs, and a presentation board from three youth social organizations; Blue Circles, Little Misses, and Jr. Misses. The presentation board consists of photos from the Blue Circles, a Young Women's Christian Association Girl Reserves group affiliated with the Centenary Church in Los Angeles. Kay Moratani Komai was part of the social organization with about fifteen to twenty other young women before World War II. The presentation board includes photographs of pre-World War II social events, group members, and friends. It also contains 50th wedding anniversary photographs from several of the group members in the 1990s. In addition to the presentation board, the collection also contains digitized color negatives from after World War II of the Little Misses and Jr. Misses social clubs. The Jr. Misses club was also part of the Young Women's Christians Association Girl Reserves group. The photographs from the two social groups include picnics, holiday events, slumber parties, and camping trips.

Kay Komai Moratani

Kiyoko Kay Komai was born on December 4, 1920. She grew up in Berkeley, California, until she moved to Los Angeles with her aunt and uncle, Fumiko and Frank Nagata. They became her adoptive parents. While living in Los Angeles, she joined the Blue Circles, a Young Women's Christian Association Girl Reserves group. She married her husband, Khan Komai before World War II, and was pregnant when she left with her husband's family to the Santa Anita racetrack and then to the Granada incarceration camp. They left the incarceration camp in 1944 and moved to Ohio before eventually returning to Los Angeles. They raised four children together. During this time, Kay also worked at local universities until she retired in the 1980s. She spent her spare time doing bonsai, something she learned from her aunt and uncle. Kay continued doing bonsai and meeting with the Blue Circles after she retired.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_01_001-bcl_01_02_025

Little Miss picnic photographs July 17, 1955; August 12-August 13, 1955

General

25 (35 mm) digitized color negatives that were originally stored as loose slides with dates written on the back. Photographs mostly include men, women, and children eating and doing activities in the park for a Little Miss picninc. Two of the photographs are most likely from a Little Miss slumber party.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_02_026-bcl_01_02_030

Little Miss slumber party photographs August 12-August 13, 1955

General

4 (35 mm) digitized color negatives that were originally stored as loose slides with dates written on the back. Photographs mostly include men, women, and girls playing games and posing outside for a Little Miss slumber party.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_02_031-bcl_01_02_034

Little Miss Christmas party photographs December 20, 1954

General

4 (35 mm) digitized color negatives that were originally stored as loose slides with dates written on the back. Photographs mostly include women and girls at a Christmas party.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_03_35-bcl_01_05_075

Little Miss #2 photographs July 4, 1955; September 5, 1955, December 1955; March 1956; undated

General

40 (35 mm) digitized color negatives that were originally stored in a box with dates written on the back. The title is from a handwritten note on the box. The photographs are of mostly men, women, and children at a picnic and holiday party. Some images are of the Little Miss going to camp, most likely Camp Mozumdar in Crestline, California.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_09_142-bcl_01_09_143

Little Miss picnic photographs July 17, 1955

General

2 (35 mm) digitizied color negatives that were originally stored loose in a box with dates written on the back. Photographs are mostly likely of children at a picnic.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_06_075-bcl_01_07_111

Little Miss picnic and event photographs June 10, 1956; August 23-26, 1956

General

36 (35 mm) digitized color negatives that were originally stored in a box with dates written on the back. The title is from a handwritten note on the box. The photographs are mostly of men, women, and children at a picnic and camping trip. It includes images of picnic games, as well as children riding horses, in cabins, and getting on buses. The camp is most Camp Mozumdar in Crestline, California.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_08_112-bcl_01_09_141

Little Miss family night to Mother's Day 1956 photographs March 1956; May 1956

General

29 (35 mm) digitized color negatives that were originally stored in a box with dates written on the back. The title is from a handwritten note on the box. The photographs are mostly of men, women, and children at at a family night and Mother's Day event.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_01_10_144-bcl_01_11_171

Jr. Miss Christmas party 1956 photographs August 23-26, 1956; December 19, 1956; January 19, 1957

General

27 (35 mm) digitized color negatives that were originally stored in a box with dates written on the back. The title is from a handwritten note on the box. The photographs are of men, women, and children, mostly girls, at a holiday party, Jr. Miss event, and camping trip to Camp Mozumdar in Crestline, California.

object Public Use Drive , folder Blue Circles and Friends/Komai Family Slides , item bcl_02_01_001-bcl_02_01_013_002

Blue Circles and Friends Then and Now presentation board 1930-1939; 1991-1994

General

Presentation board with photographs of members of the Blue Circles and other local organizations and sports teams. Also included are photographs of 50th wedding anniversary parties for some of the Blue Ciricle members in the 1990s.