John McLaren Society Hagiwara Memorial Fund correspondence
Finding aid created by San Francisco History Center staff using RecordEXPRESS
San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
2017
San Francisco Public Library
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San Francisco, California 94102
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Title: John McLaren Society Hagiwara Memorial Fund correspondence
Dates: 1971-1979
Collection Number: SFH 333
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 1 folder
Repository:
San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
San Francisco, California 94102
Abstract: Correspondence related to honoring the Makoto Hagiwara family with a monument and luncheon.
Language of Material: English
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John McLaren Society Hagiwara Memorial Fund correspondence. San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco History Center
Gift, 1979.
Biography/Administrative History
George Turner Marsh built the Japanese Tea Garden for the 1894 California Midwinter Exposition, and the concession was operated
by the Hagiwara family until the Japanese internment. The John McLaren Society was formed in 1966 in opposition to plans for
a Panhandle Freeway in San Francisco. Raymond H. Clary was an officer in the Society and the author of a history of Golden
Gate Park.
Scope and Content of Collection
The folder includes correspondence from donors to the Hagiwara Memorial Fund, set up by the John McLaren Society. The Fund
paid for a plaque, designed by Ruth Asawa, honoring the Hagiwara family for its role as caretakers of the Japanese Tea Garden
in Golden Gate Park. Much of the correspondence is addressed to Raymond Clary, vice president and historian of the Society,
and some of his outgoing correspondence is included. Ephemera from the dedication of the plaque, sponsored by the Recreation
and Park Commission and the McLaren Society on March 26, 1974 is included, along with correspondence and mailing lists regarding
a luncheon held Nov. 23, 1974, where a Board of Supervisors resolution honoring the family would be presented. One typewritten
sheet by Clary from 1979 gives background on the Hagiwara family and its role in the Japanese Tea Garden’s development.