Marlon Romero and Lauren Zuchowski
Japanese American National Museum
© 2014
100 North Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 830-5615
Email: collections@janm.org
URL: http://www.janm.org/
Japanese American National Museum. All rights reserved.
Finding aid for the Mollie Wilson Murphy Papers
Collection number: 2000.378
Japanese American National MuseumLos Angeles, California
- Processed by:
- Marlon Romero, Kelly Gates
- Date Completed:
- 2014
- Encoded by:
- Yoko Shimojo, Lauren Zuchowski
© 2014 Japanese American National Museum. All rights reserved.
Title: Mollie Wilson Murphy papers
Dates: 1942-1945
Collection number: 2000.378
Creator:
Murphy, Mollie Wilson, 1923-
Collection Size:
0.50 linear feet
Repository:
Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Los Angeles, California 90012
Abstract: Mollie Wilson Murphy was an African-American woman who lived in Boyle Heights during World War II. She had many Japanese-American
friends who were forced into concentration camps during the war. This collection comprises of the correspondences between
Mollie and her friends in camp. The Mollie Wilson Papers include correspondence, school photographs, and miscellaneous photos
in Boyle Heights of Mollie and friends before the war, during and after camp. There are also mimeographs, and newspaper
clippings.
Physical location: Japanese American National Museum
100 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
By appointment only.
Please Contact the Collections Management and Access Unit by email (collections@janm.org) or telephone (213-830-5615).
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 (collections@janm.org).
This finding aid was created as part of a project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
The project started in 2007. Project Director was Cris Paschild. Project Archivists were Yoko Shimojo and Marlon Romero.
[Identification of item], Mollie Wilson Murphy papers. 2000.378, Japanese American National Museum. Los Angeles, CA.
Alternative Forms of Material Available
The collection has been scanned and made available through Densho (http://ddr.densho.org/collections/#ddr-janm).
Gift of Mollie Wilson Murphy, 2000.
Biography / Administrative History
Mollie Murphy grew up on Boulder Street between Evergreen and Sloat in Boyle Heights. Her brother Atoy graduated from Roosevelt
in the late 1930s and Mollie graduated in summer 1943. The two of them had many close Japanese American friends and it seems
that their street was very heterogeneous. Mollie wrote in a correspondence, "As a child, I vividly remember that on my street
alone there were ten different ethnic families residing harmoniously together. My mother learned to cook from Jewish people,
because she had not been taught by her own mother. It often amazed me how my mother could communicate with Mrs. Kokoris or
Mrs. Akahoshi, because neither of them could speak English and my mother couldn't speak Greek nor Japanese! It goes to show,
that when it comes to mutual problems, you don't always need words to express your thoughts." Throughout the war, Mollie corresponded
with a number of her Japanese American girlfriends. Their correspondences extend the duration of the World War II exclusion,
from the assembly centers (Santa Anita and Pomona) to the camps (Amache, Heart Mountain, Manzanar, Gila River, and Poston)
to relocation.
Scope and Content of Collection
These letters provide the opportunity to explore the incarceration experience from a non-Japanese perspective and reveals
how Nisei teenagers represented their experiences to their non-Japanese American peers. Mollie’s relationship with a number
of these individuals continued well past World War II and into the present. For additional resources, refer to the Japanese
American National Museum’s Boyle Heights Oral History Project located in the museum’s Hirasaki National Resource Center.Most
recently, Mollie Wilson Murphy along with Mary (Murakami) Nishi and Sandie (Saito) Okada, participated in a collaborative
interview for the Japanese American National Museum’s Boyle Heights Oral History Project in 2002.
Letters have been broken down based on sender.
Series 1 : Letters
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Documents
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Murphy, Mollie Wilson, 1923-
Ikeda, Tomoko
Murakami, Mary
Igasaki, Lillian
Nagahiro, Haruko
Shimohochi, Yuri
Imamura, Miyeko
Saito, Violet
Saito, Sandie
Yoshigai, June
Nishioka, Sadae
Akahoshi, Chiyeko
Japanese Americans
African Americans
World War II
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945.
Arizona
Wyoming
California
Colorado
Boyle Heights (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Justice Department Camps, Santa Fe
Jerome Relocation Center (Ark.)
Gila River Relocation Center
Heart Mountain Relocation Center (Wyo.)
Manzanar War Relocation Center
Poston Relocation Center (Ariz.)
Granada Relocation Center
Box 1, Folder 1
Box 1, Folder 4, Box 1, Folder 3
Sandie Saito
14 letters, 5 postcards, and 1 card written by Sandie Saito to Molly Wilson. Letters are dated from April 3, 1942 to January
25, 1945. Correspondence begins when Sandie Saito was at the Santa Anita Assembly Center but continues through her time at
Amache as well as her new residence in Chicago, Illinois. Includes items numbered 2000.378.3A-T.
Box 1, Folder 7, Box 1, Folder 6
Mary Murakami
Box 1, Folder 10
"Little Kennie"
A children’s birthday card with envelope addressed to Molly Wilson. The card is for Millard turning 4 years old and features
two cats. Letter is signed “Little Kennie” and envelope is post-marked March 6, 1945. Includes items numbered 2000.378.8.
Box 1, Folder 11
Lillian Igasaki
Six letters written to Mollie/Molly Wilson from Lillian “Nobie” Igasaki while she was interned at Manzanar and later relocated
to Waukesha, Wisconsin. Dates range from April 14, 1943 to July 20, 19944. Includes items numbered 2000.378.9A-10D.
Box 1, Folder 12
Box 1, Folder 13
Box 1, Folder 14
Yuri Shimohochi
Total of 7 letters with envelopes addressed to Molly Wilson from Yuri Shimohochi while incarcerated at Heart Mountain and
later after her relocation to Lawrence, Kansas. Dated Augsut 1, 1942 through December 23, 1944. Includes items numbered 2000.378.13A-G.
Box 1, Folder 15
Box 1, Folder 16
Violet Saito
13 letters written to Molly Wilson from Violet Saito while incarcerated at Amache and later after she has relocated to Chicago,
Illinois. Letters are dated from June 24, 1942 to January 29, 1945. Includes items numbered 2000.378.15A-M.
Box 1, Folder 17
June Yoshigai
Total of 12 letters written to Molly Wilson from June Yoshigai spanning her time at Santa Anita Assembly Center, Gila River,
and De Kalb, Illinois. Letters are dated from May 30, 1942 to January 22, 1945. Includes items numbered 2000.378.16A-L.
Box 1, Folder 18
Box 1, Folder 20, Box 1, Folder 19
Box 1, Folder 2
Ca. 1940
Portion of a scrapbook. From left to right, upper left corner: (1) Portrait of Mary Murakami. (2) Portrait of Fujiko Murakami,
Mary’s sister. (3) Image of Mollie Wilson and Mary Murakami standing in front of a house. (4) Mary Murakami in front of the
same house. Includes items numbered 2000.378.2.
Box 1, Folder 21
Ca. 1940
A portion of a scrapbook page containing 8 portraits of Japanese American girls. Some of the portraits contain inscriptions
to Molly Wilson on the photos while others are written on the page next to the photograph. Ca. 1940s. Some of the girls identified
are: Mary Yano, Kazuko Matsuda, Dorothy [Takiya], Katsumi Hirooka, Lillian Igasaki. Includes items numbered 2000.378.19.
Box 1, Folder 22
Ca. 1940
1 b&w photo (2000.378.20) of 2 women and men, posed in front of railing on a bridge. They appear to be in a park. Behind them
are trees and in the distance in the lower left is a house. The women are wearing dresses and overcoats. The couple on the
right is Fred Nishi and Mary Murakami with friends Kim Nagano and Micky Nagano. The men appear to be wearing suits. Taken
in Minneapolis during the war. Photo autographed in corner: To Molly. With Love, Mary. 1 portion of a scrapbook page corner
((2000.378.21) containing an image of a young girl, Yuri Shimobuchi. She is wearing a polka-dotted blouse and jacket. Autographed
on upper left and lower right corners: To Molly, From Yuri Shimobuchi. 1 b&w photo (2000.378.22) of Violet Saito posing in
front of barracks in Amache camp on her graduation day. She is wearing a dress with a corsage near her left shoulder, and
a bow in her hair. Autographed on front: Dearest Mollie, Love Violet '43. On back: June 24, 1943, Graduation day. 1 portion
of a scrapbook page corner (2000.378.23) containing b&w photos. Left photo is of Lillian Sadae Nishioka wearing a thin lei
or necklace. Right photo is of Frances Nishioka. Left photo autographed: To Molly, Sadae. Right photo autographed: Frances
Nishioka. 1 b&w photo (2000.378.24) of Sandie Saito standing in the west end of the football field in Amache, Colorado. Sandie
is wearing a collared shirt, Roosevelt High School letterman's sweater and shirt, and a bow in her hair. Behind her are barracks
and 2 men. Caption along bottom edge reads: January 23, 1943. Photo autographed on front: To Molly, [illegible] Sandie. On
back: This picture was taken way at the west end of the football field. 1 b&w photo (2000.378.25) attached to torn portion
of a scrapbook page. Photo is a headshot of Sandie Saito. She is wearing a collared blouse and jacket. Flowers, leaves and
ivy frame her face on left, lower left, and upper right edges. Behind her on right is a column. Autographed on front: To Molly,
Always, Sandie. 4 b&w photographs attached to torn portion of a scrapbook page (2000.378.26). L to R: 3 headshots of Kazuko
Akahoshi. In the first photo she is wearing a light colored top, artificial flowers behind her on right side. Next two photos
she is wearing the same top, collared blouse with flowers, and a bow in her hair. Same flowers behind her. Fourth picture
is a headshot of Miyeko Imamura. She is wearing a collared blouse and vest, and bow in her hair. Flowers, leaves & ivy frame
her face along left, lower left, and upper right edges and corners. Column behind her on right. 1 b&w photo of Kumiko and
Sandie Saito(2000.378.27) (L to R). Both are standing and Kumiko has her arms around Sandie's neck. Kumiko has a scarf around
her hair tied at top. She is wearing a striped, long sleeved shirt and knee length skirt. Sandie also has scarf around her
hair tied at bottom. She is wearing a short sleeved shirt and knee length skirt. Behind them is a hedge. In the distance are
palm trees, buildings and telephone poles. 1 b&w portrait of Chiyeko Akahoshi (2000.378.28). Chiyeko has curly hair and a
bow in her hair. She is wearing a short-sleeved blouse and floral vest. Autographed on back: To Molly, Always, Chiyeko Akahoshi.
November 27, 1943. 1 b&w photo of Michiko Mary Harada (2000.378.29). She is wearing a short-sleeved collared shirt and pants,
hair pulled back. She is standing on grass. Behind her is a sidewalk and tall hedges. Further back is a building. 1 b&w image
of 3 girls posed in front of a house (2000.378.30). L to R: Chiyeko Akahoshi, Kazuko Akahoshi, and Yoko Akahoshi. Chiyeko
and Kazuko are wearing short-sleeved dresses. Behind them are steps that appear to lead to the porch of a house. Large bush
to the right. Photo is slightly blurry.
Box 1, Folder 5
Box 1, Folder 8
Address to the Sheriffs of California 1944
Three page mimeographed copy of a speech entitled “Address to the Sheriffs of California” by Robert W. Kenny. Kenny was the
Attorney General of California. The speech was from the sheriff’s meeting in Sacramento, California on March 16, 1945. The
pages have been torn in half and are very fragile. Includes items numbered 2000.378.6.
Box 1, Folder 9
Racism and Reason 1945
Six page mimeographed copy of a speech entitled “Racism and Reason” published by the Department of the Interior, War Relocation
Authority. Address was to be delivered by Dillon S. Myer, director of the W.R.A. at an interfaith meeting sponsored by the
Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play in Los Angeles on October 7, 1944. Includes items numbered 2000.378.7.