1942 6 18 Letter from Kay to Ted
Dublin Core
Title
1942 6 18 Letter from Kay to Ted
Creator
Kay Yamashita
Date
June 18, 1942
Language
English
Type
Letter
Document Item Type Metadata
Text
June 18, 1842
Dear Ted,
I hope you were able to make head or tale out of that very voluminous letter I wrote you -- at present I’m still waiting for an answer from Washington so I can get a release to leave. I've been making train reservations every day and then cancelling them because I've not completed arrangements. It's like hanging by the neck and swinging around the way I've been waiting around -- everybody's been swell to me here and I've been helping a lot on Student Relocation etc. terribly interesting working under Mrs. Lucy Adams (head of Ed . in Permanent Centers) and others who are most understanding and eager to do the best possible
.
I forgot to enclose those very important telegrams of yours in the last letter - so here they are (that is if I remember to enclose them ) I met a Dr. Emerson (of Cal Tech) who is working and more or less heading the Guayule Project in all the Permanent Centers (Guayule= synthetic rubber - not isn't either, its really a rubber producing plant – growing wild in certain parts of Mexico and Southern Calif. and now being produced experimentally and on a somewhat small commercial scale in Salinas. Dr. Emerson spoke of the wonderful progress the Japanese in Manzanar are making already (for instance Guayule has never been known to be grown from the cuttings of the plant and yet Dr. Emerson says there wasn't enough seed so he loaded a truckload of old cuttings which had been lying around a Salinas warehouse for months and brought it down to Manzanar and laid around there for awhile till the lathe house was done and the Japanese carefully picked the whole lot over and salvaged 25% of it and planted it and low and behold and good percent of it actually grew -- and now they are making all sorts of experiments -- Dr. Emerson doesn't believe that Guayule can be produced on a large scale commercially as yet but he sincerely believes that any experimentation and progress toward it will be made by the Japanese.
[page 2]
Dr. Emerson is now looking for an older man (preferably first generation because he believes t hey have the patience and experience behind them that a Nisei hasn’t) - who speaks both Japanese and English fluently and is somewhat experienced in the Ag. line as well as having an educational background in such -- well you know I thought of Bob because he seems to just fit into the picture -- I've already given his name to Mr. Duveneck (a very good friend of Dr. Emerson and one who will be working very closely with him) I feel certain that they will contact you but I'm sure if you are interested in it particularly (the thing is he is wanting an older man because he wants this person to head up and supervise the Project in some of the other Camps) and I do feel Bob is just
the man- - so if you think you would like to be working on such a Project, though I've already given your name they may slip up, so please write to Dr. Emerson in care of the Friends ' Center 2031 Baker st. S.F. and tell him you are interested and what your qualifications are – Ted you know the dope you have to write up - I hope you'll help him—it doesn't have to be fancy but just a short note telling him about yourself and where you can be reached will be the thing -- It'll be terribly absorbing and the sort of stuff Bob is interested in.
Also -- Joe Conard will probably get in touch with Ted to help him Student Relocation at the Fresno Center -- I know you’re the man and You’ll work hard to help - and he sure needs help -- Joe Conard himself neither eats nor sleeps so you can imagine his sincerity in getting the thing done right.
I hope Neich and Martha are alright and the heat is bearable – again have Patience and Faith all for so many people are working hard to help us.
Hello and love to ·all my friends -- please explain to Shizu and Mary Kasai and some of the others what I'm trying to do and reasons for my not having time to write -- thanks
Dear Ted,
I hope you were able to make head or tale out of that very voluminous letter I wrote you -- at present I’m still waiting for an answer from Washington so I can get a release to leave. I've been making train reservations every day and then cancelling them because I've not completed arrangements. It's like hanging by the neck and swinging around the way I've been waiting around -- everybody's been swell to me here and I've been helping a lot on Student Relocation etc. terribly interesting working under Mrs. Lucy Adams (head of Ed . in Permanent Centers) and others who are most understanding and eager to do the best possible
.
I forgot to enclose those very important telegrams of yours in the last letter - so here they are (that is if I remember to enclose them ) I met a Dr. Emerson (of Cal Tech) who is working and more or less heading the Guayule Project in all the Permanent Centers (Guayule= synthetic rubber - not isn't either, its really a rubber producing plant – growing wild in certain parts of Mexico and Southern Calif. and now being produced experimentally and on a somewhat small commercial scale in Salinas. Dr. Emerson spoke of the wonderful progress the Japanese in Manzanar are making already (for instance Guayule has never been known to be grown from the cuttings of the plant and yet Dr. Emerson says there wasn't enough seed so he loaded a truckload of old cuttings which had been lying around a Salinas warehouse for months and brought it down to Manzanar and laid around there for awhile till the lathe house was done and the Japanese carefully picked the whole lot over and salvaged 25% of it and planted it and low and behold and good percent of it actually grew -- and now they are making all sorts of experiments -- Dr. Emerson doesn't believe that Guayule can be produced on a large scale commercially as yet but he sincerely believes that any experimentation and progress toward it will be made by the Japanese.
[page 2]
Dr. Emerson is now looking for an older man (preferably first generation because he believes t hey have the patience and experience behind them that a Nisei hasn’t) - who speaks both Japanese and English fluently and is somewhat experienced in the Ag. line as well as having an educational background in such -- well you know I thought of Bob because he seems to just fit into the picture -- I've already given his name to Mr. Duveneck (a very good friend of Dr. Emerson and one who will be working very closely with him) I feel certain that they will contact you but I'm sure if you are interested in it particularly (the thing is he is wanting an older man because he wants this person to head up and supervise the Project in some of the other Camps) and I do feel Bob is just
the man- - so if you think you would like to be working on such a Project, though I've already given your name they may slip up, so please write to Dr. Emerson in care of the Friends ' Center 2031 Baker st. S.F. and tell him you are interested and what your qualifications are – Ted you know the dope you have to write up - I hope you'll help him—it doesn't have to be fancy but just a short note telling him about yourself and where you can be reached will be the thing -- It'll be terribly absorbing and the sort of stuff Bob is interested in.
Also -- Joe Conard will probably get in touch with Ted to help him Student Relocation at the Fresno Center -- I know you’re the man and You’ll work hard to help - and he sure needs help -- Joe Conard himself neither eats nor sleeps so you can imagine his sincerity in getting the thing done right.
I hope Neich and Martha are alright and the heat is bearable – again have Patience and Faith all for so many people are working hard to help us.
Hello and love to ·all my friends -- please explain to Shizu and Mary Kasai and some of the others what I'm trying to do and reasons for my not having time to write -- thanks
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Collection
Citation
Kay Yamashita, “1942 6 18 Letter from Kay to Ted,” Yamashita Family Archives, accessed April 29, 2024, https://yamashitaarchives.ucsc.edu/items/show/1990.
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