Japanese
in Whitefish - Part 3
By
Jill Evans, Administrator of the Stumptown Historical
Society
Maurice
Cusick of Whitefish, long with the Montana State
Forestry Department, tells the story of one Japanese who
lived in the Whitefish area up to 1918:
“The China Basin, approximately one
mile north of Werner Peak was named for a Japanese
trapper who died there during the flu-epidemic in 1918.
To (many of the) oldtimers all Orientals were ‘chinamen’
so the China Basin.”
“The trapper was Ichinojo Skurai, a native of Hatsubara,
Japan. He had trapped for several years along the
Whitefish Divide from Canada in Whitefish.
“On October 26, 1918, he left Olney to start trapping on
Werner Peak. Some days later his dogs came back to
Olney. The local Japanese immediately started a search.
They employed B ill Murphy to go to the cabin near
Werner and search the area. There had been a fall
blizzard which had covered all sign, so the search was
laid aside until the following spring. The Japanese
offered a sizeable reward to anyone finding the body.
“On approximately June 9, 1919, Bill Murphy found the
body a few hundred yards from the cabin under an alpine
fir tree. He evidently had become exhausted and took
shelter there. Some say that he was sick when he left
Olney.
“The coroner, J.E. Waggener, was at a loss as to what to
do with the body which was approximately 22 miles from
the nearest road. At Peter DeGroot’s suggestion he
decided to let the Japanese take care of the remains.
“On June 11, 1919, J. E. Waggener, Bill Murphy and
several Japanese from Olney and Whitefish went to the
China Basin. The Japanese held a ceremony, built a large
bonfire and cremated the remains. They gathered the
ashes and later returned them to Japan.
“Those who knew Ishinojo Sakurai believed him to be a
Japanese soldier and I believe that they were right”
Around 1927 special services at the Presbyterian Church
in Whitefish were held for the Japanese several times by
the Reverend V. G. Murphy of Seattle, a missionary to
Japan who spoke Japanese “like a native.” The Japanese
who remain in Whitefish today remember him with
appreciation. They also remember Mars. Elizabeth Peck,
who taught English to over 400 Japanese residents of
Whitefish during a fifteen-year period.” In her memory
there is a stained glass window in the Presbyterian
Church of Whitefish, put there “by the Japanese”. Mrs.
R. H. Pond aided both Japanese and other foreigners to
study for U.S. naturalization. The American Legion
Auxiliary and Mrs. Roy Arnold continued this work into
the 50’s.
Today the Horis and Masuokas, the Shiomis and Hatsukanos
and Kusumotos have disappeared from Whitefish, The old
folks have died, gone to retirement homes, or returned
to Japan. The young people have moved away, many of them
to Spokane or Seattle, for better opportunities.
Remaining a re only the Muraokas, the Sakaharas, the
Kajiwaras, Don Suga, and one railroad retiree, named
Niki Kikuo, who lives alone in the old Samson block
building.
The Chinese, rather than the Japanese, bore the full
brunt of Whitefish prejudice. As already mentioned, in
January, 1904, all Chinese were being escorted out of
town in the direction of Kalispell or Columbia Falls. By
October of the same year.
“The Chinks are getting a strong foothold in Whitefish
and are making an effort to corral the restaurant
business. Ten-Day Jimmy, when he saw a yellow invasion
threatened, concluded to change his base. The Caucasians
are to blame…Lack of reliable white help in the kitchens
is responsible…for the presence of John and his
cousins.”
Chinese “noodle joints” were repeatedly described by the
Pilot in derogatory style. The Chinese New
Year-celebrated for two full weeks in the Chinese
settlement-was treated in facetious mood. The Chinese
and their eating establishments either were, or were
considered to be, often unsanitary, “dirty.” A Whitefish
woman remembers being asked. “But would you like to sit
on the train next to a Chink?”
See more of their
story in the Whitefish museum, located in the Train
Depot.
Note: The quoted
material is taken from
Stump Town to Ski Town, by Betty Schafer and
Mable Engelter, written in 1972 and reprinted by the
Stumptown Historical Society in 2003. It is available
for sale in the Whitefish Museum located in the Train
Depot. |
