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Part of these collections:

Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 11 of 16, “Fourth of July, Parkdale, OR, ca. 1935”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

The Issei felt their roots sinking into the American soil. Their children were American citizens. Integrating into the mainstream of American life was not always easy despite the hard work ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 9 of 16, “Hauling Asparagus, ca. 1935”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

It takes about nine years for apple trees to bear enough fruit for commercial harvest. Families planted their orchards, and put in strawberries for quick cash crops.

In 1920, 351 Japanese ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 5 of 16, “Clearing Land of Timber, Hood River, OR, ca. 1927”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

Issei were also hired to clear land for landowners. After timber harvest, stumps were pulled with horses, dynamite, and hard labor to prepare fields for planting. By 1905, as ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 4 of 16, “Kanshichi Itano”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

The first Issei to arrive in the Hood River Valley were hired on contract as railroad laborers. Kanshichi Itano and his Japanese crew built the Mt. Hood Railroad from the ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 3 of 16, “Loading Hay on the Hamada Farm”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

Some came from traditional farming backgrounds in Japan, but not everyone had experience. They took what work they could get. Mostly young, single men, the first Issei were employed at ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 2 of 16, “Working the Orchard”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

The primary Japanese farming communities of the Mid-Columbia region were located in Oregon's Hood River valley at Dee, Odell, Parkdale, Pine Grove, and Oak Grove. In Wasco County, farming took ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 1 of 16, “Hamada Family Orchard, Parkdale, OR, ca. 1920.”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

Japanese began to arrive in the Hood River area by 1900. Hopes and dreams brought them to this verdant valley along the Columbia River. The promise of a better life ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 8 of 16, “Strawberry packing shed, Hood River, OR, ca. 1916”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

Agriculture is a complex business. Growers must contend with the vagaries of constantly changing climate and markets. Issei joined the local apple growers associations to facilitate getting their crops to ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 7 of 16, “Dee, OR, ca. early 1920s”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

As livelihoods became more certain, men sent for their wives. The Issei women were often surprised by their circumstances but persevered, working alongside their husbands, often in very rustic conditions. ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 6 of 16, “The Niguma Variety Store, Hood River, OR”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

The Niguma Variety Store opened in Hood River in 1905 on the corner of First and Oak Streets, and included a mailhouse, Japanese social center, boardinghouse and brothel. Brothers Renichi ...

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Nikkei Farmers of the Hood River Area (Item 16 of 16, “Picking Strawberries near Mt. Hood, Oregon”)
Collected by: Oregon Nikkei

Many Nikkei families still farm in the Hood River area, but the dynamics have changed. Children choose other lines of work. People work at professional jobs and keep the farm ...