%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Chin Lin Sou http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chin-lin-sou <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chin Lin Sou</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3753--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3753.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/chin-lin-sou"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Chin_Lin_Sou_0.jpg?itok=uDaGCvw8" width="512" height="660" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/chin-lin-sou" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chin Lin Sou</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Arriving in Colorado in the early 1870s, Chin Lin Sou became a successful businessman.&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T13:54:58-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 13:54" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 13:54</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chin-lin-sou" data-a2a-title="Chin Lin Sou"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fchin-lin-sou&amp;title=Chin%20Lin%20Sou"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) defied racial barriers to establish himself as an esteemed business and civic leader in Colorado. Not only do historians recognize Chin and his wife as the first Chinese American family in Colorado, but Chin and his descendants also established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans by defending Chinese workers from prejudice, supporting Chinese-owned businesses, and lifting Chinese residents from the social confines of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-chinatown"><strong>Denver’s Chinatown</strong></a>. Immigrants such as Chin, who successfully built railroads and mined for gold in the face of discriminatory laws and physical violence, reflect a more complete story of the American West than the traditional narrative that centers European and Anglo immigrants.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years except that he received an education (perhaps for the Confucian civil service) and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858, one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco just as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides, clearing rubble, and erecting retention walls. The railroad companies failed to formally record deaths, but engineering reports and newspaper articles suggest that hazardous work conditions from <a href="/article/avalanche"><strong>avalanches</strong></a> and mudslides, lack of safety regulations around explosives, and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid these Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts, who received free food rations and worked fewer hours. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman of Chinese laborers. As an educated foreman who spoke English, Chin was able to escape the fate of many impoverished Chinese laborers who died in obscurity.</p> <p>After the Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain other lines. Chin found work with the <strong>Denver Pacific Railroad</strong> as a foreman overseeing Chinese crews building a feeder line connecting <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants migrated to the nation’s interior to find work in agriculture, logging, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a>. After the Denver Pacific was built, Chin remained in Colorado, where in 1870 he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Black Hawk</strong></a>. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers, drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin also started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims, forcing them to work mines that had been discarded by white-only operations. In turn, Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining, using water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Unlike other Chinese immigrants who turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed them, Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success as a mine manager challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants, whom whites viewed “as a sort of necessary evil” to fulfill cheap labor demands, as the <em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em> put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>In general, white Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society because their language, religious practices, and physical appearance seemed too alien. In untruthful reporting that simply confirmed existing biases among white readers, journalists sensationalized Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens who indulged in prostitution and gambling. Denver’s Chinatown, located in Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lodo-lower-downtown-denver"><strong>lower downtown</strong></a>, was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents, and it gained a notorious reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment, with wealthy whites frequenting opium dens as the drug became fashionable in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes because he stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes, spoke fluent English, dressed in the Western style, and became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers regularly praised him for his intelligence and entrepreneurship while they disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the <em>Fairplay Flume</em> described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind” and two years later labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments reveal that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community as it confronted prejudice and discrimination. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed without evidence that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. To quell growing anger, Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. Newspapers reported that people believed Chin’s account because of “his gentlemanly and dignified deportment” and “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his financial success to assist Colorado’s growing Chinese community. Between 1870 and his death in 1894, he supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and <a href="/article/fairplay"><strong>Fairplay</strong></a>. With his mining associate Edward L. Thayer, Chin also opened supply stores in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gilpin-county"><strong>Gilpin County</strong></a>. In Denver, he participated in the Chee Kong Tong, a Chinese fraternity dedicated to providing financial aid to Chinese-owned businesses and helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Unlike many other Chinese immigrants, Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China, and the couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Nicknamed the “Belle of Chinatown” by the press, Lily grew into a fashionable socialite. Her extravagant 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver amid unsubstantiated, racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>Colorado’s Chinese community became a target as white fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, <strong>a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown</strong>, lynching one man and destroying Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment that led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which suspended Chinese immigration and denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot but eventually began to shrink because it was heavily male, lacked new immigrants under the immigration ban, and was prohibited by law from interracial marriages. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890, but by the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was originally buried at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/riverside-cemetery"><strong>Riverside Cemetery</strong></a> until his family exhumed his body and returned it to China. Almost a century later in 1977, the Ethnic Minority Council of the Colorado Centennial-Bicentennial Commission cosponsored a stained-glass memorial at the <a href="/article/colorado-state-capitol"><strong>State Capitol</strong></a> dedicated to minority leaders. Chin was included in the memorial, but he was depicted in a red Chinese gown rather than his typical suit.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, ascended to his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during <strong>World War II</strong>. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from <strong>Colorado Women’s College</strong>.</p> <p>Chinese American participation in the war, followed by immigration reform in the 1960s, fostered better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. While this slow reconciliation and new fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child, even though she is a fourth-generation Denverite. Although Colorado’s history of racial discrimination has left behind a whitewashed version of history, the experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know today.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/whitmore-michala" hreflang="und">Whitmore, Michala</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chin-lin-sou" hreflang="en">Chin Lin Sou</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chinese" hreflang="en">Chinese</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-city" hreflang="en">Central City</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-hawk" hreflang="en">Black Hawk</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-pacific-railroad" hreflang="en">Central Pacific Railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-pacific-railroad" hreflang="en">denver pacific railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denvers-chinatown" hreflang="en">Denver&#039;s Chinatown</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-riot-1880" hreflang="en">Denver Riot of 1880</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Chinese Labor,” <em>Colorado Springs Gazette </em>and<em> El Paso County News</em>, November 11, 1874.</p> <p>“Chinese New Year Celebration Slated,” <em>Golden Transcript</em>, February 5, 1975.</p> <p>“<a href="https://web.stanford.edu/group/chineserailroad/cgi-bin/website/">Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project</a>,” Stanford University, n.d.</p> <p>“Denver Loses Chinese Mayor of ‘Hop Alley,’” <em>Courier-Journal</em> (Louisville, CO), December 17, 1939.</p> <p>“<a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/colorado-biographies/chin-lin-sou-1836-1894">Chin Lin Sou (1836–1894)</a>,” Genealogy, African American and Western History Resources, Denver Public Library, n.d.</p> <p>“For the Ladies,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, March 1, 1894.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, October 13, 1892.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, August 16, 1894.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fort Collins Standard</em>, June 17, 1874.</p> <p>“Minority Stained Glass Window Dedication Set,” <em>Douglas County News</em>, January 6, 1977.</p> <p>“Pretty Belle of Chinatown Calls to Pay Taxes,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, June 1, 1900.</p> <p>William Wei, “Five Generations in Colorado: An Interview with the Descendants of Chin Lin Sou,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Autumn 2002).</p> <p>&nbsp;William Wei, “History and Memory: The Story of Denver’s Chinatown,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Autumn 2002).</p> <p>William Wei, “Problematizing the Chinese Experience in America,” <em>Genealogy</em> 3 (Winter 2017).&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Noah Allyn, “<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/story/colorado-voices/2019/04/11/rise-and-fall-denvers-chinatown">The Rise and Fall of Denver’s Chinatown</a>,” History Colorado, April 11, 2019.</p> <p>Office of the Historian, “<a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/chinese-immigration">Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts</a>,” Milestones in the History of US Foreign Relations, US Department of State.</p> <p>Tom Rea, “<a href="https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/rock-springs-massacre">The Rock Springs Massacre</a>,” WyoHistory.org, last modified November 8, 2014.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) overcame racial barriers to become a civic leader in Colorado. Chin and his wife were the first Chinese American family in Colorado. He created a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. Chin defended Chinese workers from prejudice. He supported Chinese-owned businesses. Immigrants such as Chin reflect a more complete story of the American West.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroads in the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides and clearing rubble. The railroad companies failed to record deaths. A lack of safety regulations and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman. He oversaw Chinese crews building a line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants moved to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. Chin remained in Colorado. In 1870, he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers. He drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. This technique used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Some Chinese immigrants turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success challenged many stereotypes of Chinese immigrants.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society. Whites saw Chinese language, religious practices, and physical appearance as alien. Denver’s Chinatown was located in lower downtown. It was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a reputation for crime.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes. He stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became an American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers praised him for his intelligence. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” The comments show that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success allowed him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partly destroyed Central City. Authorities claimed that Chinese miners had started the fire. Chin defended the miners. People believed Chin because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his success to help Colorado’s Chinese community. He supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, and Denver. Chin opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he took part in the Chee Kong Tong. This was an organization dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese feeling. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration. It also denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. However, the community began to shrink. It was heavily male. Interracial marriages were prohibited by law. Chin was a naturalized citizen with a family. He was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery. His family exhumed his body and returned it to China.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, took over his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Immigration reform in the 1960s created better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. The experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) overcame racial barriers to become a civic leader in Colorado. Chin and his wife were the first Chinese American family in Colorado. He established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. Chin defended Chinese workers from prejudice. He supported Chinese-owned businesses. Immigrants such as Chin reflect a more complete story of the American West.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides and clearing rubble. The railroad companies failed to record deaths. A lack of safety regulations and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman. He oversaw Chinese crews building a line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants moved to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. Chin remained in Colorado. In 1870, he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers. He drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. This technique used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Some Chinese immigrants turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants. Whites viewed them “as a sort of necessary evil,” as the Colorado Springs Gazette put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society. Whites saw Chinese language, religious practices, and physical appearance as alien. Journalists painted Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens. Denver’s Chinatown was located in lower downtown. It was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment. Wealthy whites visited opium dens as the drug became trendy in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes. He stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke fluent English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers praised him for his intelligence. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” Two years later it labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments show that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. People believed Chin’s account because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his success to help Colorado’s growing Chinese community. He supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and Fairplay. Chin opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he took part in the Chee Kong Tong. This was a Chinese fraternity dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob lynched one man and destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration. It also denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. However, the community began to shrink. It was heavily male and interracial marriages were prohibited by law. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery. His family exhumed his body and returned it to China.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, took over his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Immigration reform in the 1960s created better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. The experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) defied racial barriers to establish himself as an esteemed business and civic leader in Colorado. Historians recognize Chin and his wife as the first Chinese American family in Colorado. Chin and his descendants established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. They defended Chinese workers from prejudice, supporting Chinese-owned businesses, and lifted Chinese residents from the social confines of Denver’s Chinatown. Immigrants such as Chin, who successfully built railroads and mined for gold in the face of discriminatory laws and physical violence, reflect a more complete story of the American West than the traditional narrative.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco just as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides, clearing rubble, and erecting retention walls. The railroad companies failed to formally record deaths. Newspaper articles suggest that hazardous work conditions from avalanches and mudslides, lack of safety regulations around explosives, and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid these Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts, who received free food rations and worked fewer hours. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman of Chinese laborers. As an educated foreman who spoke English, Chin was able to escape the fate of many poor Chinese laborers who died in obscurity.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain other lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman overseeing Chinese crews building a feeder line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants migrated to the nation’s interior to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. After the Denver Pacific was built, Chin remained in Colorado, where in 1870 he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers, drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin also started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines that had been discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. They used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Other Chinese immigrants who turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed them. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success as a mine manager challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants. Whites viewed them “as a sort of necessary evil” to fulfill cheap labor demands, as the Colorado Springs Gazette put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society because of their language, religious practices, and physical appearance. Untruthful reporting confirmed existing biases among white readers. Journalists sensationalized Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens who indulged in prostitution and gambling. Denver’s Chinatown, located in Denver’s lower downtown, was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a notorious reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment. Wealthy whites frequented opium dens as the drug became trendy in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes because he stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke fluent English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers regularly praised him for his intelligence and entrepreneurship. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” Two years later it labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments reveal that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed without evidence that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. Newspapers reported that people believed Chin’s account because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his financial success to assist Colorado’s growing Chinese community. Between 1870 and his death in 1894, he supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and Fairplay. With his mining associate Edward L. Thayer, Chin also opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he participated in the Chee Kong Tong. This was a Chinese fraternity dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid unsubstantiated, racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob lynched one man and destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration and denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. It began to shrink because it was heavily male and was prohibited by law from interracial marriages. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery until his family exhumed his body and returned it to China. Almost a century later in 1977, the Ethnic Minority Council of the Colorado Centennial-Bicentennial Commission cosponsored a stained-glass memorial at the State Capitol dedicated to minority leaders. Chin was included in the memorial. He was depicted in a red Chinese gown rather than his typical suit.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, ascended to his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Chinese American participation in the war, followed by immigration reform in the 1960s, fostered better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. Although Colorado’s history of racial discrimination has left behind a whitewashed version of history, the experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know today.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:54:58 +0000 yongli 3545 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Ellison Onizuka http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ellison-onizuka <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Ellison Onizuka</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--2242--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--2242.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/astronaut-ellison-s-onizuka"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Ellison-Media-1_0.jpg?itok=CwQkza0Q" width="1000" height="1259" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/astronaut-ellison-s-onizuka" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Ellison S. Onizuka earned bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado-Boulder before joining NASA. He was one of seven astronauts who perished in the 1986 explosion of the Challenger spacecraft.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-01-31T10:17:29-07:00" title="Tuesday, January 31, 2017 - 10:17" class="datetime">Tue, 01/31/2017 - 10:17</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ellison-onizuka" data-a2a-title="Ellison Onizuka"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fellison-onizuka&amp;title=Ellison%20Onizuka"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Ellison Onizuka (1946–86) was an astronaut for the US Space Shuttle program who earned degrees at the <strong>University of Colorado</strong> in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder"><strong>Boulder</strong></a> before perishing in the 1986 <em>Challenger</em> shuttle disaster. Onizuka was Colorado’s highest-profile astronaut and is remembered today as an advocate for science education who was struck down in his prime by one of the worst space disasters in history.</p> <h2>Early Life and Education</h2> <p>A native of Kona, Hawaii, Ellison Onizuka aspired to be a pilot even as a young boy. Onizuka came to <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder"><strong>Boulder</strong></a> in 1964 to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering, joining the ROTC and becoming president of the Association of Engineering Students during his tenure at the university. He and his wife, Lorna, a graduate of the <strong>University of Northern Colorado</strong> and also from Kona, considered Colorado their second home; they married and had their first child, Janelle, in the state in 1969. A second daughter, Darien, was born in 1975.</p> <p>Onizuka always made time to share his perspective with others, and he returned to the University of Colorado often to meet with students who dreamt of becoming astronauts themselves. He believed that being an astronaut made him the luckiest man alive, and in 1985 he conveyed this message to inspire students:</p> <p class="rteindent1">"Your vision is not limited to what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace, then think of the new horizons you can explore. From your vantage point, your education and imagination will carry you to places which we won’t believe possible. Make your life count—and the whole world will be a better place because you tried."</p> <h2>Challenger Disaster</h2> <p>The <em>Challenger </em>launch from Cape Canaveral was originally scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 1986. There had already been two postponements, and technicians and engineers were working around the clock to ready the shuttle for liftoff. Unforeseen delays frustrated the mission. <em>Challenger</em> did not launch Saturday or Sunday, due to severe winds in the mission’s emergency landing locations in North Africa. On Monday morning, hundreds of chilly spectators huddled together four miles from the launch pad, waiting as crews struggled with a latch in the shuttle door. Technicians could not remove a stubborn bolt on the handle, using three different drills and wasting two precious hours. By the time it was fixed, the weather worsened and Mission Control postponed the launch until the next day.</p> <p>On Tuesday morning, January 28, the spectators returned to the same area, stamping their feet and clapping their hands during one of the wettest and coldest Januarys Florida had seen. In below-freezing temperatures, large icicles draped the launch structure, and the shuttle pad was as slick as an ice-skating rink. A shuttle had never launched in such cold weather before, and technicians worked all morning to remove as much ice as possible. NASA officials and contractors debated the effect the unusual weather conditions would have on the liftoff as part of the detailed protocol that precedes every shuttle launch. By Tuesday morning, they concluded the mission could proceed.</p> <p>The seven <em>Challenger</em> crew members—Commander Francis Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, electrical engineer Judith Resnik, physicist and laser expert Ronald McNair, satellite engineer Gregory Jarvis, pilot Ellison Onizuka, and teacher Christa McAuliffe—were strapped into their seats and had been sealed inside the shuttle since 9 am Eastern Standard Time. They wondered if the weather would halt the launch again. That would be the fourth delay in as many days, and the crew hoped that Mission Control would not wait until the last minute to cancel. Of the seven crew members, only Smith, Jarvis, and McAuliffe had never flown in space before. Finally, at 11:38 am, the <em>Challenger </em>lifted off. At the viewing site, Colorado youngsters and teachers erupted in a chorus of cheers that were quickly drowned out by the deafening rocket boosters as the shuttle rapidly ascended more than eight miles above the Atlantic Ocean.</p> <p>However, a series of mechanical failures immediately following the launch—in part due to the uncommonly frigid conditions—caused the <em>Challenger</em> to explode over the Atlantic. Onizuka and the rest of the crew perished in the disaster. The explosion also destroyed two well-publicized experiments from the University of Colorado that had intended to collect data on Halley’s Comet as it approached the sun. The year 1986 was to be NASA’s most ambitious yet; most of the fifteen scheduled shuttle launches included experiments or alumni from the University of Colorado. But instead, the <em>Challenger </em>disaster introduced years of troubled postponements that put a significant damper on space research in Colorado. Moreover, the <em>Challenger</em> explosion marked the first time in fifty-six manned NASA missions that Americans died during flight; the only previous fatalities had come when the Apollo One caught fire on its test pad.</p> <p><strong>Adapted from Dianna Litvak, “Ellison Onizuka and the Challenger Disaster,” <em>Colorado Heritage Magazine</em> 19, no.1 (1999).</strong></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ellison" hreflang="en">Ellison</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/onizuka" hreflang="en">Onizuka</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ellison-onizuka" hreflang="en">Ellison Onizuka</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/challenger" hreflang="en">Challenger</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Allan J. McDonald and James R. Hansen,&nbsp;<em>Truth, Lies, and O-rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster</em> (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2009).</p> <p>Dennis M. Ogawa and Glen Grant,&nbsp;<em>Ellison S. Onizuka: A Remembrance</em> (Honolulu: Mutual Publishing, 1986).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Ellison Onizuka (1946–86) was an astronaut for the US Space Shuttle program. He earned degrees at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Onizuka died in the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster. He was Colorado’s highest-profile astronaut. He is remembered as an advocate for science education.</p> <h2>Early Life and Education</h2> <p>Onizuka was a native of Kona, Hawaii. He wanted to be a pilot even as a young boy. Onizuka came to Boulder in 1964 to pursue degrees in aerospace engineering. He joined the ROTC. Onizuka also became president of the Association of Engineering Students. He and his wife, Lorna considered Colorado their second home. They married and had their first child, Janelle, in 1969. A second daughter, Darien, was born in 1975.</p> <p>Onizuka made time to share his perspective with others. He returned to the University of Colorado to meet with students who dreamt of becoming astronauts. He believed that being an astronaut made him the luckiest man alive. In 1985, he gave this message to students:</p> <p>"Your vision is not limited to what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Make your life count—and the whole world will be a better place because you tried."</p> <h2>Challenger Disaster</h2> <p>The Challenger was scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, January 25, 1986. There had been two postponements. Technicians worked around the clock to ready the shuttle for liftoff. Delays frustrated the mission. Challenger did not launch Saturday or Sunday. There were high winds in the mission’s emergency landing locations in North Africa.</p> <p>On Monday morning, hundreds of spectators huddled four miles from the launch pad. They waited as crews struggled with a latch in the shuttle door. Technicians could not remove a stubborn bolt on the handle. They used three different drills and wasted two hours. By then, the weather had worsened. Mission Control postponed the launch until the next day.</p> <p>On Tuesday morning, January 28, the spectators returned. Large icicles draped the launch structure. The shuttle pad was slick. A shuttle had never launched in such cold weather before. Technicians worked to remove as much ice as possible. NASA officials debated how weather conditions would affect the liftoff. They concluded the mission could proceed.</p> <p>The seven Challenger crew members were strapped into their seats. They had been sealed inside the shuttle since 9 am Eastern Standard Time. They wondered if the weather would halt the launch again. That would be the fourth delay in as many days. At 11:38 am, the Challenger lifted off. At the viewing site, Colorado students and teachers erupted in cheers.</p> <p>A series of mechanical failures caused the Challenger to explode over the Atlantic Ocean. Onizuka and the rest of the crew died. The explosion destroyed two experiments from the University of Colorado. The experiments would have collected data on Halley’s Comet as it approached the sun.</p> <p>The year 1986 was to be NASA’s most ambitious yet. Most of the fifteen scheduled shuttle launches included experiments or alumni from the University of Colorado. The Challenger disaster caused years of postponements. The delays put a damper on space research in Colorado.</p> <p>The Challenger explosion marked the first time in fifty-six manned NASA missions that Americans died during flight. The only previous deaths had come when the Apollo One caught fire on its test pad.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Ellison Onizuka (1946–86) was an astronaut for the US Space Shuttle program. He earned degrees at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Onizuka died in the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster. He was Colorado’s highest-profile astronaut. He is remembered as an advocate for science education.</p> <h2>Early Life and Education</h2> <p>Onizuka was a native of Kona, Hawaii. He wanted to be a pilot even as a young boy. Onizuka came to Boulder in 1964 to pursue degrees in aerospace engineering. He joined the ROTC. Onizuka also became president of the Association of Engineering Students. He and his wife, Lorna considered Colorado their second home. They married and had their first child, Janelle, in 1969. A second daughter, Darien, was born in 1975.</p> <p>Onizuka made time to share his perspective with others. He returned to the University of Colorado to meet with students who dreamt of becoming astronauts. He believed that being an astronaut made him the luckiest man alive. In 1985, he gave this message to students:</p> <p>"Your vision is not limited to what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace, then think of the new horizons you can explore. From your vantage point, your education and imagination will carry you to places which we won’t believe possible. Make your life count—and the whole world will be a better place because you tried."</p> <h2>Challenger Disaster</h2> <p>The Challenger was scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on Saturday, January 25, 1986. There had been two postponements. Technicians worked around the clock to ready the shuttle for liftoff. Delays frustrated the mission. Challenger did not launch Saturday or Sunday. There were high winds in the mission’s emergency landing locations in North Africa. On Monday morning, hundreds of spectators huddled four miles from the launch pad. They waited as crews struggled with a latch in the shuttle door. Technicians could not remove a stubborn bolt on the handle. They used three different drills and wasted two hours. By then, the weather had worsened. Mission Control postponed the launch until the next day.</p> <p>On Tuesday morning, January 28, the spectators returned. Large icicles draped the launch structure. The shuttle pad was slick. A shuttle had never launched in such cold weather before. Technicians worked to remove as much ice as possible. NASA officials debated how weather conditions would affect the liftoff. They concluded the mission could proceed.</p> <p>The seven Challenger crew members—Commander Francis Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, electrical engineer Judith Resnik, physicist and laser expert Ronald McNair, satellite engineer Gregory Jarvis, pilot Ellison Onizuka, and teacher Christa McAuliffe—were strapped into their seats. They had been sealed inside the shuttle since 9 am Eastern Standard Time. They wondered if the weather would halt the launch again. That would be the fourth delay in as many days. At 11:38 am, the Challenger lifted off. At the viewing site, Colorado students and teachers erupted in cheers.</p> <p>A series of mechanical failures caused the Challenger to explode over the Atlantic Ocean. Onizuka and the rest of the crew died. The explosion also destroyed two experiments from the University of Colorado. The experiments would have collected data on Halley’s Comet as it approached the sun.</p> <p>The year 1986 was to be NASA’s most ambitious yet. Most of the fifteen scheduled shuttle launches included experiments or alumni from the University of Colorado. The Challenger disaster caused years of postponements. The delays put a damper on space research in Colorado.</p> <p>The Challenger explosion marked the first time in fifty-six manned NASA missions that Americans died during flight. The only previous deaths had come when the Apollo One caught fire on its test pad.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Ellison Onizuka (1946–86) was an astronaut for the US Space Shuttle program. He earned degrees at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Onizuka died in the 1986 Challenger shuttle disaster. He was Colorado’s highest-profile astronaut. He is remembered today as an advocate for science education.</p> <h2>Early Life and Education</h2> <p>A native of Kona, Hawaii, Ellison Onizuka aspired to be a pilot even as a young boy. Onizuka came to Boulder in 1964 to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering. He joined the ROTC. Onizuka also became president of the Association of Engineering Students during his time at the university. He and his wife, Lorna considered Colorado their second home. They married and had their first child, Janelle, in the state in 1969. A second daughter, Darien, was born in 1975.</p> <p>Onizuka made time to share his perspective with others. He returned to the University of Colorado often to meet with students who dreamt of becoming astronauts. He believed that being an astronaut made him the luckiest man alive. In 1985 he conveyed this message to inspire students:</p> <p>"Your vision is not limited to what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace, then think of the new horizons you can explore. From your vantage point, your education and imagination will carry you to places which we won’t believe possible. Make your life count—and the whole world will be a better place because you tried."</p> <h2>Challenger Disaster</h2> <p>The Challenger launch from Cape Canaveral was initially scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 1986. There had already been two postponements. Technicians and engineers were working around the clock to ready the shuttle for liftoff. Unforeseen delays frustrated the mission. Challenger did not launch Saturday or Sunday, due to severe winds in the mission’s emergency landing locations in North Africa. On Monday morning, hundreds of chilly spectators huddled together four miles from the launch pad. They waited as crews struggled with a latch in the shuttle door. Technicians could not remove a stubborn bolt on the handle. They used three different drills and wasted two precious hours. By the time the door was fixed, the weather had worsened. Mission Control postponed the launch until the next day.</p> <p>On Tuesday morning, January 28, the spectators returned to the same area, stamping their feet and clapping their hands during one of the wettest and coldest Januarys Florida had seen. In below-freezing temperatures, large icicles draped the launch structure, and the shuttle pad was as slick as an ice-skating rink. A shuttle had never launched in such cold weather before, and technicians worked all morning to remove as much ice as possible. NASA officials and contractors debated the effect the unusual weather conditions would have on the liftoff as part of the detailed protocol that precedes every shuttle launch. By Tuesday morning, they concluded the mission could proceed.</p> <p>The seven Challenger crew members—Commander Francis Scobee, pilot Michael Smith, electrical engineer Judith Resnik, physicist and laser expert Ronald McNair, satellite engineer Gregory Jarvis, pilot Ellison Onizuka, and teacher Christa McAuliffe—were strapped into their seats and had been sealed inside the shuttle since 9 am Eastern Standard Time. They wondered if the weather would halt the launch again. That would be the fourth delay in as many days. The crew hoped that Mission Control would not wait until the last minute to cancel. Of the seven crew members, only Smith, Jarvis, and McAuliffe had never flown in space before. Finally, at 11:38 am, the Challenger lifted off. At the viewing site, Colorado youngsters and teachers erupted in a chorus of cheers that were quickly drowned out by the deafening rocket boosters as the shuttle climbed more than eight miles above the Atlantic Ocean.</p> <p>However, a series of mechanical failures immediately following the launch caused the Challenger to explode over the Atlantic. Onizuka and the rest of the crew perished in the disaster. The explosion also destroyed two well-publicized experiments from the University of Colorado that had intended to collect data on Halley’s Comet as it approached the sun. The year 1986 was to be NASA’s most ambitious yet. Most of the fifteen scheduled shuttle launches included experiments or alumni from the University of Colorado. Instead, the Challenger disaster introduced years of troubled postponements that put a significant damper on space research in Colorado. Moreover, the Challenger explosion marked the first time in fifty-six manned NASA missions that Americans died during flight. The only previous fatalities had come when the Apollo One caught fire on its test pad.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 31 Jan 2017 17:17:29 +0000 yongli 2243 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Nisei Sisters http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/nisei-sisters <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Nisei Sisters</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3758--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3758.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/amache-barracks-building"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Nisei-Sisters_0.jpg?itok=LvHs83rS" width="600" height="756" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/amache-barracks-building" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Amache barracks building</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Japanese children play in front of barracks used as living quarters at Camp Amache in Prowers County. During World War II, three Japanese sisters known as the "Nisei Sisters" were briefly detained at the relocation center before they were sent to an onion farm near Trinidad, where they helped German POWs escape. The sisters were later tried for treason.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-09-29T14:39:18-06:00" title="Thursday, September 29, 2016 - 14:39" class="datetime">Thu, 09/29/2016 - 14:39</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/nisei-sisters" data-a2a-title="Nisei Sisters"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fnisei-sisters&amp;title=Nisei%20Sisters"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Three of the Shitara sisters, known in the contemporary press as “the Nisei Sisters,” were prisoners at the <a href="/article/granada-war-relocation-center-amache"><strong>Amache</strong></a> concentration camp who helped two Germans escape from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp. During their trial, the third treason trial of World War II, the sisters’ race, class, and sex all worked against them as the nation watched.</p> <h2>The Nisei Sisters</h2> <p>In the annals of Asian American history, the trial of the three Nisei (meaning “second-generation Japanese American”) sisters has been all but forgotten, perhaps understandably so. Their story is a complex one, disrupting the dominant narrative of the betrayal of the Japanese Americans and their incarceration in concentration camps. As law professor Eric Muller noted, that version implies “a story of uncomplicated loyalty and monolithic innocence,” and the actions of the three Nisei sisters certainly challenge that narrative. Presumably, non-Japanese Americans prefer the dominant narrative because it affirms the guilt they feel about the mass incarceration of Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II, and Japanese Americans prefer it because it focuses attention on the sacrifice they made to demonstrate their loyalty to the country that had betrayed them. To protect that interpretation and the reputation of the Japanese American community, the treason trial of the three Nisei sisters has been left out of the retelling of the internment experience. But without their story, that tragic chapter of American history remains incomplete.</p> <p>Tsuruku (Toots) Wallace, Shivze (Flo) Otani, and Misao (Billie) Tanigoshi hardly fit the popular contemporary image of Asian Americans leading lives of social and economic success. Toots, Flo, and Billie, as they were called throughout the treason trial, were born into the Shitara family that earned its living through farming in Inglewood, California. The Shitara sisters had attained a modest education and led commensurate working-class lives. Toots, the oldest, was thirty-four at the time of the incident and was considered the leader of the trio. She graduated from Inglewood High School and worked as a waitress at Mio’s Café on Terminal Island, Los Angeles. Flo, who was thirty-one, attained only a grammar-school education and worked as a packer at the French Sardine Company. Billie, who was thirty, managed to complete two years of high school and worked as a waitress at the Inside Grill in Los Angeles.</p> <h2>The Escape</h2> <p>Though the Shitara sisters had done nothing subversive, in the spring of 1942 the federal government nevertheless forced them and 120,000 other people of Japanese ancestry to leave the West Coast, incarcerating them in inland concentration camps. The sisters were sent to <a href="/article/granada-war-relocation-center-amache"><strong>Granada War Relocation Center</strong></a>, also known as Camp Amache, in southeastern Colorado, one of the most desolate and inhospitable places in the state. Less than a year later, they were released from Amache to harvest onions on the 600-acre Winger farm near <strong>Trinidad</strong>. There, they worked alongside captured German soldiers from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp.</p> <p>While working on the farm, the Shitara sisters met Corporal Heinrich Haider, who convinced Toots to help him escape from Trinidad. Equipped with civilian clothes, road maps, train schedules, a flashlight, and money that the sisters had left for them behind a bush on the Winger farm, Haider and fellow POW Corporal Hermann August Loescher cut through a wire fence using pliers and escaped on the evening of October 16, 1943. Along the highway near Trinidad, they rendezvoused with the sisters, who drove them south until they had trouble with the car’s water pump. Haider and Loescher got out at Wagon Mound, New Mexico, making their way to the town of Watrous on foot. After the evening’s adventure, the sisters returned to the Winger farm undetected on the morning of October 17, 1943.</p> <p>Meanwhile, at Watrous, Haider and Loescher went to the nearby train station to ask about arrivals and departures, arousing the suspicions of a station agent who called the police. Chief Nolan Utz of the Las Vegas, New Mexico, police department and state police arrested the pair at a local “watering hole,” where they were drinking beer and talking to a group of Mexican women. The soldiers told Utz that they had boarded a train and ridden to Springer, New Mexico, then walked to Watrous, omitting the role of the Shitara sisters. This would have been the end of the episode were it not for the discovery of some photographs on Haider taken by Flo. The photos depicted Toots with Haider and Billie with another German POW named Backus, in what were considered compromising positions. Soldiers with photographs of themselves embracing women normally would not have attracted much attention or comment, but the fact that these pictures were of German men with Japanese women was another matter.</p> <p>On October <em>24</em> <em>The</em> <em>Denver Post</em> published the incriminating pictures as part of an article titled “German Prisoners Spooned with Jap Girls in Trinidad.” Accompanied by a caption that began with the phrase “Allies in Arms,” two of the photos showed a German POW with his arm around a Japanese woman. The third was the most problematic, since it showed a couple “wrapped in each other’s arms, engaging in a kissing fest.” The Associated Press subsequently circulated the photos, giving rise to stories about “Japanazi Romances” that proved embarrassing to the authorities. These titillating photos aroused public interest as well as indignation. After all, they suggested sex between enemies of America and miscegenation of the races, as well as seduction and adultery. The FBI sent an agent to interrogate the two German POWs. After learning of the sisters’ complicity in the escape attempt, the government decided to indict them on federal charges: the high crime of treason and the lesser crime of conspiracy to commit treason.</p> <h2>The Trial</h2> <p>From the beginning of the trial, there was confusion over the national identity of the accused. US District Judge J. Foster Symes referred to the sisters as Japanese Americans only once during the entire proceedings, though presumably he knew the difference between Japanese and Japanese Americans. After issuing their sentences, Symes thought it necessary to say that the “Japanese sisters are American sisters and had received an impartial trial.” This was the first time that Japanese Americans had been put on trial for treason; in two earlier treason trials, two German-born naturalized Americans were found guilty of helping German saboteurs who had entered the country. They were sentenced to life in prison and fined $10,000.</p> <p>The prosecution and defense brought impassioned arguments to a courtroom packed with about 300 spectators. If found guilty of the high crime of treason, the Shitara sisters could be sentenced to five years to life or even executed. The less serious charge of conspiracy to commit treason could bring them a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment and a fine of $5,000. Per Article 3, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, “no person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.” In this case the prosecution had to produce two witnesses who could testify in court that the sisters were providing aid and comfort to enemies of the United States. The sisters pleaded poverty and were unable to afford attorneys, so the court appointed Kenneth W. Robinson, considered one of Denver’s outstanding criminal lawyers of the time, to be their chief legal counsel. The treason trial turned in no small measure on the interpretation of the Shitara sisters’ characters. The pre-sentence report on the trial, dated August 18, 1944, noted that the sisters had a generally poor reputation in Los Angeles. During the trial the prosecutors sought to use that reputation to their advantage, pointing out that they were known to consort with “bad people.” In the parlance of the day, they were “women of questionable virtue” who drank too much and talked in a “rough” manner.</p> <p>Indeed, the sisters led lives that were markedly different from many Nisei women. Perhaps in an effort to assimilate into mainstream society, some of them married men outside of the Japanese American community. Toots’ second husband was a white man named Virgil Cleo Wallace. Flo, however, married Harry Otani, the only pure Japanese man among the sisters’ husbands. Billie married William Tanigoshi, who was half Japanese and half white. Their other sister, Lily, married a black lieutenant in the US Army, and another sister, Kazumi, married a Korean American.</p> <p>The pre-sentence report’s assessment of the sisters’ character overshadows the fact that various investigations of the Shitara family found no evidence of subversive activity. During the fearful days following the attack on Pearl Harbor, people of Japanese ancestry in America were all suspected of disloyalty until proven otherwise. At the instigation of neighbors who found the comings and goings of Japanese people suspicious, the FBI investigated Toots, only to discover that her home was used for a Japanese-language school. Later, the FBI noted that Toots associated with Japanese naval and merchant marine officers as well as American sailors. This was hardly surprising, considering that she worked in a harbor café owned by a man with pro-Japanese sentiments.</p> <h2>Gender, Race, and Miscegenation</h2> <p>Much to the surprise of everyone and to the chagrin of the sisters, the witnesses for the prosecution were the German POWs themselves. Haider confounded the prosecution when he told a dramatic story that implied the sisters were motivated to help him by patriotic love of America rather than romantic love for the two prisoners. Haider told the jury that he had been a member of the Austrian underground and hated the Nazis. For his anti-Nazi sentiments, he had been imprisoned two years in a Bavarian concentration camp. Later, he was conscripted into the German Army and captured. Haider added that he feared for his life in the POW camp in Trinidad, because a particular Nazi first sergeant wanted to kill him for his anti-Nazi sentiments. Finally, Haider claimed that all he wanted was to return to Germany so that he could join the Austrian Legion or the Czechoslovakian Legion to fight against Hitler. He finished by stating that in spite of Toots’s efforts to discourage him from escaping and the risk of being shot, he pressured her into helping him. Haider’s seemingly preposterous tale did cast doubt on the case against the sisters, since the prosecution had to prove that in assisting the POWs to escape, the sisters had endangered the country’s security.</p> <p>Loescher told a different and far simpler story. As reported in the <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, Loescher testified:</p> <p>May I say this: I guess my comrade told you that Germany had violated Austria. As for myself, I was wounded and I could not fight again. I have no interest in renewing the fight again. I just wanted my freedom.</p> <p>With his freedom, Loescher had planned to make his way to Mexico and later to South America. He stated that he did not know the sisters previously and went along for the ride. In court he even had some trouble identifying the sisters since he had only seen them at night.</p> <p>On behalf of the sisters, Robinson presented a two-pronged argument. First, Robinson tried to demonstrate that the prosecution had failed to prove that the Nisei sisters had intended to injure the United States or help the Third Reich, and that such intent was essential in order to find his clients guilty. Second, he argued that his clients’ actual intents were “romantic.” To win acquittal, he was prepared to make racist and sexist arguments, seeking to show that the pictures proved that the sisters were only comfortable with white men instead of Japanese men or women, and that they were passive and weak-willed women, easily manipulated by men—even though they had successfully broken POWs out of a prison camp.</p> <p>Robinson was successful. After deliberating for ten hours, the twelve male jurors found the sisters guilty of only conspiracy to commit treason. Evidently, the jury had decided that when the sisters helped Haider and Loescher, they did it without the intent of injuring America or helping Germany. Then, the jurors decided that the sisters were guilty of the lesser offense of conspiracy to commit treason, even though Judge Symes had earlier instructed them that the matter of intent goes to the crime of conspiracy the same as to the crime of treason. With the verdict in hand, Symes sentenced Toots to two years’ imprisonment and Flo and Billie to twenty months’ imprisonment, along with a fine of $1,000 each.</p> <p><strong>Adapted from William Wei, “Sex, Race, and the Fate of Three Nisei Sisters,” <em>Colorado Heritage Magazine</em> 27 no. 4 (2007).</strong></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/shitara" hreflang="en">Shitara</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/nisei" hreflang="en">Nisei</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/nisei-sisters" hreflang="en">Nisei Sisters</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/treason" hreflang="en">Treason</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/nisei-sisters-0" hreflang="en">The Nisei Sisters</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Robert Harvey,&nbsp;<em>Amache: The Story of Japanese Internment in Colorado During World War II</em> (Dallas, TX: Taylor Trade Publishers, 2003).</p> <p>Rocky Mountain PBS,&nbsp;<a href="https://video.rmpbs.org/video/2365030024/">"Amache&nbsp;1-Hour Special,"</a>&nbsp;<em>Colorado Experience</em>, June 20, 2013.</p> <p>Kumiko Takahara,&nbsp;<em>Off the Fat of the Land: The Denver Post's Story of the Japanese American Internment During World War II</em> (Powell, WY: Western History Publications, 2003).</p> <p>Kenneth Kaname Takemoto, Paul Howard Takemoto, and Alice Takemoto, <em>Nisei Memories: My Parents Talk About the War Years</em> (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2006).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Three of the Shitara sisters, known now as “the Nisei Sisters,” were prisoners at the&nbsp;<strong>Amache</strong>&nbsp;concentration camp who helped two Germans escape from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp.</p> <h2>The Nisei Sisters</h2> <p>Tsuruka (Toots) Wallace, Shivze (Flo) Otani, and Misao (Billie) Tanigoshi, were born into the Shitara family in Inglewood, California.</p> <h2>The Escape</h2> <p>In 1942, the sisters were prisoners at&nbsp;<strong>Granada War Relocation Center</strong>, also known as Camp Amache, in <strong>Trinidad</strong>, Colorado. They were let go from Amache to work on the Winger farm. They worked along with captured German soldiers from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp.</p> <p>While working on the farm, the Shitara sisters met Corporal Heinrich Haider, who wanted Toots to help him escape. On October 16, 1943, Haider and another POW, Corporal Hermann Loescher, cut through a wire fence on the Winger farm and escaped. The sisters met the two men and drove them south. The sisters returned to the farm unseen the next morning.</p> <p>Haider and Loescher were arrested in Watrous, New Mexico. The soldiers said nothing about the Shitara sisters or their part in the escape. This would have been the end of the story, except that some photos of were found of Toots and Billie with Haider and another German POW.</p> <p>The FBI sent an agent to question the two German POWs. The agent learned about the part the sisters had in the escape. The sisters were charged with treason.</p> <h2>The Trial</h2> <p>Kenneth W. Robinson was the lawyer for the Shitara sisters. The trial was based on who the sisters were and how they acted.</p> <h2>Gender, Race, and Miscegenation</h2> <p>The witnesses against the sisters were the two German POWs. Haider said that the sisters helped him because they loved America. He also said that Toots didn’t want to help him escape, but he made her.</p> <p>Loescher said he just wanted to be free. That he did not know the sisters but went along for the ride. In court he had some trouble remembering the sisters since he had only seen them at night.</p> <p>The sisters were found guilty of planning to commit treason. Toots was sent to prison for two years. Flo and Billie were sent to prison for one year and eight months, along with a fine of $1,000 each.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Three of the Shitara sisters, known now as “the Nisei Sisters,” were prisoners at the&nbsp;<strong>Amache</strong>&nbsp;concentration camp who helped two Germans escape from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp.</p> <h2>The Nisei Sisters</h2> <p>In the records of Asian American history, the trial of the three Nisei sisters has been almost forgotten.</p> <p>Tsuruka (Toots) Wallace, Shivze (Flo) Otani, and Misao (Billie) Tanigoshi, were born into the Shitara family that earned its living by farming in Inglewood, California.</p> <h2>The Escape</h2> <p>In the spring of 1942, the federal government imprisoned the sisters and many other people of Japanese ancestry in concentration camps. The sisters were sent to&nbsp;<strong>Granada War Relocation Center</strong>, also known as Camp Amache, in southeastern Colorado. Less than a year later, they were released from Amache to harvest onions on the Winger farm near&nbsp;<strong>Trinidad</strong>. They worked alongside captured German soldiers from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp.</p> <p>While working on the farm, the Shitara sisters met Corporal Heinrich Haider, who persuaded Toots to help him escape from Trinidad. On October 16, 1943, Haider and fellow POW Corporal Hermann Loescher cut through a wire fence on the Winger farm and escaped. Along the highway near Trinidad, they met with the sisters, who drove them south. Haider and Loescher got out at Wagon Mound, New Mexico, making their way to the town of Watrous on foot. The sisters returned to the Winger farm unnoticed the next morning.</p> <p>A train station agent in Watrous was suspicious of Haider and Loescher and called the police. Haider and Loescher were arrested. During questioning, the soldiers never mentioned the Shitara sisters or their part in the escape. This would have been the end of the story. However, some photographs were found on Haider that were taken by Flo. The photos showed Toots with Haider and Billie with another German POW.</p> <p>The FBI sent an agent to question the two German POWs. After learning of the sisters’ involvement in the escape attempt, the government decided to charge them on the high crime of treason and the lesser crime of conspiracy to commit treason.</p> <h2>The Trial</h2> <p>The court appointed Kenneth W. Robinson to be their legal counsel. The trial depended on the interpretation of the Shitara sisters’ characters. A report said that the sisters had a poor reputation in California. The prosecutors tried to use that to their advantage.</p> <h2>Gender, Race, and Miscegenation</h2> <p>Much to the surprise of everyone, the witnesses for the prosecution were the German POWs themselves. Haider told a dramatic story that implied the sisters were motivated to help him by devoted love of America rather than romantic love for the two prisoners. He also said that Toots tried to discourage him from escaping, but he pressured her into helping him.</p> <p>Loescher told a different story. With his freedom, Loescher had planned to make his way to Mexico and later to South America. He stated that he did not know the sisters before and went along for the ride. In court he even had some trouble recognizing the sisters since he had only seen them at night.</p> <p>The jurors found the sisters guilty of only conspiracy to commit treason. Toots was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and Flo and Billie to twenty months’ imprisonment, along with a fine of $1,000 each.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Three of the Shitara sisters, known now as “the Nisei Sisters,” were prisoners at the&nbsp;<strong>Amache</strong>&nbsp;concentration camp who helped two Germans escape from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp. During their trial, the sisters’ race, class, and sex all worked against them.</p> <h2>The Nisei Sisters</h2> <p>In the records of Asian American history, the trial of the three Nisei sisters has been almost forgotten. Without the Nisei sisters’ story, the unfortunate chapter in American history of Japanese Americans being held in concentration camps remains incomplete.</p> <p>Tsuruka (Toots) Wallace, Shivze (Flo) Otani, and Misao (Billie) Tanigoshi, were born into the Shitara family that earned its living through farming in Inglewood, California. The Shitara sisters each had a modest education and were a part of the working-class.</p> <h2>The Escape</h2> <p>In the spring of 1942, the federal government imprisoned the sisters and 120,000 other people of Japanese ancestry in inland concentration camps. The sisters were sent to&nbsp;<strong>Granada War Relocation Center</strong>, also known as Camp Amache, in southeastern Colorado. Less than a year later, they were released from Amache to harvest onions on the Winger farm near&nbsp;<strong>Trinidad</strong>. They worked alongside captured German soldiers from a nearby prisoner-of-war camp.</p> <p>While working on the farm, the Shitara sisters met Corporal Heinrich Haider, who convinced Toots to help him escape from Trinidad. On October 16, 1943, Haider and fellow POW Corporal Hermann Loescher cut through a wire fence on the Winger farm and escaped. Along the highway near Trinidad, they met with the sisters, who drove them south. Haider and Loescher got out at Wagon Mound, New Mexico, making their way to the town of Watrous on foot. The sisters returned to the Winger farm unobserved the next morning.</p> <p>Haider and Loescher went to the nearby train station at Watrous to ask about train schedules, making a station agent suspicious, who then called the police. Haider and Loescher were arrested. During questioning, the soldiers never discussed the Shitara sisters or their part in the escape. This would have been the end of the incident were it not for the discovery of some photographs on Haider taken by Flo. The photos showed Toots with Haider and Billie with another German POW, in what were considered compromising positions.</p> <p>The FBI sent an agent to interrogate the two German POWs. After learning of the sisters’ involvement in the escape attempt, the government decided to indict them on the high crime of treason and the lesser crime of conspiracy to commit treason.</p> <h2>The Trial</h2> <p>The court appointed Kenneth W. Robinson, considered one of Denver’s outstanding criminal lawyers of the time, to be their chief legal counsel. The treason trial depended on the interpretation of the Shitara sisters’ characters. The pre-sentence report on the trial noted that the sisters had a commonly poor reputation in Los Angeles. During the trial the prosecutors sought to use that reputation to their advantage.</p> <h2>Gender, Race, and Miscegenation</h2> <p>Much to the surprise of everyone, the witnesses for the prosecution were the German POWs themselves. Haider puzzled the prosecution when he told a dramatic story that implied the sisters were motivated to help him by patriotic love of America rather than romantic love for the two prisoners. He also said that in spite of Toots’s efforts to discourage him from escaping he pressured her into helping him. Haider’s story cast doubt on the case against the sisters.</p> <p>Loescher told a different and far simpler story. With his freedom, Loescher had planned to make his way to Mexico and later to South America. He stated that he did not know the sisters previously and went along for the ride. In court he even had some trouble identifying the sisters since he had only seen them at night.</p> <p>Robinson tried to demonstrate that the prosecution had failed to prove that the Nisei sisters had intended to injure the United States or help Germany, and that such intent was essential in order to find his clients guilty. Second, he argued that his clients’ actual intents were “romantic” and that they were passive and weak-willed women, easily manipulated by men.</p> <p>Robinson was successful. After deliberating for ten hours, the male jurors found the sisters guilty of only conspiracy to commit treason. With the verdict in hand, Judge Symes sentenced Toots to two years’ imprisonment and Flo and Billie to twenty months’ imprisonment, along with a fine of $1,000 each.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 29 Sep 2016 20:39:18 +0000 yongli 1886 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org