Interpreting Tradition

NIKKI NOJIMA LOUIS

LEFT: The Nakayama family pictured in Las Cruces. Roy Nakayama was born near El Paso to Japanese parents in 1923. He went on to serve in World War II and was captured at the Battle of the Bulge.

group, developed the local stories in the Keleher Gallery exhibition. Louis herself was interned with her mother and siblings in an Idaho camp.

“I really tried to capture the environment at the time, not just with the Asian community but in general. That generation was very stoic … veterans would come home shell-shocked (now called PTSD) or damaged in some way and put their lives back together,” Louis said.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: Hiroshi Miyamura was born and raised in Gallup, New Mexico, and later became one of the city’s best known residents. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese during World War II, Miyamura recalls how the principal of his school told students not to blame their Japanese classmates for what had happened. Two months later, as Japanese residents on the West Coast were sent to internment camps—and some towns and cities voluntarily incarcerated their Japanese and Japanese American residents—the town of Gallup declared that they would stand by their Japanese neighbors and not participate. Miyamura served in World War II and again in the Korean War. During the Korean War he was taken prisoner while providing cover for his squad. For these actions, President Eisenhower awarded him the Medal of Honor. Miyamura still lives in Gallup where he has a high school and an overpass named for him.

Interpreting Tradition Casa San Ysidro offers slate of educational programs.

CASA SAN YSIDRO: The Gutiérrez/Minge House opened for the season in February with a new and comprehensive schedule of programs. The Corrales-based satellite of the Albuquerque Museum is filled with artifacts from Spanish Colonial and Territorial periods. Programming at Casa this spring focuses on the artisan skills appropriate to the environment, and to Casa’s history. “We want to create a lot of opportunities for people to get involved in Casa San Ysidro as a resource for research and a gathering place for the community,” says Aaron Gardner, site manager.

Revitalized in the style of a nineteenth century rancho, Casa San Ysidro’s historic adobe, stone, and log structures, originating from throughout New Mexico, are energized with historic traditional arts and furnishing typical of frontier life in New Mexico. Its programs include the Second Saturday workshops and talks.