History in a Box

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Mariachi Bow Large, colorful floppy bowties are a key part of the clothing ensemble of mariachi musicians, who play folk music from Mexico. As of 2011, 95 percent of Boyle Heights’ residents were Latinos, mostly Mexican Americans, Mexican immigrants and Central American nationals.

HISTORY IN A

By Pamela J. Johnson

Children can read about the waves of various immigration groups to Boyle Heights, a working-class, mostly Latino community in east Los Angeles. Or, they can hold the history in their hands.

George Sanchez, professor of American studies and ethnicity, and history, Monica Pelayo, Ph.D. candidate in history, and a cadre of undergraduates are working with local teachers to bring a different kind of history lesson to grade school classrooms.

As a way to teach the rich history of Boyle Heights and bring awareness to the rehabilitation effort of the historic Breed Street Shul — the largest Orthodox synagogue in the western United States from 1915 to 1951 — the team is collecting items depicting historical themes of Boyle Heights. The items will be placed in wooden boxes for lessons on topics such as immigration, business and World War II. “This is history you can feel,” Pelayo said.

Kasinka A kasinka is a head scarf worn by women in the Russian Molokan community. In 1904, members of this dissenting sect of the Russian Orthodox Church fled Russia to avoid persecution and mandatory enlistment during the Russo-Japanese War. Many settled in “the flats” of Boyle Heights.

Bento Box Bento comes from a Southern Song Dynasty slang term meaning “convenience.” The box holds the bento, a single-portion Japanese meal. After World War II, many Japanese Americans who had been held in internment camps moved to, or returned to, Boyle Heights. They lived there until the 1950s, when Latino immigrants replaced most.

Joss Sticks This incense is usually burned in front of an Asian religious statue or shrine. The word Joss originates from the Portuguese word for God, Deus. More than a century ago, a large Chinese community lived in Boyle Heights.

Kippah From the Aramaic meaning “fear of the king,” a kapele or kippah is a bowl-shaped cap worn by observant Jewish men and sometimes women covering their heads as a sign of respect.

From the 1920s to the 1950s, Boyle Heights was a center of Jewish life.

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Maneki-neko The cute, waving kitty is a common Japanese talisman meant to bring good luck. You’ll see one when you walk into Otomisan, the last remaining Japanese restaurant in Boyle Heights.

Founded in 1956, Otomisan still occupies its original location on East First Street.

Canter’s Deli Take-Out Menu Who’s in the mood for beef brisket? The Jewish delicatessen Canter’s opened in Boyle Heights in 1931. The Canter family first opened a deli in New Jersey in 1924, then came west along with many Jews from the northeastern United States in the early 1940s.

Sailors White Hat Between 1904 and 1912, as many as 5,000 Russian Molokans settled in Boyle Heights, fleeing persecution and mandatory enlistment during the Russo-Japanese War. Yet by the time the U.S. entered Word War II, second generation Russian Molokans joined the military in support of the American war efforts.

Roosevelt High School Newspaper Roosevelt High School lost 30 percent of its student population to Japanese internment. Student body president and valedictorian Masamori Kojima was among the thousands who received evacuation orders. On April 8, 1942, the Rough Riders newspaper published a spirited article denouncing internment, citing the loss of many student leaders.

Tatami Mat In February 1942, during Japa-

Mariachi Belt Buckle Buckles and all things mariachi are found at the unique Boyle Heights store La Casa del Mariachi. For women, there are dress suits from all regions of Mexico and other parts of Latin America.

Mortar and Pestle The mortar is a bowl, usually made of hard wood, ceramic or stone. The pestle is a heavy club-shaped object used for grinding. It is traditionally used to crush ingredients for prescriptions in pharmacies such as the Ramirez Pharmacy, a family-owned, independent Boyle Heights pharmacy in operation since 1953.

nese internment, the FBI arrested the Rev. Giichi Miyano of the Tenrikyo Mission Church.

His wife, Yukiko, arranged for a local African American congregation to act as caretaker of the church during her family’s incarceration.

The African American community also took care of their possessions.

Zoot Hat Feather A feather sits on the side of a zoot hat, part of the baggy pant suit popular in mostly Chicano communities in the 1940s. The L.A. riots in 1943 between Anglo American military stationed in the city and Latino youths, who wore zoot suits, were dubbed the “Zoot Suit Riots.”

Mollie Wilson and Mary In 1942, Roosevelt High School senior Mollie Wilson was deeply disturbed by the forced removal of her many Japanese American friends from Boyle Heights.

When she sent them letters and packages, many wrote back from concentration camps. Mary (last name unknown), pictured at right, was one of her friends who was interned.

Guitar Pick For more than 80 years, luthiers have handcrafted guitars at Candelas in Boyle Heights.

Mahogany, maple, cedar, spruce and rosewood are used to build guitars such as classicals, requinto romanticos and bajo sextos. Tacote and cedar are used to create mariachi instruments such as the vihuela, guitarrón and guitarra de golpe.

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I L L U S T R AT I O N S BY M I C H A E L WA R S A K A F O R U S C D O R N S I F E M AG A Z I N E

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