NNM 2014.04.038.
In the fall of 1942, the young people of Tashme formed the Tashme Youth Organization (TYO). The TYO was open to all between 16 and 35. The first slate of officers was:
Mitsuyuki Sakata – president
Martha Hori and Shige Yoshida – vice presidents
Mutsuko Sumi and Toru Umetsu – secretaries
Jiro Miyazawa and Marge Takahashi – treasurers
Walter Inouye, Doug Fujimoto and Miyoko Kadoguchi – service department
Minoru Sakamoto, Myea Okamura and Bob Kadoguchi – education department
Frank Shiraishi, Amy Oki and Yoshikazu Ono – athletics
Ken Hori, Yuki Yoshida and Emy Nakame – entertainment department
The TYO was the centre of much of the social and recreational activities in Tashme.
TYO consisted of young people over 16. It organized various activities including Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, and entertainment for the community. There were 144 Scouts, headed by Shige Yoshida. This was the largest troop of scouts among communities of similar size. Moreover, the Organization operated a small library consisting mostly of works of fiction. Because they were not allowed to have radios and could read only the weekly newspaper The New Canadian, the internees enjoyed reading many library books. Furthermore, the Organization planned concerts with both English and Japanese numbers. Particularly at Christmas, these concerts included the High School Orchestra. (Awmack 1993 p 30).
from Japanese Canadian Education During the WWII Internment, Wakako Ishikawa, Master’s Thesis, Dept of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning. University of Toronto, 2003