Holidays in Huntington Beach 1915!

Huntington Beach Historical Society's Civil War Days September 5 - 6

A gathering of Civil War veterans at the Methodist Campground in Huntington Beach, circa 1913. (Photograph courtesy of City of Huntington Beach archives)

   Did you know the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)---Civil War veterans from the North and South---camped at Huntington Beach beginning in 1887? 

   This was an annual multi-day reunion held at the end of August / start of September at the beach and Methodist campground near Acacia and Orange streets (where the century-old and recently restored Corner Market is today). Hundreds and sometimes thousands attended.

LEFT: The GAR encampment included military ceremonies, beach camp fires, musical entertainment and, at times, lively political debate. (Image, Los Angeles Herald, September 7 1905)

    This weekend, 128 years later, the Huntington Beach Historical Society holds its annual Civil War Days with historical reenactment in Central Park.  Representing a volatile period in America, historical reenactment of the Civil War provides an educational opportunity and a reminder of Huntington Beach's GAR history.

    In the early 1900s, the Huntington Beach News reported on activities, flag drills, musical entertainment, plays, beach camp fires, ceremonies and trips via the Red Car into the Sawtelle Veterans Home in Los Angeles County (established in 1887). 

LEFT: Cannons, bugles, flags and military attire filled the streets and beaches of Huntington Beach when the GAR came to town. (Photograph courtesy of City of Huntington Beach archives)

    Except for an outbreak of ptomaine poisoning among 200 veterans after a big dinner in August 1910, they generally had a good time. There are some reports of arguments regarding the North and the South, which they resolved or agreed to disagree. As we know in 2015, this history remains a living part of the fabric of America.

LEFT: By 1910, the GAR encampment at Huntington Beach was in its 23 year (despite the typo in the newspaper headline). An outline of the week's activities includes a speech by the mayor of Huntington Beach and a formal goodbye handshake at the close. (Image, Los Angeles Herald, July 4, 1910)

    This is a free event to the public in Huntington Beach's beautiful Central Park.  More information can be found on the Huntington Beach Historical Society's website for this event at http://hbcivilwar.webs.com/

ABOVE: The Malvern Camp Hill Post at Huntington Beach, circa 1900.  A news article of the time notes the veterans preferred their tents to other accommodations. The history of "tent cities" in Huntington Beach relates to the GAR, the oil boom (when housing could not keep pace), and to religious revivals. (Photograph courtesy of City of Huntington Beach archives)

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Huntington Beach blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.

It's hanami time! Sister City 2nd annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Central Park

The first annual Cherry Blossom Festival in 2014 was perfectly timed with the blossoming of cherry trees from Huntington Beach's Sister City of Anjo, Japan. (Photograph courtesy of Gregory Robertson) © All rights reserved.

without regret

they fall and scatter

cherry blossoms

~Issa, a haiku written in 1821

 
   It's time for the Cherry Blossom Festival!  Join the Huntington Beach Sister City Association Sunday, March 22, for the second annual Cherry Blossom Festival, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Central Park at the grandstand area behind the Huntington Beach Central Library.

Left: Monument stone in Central Park recognizing the gift of cherry trees from Sister City Anjo, Japan.

 A tradition adopted from Huntington Beach's Sister City of Anjo, Japan---who presented the cherry trees as a gift to the City---the tradition of "flower viewing" is called hanami.  

Most often, hanami festivals and picnics are centered around the sakura, or cherry blossoms.  The hanami is a tradition known to have occurred at least as early as the 3rd Century A.D.  It is deeply embedded in Japanese culture, a time for friends and family to gather outdoors, welcome spring, and socialize.

   The U.S. National Cherry Blossom Festival began March 27, 1912, with the planting of cherry trees by First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador.  Japan presented as a gift of friendship more than 3,000 trees, come of which were planted on the grounds of the White House.  

   As more trees were planted in the Potomac Park, the annual spring blossoming evolved into the first National Cherry Blossom Festival in 1935, which has since become a beloved tradition in Washington, D.C.  

Right: A stone lantern and stones presented to the City of Huntington Beach by Anjo, Japan, circa 1982. (Photograph by M.Urashima, February 2015) © All rights reserved.

   The National Cherry Blossom Festival is opened by the lighting of a 300-year-old Japanese Stone Lantern that was a gift from Japan in 1954, recognizing the 100th anniversary of the first Treaty of Peace, Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan on March 31, 1854.

Right: Cherry trees blossoming in Huntington Beach Central Park. (Photograph by M. Urashima, March 9, 2015) © All rights reserved.

   Forecasting the dates on which cherry trees will be in full bloom is high science in Japan.  The Japan Meteorological Agency track the cherry blossom "front" as it moves from southern to northern Japan, which is then reported by every news outlet.  

   We can report the cherry trees in Huntington Beach Central Park are now in bloom, perfectly timed with the Sister City Association's hanami so that locals and visitors can experience the "pink clouds."

Left: Taiko drummers performing at the 2014 Cherry Blossom Festival in Huntington Beach Central Park. (Photograph by M. Urashima, March 29, 2014) © All rights reserved.  

   The Huntington Beach Cherry Blossom Festival features live dance and theater performances, music, local organizations relating to both Japanese and Japanese American culture and history.  

   The festival also features a variety of savories and sweets to try.  In keeping with a humorous Japanese proverb, "dumplings before flowers," check out some delicious Japanese cuisine and cool off with shave ice, a local favorite.

   Cherry blossoms have various symbolic meanings in Japanese culture, but often are seen as a metaphor for the fragility and transience of life.  A beautiful reminder to take time to view the cherry blossoms!

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Huntington Beach blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.

WATCH: PBS SoCaL "Our American Family: The Furutas" of Historic Wintersburg, Huntington Beach pioneers

ADVANCE SCREENING: Huntington Beach pioneer story comes to PBS SoCal

The Furuta family of Wintersburg Village in 1922 (standing: Toshiko, Nobuko, Raymond, Kazuko; seated: Yukiko with Etsuko, Charles). (Photo courtesy of the Furuta family) © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
     
From our sister blog, Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach, the history of the Furuta family of Wintersburg Village comes to PBS in 2015.

   The effort to bring the history of the Furuta family of Historic Wintersburg to public television began in January 2013.  We're pleased to announce Our American Family: The Furutas will be shown in a national advance screening 5 p.m., Saturday, February 21, at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California.

   The screening will be held in the Tateuchi Democracy Forum theater at the Museum, which is located in the historic district of Little Tokyo.  Parking is available at the Little Tokyo Mall on 1st Street and at the John Aiso Street parking facility, between 1st and Temple streets.  

   In the early 1900s, the Pacific Electric Railway, also known as the "Red Car," had a line between Huntington Beach and Little Tokyo.  Visitors are encouraged to stop for mochi and other sweets at the Fugetsu-do confectionery in Little Tokyo on 1st Street, where Yukiko Furuta shopped a century ago, http://www.fugetsu-do.com/

   Historic Wintersburg is proud to have provided background, research and assistance with the film production, featuring five-generations of oral histories, archival photographs and interviews with the Furuta family.  The history begins with Charles Furuta's arrival in America in 1900 and his effort to establish a new life in what is now Huntington Beach.

   As featured in this post on the Historic Wintersburg blog, http://historicwintersburg.blogspot.com/2013/10/our-american-family-features-furuta.html,  the filming in Southern California was in September 2013 (see preview video at that link).  At the same time, the book, Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach, was in final review by the publisher, History Press.

Left: The book, Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach (History Press) was published in March 2014.  The book shares the history of the Furuta family, Orange County's Japanese pioneers, and the origins of Wintersburg Village, which was annexed into Huntington Beach in 1957.

   In addition to the 1982 oral history of Yukiko Furuta, film makers utilized research, oral histories, and images provided by the author of Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach, historian Mary Adams Urashima, the California State University Fullerton Center for Oral and Public History, one-on-one interviews with Furuta family descendants, and personal photographs from the Furuta family.

   The screening of Our American Family: The Furutas starts at 5 p.m. in the Takeuchi Democracy Forum theater, across the plaza from the Museum's main entrance.  This is a free advanced screening, open to the public.  Seating is limited.

RIGHT: Etsuko Furuta (second row, third from right) in her third grade class at Ocean View Grammar School, 1929. The Ocean View Grammar School was at the southwest corner of Beach Boulevard and Warner Avenue (then Wintersburg Avenue). These students later attended Huntington Beach High School. This photograph is in the exhibit currently on display at the Main Street Library in Huntington Beach, 525 Main Street. (Photo courtesy of the Furuta family) © All rights reserved.

   We thank PBS SoCal for assisting with the advance screening in Southern California.  PBS SoCal is the first PBS station in the country to air Our American Family: The Furutas, with air dates starting in late February 2015 and early March 2015 following the advanced screening.  Later this year, PBS stations around the country will begin airing the program in May (contact your local PBS station for dates and times).

ABOVE: A photograph by Charles Furuta of beach goers at Huntington Beach, circa 1913. (Photo courtesy of the Furuta family) © All rights reserved.
   
   More information about Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach and Our American Family: The Furutas at http://historicwintersburg.blogspot.com/2015/01/advance-screening-our-american-family.html

  Information and directions for the Japanese American National Museum at http://www.janm.org/    Signed copies of Historic Wintersburg in Huntington Beach are available in the Museum gift shop.

© All rights reserved.  No part of the Historic Huntington Beach blog may be reproduced or duplicated without prior written permission from the author and publisher, M. Adams Urashima.