Cleaning for the New Year

December 30, 2006

In what we hope will be an annual, end-of-the-year event, veterans, their children, and grandchildren toiled, mowed, weeded and wheelbarrowed on Saturday, December 30th to spruce up the Center for the new year.

442 veteran Mitsuo Watanabe's grandsons Ben and Andrew, 442 veteran Arthur Kurahara, and 100th/442 daughter Jill trimmed and weeded in the landscaping in front of the adult day care building.

Many hands make light work. Many weeded and trimmed above and below the keystone wall fronting Kahului Beach Road.

Kansha Preschool director Charlene Doi was on her hands and knees weeding the pumpkin patch next to the preschool.

Marvin Tengan and Ted Kesaji shoveled the new playground sand into wheelbarrows...

...and Leonard Oka and Lloyd Arisumi (all the way from Ann Arbor, Michigan!) help spread the sand around the new play structure.

Board member Dan Waki trimmed the grass in the parking lot strips.

A very productive day ended with a delicious lunch and a chance to talk story.

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Hiroshi Arisumi
NVMC President

"2006 was a wonderful year for all of us at the Nisei Veteran
Memorial Center.

"Our long-held dream of building a memorial to honor the Nisei veterans of WWII came to fruition. 

"In July we celebrated the grand opening of the first phase of our Center, which includes a preschool and an adult day care facility.

"We are now working on the third, and final, building - our Education Center which will house the Nisei Veterans Archives and include a workshop/classroom where we can teach future generations about the humble men who went to war to defend their country, and the rights of all citizens."