Yomitan

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Year Started: 1927, with 51 adults and 125 children as members.
Original officers: Mr. Teruya, president; Mr. Sunabe, vice president.
Past presidents: Warran Chibana (1959-60), Frank Y. Higa (1961-62), Charles M. Higa (1963-64), Roy Takushi (1965-66), Richard S. Oshiro (1967-68), Sam Y. Takushi (1969- 70), Hiroshi Okuhara (1971-72), Jerry K. Higa (1973-74), David Takushi (1975-76), Robert Nakamura (1977-78), George K. Shimabukuro (1970).
Notes: Notes by Charles M. Higa: Yomitan-son, Okinawa, is an area of good farmland. Many of the immigrants from Yomitan went to the island of Hawaii, but it was in Honolulu that the Yomitan Sonjinkai was established. In the year before World War II, the Yomitan Sonjinkai usually had annual picnics at Ala Wai and its New Year’s parties at members’ homes in Waialae that were large enough to accommodate the entire group. Even though the club was disbanded during the war, it continued to have funds in a bank account. No one now recalls if the account was frozen, but members had intended to use the money to reestablish the club after the war ended. (2) From 1962 to 9972, Fancis Uechi,a Yomitan Sonjinkai member, worked as a contractor in Okinawa handling U.S. government contracts. His policy was to give the jobs to the Okinawans. In this way, a member of the club was involved in the development of Okinawa.
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