If you’re in Denver on Black Friday, November 25th, author Alan O’Hashi will be signing his memoir Beyond Heart Mountain at the Tattered Cover Bookstore on Colfax from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The book is Alan’s story about growing up and living in Wyoming after World War II. He recounts the subtle and overt racism he and his family had to endure. His family was spared from living in a War Relocation Center because Japanese individuals who resided in the U.S. interior were deemed as being interned in place.
May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Beyond Heart Mountain author and filmmaker Alan O’Hashi will be on the road showing his documentary and speaking about his memoir. The program is entitled, Civility, Culture, Community, All times Mountain Daylight Time. To schedule an event, please send us an email.
“Beyond Heart Mountain” is a documentary memoir by Alan O’Hashi based on the book of the same title. The Heart Mountain Relocation Center was one of 10 camps established after President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The memoir-documentary is available for rent or streaming for a small donation.
A chimney still remains at the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp in Northwest Wyoming between Cody and Powell. Click on the photo to rent or purchase the movie.
The U.S. government rounded up 120,000 Japanese, mostly on the west coast. After they were sorted out at 15 assembly centers, trainloads of evacuees were transported by train as far east as Arkansas.
Japanese American Baby Boomer, filmmaker and author Alan O’Hashi relates his personal experiences. He reclaims his heritage after once being part of a culturally thriving community.
The businesses and residents vanished following World War II because of racial injustice out in the middle of nowhere in his hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming
The story is told through the eyes of filmmaker and author Alan O’Hashi. He interviewed four of his contemporaries who had ties to the once-vibrant Japanese community in West Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Young Carol Lou Kishiyama and her family owned the California Fish Market in downtown Cheyenne.
Robert Walters worked at the City Cafe, the neighborhood anchor.
Brian Matsuyama’s family owned the California Fish Market before selling it to Carol Lou Kishiyama and her family.
Terie Miyamoto’s family owned the only racially-integrated bar in the Japanese community, Baker’s Place.
My grandmother worked as a cook at the City Cafe and my grandfather owned the pool hall next to the City Cafe.
Watch for the book version that will be published by Winter Goose Publishing.
It’s not just about the demise of the once vibrant Japanese community in a small town in Wyoming that thrived from the 1920s through the 1960s, but about how downtown areas can be revived by adding new life to them with people.
The story is a historical memoir told through the eyes of the author, a Sansei generation Baby Boomer Cheyenne native, Alan O’Hashi.
The 1st edition 50 page picture book is a short run 8×11″ hard cover book with a dust jacket. The price is $58.99, preview the book by opening the YouTube link. Download a pdf copy of the Beyond Heart Mountain preface.
Pre-orders are being accepted. The release date is the “Day of Remembrance” on February 19th, which commemorates 77 years since President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that required internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry.
If you’re in Denver on Black Friday, November 25th, author Alan O’Hashi will be signing his memoir Beyond Heart Mountain at the Tattered Cover Bookstore on Colfax from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
