In 1988, Kay Sugahara granted Centenary United Methodist Church (“Centenary”) $25,000 to document and videotape the lives of our Issei, Nisei, and Sansei members. Because of Kay’s generosity, the Oral History Project was established and more than 100 of our beloved elders were interviewed.
They described their spiritual journeys, memories of Centenary, life in the Internment Camps during World War II, and the rebuilding of lives as they returned to the Los Angeles area. We hope to preserve this priceless treasure trove of personal history and memories on Centenary’s YouTube site.
For this to happen, we need your help! To post these wonderful, recorded interviews, we need permission from the interviewee or a family member. Click HERE to see if your family members were interviewed for Centenary’s Oral History Project. Videos may be viewed before granting permission.
If you were interviewed or are giving permission on behalf of a family member, please print and sign this form and email it to connect@centenarydtla.org. You may also mail it to Centenary United Methodist Church at P.O. Box 412797, Los Angeles, CA 90041.
Renamed the Centenary DTLA Oral History Project, we hope to post the videos throughout Centenary’s 125th Anniversary Celebration from October 2021 - October 2022 and beyond.
We are also attempting to record the Oral Histories of Centenary’s current congregation. Please email us at connect@centenarydtla.org or call the church at (213) 617-9097 for more information.
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YouTube: Sho Doiwchi at https://bit.ly/ShoDoiwchi
YouTube: Yoshiko Doiwchi at https://bit.ly/YoshikoDoiwchi
YouTube: Rosie Hayashida at https://bit.ly/RosieHayashida
YouTube: Harry Hayashida at https://bit.ly/HarryHayashida
YouTube: Yaeko Kusayanagi Nakamura at https://bit.ly/YaekoNakamura
YouTube: Kaz Saito at https://bit.ly/KazSaito
YouTube: Tom Saruwatari at https://bit.ly/TomSaruwatari
YouTube: George Yamaka at https://bit.ly/GeorgeYamaka