PRESERVING HISTORY. June Schumann was honored at the recent Oregon Nikkei Endowment annual banquet for her longstanding commitment to and guidance of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center. Schumann (left) received the award from board member Valerie Otani. (Photo/Rich Iwasaki, courtesy of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center)

From The Asian Reporter, V19, #18 (May 5, 2009), page 12 & 23.

By Josephine Bridges

Thanks in large part to June Arima Schumann, a founding member of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center (ONLC) and executive director of the organization for its first decade, the contributions of Oregon’s nikkei, people of Japanese ancestry, will be long remembered and celebrated. June retired from ONLC last summer. "She can now rest from the day-to-day operations of the center," says Homer Yasui, longtime community volunteer and leader, "but she will continue her close involvement with affairs of our community and of our city."

George Katagiri, ONLC board member and community historian, describes the establishment of ONLC: "For a half a century, from 1890 to 1942, there was a concentrated Japanese business community in the Old Town area of Portland. By 1940, over a hundred businesses operated by Japanese families included hotels, restaurants, mercantile stores, and barbershops. When all persons of Japanese ancestry were interned in the spring of 1942, Japan Town disappeared. This community was not rebuilt when families returned from the internment camps."

An ad hoc committee felt there was a need to establish a center to preserve the legacy of Japanese-American history in Oregon, Katagiri explained, and after years of planning and fundraising, Schumann was hired on a part-time basis to serve as the director of the newly formed Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center.

"The primary purposes of the center were to collect photographs and artifacts, to establish a depository for relevant items, to develop a research center, and to organize an outreach program to inform community groups about the history and contributions of Japanese Americans in Oregon," Katagiri said.

"As the center’s first executive director, she helped to take an idea and transform it into a facility that tells the story of the Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest," said David Yamashita, president of Oregon Nikkei Endowment, the parent organization of ONLC. "We are now building upon the foundation that has been created through June’s work."

"June has been the heart and soul of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center," said Sho Dozono, who chaired the 2001 capital campaign for ONLC. "The entire Japanese-American community owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to her. Not only has June been an inspiration to the Japanese-American community, she has been a leading voice in [Chinatown and historic Old Town]."

"It was a real privilege to work with June," says Patricia Rumer, an Old Town neighborhood activist who admires not only her "leadership in bringing together a diverse group of small nonprofits who care about preserving the past and including it in the present," but also Schumann’s sense of humor.

Mari Watanabe, executive director of the Oregon Nikkei Endowment, believes "June’s passion for preserving the history and culture of the Japanese Americans living in Oregon has put the ONLC on the map as a respected museum and educational center. I am impressed and amazed at what June accomplished in her time here."

Retirement doesn’t seem to be slowing June down. So far she has "finished a flurry of home improvement projects," signed up as a volunteer speaker for ONLC, and begun serving on the board of directors for the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO). She also performs with Portland Taiko. Fifteen years ago, even before ONLC, June was one of the founders of the drumming group, and although she describes herself as "rhythmically challenged," she sees taiko as "an important tool for self-expression and outreach for Asian Americans."

June Arima Schumann has changed Portland — and Oregon — for the better, and she is a reminder to the rest of us that one person can accomplish a great deal. As for her outlook on the future, it is characteristically, unreservedly optimistic. "Change," she says, "is always good."

To learn more about the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, visit <www.oregonnikkei.org>.