“I’m not from Tacoma and didn’t know there was a Japantown here until recently,” said writer and guide Tamiko Nimura. I wasn’t surprised. I’ve lived in and around Tacoma for the majority of my 40 plus years. I was born at Tacoma General. I even go to a church connected to Whitney Memorial, the one-time Japanese Methodist Episcopal… Read more
1930s
When I read about local history for my books, I sometimes find surprising information about people who once lived here and the places I now see everyday. Not long ago, I was reading Furusato by Ronald E. Magden, a book lent to me by my friend and pastor Karen Yokota Love. Magden writes engaging accounts of… Read more
“Look at Mutt and Jeff!” I showed my teenager a picture of our cat and his brother. https://www.instagram.com/p/BNVFYxWB-Gn/?taken-by=karriezmy “Who?” He gave me a look that immediately reminded me that I speak an older version of English. I knew tucked in the back of my brain that my parents and grandparents used to say ‘Mutt and Jeff’ and… Read more