Chronology.
1920s - My grandparents, Ai and Iwazo purchase 11 acres of farmland in Port Hammond, BC, Canada.
1926 - 1935 - Over the nine years five kids were born in Port Hammond. Akemi (Marge) in 1926, Yoko (Estelle) in1927, Michitsugu in 1929 (only boy of 7 kids) Shunko (Joan) in 1931 and Kazuyo (Kay) in 1935.
1936 - Michitsugu dies from anaphylactic shock at the age of seven.
1938 - Haruye (Harriet) was born in Port Hammond, BC.
1939 - Yoriko (Vickie) was born in Port Hammond BC.
March 1941 - Ottawa required all Japanese Canadians, whether they were British subjects or not, to register with the government.
December 7, 1941 - The Japanese Navy attacks the American Naval base in Pearl Harbour, USA.
1942 - Claire (Aiko) was born in Port Hammond, BC.
January 14, 1942 - A 100-mile wide strip along the coast was designated a "protected area" by the federal government and all male Japanese Canadians between the ages of 18 and 45 were to be removed from the area and taken to road camps in the interior.
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February 25, 1942 - Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that all people of Japanese ancestry would be excluded from a 100-mile zone inland from the Pacific Coast.
March 4, 1942 - All people of Japanese racial origin were told to leave the protected area. A dusk to dawn curfew was imposed and enforced by police.
1942 - My family of (7 children) were forcibly removed from their 11 acres of farmland in Port Hammond and sent to Hastings Park in Vancouver and then trained to the tent city of Popoff, BC.
Late 1942 - Family was relocated from Popoff to Bay Farm, BC.
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September 1942 - Hastings Park Assembly Centre officially closes.
January 11, 1943 - The government of Canada made the decision to permit the sale of Japanese Canadian owned property, which had been previously seized.
October 1943 - My father dies in a sport fishing accident in Bay Farm. Cause of death is unknown but it is suspected that he got lost from his fishing partner and fell down a cliff.
August 1944 - Prime Minister Mackenzie King announced that Japanese Canadians were to be moved east of the Rocky Mountains or be deported to Japan following the end of the war.
September 2, 1945 - Japan officially surrenders on the USS Missouri battleship, officially ending World War II.
October 1946 - My family moved again from Bay Farm to New Denver, BC. Nearby internment camps were being closed and residents were moved to the New Denver internment camp.
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January 1947 - With all other camps closed or closing, 900 Nikkei continue to live in New Denver.
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January 1947 - Deportation Order in Council is repealed but not before 3,965 Japanese Canadians, half of whom were born here, have left for Japan.
June 1948 - Canadians of Japanese descent received the right to vote federally.
March 31, 1949 - Canadians of Japanese descent received the right to vote provincially in BC.
April 1, 1949 - The Canadian Government permits Japanese Canadians to return to the west coast of Canada.
April 1950 - My sister Akemi (Marge) marries and moves to Coaldale, Alberta.
1950 - Yoko (eldest sibling in the family) leaves New Denver and to study at Pittman College in Vancouver, BC.
July 1951 - My sister Joan soon joins Yoko to live in Vancouver.
1952 - Yoko takes over a lease for a confectionery corner store called Paramount Confectionery located at 2701 West Broadway (corner of Broadway and Stephens). The store has living quarters in the back and the remainder of the family (Kazuyo, Haruye, Yoriko and Aiko and my mother Yoshi) leave New Denver to venture to Vancouver to help operate the confectionery store.
1979 - Mother received an honorary certificate from the Governor of Yokohama for surviving the hardships of living in Canada during the World War II.
September 22, 1988 - Prime Minister Brian Mulroney delivered an apology to the Japanese Canadians, and the Canadian government announced a compensation package for those Japanese Canadians that were impacted by the internment.
March 2024 - 11 Acres Project receives funding from Japanese Canadians Legacies.
April 2024 - 11acres.ca is launched.