We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
This photo at the conclusion of a sugar beet harvest was taken at the Gus Lundeen farm, west of Chinook. Three Japanese families, all related, are shown in the photo. The Tom Matsuoka family, part of the group in the photo, eventually bought the Lundeen farm and settled there after World War II..
Reporter's note: Last summer I wrote a story about the World War II-era camps in Harlem and Chinook that temporarily housed German POWs while the prisoners worked the sugar beets. Several readers told me, "You should write about the Japanese detention camp that was in Chinook during the war. That's how the Matsuoka family ended up in Chinook after World War II."
While researching local stories I'd never come across any historical references to a Japanese relocation camp in or near Chinook. Eight of the ten relocation camps, where Japanese residents were taken during World War II, were in weste...
