101 - Yoshino Tanaka - Greenwood, British Columbia
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T0SHEA
N 49° 07.494 W 118° 41.003
11U E 377183 N 5442704
Greenwood Cemetery is located on Boundary Creek Road about 2 km NW off Hwy. 3. It is approximately 3.5 km from the town of Greenwood.
Waymark Code: WMMQTN
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 10/27/2014
Views: 4
Yoshino Tanaka was born in 1888 in Japan and passed away in 1989 at the age of 101.
The most interest event in Yoshino Tanaka life is that it is very likely she and her husband, Isaburo, and other family members were moved to Greenwood after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
"In 1918 a downturn in the copper market forced the closure of the BC Copper Company smelter in Greenwood. People left in droves, businesses were boarded up, and by 1940 only 200 people remained. It looked like the City of Greenwood was to become a ghost town, the fate of so many communities of the era.
During World War II a new group of citizens changed Greenwood's fate. A traumatic experience it was, the forced internment of Japanese-Canadians. In 1942 they were required to abandon their coastal lifestyles and were displaced to this isolated little mountain town.
Greenwood became the first internment camp for 1,200 people of Japanese descent arriving by train over a course of several months.
The many empty hotels and businesses became one-room compartments for families. Communal kitchens, shared bathing and toilet facilities and the bitter cold winters were the harsh realities unheard of on the Pacific West Coast.
With the same undaunted spirit of the miners before them, Greenwood's new citizens transformed the town into a once-again bustling community, where culture, education, and sports became an important part of everyday life.
Thus, when the war ended in 1945 and many city councils endorsed the deportation of Japanese Canadians, Greenwood stood fast in supporting its much appreciated community members."
Source - City of Greenwood
Some information was edited for content.
Yoshino Tanaka lived through some major events that took place in Canada. Some of which are: 1914 First World War, 1917 Women won right to vote, 1921 Alcohol prohibition, 1929 Women are considered "Persons" under Canadian law, 1939 World War II, 1980 Terry Fox began cross-country Marathon of Hope, and in 1965 Maple Leaf becomes official flag of Canada to just name a few.