There is a house on Lemon Street in Riverside with a Riverside City Landmark (#23), a California State Historical Landmark (#1060), and a National Historic Landmark. The house was the home of the Harada family. Sumi Harada, a remarkable woman, was the family member who resided in the home the longest and an amazing woman to feature during Women's History Month.
Jukichi and Ken Harada and their young son, Masa Atsu, settled in Riverside in 1905, to find work and raise their family. Within a few years, the Haradas managed several rooming houses and operated the Washington Restaurant. By 1912 Jukichi and Ken had five children, four of whom were born in Riverside. After their son, Tadao died of diphtheria at the age of five, the family sought a less crowded residence.
In December 1915, Jukichi purchased a house on Lemon Street between Third and Fourth Street but placed the names of three of his children, Mine, Sumi, and Yoshizo, on the deed. These children, all born in the United States and thus American citizens, were nine, five, and three years old at the time. The story behind this decision and the subsequent court case before the Riverside Superior Court is a story of its own. The sixth and youngest child, Harold, was born in the front bedroom of the house on Lemon Street.
The other major story surrounding the Harada family is the sad account of the government's relocation of Japanese families on the West Coast, whether citizens or not, to one of ten internment camps. Initially separated at different camps, the family was united in 1945 at The Topaz Internment Camp in Delta, Utah.
Despite these hardships, Sumi Harada grew up to be a resourceful and energetic citizen of Riverside.
Born in Riverside on December 25, 1909, Sumi was the third of five children. She was six years old when the family moved into their own home on Lemon Street. Sumi later related how they now had plenty of room and even fruit trees in the backyard. But there were difficulties there. Many neighbors resented their presence, and the children were warned to stay in their yard and not accept anything from the neighbors.
Shortly before the family moved, Sumi started school at the nearby Lincoln School. She related memories of being one of only two "colored" students in her class and feeling different. Walking home, she often heard taunts telling her to stay on her side of the street. Sumi and her siblings attended Riverside schools, all graduating from Poly High School.
Growing up, Sumi worked in the family's Washington Restaurant, her duties advancing as she grew older.
By 1941 the older Harada children had moved to other parts of California to pursue different careers. Only Sumi and Harold remained in Riverside, working at the Washington Restaurant and caring for their parents. Then came the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. President Franklin Roosevelt signed an Executive Order on February 19, 1942, requiring the removal of all Japanese families. Sumi's parents, Jukichi and Ken, moved to Northern California to be with some of the older children and were relocated to Tule Lake and later to Topaz in central Utah. Harold and Sumi sold off the restaurant business at a huge loss and then worked on securing their home on Lemon Street. They arranged with Jess Stebler to live in the house and care for it. On May 23, 1942, Harold wrote on the wall in his bedroom: "Evacuated on May 23, 1942 Sat. 7 A.M." Those words are still on the wall in the upper bedroom in the house. Sumi and her brother were bused to the Poston Relocation Center in the Sonoran Desert.
Sumi and her brother remained at Poston until March of 1943 when they could obtain a transfer to Topaz because of their parents' failing health. A few days after the arrival of Sumi and Harold, Ken Harada died on March 12, 1943. Less than a year later on January 30, 1944, Jukichi Harada died. Sumi lost both of her parents while they were held captive at the Topaz Internment Camp.
At the end of April 1944 Harold left Topaz for a job in Chicago. A few weeks later, Sumi could also depart Topaz for Chicago. In Chicago, she obtained a clerical job at a Baptist publishing house. While in Chicago, Sumi received an offer to buy her home on Lemon Street. Even though she did not know when or if she could return to Riverside, she replied she would not sell the house as it was her last tie to Riverside.
After the war ended, Sumi returned home at the end of August 1945 to Riverside and the house on Lemon Street, which had been cared for by Jesse Stebler. Pastor Masatoshi Ohmura of the Japanese Union Church in Riverside asked Sumi to board other returnees from the various internment camps. She opened her home to a steady stream of Japanese as they returned to the Riverside area and attempted to resume their lives. She took no money for rent, only asking that they help with groceries. Sumi obtained work as a housekeeper for several Riverside families.
The Riverside YWCA honored Sumi Harada on September 14, 1995, as one of four "Women of Achievement" who left their marks on Riverside. Sumi was presented with the community service award for her frequent talks on her experiences, her assistance to the sick and hospitalized, her activities at the First Congregational Church, and her participation in the Riverside Sister City Program. Sumi also became an active Friends of the Mission Inn member, possibly remembering Frank Miller's support of her family and other Japanese.
Toward the end of her life, Sumi moved to a convalescent home in Culver City to be near her brother Harold. She died on May 8, 2000, at the age of ninety. Funeral services were conducted at the First Congregational Church in Riverside, where she had been an active member for many years. She was buried in Olivewood Cemetery.
Sumi Harada was often described as a woman with a gruff exterior, a wry sense of humor, and a heart of gold. She was born in Riverside, suffered prejudice as a child, and her family underwent a court battle for their house. She was forced to leave Riverside and live in internment camps, but she returned to her place of birth and lived the rest of her life in Riverside as a productive citizen, serving and helping others. Sumi indeed was a remarkable woman.
To learn more about the remarkable details of the story of Sumi and the Harada family, read The House on Lemon Street and No Other Place, both books by Mark Rawitsch.
