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Hirashima Family
Family information in Pitt Meadows in 1942
Residence (before and after uprooting) – 141 Harris Road, Pitt Meadows – Neys, ON, Homewood, MB, Arnaud MB
Husband – Torao Hirashima – Born on October 6th, 1900. Occupation: Farmer
Wife – Yumiko Hirashima (Nee: Yumiko Yoshioka) – Born January 8th 1907. Occupation: Self Employed Farmers Help.
Children
- Tomio Hirashima (Son) – Born October 2nd 1929. No Records
- Hatsue Hirashima (Daughter) – Born August 17th, 1931. No Records.
- Setsuko Hirashima (Daughter) – Born April 1st 1934. No Records
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History of the Hirashima Family
Torao and Yumiko married in Mission on September 22nd 1928. The children were born in Hammond B.C., Tomio in 1929, Hatsue in 1931, and Setsuko in 1934. At some point the family moved to 141 Harris Road to farm.
In April 1942, the family was forcibly removed from Pitt Meadows. Torao was removed to Neys, Ontario for a time being forced to work at the Pigeon Timber Company (who started their use of Japanese labour in May 1943),it was paid bushwork. At some point he rejoined his family in Manitoba. The family more than likely worked as farm hands in Arnaud until the end of their internment, likely on the sugar beet farms.
History of their lives after leaving Pitt Meadows
We have no records for Torao and Yumiko after the war except for their death dates. Torao passed on March 6th 1990 and Yumiko passed away on March 3rd 1983.
“Tom” Tomio Hirashima was born October 2nd 1929 in Hammond B.C. He married Marie in Lethbridge in November of 1954. He worked for the City of Lethbridge Electrical Dept. until his retirement in 1994. He passed away on May 1st 2009.
Hatsue was born in Hammond in 1931. She married George (Shuichi) Nonomura on July 18th 1961. They had two children Robert and Colin. She passed away on August 21st 2007.
We have no records of Setsuko Hirashima.
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Internment Records
Through the Landscapes of Injustice, the Internment Records for each family member are now accessible. If there are no records of the family member it could be because they were under 16 years old and were put on their parents forms.
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