Mitzi Asai Loftus Oral History Interview

Interviewee: Mitzi Asai Loftus
Interviewer: Susan Hirata
Interview Date: April 14, 2007
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Duration: 1:28:36
 

Mitzi Asai Loftus was born in Hood River, Oregon in 1932. Her parents emigrated from Japan and owned and operated fruit orchards in Hood River. Her father was forced to sell his property after he was sent to the internment camps. She was in the fourth grade when World War II began and her family was sent to the Pinedale Assembly Center in Fresno, California and later to internment camps in Tule Lake, California, and Heart Mountain, Wyoming. In April 1945, the family returned to Hood River where Loftus finished school. When she was in the ninth grade, she changed her name from Mitsuko to Mitzi. She attended the University of Oregon and studied education. She taught at schools in Oregon for 47 years. Loftus taught English in Japan on a Fulbright scholarship. Loftus has written a book, Made in Japan and Settled in Oregon about her family's history and experiences during World War II. She frequently gives presentations about the internment camps and her life as a Japanese-American in Oregon.

Dublin Core

Title

Mitzi Asai Loftus Oral History Interview

Description

Mitzi Asai Loftus was born in Hood River, Oregon in 1932. Her parents emigrated from Japan and owned and operated fruit orchards in Hood River. Her father was forced to sell his property after he was sent to the internment camps. She was in the fourth grade when World War II began and her family was sent to the Pinedale Assembly Center in Fresno, California and later to internment camps in Tule Lake, California, and Heart Mountain, Wyoming. In April 1945, the family returned to Hood River where Loftus finished school. When she was in the ninth grade, she changed her name from Mitsuko to Mitzi. She attended the University of Oregon and studied education. She taught at schools in Oregon for 47 years. Loftus taught English in Japan on a Fulbright scholarship. Loftus has written a book, Made in Japan and Settled in Oregon about her family's history and experiences during World War II. She frequently gives presentations about the internment camps and her life as a Japanese-American in Oregon.

Creator

Mitzi Asai Loftus

Source

Japanese-American Association of Lane County, Oregon, Oral History Collection

Publisher

Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries

Date

April 14, 2007

Contributor

Susan Hirata

Format

Born Digital

Language

English

Type

Oral History

Identifier

oh15-loftus-mitzi-20070414

Oral History Item Type Metadata

Interviewer

Susan Hirata

Interviewee

Mitzi Asai Loftus

Location

Eugene, Oregon

Original Format

Born Digital

Duration

1:28:36

OHMS Object

Interview Format

audio