The Friends of the Everson Library are in their fourth year of sponsoring monthly historical programs under the banner of "Explore the Past - Enrich the Present." The presenters are amazing, and the local emphasis creates a sense of community and fellowship. Longtime residents have affectionately shared their sense of place. We all need "roots and wings." Such is the stuff of which these necessities are made!
Last month our program was unsettling, but ultimately hopeful. Mildred Beitzel, mother of our library manager, Eileen Shaw, gave us a challenge. She highlighted some of her experiences as a teacher in a Japanese internment camp.
With the help of her daughter, Linda Chase, this spunky 90-year-old gave a vivid description of a painful chapter in our country's history. She pulled no punches with her forthright statements about the travesty perpetrated on Japanese-American citizens during WWII.
She shone with admiration for the courage, resiliency and adaptive creativity of these citizens. These individuals were imprisoned without due process of law.
Her spirited personality made for a fascinating program. Afterward, she opened the meeting up to the audience. A lot of touching personal experiences were shared. We must never again allow this to happen to any citizen! Our government must live and die by the rule of law - honoring the authority of higher law as well.
- Kathy Waters of Nooksack, via Letters to the Editor
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