Talk discusses history of Japanese people in Northwest Montana
A section crew with Japanese people on Marias Pass. The railroad passenger cars served as a dormitory. (Courtesy photo)
The Northwest Montana Posse of Westerners, a local historical group, presents Hori's Secret and Japanese people in Northwest Montana at its monthly meeting on Feb. 20 in Kalispell.
M.M. Hori, who started as a house servant at the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell and became a prominent Whitefish businessman, is just one of many Japanese immigrants who played a major, but often unrecognized, role in the valley's early history.
Hori managed the household servants at the mansion. But there was something he hadn't told the Conrad family about the staff, who were all fellow immigrants from Japan. And Hori had another secret that wasn't uncovered until 60 years after his death.
The impact of Japanese immigrants on local history is significant. Over 750 Japanese people worked for the Great Northern Railway in Northwest Montana, and Kalispell had its own Japanese hospital. When the railroad's mainline moved to Whitefish, so did Japanese people. Along with maintaining tracks across the mountains, they ran local businesses and farms.
The presentation also touches on the growing West Coast animosity towards Japanese immigrants that exploded after the Pearl Harbor attack. Though most local families were spared the internment of 100,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II, they did run afoul of restrictive laws and a few bad characters. Yet many served in the U.S. military during World War II, including in the Pacific, and their heroism became a major step towards acceptance.
Among the historical accounts is a Japanese trapper who vanished on Werner Peak and is now immortalized in a misnamed ridge-top basin. A Whitefish church bears witness to a good deed in its stained-glass windows, and a rags-to-riches story began with a Romeo and Juliet romance.
The presenter is Rick Hull. Born in Whitefish, he had a lifetime career on local newspapers, including the Kalispell Weekly News and Daily Inter Lake. He currently edits the Posse's newsletter and volunteers at the Northwest Montana Historical Museum in Kalispell.
The presentation is at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, in the Northwest Montana Historical Museum in Kalispell. Admission is free for members and youths 16 and under, and $5 for non-members.