A new Pasadena exhibit follows community history through the stories of six local families.

Former Rose Parade Queen Leslie Kawai, her daughter Tara, and Rose Parade fl oat designer Raul Rodriguez pose near a 1938 photo of the Kawai family, part of the Pasadena Museum of History’s new exhibition. Photo Credit: Terry Miller/Pasadena Musem of History

By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU STAFF WRITER
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With the underlying notion that a whole is greater than the sum of its parts, a new exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of History traces the lines of six families that have represented common experiences for that community.

“Family Stories: Sharing a Community’s Legacy” chronicles the histories of multi-generational families from some of the city’s largest ethnic groups, whose lives replay as a living history of the City of the Roses. Ultimately, the displays and the stories that accompany them are a testament to the families’ industrious nature and will to make Pasadena their place of permanence.

Miye Kawai, pictured with her kimono and wedding gown, was the daughter of a Rafu Shimpo editor in the late 1930s. Photo by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo

Followed in the two gallery exhibition are the stories of the Duncan, Gertmenian, Kawai, Lowe, Mejia and Stevenson families, each representing a distinct cultural identity. Many of the stories begin with immigrants settling in Pasadena to seek better lives and establishing businesses, such as some of the Gertmenians who founded the company that became Ready-Pak produce.

The stories are accentuated by important milestones. Alfred Duncan, a member of the African American family who originally arrived in Pasadena in 1923, broke a long-standing color barrier when he tap danced on the “Lawrence Welk Show.”

Albert Lowe, a Chinese American banker who was continually passed over for promotions, relocated to Pasadena and established what eventually became Lowes furniture stores, one of the most successful local businesses of the 20th century.

The Kawai family’s history in Pasadena began with the 1902 arrival of Toichiro Kawai a master carpenter who found his way southward and is widely known for his work at the Huntington estate, including the Japanese bridge which remains today.

Further down the family line, Leslie Kawai secured her place in local history by becoming the first woman of color to be named as the Tournament of Roses Queen.

The exhibit includes a 1980 photo of Tournament of Roses Leslie Kawai with parade Grand Marshal Lorne Green, along side a shot of her brother, Chris Kawai, a battalion chief with the Los Angeles City Fire Department. Photo by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo

Community involvement and service is another trait shared by the six families represented. Chris Kawai, Leslie’s brother, is a Battalion Chief for the Los Angeles City Fire Department who went to New York City to help with the Sept. 11 catastrophe. Following the loss of family member Nick Kawai to leukemia, the Kawai family established Asians For Miracle Marrow Matches, to broaden the treatment possibilities for Asian Americans with the disease.

There are the achievements of the Mejia family, who weathered the Great Depression, went on to open the Ranchero restaurants and currently have five generations living in Pasadena. The Stevenson’s lineage goes back to Iowa before moving west in 1902 and includes professional singers, silent movie actors and two generations of teachers.
Included in the exhibit is a 1932 photo of Sunny Stevenson, who now in her 80s, is a volunteer docent at the museum.
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“Family Stories: Sharing a Community’s Legacy” runs through Jan. 10, 2010, at the Pasadena Museum of History. Gallery hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 12-5 p.m. Call (626) 577-1660 or visit www.pasadenahistory.org.