Dear Editor,
Thank you for the extensive obituary on Chizuru Nakaji Boyea (Rafu Shimpo, Jan. 27).
I have always wondered why we had a library that I enjoyed as a 6-year-old in Manzanar. None of my little friends went to the library as I did.
I recall that, at the library, I was given a piece of paper with blank balloons printed on it. As I returned a book I borrowed from the library, I would be given one colored balloon to paste onto one of the blank balloons on my sheet. It was my joy for the day.
Ever since, I have loved reading books. In my mind, I have always attributed it to my early days in Manzanar when I was exposed to many books in the library.
I always wondered how we had this nice library for children (and I assume adults as well) to enjoy. Now I know that it was with the great effort of Chiz Nakaji Boyea, who was only in her early 20s, to make this happen.
I wish I had known this before she passed away to tell her that she started my lifelong love of reading, although it was not initially necessarily encouraged by friends or family. I’m sure she affected many others during this WWII period when we had so little access to what others had.
I would award her a shrine for what she accomplished.
Lynn Yasuda