RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - Kiyo Sato was born in Sacramento, California on May 8, 1923, the eldest daughter of Issei Japanese immigrants. Shinji and Tomomi Sato purchased land with the help of a neighbor because Issei (first generation Japanese people) could not buy land, only white or Nisei (American born Japanese) could purchase land in their own name. Kiyo, the eldest of the nine Sato children has lived in the area around and in Rancho Cordova for decades. As a child she walked her siblings to the once “Mills Grocery” (currently the MACC) and would read to them in the back where Mr. Studarus had books.

On March 4, 2023, Cheryl Gleason, art director of the MACC, interviewed Kiyo about her book “Kiyo’s Story” (originally published as “Dandelion in the Crack”). The book tells the story about a family’s fight to keep their land and survive the Japanese internment camps after Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 ordering all Japanese persons be “relocated”. Gleason asked about growing up in the area. Kiyo had fond memories of the Mills Grocery store, Mr. Studarus and the Edward Kelly School on Bradshaw Rd, where Ms. Cox was her teacher. Kiyo graduated 8^th grade as valedictorian. Her family members were very successful farmers in the area, along with many other Japanese families.

Kiyo attended Sacramento City College when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Completely unaware of the previous day’s news, Kiyo set out to attend classes, but what she found was both frightening and worrisome for her and her family’s safety. The book takes you on a beautiful journey of a family under unreasonable circumstances and events before and after Executive Order 9066, and the aftermath of World War II. Resilience and love for the children are how many families tolerated the brutal conditions of internment. This book, ‘Kiyo’s Story’ is a real account of a family growing up here in the Rancho Cordova area before and after internment. The lessons of their parents Shinji and Tomomi Sato still survive in their children. All the Sato family Nisei children proved their love to their family, their country and their resilience. If you have not read this book, you should.

The MACC currently has an exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution till the 25^th of March called “Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and WWII”. There is no admission fee and there are two weeks left to see the exhibit. The gallery is open Thursday and Fridays 2-7pm and Saturdays 11-4 pm. For those who were not lucky enough to get a seat at the conversation with Kiyo talk at the MACC, it was filmed by Cal Cap Film Studio and will soon be available on the MACC YouTube channel.