Kennewick Mourns 'Big Harry' Hironaka
A longtime resident and laborer remembered for his immense strength passes away in Walla Walla.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Harry Hironaka, a Japanese resident, died last night at a hospital in Walla Walla of typhoid fever. His employer, Harry Yamagami, left today to bring the body back to Kennewick for burial. Hironaka was one of the earliest residents of Kennewick, having come here years ago as a section hand. In recent years, he was employed on the fruit and vegetable farms of Harry Yamagami. He was generally known in the community as 'Big Harry,' a name given him not only to distinguish him from his employer, but because of his remarkable physique and strength. Hironaka leaves behind a wife and a 10-month-old baby.
“He was generally known in the community as 'Big Harry,' a name given him... because of his remarkable physique and strength.”
This obituary offers a rare, dignified glimpse into the lives of early Japanese immigrant laborers in Kennewick. It provides a human face to the history of Asian agricultural workers who were essential to the development of the region, despite the exclusionary climate of the early 20th century.
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