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Students of the Marietta School of Costume DesignFebruary, 1942
Vancouver, BC
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Toshimi Ochiai's graduation certificate1941
Vancouver, BC
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Portrait of students of the Kawano Women's Sewing School with Mrs. Y. Kawano1942
Vancouver, BC
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Graduation certificate of Sue Tatebe from the Academy of Dressmaking Arts in Mission, BC, in 1942.1 April 1942
Mission, BC
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Marie SaitoMarie Saito (nee Fukomi) attended the Academy of Dressmaking Arts, Mission, B.C., graduating in 1942. That same year, Marie and her family were forced to relocate to southern Alberta. In a letter, Marie wrote of her sewing days in Southern Alberta:
"In 1942, on April 11th we were moved out to Alberta to work on sugar beet farms. After I was married I started to sew for friends. Word got around and I had a little business going in my home. I had customers from Champion, Granum, Barons, Nobleford and Lethbridge etc. We were living in Nobleford. Then I lost my husband in 1967. I moved to Lethbridge with my family. My youngest was four years old, so I could not go to work. I was fortunate that I took up dressmaking. I could earn my living at home. All my customers supported me, but it was a hard way to earn a living. It was good to earn extra spending money, but to raise your family on dressmaking was hard work. I had to sew from early in the morning to late at night to make ends meet."
From correspondence of Marie Saito with the Japanese Canadian National Museum, June 18, 1996.
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Haruko Morishita and Mary Fumiko Ikeda Otto at the school reunion1995
Toronto, ON
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In 1995 the former students of the Marietta School of Costume Design held a reunion in Toronto. After nearly sixty years, the bonds were still strong as they celebrated and shared remembrances of one of the many Japanese Canadian dressmaking academies. |
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