Name/Title
Panel, DisplayEntry/Object ID
1994.80.112Description
Panel entitled "Guayule Parthenium Argentatum."
It contains a description of the Guayule Project at Manzanar and sample of the plant, as well as three photocopied photos. One of the photos is of Dr. Shimpe Nishimura and another is of Tatseru Watanabe.
Text:
North American Indians were the first to discover the rubber content in Guayule plants. By communal chewing of plants and massing the wads of rubber they made rubber balls to be used in their games. First import from Mexico into theU.S. was in 1888. By 1910 the natural source of Guayule was becoming depleted so experimental plots were started in Mexico, Southwest Texas, Arizona, and parts of California. In 1925, headquarters were moved to Salinas, California from where Professor Robert Emerson obtained the first seeding to start the Manzanar Guayule Project. Wild plants or seeds were also collected from parts of Texas and Mexico.
Successful rooting of the plants were performed by the internees of camp and the Manzanar Guayule Team made great strides in the research advancement overshadowing the efforts of the original group in Salinas.
Guayule was grown as a dryland crop during 1942-1945. The work experiments were conducted by Japanese-Americans interned in Manzanar. Guided by Professor Robert Emerson of Caltech, they greatly advanced the Guayule technology by pioneering the use of wood pulping machines for milling the Guayule shrubs.
"Proving loyalty to the U.S. Government was the primary goal of the Manzanar Guayule Team."
This specimen was grown experimentally in Lomita by Frank Kageyama. Frank periodically tests the germination qualities of seeds which Hugh Anderson of Pacific Rubber Growers has kept for many years in sealed drums. These tests have been conducted by Frank for over a decade.
Manzanar Guayule Team: Shimpei Nishimura, Ph.D. Nuclear Science; Frank Hirasawa, Chemist; Frank Kageyama, Agriculturalist; Professor Robert Emerson, California Institute of Technology.
In the words of the wife late Prof. Emerson, "Bob was engrossed in the human aspect of the project as it gave the Japanese a chance to prove themselves by making a solid contribution to their country."
Japanese Americans detained at Manzanar Relocation Center during World War II raised guayule, a Mexican shrub, to aid in the American Defense Program.
Guayule was converted into a substitute for rubber which was difficult to obtain because of the Japanese Empire's conquest of the East Indies and their rubber plantations. This small tire was made of guayule in 1943. [see A1418.1]Collection
Shiro and Mary Nomura Collection