Welcome Party at Minami Community Center
A welcome party was held on the 5th at the Minami Community Center in
honor of Sidney Gulick, 3d, and his wife Frances, who are visiting Fuchu City
and who last year gave the Blue-eyed Doll Joanna to Minami Elementary School as
a messenger of peace.
Seventy years ago, Mr. Gulick's grandfather gave 12,000 Blue-eyed Dolls to Japan to encourage "Japanese-American friendship" through children. Continuing the work of his grandfather's desire for friendship, since 1987 Mr. Gulick has given "New Blue-eyed Dolls," over one hundred in total, to elementary schools and day care centers throughout Japan. This is his fourth trip to Japan and his first visit to Hiroshima Prefecture, where he has given 12 dolls. On the 3rd, he went to Kanae Elementary School in Fukuyama City, where he visited with the children there.
At the party at Minami Community Center, nine new and old Blue-eyed Dolls in Hiroshima Prefecture were displayed together. The dolls included Mary, who still remains at Yuda Elementary School in Kannabe-cho after being given 70 years ago, and Nicole, who resembles Joanna and who was given two years ago to Utsuto Elementary School in Kozan-cho. The 40 students from Minami Elementary, 35 children from Utsuto Elementary, and 50 local residents expressed comments like "Isn't she cute?" and "They resemble each other, but Nicole seems to be the older sister" as they looked together at the dolls.
At the welcoming ceremony Mr. Gulick addressed the audience, "These dolls always have bright eyes and smile with a kind heart. I want you to know about the feelings of such dolls when you are young." The children of Utsuto Elementary and Minami Elementary expressed in turn their thanks, "Even though the original dolls were given for friendship, it is sad that some dolls were burnt during the war. We will take good care of our doll forever." They also sang some songs. On the following day, the Gulicks, who were visiting Peace Park, were given a string of a thousand origami paper cranes folded by the children and by a local senior citizens' association.
His wife Frances, who makes by hand all of the clothes for the dolls sent to Japan, said, "I feel the warmth and kindness of everyone here. I want to continue to make doll clothes to make Japanese children happy."
Translation of Japanese
web page (link no longer available)
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Japanese Page Last Updated by Tetsuo Adachi
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