BETHANY EVANGELICAL Church is a reminder of Garden Grove’s diverse history (Bethany photo).

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

Fourth in a series celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 1874 founding of Garden Grove.

Much is made today of cultural diversity in Garden Grove, but it’s really nothing new. Diverse communities of ethnicity and faith have long been part of The Big Strawberry’s history.

In 1868, Japan loosened its emigration rules, and thousands of people from that island nation traveled to America, especially California where there was much agricultural employment available.
Many came to what’s now Orange County and – in particular – Garden Grove. Gathering in family groups, by the start of the 1920s, Japanese became a substantial part of the community; they would come to make up about 20 percent of the student body at Garden Grove High School.

That all came to an end in 1941-2 when America went to war with Japan. Hysteria fueled by emotional press reports about “Japanese spies” led to the “relocation” of most Japanese and Japanese-Americans to spartan camps inland.  Most lost their homes and businesses as they were forced to move quickly.

In 1944, those interned were beginning to be released, but few came back. Those that did maintained a Japanese language school that would be held on Saturdays, first in a private building and later on the campus of Bolsa Grande High School.

Employing Mexican immigrants for farm labor gave rise to a immigrant community –  Colonia Manzanita – in the area of Euclid Street and Westminster Avenue, close to where Woodbury Park is now located.

One remnant of its heritage is the Bethany Evangelical Church at San Juan Place and La Bonita Street. Mexican pupils from there were required to attend a “Mexican” school until racial segregation in California was banned by the Mendez vs. Westminster case in 1947.