Nisei Ski Club

Did you get a good view of the harvest moon and lunar eclipse on September 27? I was hoping to see a blood moon but the cloud cover in the East Bay obscured it. I didn’t see the moon like the picture on the left. The picture on the right shows what I saw. The blood phase was just ending and the eclipse phase was starting.
      

One of the ways that Chinese celebrate the harvest or autumn moon is with mooncakes. One of my favorite mooncakes is the traditional one filled with lotus bean paste with an egg inside that looks like the full moon. Boxes of mooncakes are usually adorned with pictures of the moon goddess Chang’e. As a child, I knew exactly what was in the box when I saw her picture!

The moon is a symbol of harmony and unity. The autumn moon festival is a time to get together with friends and relatives to eat mooncakes and watch the moon. This autumn, make plans to get together with your Nisei Ski Club friends!

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

I first joined NSC back in 2002 in order to go on the 2003 Vail trip. Being a newcomer I didn’t know any of the members but that didn’t last long. As the years passed, I found myself more involved with the club – first as a board member, then membership chairman, and eventually as president. Throughout those years, I met a lot of great people, great skiers, and in particular, one individual that caught my attention – Hi Fujii. It’s ironic that you can see, talk, and meet with people on quite a few occasions, but never really get to know them. When I attended Hi’s memorial service at the end of August, I learned more about this amazing individual in two hours than I had ever learned about him in all my previous years with the club. There were numerous stories about his fishing and skiing adventures, the Over-The-Hill Gang, and, of course, fond remembrances from his family. It would have been great to know all this about Hi before he passed, but sadly that option is no longer available. At the reception that followed I had the pleasure of meeting some of his old buddies who are truly going to miss him, as will I. Hi Fujii is no longer with us, but his legacy with the club and fond remembrances will never be forgotten.

August Pizza Social

Our first Pizza Social was a fun time for all those who attended. It was a small group (8-9 people) and we had one potential new member show up to meet some NSC members and learn about the club. We feasted on pizza, quaffed some ales, and had a lively discussion about skiing, baseball, the Niners, and some politics. If you missed out on this event because of where you live then drop me a line at (president@niseiskiclub.org) for a suggestion on where to have the next pizza social (e.g., east bay, mid-peninsula?).

Park City/Canyons Ski Week 2016

The Park City/Canyons trip is moving along well and so far we have 37 signups. I am expecting four more people to signup, which will bring us to 41. Although we have lodging reservations for 40 people additional condos are available, so if you haven’t signed up now is the time to do so.

Hoyt Nelson

It’s the end of an era with the passing of one of our club’s founding fathers, Hayami “Hi” Fujii. Hi was born in Berkeley and earned his degree in engineering at Cal Berkeley. After returning from the American internment center in Utah he started his first job at HP in engineering sales, where he stayed for 42 years until his retirement.

A little more than 50 years ago, Hi, Sam Yamoto, Tats Sumida and a few other Japanese Americans associated with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) got together for a few ski trips to the Sierras and decided to form what is now called the Nisei Ski Club. Sam gave ski lessons to Hi and others, which impressed Hi so much that he was successfully talked into becoming the first elected president of the club for the 1966-67 season (the year this writer first joined the club). The club quickly grew in just a few years to over 400 members and frequently ran three buses on trips to Tahoe with pickups in San Jose, Berkeley and Sacramento. Soon, weeklong trips to destinations like Aspen, Vail and even out of the country were added. Summer activities included camping, fishing, water skiing, dances, parties and many other activities. Hi and a few other members brought their ski boats for our yearly water ski trips to Lake Berryessa and on many local fishing trips. On the weeklong club trip to Sun Valley in January 1969, Hi and Phyllis (Matsuo) were engaged and have been married ever since. Hi became a lifetime NSC member in the 1990s and was active on the club board of directors until 2014. Besides skiing, Hi was an avid fisherman (making many local and yearly trips to Alaska), handball, running, long-running poker games with friends, and was an active member in his church. At the club picnic in 2014, Hi finally hung up his skis and donated them to the club for a younger skier in need of them. Several months ago, Hi had heart surgery and went to a rest home for recuperation. After a month or so, he transferred to his home in Cupertino where he stayed until his passing on the morning of August 8, 2015.

He is survived by his wife, Phyllis; sisters Vickie Yumoto and Michiko Uchida; son Roger and Elaine (daughter-in-law); and daughter Barbara. We will all miss him and hope his skiing the fluffy clouds of paradise will be as happy as on Utah’s powder. Hi’s memorial service was held on Friday, August 28, at the Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose.

Frank Chang

On Friday August 28^th, twenty or so NSC members attended “A Memorial Service Celebrating the Life of Hayami ‘Hi’ Fujii”, a founding father of the club and its first president. The Wesley United Methodist Church was full – a testament to how Hi touched the lives of so many. Several people shared “Personal Remembrances”, including family members, past co-workers from HP, fishing and poker buddies, and our own fearless leader Armand, representing the NSC. It was a hot day and the crowded church was warmer than usual. And yet, everyone seemed to enjoy listening intently to countless stories celebrating Hi’s interesting and full life. Armand’s ski stories definitely brought a smile to the NSC members in the audience. I think we all appreciate how lucky we are to share in the legacy that Hi has left.

One of Hi Fujii’s enduring legacies is the Nisei Ski Club. Over 50 years ago, Hi and his friends formed the Nisei Ski Club with the objective of promoting the sport of skiing, friendship, and fun within the community.  This club has created many lasting friendships and memories. Yes, there’s some secret sauce that has made this club special.

Not only did Hi meet his wife Phyllis through the club but I also met my husband Winston through the club. Winston likes to say that Nisei Ski Club is secretly a matchmaking club and he might be right. We counted 30 couples who have met through the club and married but we’re sure the couple count is in the hundreds. If there weren’t a Nisei Ski Club, many of us would have never met. Thanks, Hi!

I met Hi in the late 1990s when he was active in the club again. He attended many of the weeklong trips like the Steamboat Springs trip in 2005 and the Panorama trip in 2007.

NSC Presidents – Steamboat Springs (2005)

Pajama party night – Panorama Trip (2007)

Hi and Tom organized the club’s yearly salmon fishing trip for many years. Until these trips, some of us (like me) had never gone salmon fishing before. Thanks to them, I caught my first wild salmon.

Hi and Tom organized yearly fishing trips

Besides skiing and fishing, Hi helped the club with its year-round activities. For many years, NSC used to make Chinese chicken salad to sell at Nikkei Matsuri. Winston remembers meeting Hi at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple. Winston picked up the chicken and Hi picked up the lettuce. Hi had to drive all the way to Tanimura & Antle Farms in Salinas and back — easily a 160 mile round-trip! That says a lot about Hi.

Hi delivered the lettuce for making NSC’s Chinese chicken salad

Stewardship of the club has been passed on but the club holds steadfast to its original principles. Hi’s objective of creating a club to promote the love of snow sports, friendship, and fun in the community still holds true. We are lucky to share in the legacy that Hi has left and we will miss him greatly.

 Hoyt Nelson

It was a pretty hot day for San Francisco, but because of its elevation, shadiness on Mt. Davidson trails and the fact that we were done before the temperature peaked, all 7 of us agreed we were better off than in San Jose.   Homes and gardens in this district are generally beautiful, but not over the top (as in the Sea Cliff area). We were treated to lots of fuchsias, forget-me-nots and other flowers not normally found in the wild along the steep trails. Unfortunately, ivy vines have nearly killed many of the trees along the way. The 103 ft. concrete cross at the top was awesome, but the view (normally one of the best in the city) was somewhat obscured by smoke from the forest fires north of San Francisco. After finishing, we walked by many interesting restaurants along nearby W. Portal Ave. before settling on Fres ca (Peruvian tapas, etc). Not many had tried Peruvian fruit drink – chicha, but I persuaded us to get a pitcher – which all agreed was just right after a hike. It wasn’t until we got a few miles south on the way home that we realized how much hotter it was back home.

Hoyt Nelson

On July 12th, eleven club members and friends met at the base of the grand Pacheco stairs on a balmy day in San Francisco. We trooped by many grand and beautifully landscaped (except for the many brown lawns – in honor of our drought) followed by neat homes from the 1040s to 1960s. From Golden Gates Heights Park, we got good views looking west over the Sunset neighborhood and ocean, but even more 270 degree sweeping views to the north over Golden Gate Park from Grandview Park. The highlight however was the magnificent Moraga stairs with its sweeping vertical diorama of sea creatures, under land animals, under birds, under stars and the sun at the top. The hike was sprinkled with more than a dozen stairways which primed us for a delicious dim sum lunch nearby on Irving between 26/27th Avenues. A few of us also shopped for more food across the street.

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

As we enter August, I was reminded by Mammoth Mountain to lock in on low season pass rates for the upcoming season. As they said in their email – “let the count down to winter begin!” And with all the news about a 90% chance for a strong El Niño, that’s enough to get me excited about the upcoming season. Of course, that 90% is only a prediction and the real deal will be if there is plenty of rain starting in November.

The Mountain View Obon Festival was quite exciting this year and I would like to thank the following volunteers: Alex Kami, Bill Lee, Curtis Otaguro, Wes Kawase, Brian Hess, Ken Kato, and David Uyeda. Once again NSC has stepped up to the plate and volunteered for this event.

 Coming up, we have Hoyt Nelson and David Schultz leading the St. Francis Woods Hike on August 16^th. This is a very popular hike so be sure to gander at the flyer for details.

August Pizza Social

At one of our past board meetings, we had lunch at The Garret in Campbell and feasted on a couple of great pizzas. After a lively discussion, I mentioned that this would be a great place to host a pizza social for the club. I don’t recall having an event like a pizza social so let’s give this a try. What’s the purpose of this pizza social? Well, for starters I think it would be a great way to get members to sit around the table, talk about skiing, quaff an ale or two, and enjoy the NSC camaraderie. Mark your calendar for August 27^th and let’s have an old fashioned pizza social at The Garret in Campbell at 6:30pm. Yes, it’s a Thursday evening but what better way to get a head start on the weekend. An Evite will be sent out later this month to remind you of the event, plus date/time and directions.

Park City/Canyons Ski Week 2016

The Park City/Canyons trip is moving along well and so far we have 28 signups. I am expecting about eight more people to signup, which will bring us up to 36. There’s room for 40 people so if you haven’t signed up now is the time to do so. This year we’ll be having a mid-week potluck dinner, something we haven’t had for several years. This is always a fun night visiting other condos and sampling the best of their cuisine. Don’t forget to get the Tahoe Local Pass (http://www.skiheavenly.com/plan-your-trip/season-passes/season-passes-explorer.aspx), which will be good for five days of lifts at Park City/Canyons as well as Heavenly Valley, Northstar, and Kirkwood. And if you ski a sixth day, then your lift ticket will be half-price.

Here’s a blast from the past! I found some pictures of my NSC skip trip to the Canyons, Utah in 1999. There was a lot of snow on that trip. The skiers really enjoyed fresh powder that went up to the knees.

The El Nino watch is on for Utah. It’s not clear what El Nino will bring for Utah in the winter. Regardless of whether the snow is great or not, the NSC camaraderie is always tops. Check out this picture of happy NSC’ers.

Karen,
Please thank all the volunteers who helped out at the bazaar this year. As always I appreciate their time and efforts in helping to make the Beer booth a resounding success. Sadly, I am retiring as chairman of the beer booth this year. I really appreciated all of your help over the past years in being able to get volunteers from the Nissei Ski Club. Take care and I will see you.

Thanks,
Grant Joo

A big thank you to our volunteers: Alex Kami, Bill Lee, Curtis Otaguro, Wes Kawase, Brian Hess, Ken Kato, and David Uyeda who manned the beer booth on July 18-19. Here’s a picture of David Uyeda on duty at the booth.

The Live Love Survive dragon boat team is open to all who are interested in dragon boat paddling and not limited to cancer survivors. Practices are on Saturdays in Foster City. Dragon boating is a 2,000 year old sport and is great fun and exercise.

It was founded in 2005 by veteran dragon boat racer Jennifer Eng. The Live Love Survive Cancer Survivor Dragon Boat Team has devoted its energy to creating awareness of cancer, supporting people living with cancer and their caregivers and welcoming everyone affected by cancer to join our cause.

For more information, contact Tina Woo or visit www.livelovesurvive.org.

Armand Gutierrez, NSC President

Summer has arrived with warm-to-hot temperatures, depending on where you live, and CA is officially in drought-mode. I’m trying to stay within my allotment of water usage (as dictated by SJ Water) and hopefully everyone else is on the same bandwagon. Once again the weather forecasters are calling for an El Niño for this year but only rains in November and December will prove that true.

Our annual Membership and Luau Picnic was well attended and everyone had a great time. There was plenty of food, the weather was very nice, and there were new faces that hopefully will become members.

Here’s a call for all you super-athletic types that would like to participate in a very worthwhile cause – Live Love Survive Dragon Boat Races. The Live Love Survive group is looking for strong-armed athletes to join the Dragon Boat team. Originally this was event was for cancer survivors but it is open to anyone that would like to support the Dragon Boat team. See the flyer for details, or contact Tina Woo (twoo1@aol.com)

SF Stairway Hike July 12^th

Hoyt Nelson and David Schultz are leading the SF Stairway Hike on July 12^th. This is a very popular hike so be sure to gander at the flyer for details.

 Mt. View Obon Festival July 18^th and 19^th

This festival is right around the corner and we still need a few more volunteers for Saturday and Sunday. Contact either Karen Soo (tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org) or Judy Hom (newsletter@niseiskiclub.org) if you’re interested in participating in this fun and worthwhile event.

Park City/Canyons Ski Week 2016

I’ve been receiving applications for the Park City ski week so if you haven’t signed up yet then what are you waiting for? Members of the Asian Ski & Board Club Los Angeles (ASBCLA) have sent in sign-ups and I’m not quite sure how they found out about our trip, but they’re more than welcome to join us. Southwest Airlines has opened up bookings for February so there might be airline changes depending on what Southwest can offer so stay tuned for the latest updates. And, it’s not too late to get the Tahoe Local Pass (http://www.skiheavenly.com/plan-your-trip/season-passes/season-passes-explorer.aspx), which will be good for five days of lifts at Park City/Canyons as well as Heavenly Valley, Northstar and Kirkwood. And if you ski a sixth day then your lift ticket will be half-price.

Food is an important part of our NSC events. Last month, we had the annual Thank You picnic and an abundance of food. Coming up July 18-19, there is the  Mountain View Obon  and its delicious foods: tempura, manju, udon, and more! Next month on August 22, there is the BAC fundraiser, pre-game BBQ, and Dennis Heffley’s famous chocolate chip cookies.

Speaking of food, the Dragon Boat Festival is one of my favorite Chinese food holidays. Did you notice that the Live Love Survive Dragon Boat team is open to all interested paddlers?

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated with zongzi (sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) and of course, dragon boat racing. The origin of the festival is attributed to the great Chinese poet Qu Yuan (c. 340–278 BC), who drowned himself to protest government corruption. The local people raced out in their boats to retrieve Qu Yuan’s body and zongzi was thrown into the river so the fish would eat the zongzi and not Qu Yuan’s body.

The festival is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. The lunar calendar is based on a 28 day  month. It does not match the Western calendar and lunar dates fall on a different date each year. Before the days of the internet and its instant information, I used to page through the special calendar with Chinese dates to find the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. Nowadays, I just search for “Dragon Boat Festival 2015” and the answer is June 20, 2015!

Western calendar with Chinese dates

Zongzi

Zongzi are sticky rice packets with delicious fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. Fillings will vary from region to region. My favorite fillings are the ones that my mom put in her packets, which included dried shrimp, peanuts, chestnut, salted egg, lop cheung (aka Chinese sausage), fatty pork, and ham. Below is a picture of her beautifully wrapped zongzi.

Making zongzi is time consuming and requires lots of preparation. However, the results are worthwhile and delicious.

So, where am I going with this? Everybody likes good food and NSC events always have good food. So, attend an upcoming NSC event and enjoy the food.

Greg Wong, Membership Chairperson

It’s that time of the year to renew your memberships. For those that took advantage of the early sign up discount, congratulations!

Memberships help support future trips. Activities are planned and based upon the number of members in the club.   I know last year ski season in Lake Tahoe was terrible, but hopefully next year will be a El Nino snow year.   There are still plenty of non-ski activities that the club has to offer. So come on back and join the club.

Welcome to the returning members and 4 new members this year:

• Pia Sanda
• Jennifer Chin
• Calvin Han
• Edward Levin

NSC Thank You Picnic on June 28, 2015

Alex Kami

Mission accomplished! I’ve been assigned this article since I won the “$3 Elimination Game.” Back to this topic in a moment.

On June 28^th, NSC held a successful and extremely enjoyable picnic on the grounds of Las Palmas Park in my hometown of Sunnyvale with over 50 attendees. Because of my dormancy from skiing during the past few years, this is the one event I seem to attend on an annual basis, and I was overjoyed to see so many friends still active in the Club. In addition to catching-up on everyone’s great lives, I learned that polonium does wonders in eliminating invasive berry vines; sorry, you needed to be there to understand the point.

Of course, as with every NSC event, the food was abundant! We had BBQ ribs/burgers, pot stickers, salads, etc. – better than a post-game spread in the Warrior locker room. One of the ingenious contributions came from Greg, our membership chair, who provided a do-it-yourself tortilla wrap bar complete with guacamole, sour cream, veggies, and shredded pork.

The diversity of the attendees highlighted the success of the event. We had men, women, babies, and our four legged family members including Judy’s Captain Kirk with a distinct personality. Even Superman walked by, but he was going to our neighbor’s birthday party. The weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold. NSC couldn’t have picked a better venue – Sunnyvale, a town with (in addition to good weather) lots of parking, open space and for you ladies, eligible, handsome men.

As I went around talking to different people and getting up to speed on the Club, I am thankful for the veteran members keeping NSC going strong. To Armand for continuing to lead the group and being our glue, to Judy for returning as our newsletter editor after we retired her jersey, to Sandy for returning to the Board and being an interface to the BAC, and of course to Karen for continuing to lead the ski trips even during this frustrating period of a California drought. Oh, and thanks Hoyt, our VP, for bringing the Tiki figurines since most of us didn’t read the “Hawaiian theme” for the picnic.

Okay, back to the mission being accomplished. As an annual tradition, the picnic culminated with the “$3 Game.” Not enough room here to explain, but in general, each participant starts with three Georges, stands in a circle with other competitors, throws dice, and at some point only one person remains with at least $1 in his or her hands. This person wins everyone else’s contributions, and that was me this year.

But, winning wasn’t the accomplishment. You see, in the past years, the husband-wife duo, Amy and David, have dominated this game. Prior to the picnic, I was approached by a dude in dark sunglasses, a hat and a trench coat who instructed me, “Whatever happens, you need to knock this duo out.” Mission accomplished.

Thanks to Bill Lee for the group shot

June has arrived and that signifies the start of the 2015-2016 NSC season. I’m really excited about this new season because following the elections we now have new board members to help guide NSC through this season. At our May board meeting the new board members were introduced, although most needed no introductions because they’ve been with NSC for a number of years and have served on the board in the past. One new member, David Schultz, is serving on the board for the first time and will be helping Hoyt Nelson with upcoming hikes. And Sandy Kiyomura was initially responsible for the Alameda Bike event held on May 30^th.

Upcoming Events

Once again Hoyt, with assistance from David Schultz, is leading the SF Stairway Hike on July 12^th. This is a very popular hike so be sure to gander at the flyer for details. The week after is the Mt. View Obon Festival on July 18^th and 19^th. This is an annual volunteer event that NSC participates in and is always a fun event. After all, there’s a variety of food, carnival-style games, cultural events, lots of people, and the famous Beer Booth. There’s room for a few more volunteers to work the Beer Booth so look for information in the newsletter or contact Karen Soo (tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org).

NSC Annual Membership Meeting and Luau Picnic, June28^th

Mark this down in your calendar for the NSC Annual Picnic on June 28^th at Las Palmas park in Sunnyvale (same place as last year). See the flyer in the newsletter and the Evite invitations have already been sent out. If you didn’t get an Evite in the mail then please let me know (president@niseiskiclub.org).

Park City/Canyons Ski Week 2016

Plans are moving smoothly for the Park City/Canyons ski week trip for 2016. Take a look at the flyer and make that all-important decision to be on this trip. You might also consider getting the Tahoe Local Pass (http://www.skiheavenly.com/plan-your-trip/season-passes/season-passes-explorer.aspx), which will be good for five days of lifts at Park City/Canyons as well as Heavenly Valley, Northstar and Kirkwood.

 
FWSA Cortina d’Ampezzo Ski Week 2016

As a member of NSC you are eligible to participate in any of the FWSA/BAC ski trips. For 2016, FWSA is going to Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of Italy’s most famous and extensive ski towns. It boasts interesting slopes for all levels of skiers, 1200 kilometers of skiable terrain, 140 kilometers of ski trails and 43 lifts. This is one trip I’m planning on taking, along with a second week in Florence and Rome. If you’re interested in joining me on this trip then contact me for details (president@niseiskiclub.org). And, yes, this trip is after our Park City/Canyons trip.

It seems that one is always part of the Nisei Ski Club. There are a lot of good things about the club that keep bringing me back. I met my husband Winston through the club and I’ve made some lifelong friends. So I’m serving as your newsletter editor for the umpteenth time and as Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, “I’m b-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-c-k!”.

Thanks to Dan Lew for his work as newsletter editor for the past 4 years. Enjoy your break, Dan because you may be coming back in the future. Wink. Wink.