September 5, 1987

Joseph Boone Hunter, director of Human Services at the World War II–era Japanese American Relocation Center at Rohwer (Desha County) and the founding minister of Pulaski Heights Christian Church, died. His position at Rohwer covered schools, churches, hospitals, births, and deaths. The Japanese American Citizens’ League awarded him its highest honor for his work in social justice and racial understanding. He and Sam Yada, a farmer and former Rohwer resident, were instrumental in having Rohwer proclaimed a national landmark.