When Capt. Henry Guertin, a native of Leominster, Mass., was ordered to active duty with the 24th Infantry Division during the Korean War, his wife Rita relocated to Japan to raise their growing family in Kokura (Kyushu), Japan. Just 13 at the time and already used to the regular relocation of a military life, the eldest daughter, Coralie Ann ("Coco") spent the next two years attending the Kokura Dependent School. As an adult, Coco married golf pro Ray Lajoie and settled in central Massachusetts.
The collection contains ephemera and photographs from young Coco Lajoie's two-year sojourn on Kyushu. These include a copy of her school yearbook for 1951, a bill for a folk dance performance, and a series of letters from Japanese schoolchildren she met on a visit.
When Capt. Henry Guertin, a native of Leominster, Mass., was ordered to active duty with the 24th Infantry Division during the Korean War, his wife Rita relocated to Japan to raise their growing family in Kokura (Kyushu), Japan. Just 13 at the time and already used to the regular relocation of a military life, the eldest daughter, Coralie Ann ("Coco") spent the next two years attending the Kokura Dependent School.
Coco went on to marry Ray Lajoie, the head pro at the Worcester Country Club for almost thirty years and a member of the New England Professional Golfers' Hall of Fame, while Coco worked with him in the pro shop. The couple are noted for their philanthropy, raising nearly three million dollars for charities benefitting persons with disabilities.
Scope of collection
The collection contains ephemera and photographs from young Coco Lajoie's two-year sojourn on Kyushu. These include a copy of her school yearbook for 1951, a bill for a folk dance performance, and a series of letters from Japanese schoolchildren she met on a visit.
Inventory
Ephemera
1950-1951
9 images
Folder 1
Darby Daily / U.S.A.T. General William O. Darby San Francisco to Yokohama Voyage 14 / Souvenir Edition
ca.1950 Feb. 14
Domain of the Golden Dragon / Ruler of the Meridian [certificate for crossing the International Date Line]
ca.1950 Feb.
Kokura PTA presents: The Students of Fukuoka Liberal Arts College / Four dances and on act play
![Japanese flute players at Matsuri celebration [commercial image, labeled no. 1], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i001-001.png)
![Close-up of men on a float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 2], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i002-001.png)
![Elaborate float depicting a samurai on horseback in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 3], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i003-001.png)
![Matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 5], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i004-001.png)
![Men carrying a float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 7], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i005-001.png)
![Boys carrying a float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 8], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i006-001.png)
![Women and children atop float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 9], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i007-001.png)
![Rear view of a float carried in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 10], linking to the digital object](http://credo.library.umass.edu/images/resize/300/mums637-f003-i008-001.png)
