mums637 Coralie Guertin Lajoie Collection Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by I. Eliot Wentworth. Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, UMass Amherst 2015

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 Finding aid encoded in MSWord 2015-04-17 Finding aid written in English Lajoie, Coralie Guertin Coralie Guertin Lajoie Papers 1950-1951 MS 637 bd 4 folders (0.1 linear ft.) Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries 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. English

Japanese flutist

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.

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.

The collection is open for research.

Cite as: Coralie Guertin Lajoie Collection (MS 637). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Acquired from Coco Lajoie.

 Japan

Processed by H. de B. Smith, 2015.

 Kokura Dependent School Japan--Description and travel Photographs 1Ephemera1950-19519 images Darby Daily / U.S.A.T. General William O. Darby San Francisco to Yokohama Voyage 14 / Souvenir Edition1950 Feb. 14 Domain of the Golden Dragon / Ruler of the Meridian [certificate for crossing the International Date Line]1950 Feb. Kokura PTA presents: The Students of Fukuoka Liberal Arts College / Four dances and on act play1950 2Letters from Japanese schoolchildren1950 Nov.5 items Letter from Hiroko Mizokuchi to Coralie Guertin (Yahata City, Japan)1950 Nov. 21p. Letter from Toshiko Yagi to Coralie Guertin (Yahata City, Japan)1950 Nov. 21p. Letter from Maasako Takahasi to Coralie Guertin (Yahata City, Japan)1950 Nov. 31p. Letter from Sei Nakao to Coralie Guertin (Yahata City, Japan)1950 Nov. 41p. Letter from Micho Oai to Coralie Guertin (Yahata City, Japan)1950 Nov. 61p. 3Photographs19509 items Matsuri celebration1950 Japanese flute players at Matsuri celebration [commercial image, labeled no. 1]1950 Close-up of men on a float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 2]1950 Elaborate float depicting a samurai on horseback in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 3]1950 Matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 5]1950 Men carrying a float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 7]1950 Boys carrying a float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 8]1950 Women and children atop float in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 9]1950 Rear view of a float carried in a matsuri procession [commercial image, labeled no. 10]1950 Class from Kokura Dependent School posed in front of school building 1950 4Kokura Dependent SchoolThe Jigoku [yearbook]1951