8451 Huasna Rd. 

The Loomis family supply store was owned by Edward Clinton Loomis, Joseph “Vard” Loomis’s father, who founded a feed and grain store in 1905. By the 1930s Loomis quickly became one of the most successful agricultural suppliers in San Luis Obispo County. However, the area's agricultural atmosphere was divided at the time. Part of the agriculture was occupied by White cattle ranchers and farmers such as E.C. Loomis, while the other part of the agriculture was occupied by Japanese American produce growers.

 

When Edward Clinton Loomis retired, his sons Vard, Clinton, and Ivan Loomis took over the business. Japanese Farmers operated most of the truck farms in the area, and by the 1930s, there were about 40 farmers from the first generation (aka Issei).  Unfortunately, the success of the Japanese American farmers only lasted until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. 353 Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor, destroying 151 aircraft and ending more than 2,300 American lives, leading to the start of WWII.

 

Threatened by the Japanese attack, the United States President, Franklin D. Roosevelt passed Executive Order 9066 which authorized the forced removal of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans and the incarceration of Japanese American families into Internment Camps. Despite knowing the clear difference between Japanese and Japanese Americans, president Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to incarcerate Japanese American citizens because he feared that they were committing treason against the United States by communicating with Japan.

 

Issei farmers were banned from owning any land, and lost all their rental or lease agreements when WWII started. America turned on Japanese Americans, labeling them as traitors, and many of their lives were destroyed. However there were some families, such as the Loomis Family, who kept supporting their Japanese American friends despite the negativity towards them. Joseph Vard Loomis’s wife, Gladys Loomis, even said, “Never once was any disloyalty found in our area. Nearly all of the young men who played on Vard’s Nisei baseball team who were of draft age volunteered immediately. Not one was drafted. Almost all of them worked in military intelligence because they were bilingual. Some served in the 442nd Infantry Combat unit (sic), the most decorated American unit of the war.” (Family Tree Press). 

 

Kaz Ikeda’s family, one particularly impacted by the Loomis Family’s kindness and one of the many Japanese Americans sent to incarceration camps, were so grateful for their help that he ended up naming one of his sons after Vard Loomis. While the Ikedas were taken away to prison camps, the Loomis family chose to look after their land. It was common for Japanese property to be burned and burglarized during the war, and the Loomis family took responsibility to take care of the Ikeda family’s land in order to prevent that from happening. “Vard and his brother Buster leased the Fukuhara acreage and farmed it during their absence." (Family Tree Love). 

 

The Loomis brothers also arranged for the evictees to store their personal belongings in a large dehydrator building near their offices.” (The Heritage Press). It was unfortunately broken into before the war was over. After the war, few Japanese Americans still had hold of their land.

 

Those who did return to their land had a difficult time beginning the farming process over again due to their lack of money (harder to buy supplies). However, the Ikedas were able to return to their well kept-property due to the help of the Loomis Family. The Loomis family never received a monetary reward for doing what they did, but many are thankful for their kindness, integrity, and strong values which empowered their decision to help a community in need. Steve Loomis, a descendant of Vard Loomis, said, "The greatest reward was our lifelong friendship with the Ikeda family that still exists to this day." (In talking about the experience in current times).