City, DAR honor Miyo Koba

MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake on Tuesday, along with the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, honored longtime Moses Lake resident and businessperson Miyo Koba with a special award and a key to the city in a ceremony at Tuesday’s regular Moses Lake City Council meeting.

“As far as I know, this is the first of its kind,” said Mayor Don Myers. “We created the key to the city and I will be presenting it to Miyo to acknowledge the recognition by the Karneetsa chapter of women in history.”

According to Stephanie Massart, regent of the local Karneetsa Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the society was recognizing Koba for her place in local and national history as a Japanese-American who was interned in a camp during World War II, as well as helping her husband Frank to run Frank’s Market on Nelson Road for many years.

“Miyo has been a part of our community for many years,” Massart said. “So we wanted to recognize her in the community, as part of Japanese or Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.”

Gary Sakuma, a U.S. Air Force veteran, commander of the American Legion Post in Bainbridge Island, and Koba’s nephew, said he has many fond memories of visiting the Kobas on his long trips between the West Side and Pullman when he went to college at Washington State University.

“I always had to come through and visit here,” Sakuma said.

Koba said little during or after the ceremony as she sat in a wheelchair in the city council chambers.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling broadly as she held the key to the city. “They told me I’m just supposed to sit here and smile.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.