Object Record
Images
Additional Images [33]
Metadata
Accession number |
2014.038 |
Object Identification Number |
2014.038.001 |
Object Name |
Secretary |
Donor |
Jones, Mrs. Annie |
Description |
Large secretary in two pieces. Bottom section has three large drawers, and a roll top desk with several smaller drawers. The top section has three doors which open to shelves inside. There is a green felted section on the desk top. There is inlaid wood in a floral design on the smaller shelves on the top part of the bottom section (above the desk top). |
Dimensions |
H-81.5 W-49 D-23 inches |
Creation Date |
19th century |
Place Of Origin |
Denmark |
Owned By |
Jones, Mrs. Annie/Stoakes, Annelise Clement |
Used By |
Stoakes, Annelise Clement |
Material |
Wood/oak |
Associated People |
Jones, Mrs. Annie Stoakes, Annelise Clement |
Search Terms |
Jones, Mrs. Annie Stoakes, Annelise Clement hutch secretary desk oak inlaid |
Given In Memory Of |
This Gift in Memory of Annelise Stoakes |
Provenance |
The hutch was made by a family member on Annelise's mother Magda's side and passed through the family for six generations, ending with Annelise. It is estimated to date from the early to mid-1800s. The hutch began in Denmark, and traveled to Japan with Magda when she moved there to work as a hotel designer (see family information below). Before WWII began, Magda's husband Aage had the hutch stored in Cambodia. Following the war, the family had the hutch shipped to San Francisco, and it resided with them while they lived in the U.S. It returned to Denmark when the family did, but when the family decided at last to make their permanent residence in the U.S., the hutch once more traveled the ocean, settling with the family in Washington State. After the death of her mother, Annelise inherited the piece and it remained with her until her own death. It then was gifted to the donor and has been in her parents' home (Gary and Carrie Snow's) ever since. FAMILY INFO: Annelise Clement Stoaks was a friend of the donor. Carey inherited these materials following Annelise's passing in 2008. Annelise was born to Danish parents in Japan. Her mother, Magda, went to Japan as a young single woman from Denmark after answering an ad for a European woman to come transform a Japanese hotel in Yokohama into one that would be comfortable and familiar to European guests. Magda stayed on to manage the hotel, where she met her future husband Aage. Annelise's father, Aage Julius Clement, as born Nov. 6, 1887 in Falster, Denmark, and died in 1957 in Fox Island, WA. He was the son of Peter and Regine Clement, and brother of Gerda, Ellen, Christian, and Erik. Aage came to Japan in 1922 to work at the Danish legation in Tokyo. He later started working for the Ford Motor Company in Yokohama, Japan. There he became a Director of Ford Finance Company in Japan in 1928. In February 1941, he became the Inspector of Ford of Japan. Aage and Magda met in Japan, married in 1926, and had Annelise Magdalene Clement (later Stoaks) on February 2, 1929. In August 1941, Aage was arrested while inspecting the condition of some land owned by the Ford Motor Company of Japan. Under suspicion of spying on Japanese military installations, he was detained for several hours at the police station in Tsurumi and then released. Then on the day of the first bombing of Japan in December 1941, Aage was arrested at his desk at Ford and put into prison two bus rides away from their home overlooking Yokohama harbor. He was in that prison for about 2 1/2 months. Meanwhile, Annelise and her mother were placed under house arrest after a thorough search of their home. Magda was not allowed to leave their home, but Annelise, aged 12, had to take food to her father across town each day if he was to eat. In the early spring, all three of the Clements were moved by the secret police to Karuizawa, Japan and held there throughout the war under house arrest. After the end of the war, Japan was in turmoil. Food was difficult to find, and the family only survived because of C-rations from the Red Cross. After Japan's surrender on September 2, 1945 until March of 1946, only U.S. prisoners and troops were transported out. Finally, the Clement family found transportation from Yokohama to San Francisco, California on a "lend lease Danish freighter." Once in California, they traveled to Detroit where Aage gave extensive reports to Ford Motor Company about his work there before his arrest. Ford wanted to send him back to Japan, but Aage refused given all he and his family had gone through. Instead, they returned to Denmark, where they lived for two years. The economy was bad after the war and Aage had difficulty finding work so the family decided to immigrate to the U.S. A friend of Aage's through Ford sponsored the family to come to Vancouver, WA to work with Titus Ford in Tacoma. Annelise met and married her husband Warder, and they moved to Fox Island, WA in 1950. An article was written about the Clement family's ordeal in the Tacoma News Tribune on July 4, 1965. Amy Brown was a Japanese citizen during WWII and immigrated to the same area of Washington as Annelise. They met at church and discovered that they had both grown up in Karuizawa. The two became friends, and Amy has helped with translations and identification of locations for photos in the collection, as she was a travel agent for years. |
Images |
230\2014038001.JPG |
Date Received by Museum |
09/22/2014 |