Born on May 15, 1920, Dorothy Koga is 103 years young! Dorothy was born in Sacramento with the help of a Japanese midwife who delivered many babies to Japanese parents. Dorothy’s parents were farmworkers who followed and harvested the crops in the Sacramento region. Dorothy remembers her parents placing her near them in a box so that she would not wander off while her parents worked in the fields. Dorothy said that when her parents finished a row of crops, they would move the box over, with Dorothy in it. Dorothy said the box had blankets inside, which made the box comfy.
Dorothy’s parents then moved to Los Angeles, where they lived in a boarding house. Her mother did housecleaning at the boarding house. Eventually, they were given the opportunity to run the produce section at the Piggly Wiggly Market. Her mother used to tell Dorothy that they sold the best produce in Los Angeles. Dorothy went to school in Los Angeles, where she graduated from Manual Arts High School and attended Woodbury Business College before World War II broke out.
During the war, Dorothy’s family was interned at the Amache Internment Camp in Colorado. This is where she met her husband Dix Koga, and they were married there. After Camp, they moved to Walnut Grove, where Dix’s family was from. Before the war, the Koga family had a barbershop, pool hall, and made tofu. After returning to Walnut Grove, Dix cut hair at the barbershop. Dorothy remembers all the shops in Walnut Grove, including the Inaba Grocery Store, Hayashi Market, Oda’s Meat Market, Lim Kee Department Store, and, of course, the Miyazaki candy store.
Dorothy excitedly recalls meeting the singer Bobby Darin when she worked at the Walnut Grove courthouse. During the summers in the Delta, many boat owners would cruise their boats along the Sacramento River and dock in Walnut Grove or in the surrounding sloughs. One summer day, Bobby Darin docked at Walnut Grove, went to the County Courthouse, and asked Judge James Gualco to marry him and Andrea Joy Yeager (his second wife). Judge Gualco told Bobby Darin that he needed a few more documents before he could marry them. Bobby Darin returned in his boat the next day to get married, but they needed a witness. Dorothy, being the Court Clerk, became the witness to the marriage of Bobby Darin (using his real name Walden Robert Cassotto) and Andrea Yeager on June 25, 1973.
Dorothy started working for the county on September 26, 1956 and worked 20 years for the County Courts. She attended many meetings and talked and listened to people with all kinds of stories and problems–which made the job very interesting, rewarding, and educational. Dorothy received a 20-year service pin from Judge Gualco.
Dorothy has three wonderful daughters, Janice, Carolyn, and Sharon, six grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. Dorothy lives at ACC Greenhaven Terrace Assisted Living, where she hangs out with her friends, playing cards, knitting, crocheting, taking walks, and partaking in the many activities offered.
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