Host family reunites with exchange student after 40 years

By MAGGIE MENDERSKI
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Miho Hashimoto never forgot her American mother.

Millie Hagemann, now 98, had taken the young Japanese woman into her Quincy home in 1970. Hashimoto had traveled to America to study at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo., and she stayed with the family during her initial arrival and holidays. Forty-three years later, Hashimoto, now 63, sat beside the woman who had helped ease her transition. Years and miles had separated them, but on Sunday, Hagemann smiled at Hashimoto as though no time had passed.

“She’s kind of like an adopted daughter,” Hagemann said.

While Hashimoto spent no more than a month with the family of six during the 1970-71 school year, she had built a bond based on friendship, appreciation and generosity. When she first arrived in the United States, the young woman struggled with her English. In time, her language skills grew along with her friendship with the family.

“They did everything for us, especially because I did not speak English very well,” Hashimoto said. “They were very kind to me, and I never forgot their kindness.”

After she married, Hashimoto returned to the United States for a two-month honeymoon in 1973. She visited with her American family then, but hadn’t seen them since. Hashimoto had planned to reunite with the Hagemanns in 2001, but the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks prevented the trip.

Through the years, the Hagemanns maintained a connection with Hashimoto through letters and birthday gifts. Hashimoto reached out to her extended family when she learned about the Great Flood of 1993, and then again after the Sept. 11 tragedies. Sara Schlichting, Hagemann’s daughter, was 16 when Hashimoto stayed with her family. She explained that email eventually made the relationship easier. When an earthquake struck Japan in March 2011, the Hagemanns used the technology to check on Hashimoto’s safety.

“It’s been interesting to keep that friendship all these years,” Schlichting said.

Hashimoto spent Saturday evening and Sunday morning in Quincy before traveling to Boston. She wanted to relive the spaces she had grown to love during her short time in Quincy. Hashimoto visited the site of the Heidbreder-Hagemann Drugstore at Fifth and Chestnut streets on Saturday. The family had operated that store when Hashimoto stayed with them in 1970. The group also went to see the family’s former home near Third and Spruce streets. Hashimoto had only hoped to glimpse the outside, but the current owners welcomed her and the Hagemanns inside.

Hashimoto also brought flowers to her host father’s grave. Ralph Hagemann died in 1998, but Hashimoto still wanted to pay her respects.

The old friends prepared for goodbyes early Sunday afternoon. They shared one final meal together at Thyme Square while promising to write and keep in touch.

“It’s got to be cards and letters,” Hagemann said. “I don’t think I’m going over there at my age.”

But Hashimoto and Schlichting have other plans. Eventually, Schlichting intends to travel to Japan and experience Hashimoto’s culture firsthand. Hashimoto, too, plans for less time between this visit and her next. Despite Hagemann’s age, Hashimoto firmly believes she’ll see her again someday.

“She is in good health,” Hashimoto said. “I believe I can come back. But she has to live long. She is my American mom.”

— mmenderski@whig.com/221-3385