Hidden beneath the restaurants and boutiques of the Arroyo Grande Village is a deep cultural history for Japanese Americans. During the times of WWII and the internment camps, many people were uprooted from their homes in Arroyo Grande and relocated to brutal, inhumane camps where they were forced to live for years. In spite of the fear at the time, the many good people who weren’t taken to the internment camps living in Arroyo Grande at the time rallied together behind the people and ensured that in spite of this heinous act, their livelihoods would not be ruined.
Telling this story is 11th-grade AGHS student Cate Pedrotti. Through Pedrotti’s time in school, she has felt like the hardships of the time were not properly taught or represented, so she wanted to take matters into her own hands to teach the community.
Since September of 2025, Pedrotti has been hard at work on a community project.
“I’ve designed a website, and then I’m going to put up plaques around the specific sites where there will be basic information and a QR code,” Pedrotti said
The goal with this project is to add a simple and easy way to find out information about Japanese-American history. Pedrotti is also working to create a self-guided walking tour around the Village.
However such a large undertaking has had its fair share of setbacks.
“During basketball season, it’s been a little bit difficult to navigate, but I’ve been going on and off,” Pedrotti said.
Further, being a crowd-funded project and needing permits has led to additional roadblocks.
“A lot of the legal [things have been challenging],” Pedrotti said. “I’m trying to get some donations for the website to get the plaques and it’s been a bit difficult understanding how to make an account and where the donations go because I can’t keep the money.”
On top of sports, Pedrotti has multiple AP classes that provide more tasks to her life. Despite this, progress has been made, including the completion of an entire website detailing the history of The Village. The next step for her is to finish getting approval from businesses to put up plaques, then from there it’s just getting the plaques themselves delivered and put up.
Those interested in experiencing the history for themselves can look forward to a tentative release date in June 2026.
