Morale
(Excerpts from the Daily Log of the WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY Central Utah Relocation Project, Project Reports Division, Historical Section. Topaz, Utah)
NOVEMBER 19 (1942)
SCHOOLS POSTPONED — Postponement of all Topaz schools due to the non-completion of three school blocks. The schools will not observe the regular schedule until the completion of winterization activities.
THIRD SNOWFALL — The third snowfall was recorded in Topaz.
LIBRARY — The library will open in two weeks with 5,000 books from Tanforan, along with the recent Utah additions and Santa Anita books, available.
NOVEMBER 20
BIG GAME RALLY — Rabid fans and alumni of both Stanford and California gathered at a Big Game rally at Dining Hall 32. More than 350 football fans enjoyed the meeting with their colleges’ songs and yells.
In camp in 1942, there was of course no Wifi, no mobile phones, no e-readers, email or texting. Football and other sports were important morale boosters for many younger incarcerees. Imagine having a Big Game rally in the middle of the Utah desert, behind barbed wire. Young Japanese Americans tried to keep spirits up and stay connected with the outside world however they could. (Cal lost that year, 7-26).
Other than the Topaz Times, what was there to read? Most incarcerees couldn’t allocate space in their limited “luggage” to bring books. It’s good to know that a library opened sometime in December. For Japanese-speaking/reading residents, the book drought lasted longer; all books in Japanese had been confiscated in Tanforan. But once restrictions began to ease, Shichinosuke Asano, the San Francisco editor of the Nichibei Shimbun before the War, created a Japanese library in Topaz. Read his story by his daughter, Setsuko Asano Ogami, “The Topaz Japanese Library.”
See the expanded version of today’s daily log here.
The Topaz Stories Team
Previous “Daily Log” entries:
November 2-5: Birth, death, dust, snow
October 28-29: First snow
October 25-27: Coal crisis
October 16-18: Hospital dedication
October 14-15: First Nisei soldier visits
October 12-13: “Jankee”
October 7-9: Fresnans, Santa Anitans arrive
October 3-5: Tar
September 29-October 1: Community Council
September 27-28: Dust, new arrivals
September 23-26: Outside workers, lost and found
September 22: First baby
September 18-21: First frost
September 17: First group arrives
September 15: Topaz Times launched
September 11: Welcome to Topaz
The Topaz Stories Team
Plan to visit the Topaz Stories Exhibit in Salt Lake City before it closes on December 31, 2022.
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.
Follow us on Instagram @topazstories
Media Coverage:
Watch Topaz survivors tell their stories (abc4 news, 4/22/2022)
Listen to the “In the Hive” podcast with interviews with Ann Dion, Jonathan Hirabayashi, and Topaz survivors Jeanie Kashima and Joseph Nishimura (KCPW, 4/28/2022)
Read How a Utah exhibit about Topaz Camp looks to find empathy in ‘an ugly stain on American history (ksl.com, 4/22/2022)
Read “Topaz Stories rise from the dust,” (Department of Culture & Community Engagement, 4/2022)
Listen to KQED Forum, Day of Remembrance interview with Ruth Sasaki, 2/15/2022
Listen to Max Chang and Ruth Sasaki interviewed (KRCL RadioActive, 2/9/2022
Read On Topaz Stories and ‘Authentic Voice’, the Discover Nikkei interview with Ruth Sasaki (10/14/2022)
Listen to Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration, the Topaz Stories podcast with Ruth Sasaki and Jonathan Hirabayashi (6/2/2021)