Dec. 17, 2022: “The Long Haul”

We close out the year with a new holiday story about a determined little girl.

(Left) Four young Japanese American boys dressed in Santa suits. (Right) The Nakahara family in Topaz, with Jun in the center.
(Left): Christmas in Amache, 1944. Courtesy of the Wada and Homma Family Collection, Densho. (Right): Jun with Kami family members, her neighbors in Topaz. Courtesy of Yae Kami Yedlosky and Jun Nakahara Dairiki.

Christmas in camp could have been a dismal affair if not for the efforts of the many parents, grandparents, teachers, and others who tried to create a festive air for the children.

Sometimes, though, a kid just had to take matters into her own hands.

Read Jun Nakahara Dairiki’s story, “The Long Haul.”

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)

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