In 1944 seven-year-old Jon Yatabe’s mother Kuni answered the call to do farm labor outside of camp while Jon’s dad was away fighting in Europe. Kuni and Jon left Topaz for a labor camp in Provo, Utah, where Kuni picked apples.
The labor camp was little more than a tent city. The previous year, local youths had fired pellet shots into the camp, injuring three workers; but security improved after the WRA threatened to remove the workers for safety reasons.
As the adults worked hard, the children were free to play. Jon soon discovered that Provo had something that Topaz didn’t–a movie theater!
We are pleased to share another excerpt from Jon’s memoir. Read “The Wizard of Provo,” by Jon Yatabe.
The Topaz Stories Team
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Media Coverage:
Read Internee’s story told with ‘Topaz Collages’ (Wheel of Dharma, Vol. 5, Issue 3, March 2023).
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)