On May 1, we presented “Topaz Stories: Through the Lens of Three Generations” at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple as part of the Topaz Pilgrimage. Here are a few photos from the busy weekend:
Jean Hibino shared a letter written by her grandfather in Topaz (Letter to a Nisei Son) and spoke of her parents’ decision never to return to the West Coast. Instead, they settled on the East Coast and helped found a scholarship (Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund) to “pay forward” the assistance Jean’s father and many other young Nisei had received which helped them leave camp for college.
Cynthia Wright’s grandmother was Ella Honderich, a young Swedish immigrant who lived in Topaz and sketched daily life there over a period of over two years. Cynthia’s mother was born in Topaz. Cynthia shared a few of her grandmother’s sketches and shared how her dive into her family’s history made her see their connection to Topaz in a new light (The Lost Sketches of Topaz).
Justin Roberson, a Salt Lake City resident whose grandfather was born in Topaz, shared Jon Yatabe’s story, The Winds of Topaz, which captured a child’s view of the turmoil occurring in camp over the differing responses to the loyalty questionnaire.
Ruth Sasaki shared a personal story from the perspective of a Sansei born after the War and growing up in what she called “cultural amnesia”—the fallout from the WWII incarceration (“The Story of When I Was Born“).