Happy birthday to Jeanie Takagi Kashima, the first baby born in Topaz!
Jeanie was born 11 days after Topaz opened–on September 22, 1942. Her mother gave birth to her in the Block 4 laundry room, which was serving as a temporary infirmary until the hospital opened. Click to see her story, “Topaz Birth,” and more of her stunning collages.
Twelve of Jeanie’s collages, created from photos taken by her uncle in Topaz, will be exhibited at the Visions Museum of Textile Arts in San Diego, CA from January 23 to May 27, 2023 (admission free). There will be a reception on January 21, with a talk at 2 pm.
What else happened in Topaz on the day Jeanie was born?
(Excerpts from the Daily Log of the WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY Central Utah Relocation Project, Project Reports Division, Historical Section. Topaz, Utah):
“SEPTEMBER 22
WINTERIZATION — Resident carpenters began setting up walls, ceilings and partitions for Block 2.
STOVES INSTALLED — Stoves were installed in the various apartments.”
The Topaz Stories Team
Plan to visit the Topaz Stories Exhibit in Salt Lake City (on through 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)