MANZANAR Historic Resource Study/Special History Study

With establishment of the "Peace of Manzanar" following the violence that erupted at the center on December 6, 1942, Project Director Merritt optimistically observed that throughout "1943 and into 1944. . . .the life of the Center crystallized into a pleasant and unexcited mood where normal human relations developed at their best." In spite of the "conflicting emotional decisions that had to be made by Center residents on loyalty, segregation, and relocation," schools "were in full swing," "health services" were "organized to a high state of efficiency," and "industrial operations in the manufacture of clothing, furniture, and many types of food stuffs, occupied and trained many people for later usefulness." Religious "organizations developed strength and large followings." The center agricultural pursuits "began to harvest a crop remarkable in variety and volume for the use of the residents." Recreational and social life "in the American pattern was at high tide and filled with enthusiasm and fine spirit." The "whole community moved outwardly and, in growing degree, inwardly, toward an understanding of the ideals of a high order of simple, peaceful, happy living." This movement was "due, in part, to the fact that the administration secured the cooperation of the evacuees in constructing living quarters on the Center to accommodate all members of the staff." Thus, "every employed staff member was able to live on the Center and work in the spirit of understanding and harmony." It was "due also to the leadership in Town Hall by the Block Managers and their Chairman (Kiyoharu Anzai), and the leadership throughout the Center, by all groups and points of view among the evacuees who found that the tragedy of evacuation and the restrictions of war could be forgotten in the common interest of mutual help in a sound community program.

According to Merritt, Manzanar "reached its highest level of accomplishment" during the autumn of 1944. Stressing the positive attributes of life in the relocation center, he continued:

. . . . There was no crime, people were busy and happy, and there was a general understanding and acceptance of the policies of the Washington staff and full cooperation with the Project Director and his staff. The residents of Manzanar were never coddled. Life was severly [sic] simple and as economical as a sixteen-dollar-a-month-wage scale would indicate. Mess hall meals cost an average of 12-1/2 cents; movies and the newspaper were free services from the Co-op; health services without cash gave security to the aged and ill; and the excellent schools prepared children for the eventual return to normal living in America.

On July 12, 1945, WRA Director Myer announced that all relocation centers would be closed by the end of the year, thus initiating the "final phase of feverish relocation activity" at Manzanar. Schools closed on June 1, and week by week other administrative sections in the center completed their responsibilities and closed their doors. The last evacuee left Manzanar on November 21, 1945, and Merritt reported with optimism and pride that the "spirit of the last day was the same as the spirit of the three years previous." The evacuees "were courteous and cooperative," and the staff "remained at its post until the job was complete." [1]

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION

On December 15, 1942, shortly after the outbreak of violence at Manzanar, Ralph P. Merritt, who had assumed his position as project director at the camp on November 24, reorganized the entire WRA administrative staff at Manzanar. The streamlined organization, which provided for more efficient operation of the center, consisted of three divisions, each led by an assistant project director, directly supervised by the project director — operations, administrative, and community management. The operations division was placed under the supervision of Robert L. Brown, who had functioned as the center's reports officer, while the administrative division was placed under Edwin H. Hooper, an experienced federal government administrator who had been supervising officer of administration under the old organization. The community management division was placed under the supervision of Lucy W. Adams. Although this organization was not approved at the Washington level until May 13, 1943, it functioned at Manzanar from the date it was established.

In the new organization, the office of the project director supervised the reports and legal divisions, while the administrative management division was comprised of the supply, finance, office services, personnel records, and statistics sections. The supply section supervised mess management, procurement, and the postal service units. The finance section consisted of the budget and accounts and cost accounting and property control units, the latter unit including warehousing. The statistics section included the former employment and housing division, known as the occupational coding and records section. The balance of the former employment and housing division was placed under the direct supervision of the project director. The community management division supervised the health, education, community enterprise, and welfare sections. The operations division oversaw the internal security agriculture, fire protection, manufacturing, public works, and transportation sections. [2]

As part of the staff reorganization in early 1943, a list of job classifications, definitions, and ratings was prepared by Arthur H. Miller, employment officer at Manzanar, to establish uniformity in job titles for project work for both appointed personnel and evacuee personnel. The U.S. Department of Labor's Dictionary of Occupational Titles was used as a basis for the job titles and descriptions. [3]

Although some minor staff realignments would be implemented periodically, this organizational framework would remain until a final reorganization of the WRA staff at Manzanar on October 1, 1944. Under this new organizational set-up, which would remain in effect until the center closed on November 21, 1945, the office of the project director (Ralph P. Merritt) supervised the legal, reports, and relocation divisions. The administrative management division, under the direction of Assistant Project Director Edwin H. Hooper, supervised the supply, finance, mess operations, statistics, evacuee property, personnel management, and office services sections. The community management division, under the direction of Assistant Project Director Lucy W. Adams, was charged with planning, direction, and coordination of the activities of sections dealing with the total program of the center — internal security, health, education, community activities, welfare, housing, community analysis, community government, and business enterprise sections. When Robert Brown, assistant project director of the operations division, left Manzanar on July 18, 1944, to work for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, Merritt decided that his vacated position would not be filled. Rather, the various sections of the former operations division, consisting of the engineering, motor transport and maintenance, agriculture, and fire protection sections, were parceled out to the administrative and community management divisions for overall direction, while the section chiefs operated somewhat independently. [4] The salary structure for the WRA administrators at Manzanar during late 1944 and 1945 was: Merritt $6,500; assistant project directors and principal medical officer, $5,600; and divisional chiefs and sectional chiefs, $3,800 - $4,600. Several chiefs of smaller sections, such as statistics and office services, were paid $2,000 to $3,200. [5]

Appointed Personnel

During 1943-45, one of the chief problems facing WRA administrators at Manzanar, according to the Final Report, Manzanar, was the "education of the appointed personnel staff and the evacuees in the methods used by the government in its business operations." Most of the appointed staff at Manzanar had never worked for the government before and only a few of the evacuees had. Consequently, both WRA staff members, as well as evacuee employees, repeatedly suggested operational procedures and occasionally conducted policies that violated "either government regulations or law."

At the time of appointment, new WRA employees were provided a considerable amount of information on the purpose, organization, and policies of the WRA. Despite this effort to orient the new employees, however, there was never time to arrange for more than one such conference with each new employee because of inadequate staff personnel.

Recruitment of appointed personnel continued to be a problem throughout the 1943-45 period, since recruitment had to be approved by the 12th Civil Service District which covered the entire Pacific coast from its headquarters in San Francisco. Aside from an acute manpower shortage on the west coast during the war, other factors that contributed to difficulties in recruiting appointed personnel to Manzanar were: (1) high rates of pay, plus overtime and double-time, in west coast war-related industries; (2) isolation of the relocation center; (3) the adverse climate of Owens Valley with its hot dry summers, cold winters, and numerous sand and dust storms; (4) the temporary nature of the employment as many felt that the project would close long before it did; and (5) the fact that a significant portion of the nation's population did not wish to work with persons of Japanese ancestry.

Manzanar was from two to three days by mail service from the San Francisco office of the Civil Service Commission, which made it virtually impossible to obtain approval on an assignment in less than one week. High paying jobs were so plentiful on the west coast that a number of applicants stated that they did not care to wait a week to learn if they were to be approved for employment and accepted other jobs instead. Although the Civil Service Commission offered the project "its wholehearted cooperation,' it was never able to recruit a sufficient number of well-qualified or even reasonably well-qualified applicants interested in working at Manzanar. Thus, the burden of recruitment was left largely to WRA project administrators and personnel. Recruitment was primarily conducted by the assistant project directors through their personal contacts, by the personnel officer through contacts principally in Los Angeles, and by soliciting the cooperation of project staff members who referred to the personnel management section any persons they could interest in employment at the center.

The project staff was credited with securing a high percentage of the 224 persons who were hired after August 1, 1944. Between that date and closure of the project on November 21, 1945, the average number of appointed personnel at Manzanar per month was 155. Some 69 promotions were awarded, almost all of which were for personnel assigned as "War Service Indefinite" employees. The policy of the WRA at Manzanar was to promote wherever possible, thus enhancing the morale of the staff and enabling it to retain the expertise of as many experienced employees as possible.

Inadequate housing initially posed an impediment to employment of appointed personnel. On August 1, 1942, the housing quarters for WRA personnel at Manzanar consisted of nine apartments and 17 bachelor quarters. These units proved insufficient for the growing staff, and in order to obtain as well as retain employees, it became necessary until July 1943 to use evacuee barracks in the camp to house them and their families while additional new quarters were constructed. Beginning that month, as new housing units were completed they were made available to the staff living in the barracks.

By January 1944, all appointed personnel housing units were completed. Families of three or more were assigned to two-bedroom apartments, while families of two received one bedroom apartments. [6] Single women were housed in dormitories, and single men in bachelor quarters, two to an apartment. Single section chiefs or above received one bedroom apartments, as did single employees who secured medical certificates from the principal medical officer showing that they required diets different from those served in the administrative mess, provided that they agreed to share the apartment with another single person.

Lack of recreational facilities also contributed to low WRA employee morale at the isolated relocation center. Until the fall of 1944, there were no staff recreation facilities at the camp. Staff members with automobiles were able to go to nearby towns for limited entertainment, but many staffers had no access to transportation. In late 1944, an Appointed Personnel Recreation Club was organized to provide a clubhouse and recreational facilities for staff members and their families. By Christmas, a clubhouse was ready for occupancy. All employees of the WRA and the post office and their family members over 14 years of age were eligible for membership. Dues were set at one dollar per person per month. The WRA furnished dishes, silverware, chairs, and a refrigerator for the use of the club. A piano, lamp, shuffle board and badminton sets, electric and coffee grills, and card tables were purchased by club members at a cost of approximately $150. The clubhouse featured a snack bar that served coffee, hamburgers, and other snacks. The club was organized into sections of special interest, such as music, bridge, and sports. Special occasions were observed with picnics, parties, or dances. Surplus funds from the club were to be presented to Hillcrest Sanitarium for use by evacuees when discharged from the hospital.

The staff at Manzanar averaged slightly less than 200 during the entire operation of the center. Between May 1 and December 1942, 209 new employees were hired by the WRA and 20 additional personnel were transferred from other government agencies to the camp, thus providing the center with an average staff of slightly over 200 persons for that period. In 1943, 234 new appointments were made, and nine employees were transferred from other government agencies. The following year, 86 new appointments and six transferees were added to the staff. In 1945, 223 new appointments and 11 transferees were made. From May 1,1942, to December 31, 1945, 788 personnel were hired or transferred to maintain an average center staff of slightly less than 200. [7]

At the request of Project Director Merritt, Arch W. Davis, who had become reports officer at Manzanar in September 1944, initiated the Manzanar Magpie, a small mimeographed paper designed to boost staff morale and increase communication among appointed personnel. The paper, which was printed on a monthly basis from November 20, 1944, to April 1945, carried information of interest to appointed personnel, as well as amusing articles concerning employees and poems, rhymes, and other articles composed by personnel. [8]

Evacuee Personnel

During 1943-45, evacuee personnel constituted the majority of the work force at Manzanar. Throughout these years, they continued to be paid $12, $16, and $19 per month, depending on skills classification of their work. Employment procedures that were developed during 1942 became more formalized, and on-the-job training programs and efforts to provide for a more disciplined and efficient work force were implemented.

As of February 28, 1943, a total of 4,789 evacuees were employed at Manzanar. This number included:

Project administration	119
Mess operations	1,638
Warehousing	178
Transportation Operations	87
Health and sanitation	386
Education	211
Internal Security	66
Housing	86
Other Community Services	435
Building Construction	224
Buildings and Grounds Maintenance	655
Fire Protection	46
Land Clearing	140
Employment	59
Agriculture	131
Industry	127
Community Enterprises	201

Of this total, 146 males and 19 females were making $12; 2,989 males and 1,186 females were making $16; and 355 males and 94 females were making $19. [9]

As the relocation of evacuees out of Manzanar accelerated during early 1943, evacuee transfers from one job to another became frequent, thus causing instability in the center's workforce. To correct this problem, the administration took steps to "freeze" many of the employees in their jobs. This freeze, however, was subject to many qualifications as indicated in a memorandum on May 20, 1943:

No worker may transfer from a more essential job to a less essential job, but he may transfer from the less essential job to a more essential one. Transfers may be made between less essential jobs, provided the transferee is not qualified for a more essential job vacancy Thus far, the Employment Office has been able to meet practically all the requirements of the various departments so that no work has really suffered through the shrinkage of population, but this is rapidly becoming more difficult.

Department heads and section heads are encouraged to come to the Employment Office for a frank discussion of any work problems so that every effort may be made to make the necessary adjustments, particularly in key jobs, in order to keep all the work rolling.

The Project Director has designated the following jobs as more essential because they concern the care of the sick, internal security, fire protection, the feeding of the people, the payment of allowances, the planting and harvesting of crops, and the maintenance of utility services:

Hospital professional and technical workers, orderlies, and nurses' aides

Internal Security policemen

Fire Department firemen

Finance Department bookkeepers, clerks, accountants, and typists

Mess Division cooks and workers in food warehouses and storage, food transportation

Agriculture farm workers for planting and harvesting crops Public Works workers necessary for the maintenance and upkeep of utility services and care of government property

Although the WRA relocation program resulted in a declining population at Manzanar during 1943 and 1944, approximately 42 to 51 percent of the employable evacuee population in the camp continued to be employed during those years. Of the 9,170 residents in April 1943, 4,267 or 46.5 percent were employed. By December 1944, 2,448 of the 5,549 remaining residents (44.1 percent) were employed. In March 1945, increasing relocation resulted in a "sporadic job termination movement," and a sharp decline in evacuee personnel began to have a significant impact on center operations during subsequent months, resulting in WRA efforts to recruit every available evacuee still in the center. [10]

CENTER PHOTOGRAPHY

Although the WRA had not formalized a policy governing the photographing of its relocation program, three of its official agency photographers visited Manzanar to take photos of its operations during 1942. Clem Albers visited in the camp in early April, just after the first large groups of evacuees began arriving and almost two months before the WRA took over administration of the camp from the WCCA. Francis Stewart visited the center in late May and early June 1942 and was at the site when the WRA took over administration of the camp on June 1. Later in February 1943, he would return to the center to take more photographs. In late June-early July 1942, Dorothea Lange traveled to the center to take photos. Selected photographs taken by Albers, Stewart, and Lange were published in Stone S. Ishimaru, War Relocation Authority, Manzanar Relocation Center, Manzanar, California: 1942-1945 (Los Angeles, TecCom Productions, 1987). The entire collection of their photographs may be found in Record Group 210 of the Still Picture Branch at Archives II of the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland. [11]

Of the three official photographers, Lange was the most noted, having achieved professional recognition for her documentation of migrant labor conditions during the Depression while working for the Farm Security Administration. Because of her reputation as a social activist with liberal political leanings, her WRA photographs were scrutinized closely by military authorities and many were impounded. Working from an "antagonist" position, Lange took photographs that were intended to reveal the injustice of evacuation and relocation. In April 1942 she began her WRA work in northern California by photographing the "normal life" of Japanese American families who had been in America for several generations, emphasizing their contributions to American society. Lange wanted her photographs to reveal the "pattern of mass blame" and its physical, psychological, and social effects on the evacuees during evacuation, as well as the process of transforming the assembly and relocation centers from spartan barracks into livable dwellings. From Lange's perspective, the environment of Manzanar, with its climatic challenges posed by heat, dust, and extreme cold, epitomized the oppression of its residents. Although few of her photographs were published during the war because they were seen as advocating an "unacceptable view" of evacuation and relocation, they were reinterpreted during the late 1960s and 1970s as providing a "true" picture of those events. In 1972, for instance, many of her photos were selected by Maisie and Richard Conrat for an exhibit and book of pictures, entitled Executive Order 9066: The Internment of 110,000 Japanese Americans (Los Angeles, California Historical Society, 1972). The traveling exhibit was presented, under the joint sponsorship of the National Archives, the California Historical Society, and the Japanese American Citizens League, at the Whitney Museum in New York, the Corcoran in Washington, the De Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, and a Tokyo department store. [12]

Although Albers, Stewart, and Lange visited Manzanar during 1942 to take photographs, it was not until January 2, 1943, that the WRA issued Administrative Instruction No. 74, describing regulations and procedures for photography in the relocation centers. The instruction provided that it was "the intention of the War Relocation Authority to document its program as fully as possible by means of photographs." The "major part of such documentation" would be "in black and white still photographs," but to "a lesser extent photographic documentation " would also "include color stills and movies." Photographs would be used "not only for documentary purposes, but also for information to be made available to the public and to the evacuees." Responsibility for the agency's photographic documentation program was assigned to the photographic section in Denver, Colorado, an office responsible to the chief of the reports division in the Washington office.

According to the instruction, WRA photographers would visit all relocation centers and will make photographic records of activities, "giving approximately equal attention to all" elements of the centers' operations. WRA photographers would "at all times observe the right of privacy of the individual." They would take photos of "industries within relocation centers making goods and articles for the armed forces, as a necessary part of documentation." However, such pictures would not be used for any "purpose other than documentation without approval of appropriate officials of the Army or Navy." WRA photographers were forbidden to take photographs "of personnel, equipment, or installations of military forces at relocation centers, unless special permission to do so is secured from appropriate officials of the Army."

Although the WRA placed "no restriction or prohibition on possession or use of cameras in relocation areas," it would observe "restrictions and prohibitions of other agencies of the government, such as the War Department and Department of Justice." Under regulations of the Western Defense Command, cameras were regarded as contraband for persons of Japanese ancestry within the areas of that command. Thus, photographs could "be taken in those centers only by official photographers of WRA, or by persons, not excluded by the applicable regulations, who are granted special permits by the Project Director or by the Director of WRA." Department of Justice regulations prohibited the possession or use of cameras by Japanese nationals anywhere in the United States.

Under the terms of the WRA instruction, evacuee-established cooperative associations in the relocation centers could establish photographic services. If such a service was established, however, "the prohibition against the use of cameras by alien evacuees, which is applicable to all relocation centers, or by any evacuee where the relocation center [such as Manzanar] is within the Western Defense Command, must be observed."

The reports officer in each relocation center would be provided with a camera "for taking photographs, with the objective of enabling him to photograph significant events and activities at the center when no official photographer is present, and also to render certain limited photographic service to the evacuees," such as family photographs at funerals.

Film of all official WRA photographs were to be sent undeveloped to the photographic section's laboratory in Denver. One file print of each exposure was to be sent to the chief of the division in Washington for clearance. Photographs not suitable for publication, because of subject matter, would be "designated for impounding, and negatives of such photographs" would "be forwarded to Washington." "All existing prints of such photographs" would "be destroyed." If approved, one file print would be made by the photo laboratory for its use, and one print would be sent to the relocation center in which it was taken. Photos would be released for publication by the reports officer at each center or by the chief of the reports division in Washington. [13]

During the fall of 1943, Ansel Adams, recognized as one of the finest landscape photographers and most exacting printers in the history of American photography, was requested by Project Director Merritt to travel to Manzanar to "interpret the situation as it had developed in time." Adams had wanted to contribute to the war effort, but he was too old for military service. Thus, he welcomed the opportunity to photographically document the relocation center. He had been upset by the disruptive effect the evacuation and relocation program was having on the lives of evacuee friends, but he "would not say the operation as a whole was unjustified." He noted that "the fact remains that we, as a nation, were in the most potentially precarious moment or our history — stunned, seriously hurt, unorganized for actual war." Adams did not consider the evacuation as a threat to democratic principles, he saw Manzanar as "only a wartime detour on the road of American citizenship, . . . a symbol of the whole pattern of relocation — a vast expression of a government working to find suitable haven for its war-dislocated minorities." Thus, he took some 200 photographs (at present the photographs are in the Ansel Adams Collection in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, although copies of some are also in the aforementioned Record Group 210) that would be organized in exhibit form by the Department of Photography of the Museum of Modern Art in New York in November 1944 and published in a book entitled Born Free and Equal (New York, U.S. Camera, 1944). The subtitle of the book, "Photographs of the Loyal Japanese Americans at Manzanar Relocation Center," emphasized his efforts "to record the influence of the tremendous landscape of Inyo on the life and spirit of thousands of people living by force of circumstance in the Relocation Center of Manzanar," While the "people and their activities" were his "chief concern," there was "much emphasis on the land" and the influence of the camp's natural environment throughout this book. Adams stated in the foreword:

This book in no way attempts a sociological analysis of the people and their problem. It is addressed to the average American citizen, and is conceived on a human, emotional basis, accenting the realities of the individual and his environment rather than considering the loyal Japanese-Americans as an abstract, amorphous, minority group. This impersonal grouping, while essential to the factual study of racial and sociological problems, frequently submerges the individual, who is of greatest importance. . . .

Adams wanted "the reader to feel he has been with me in Manzanar, has met some of the people, and has known the mood of the Center and its environment — thereby drawing his own conclusions — rather than impose upon him any doctrine or advocate any sociological action." He claimed that he "intentionally avoided the sponsorship of governmental or civil organizations, not because I have doubts of their sincerity and effectiveness, but because I wish to make this work a strictly personal concept and expression." Adams hoped that the "content and message of this book will suggest that the broad concepts of American citizenship, and of liberal, democratic life the world over, must be protected in the prosecution of the war, and sustained in the building of the peace to come." As an apologist for the evacuation, he thus used his photos to demonstrate the success of the evacuation and relocation program and to emphasize the successful adaptation of the evacuees to life in the camp. He hoped his photographs, including close portraits of evacuees, small business, industrial, and agricultural activities, family groupings, and social activities, would reassure Americans outside the camp that the people of Manzanar were now worthy of equal status, and could make valuable contributions to any American community. [14]

The best source of photographs for documentation of Manzanar is the Toyo Miyatake Collection. Miyatake, a 47-year-old photographer who had operated a photograph studio in Los Angeles since the 1920s, was evacuated, along with his family, to Manzanar in 1942. As a professional photographer, it was perhaps more his instinct than any historical motive that initially made him smuggle his lens and film holder into the camp along with the few personal belongings that he and his family were allowed to take. Although prohibited to take photos, Miyatake collected pieces of wood and various plumbing fixtures, and with the help of a carpenter friend, he secretly built a crude wooden box camera. Attached to the back was his one 4-inch x 5 -inch sheet film holder, while his lens, fitted to the front, was focused by rotating it on the end of a threaded drain pipe. Superficially, the camera looked like a lunch pail, enabling his clandestine photographic documentation to continue. Ordering film by mail from his supplier in Los Angeles, Miyatake began what he called his "historic duty." After some nine months, he was caught by the camp police in early 1943 and obliged to explain his conduct to Project Director Ralph P. Merritt. Notwithstanding Miyatake's violation of military regulations, the director concurred with the evacuee's explanation that his photographs represented a history he was compelled to record — his own. As a concession to the military rule forbidding Japanese Americans the right to take photographs, Merritt allowed Miyatake to set up pictures of his choice, but a Caucasian appointed staff member would trip the shutter. As camp life "normalized" in early 1943, this restriction was relaxed and Miyatake was allowed to send to Los Angeles for his studio and darkroom equipment. Later that year, he establish a fully equipped photo studio at Manzanar that was operated by Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises. Thus, he became the unofficially appointed camp photographer. Miyatake was also permitted to travel to the Poston and Gila River relocation centers to take photos, some of which were published in Allen H. Eaton's Beauty Behind Barbed Wire (New York, Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1952). Selected photographs from the Miyatake Collection were published in Graham Howe, Patrick Nagatani, and Scott Rankin, eds., Two Views of Manzanar: An Exhibition of Photographs by Ansel Adams, Toyo Miyatake (Los Angeles, Regents of the University of California, 1978) and in Atsufumi Miyatake, Taisuke Fujishima and Eikoh Hosee, eds., Toyo Miyatake Behind the Camera; 1923-1979, trans. by Paul Petite (Tokyo, Bungeishunju Co., Ltd., 1984). Miyatake's collection of more than 1,000 photographs of Manzanar (presently housed at the Toyo Miyatake Studio operated by his son, Archie Miyatake, in San Gabriel, California) depict the growth and quality of life in his community, showing agricultural growth, artistic involvement, professional acumen, and typical life scenes during the 1943-45 period. [15]

COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT

Reestablishment

On New Year's Day, 1943, Merritt sent a letter to WRA Director Dillon Myer, the substance of which became the charter on which community government would be reestablished in the center and upon which the "Peace of Manzanar" would ultimately rest. In the letter, Merritt stated that every effort had been exhausted to bring about the type of center government desired by Washington. However, he rejected the form of self-government as proposed by the Washington office:

Viewing the plan for creation of evacuee self-government, as an analyst and not as a critic, it now seems clear that the positions of the majority of the evacuees toward self-government deserves serious open-minded consideration by the Authority. Evacuees who approach the plan of self government without emotion and with the desire to be constructive divide themselves roughly into two classes: first, those who question the sincerity of a plan of self-government which prohibits a large percentage (and particularly the more mature people) from the holding of office and, secondly, the exercise of any plan of self-government prepared and limited by the authorities above, whose authority includes the maintenance of a barbed-wire fence as visual evidence of the actual complete lack of the fundamentals of self-government. Their view boils down to the conclusion that it is silly for mature men to spend time playing with dolls.

It was Merritt's belief that any form of government which was democratic and American in spirit must of necessity represent the will of the people. Democratic government could not be handed down to people by higher authority, but must be based on understanding acceptance of a charter representing the will of the governed.

Merritt continued:

The conclusions reached, after long discussion and thoughtful consideration of the Japanese leadership at Manzanar, appears to be that the majority of the evacuees will immediately accept a form of government comprising judicial committees, internal policing, the administration of blocks, and advisory action on the great range of problems touching the lives of all evacuees, provided the Project Director assumes the responsibility for proposing an acceptable form of government and supervises its general administration. Definite and overwhelming opposition has been growing and now must be accepted against attempting to involve the evacuees in responsibility for a type of apparent self-government purporting to originate from within their body, yet in fact designed to implicate them in a participation and acceptance of the fundamentals of evacuation, detention and control, and in the artificialities of a wartime experiment, by which citizens and Japanese Nationals are deprived of liberties accorded other citizens and other alien Nationals.

Opposition to the establishment of evacuee government as set forth in the purposed [sic] charter has come from all elements in the camp. The Issei believe that deprivation of their holding of office further accentuates discrimination. An active Kibei group is pro-Japanese in tendency and unwilling to participate in any form of American governmental procedure. Many of the Nisei base all their opposition on the fallacy of the offer of the opportunities of self-government which is to exist in form only.

The discussion to this point has had to do with the adoption or rejection of the proposed charter. All this, however, does not mean that there is no opportunity for the growth and development of phases of self-government based upon a slowly developing degree of confidence between the evacuees and the administration, and a clear recognition of the part of the evacuees for the need of certain forms of internal government operation. . . .

I am not discouraged on the development of sound and sincere principals [sic] of self-government at Manzanar, based upon the demonstration of need for the functions of government and the expressed desire of the evacuees to participate, in their own interests, and in suitable compliance with the policies of the Authority. I do not believe that any tailor-made program for self-government, operating on a time schedule, could be effective, acceptable, or even a reality. Self-government is a method of group procedure that arises from recognized needs and is developed from within, with the acceptance of the majority, to meet such needs. That such method of procedure must also be acceptable to the Authority is obvious. Self-governing is a process of growth from within, not the imposition of authority from without. It is a slow process based on bitter experience. Therefore, temporary measures, not labeled self-government, must be used as a bridge to the desired point. [16]

On January 6, 1943, one month after violence erupted in the camp, the block managers reconvened and began weekly meetings with Merritt "for a complete, full, and candid discussion of all matters which touched the administration of the Center." Gradually, "confidence between the Administration and the evacuees developed and an unwritten code of procedure and regulations was created through mutual understanding." [17]

Peace Committee

In addition to cooperation and consultation with the block managers, Merritt consolidated his policy of accommodation at Manzanar in early 1943 by acknowledging and working with a "Peace Committee," a spontaneous arbitration and control group of evacuees that emerged at Manzanar in the wake of the violence. Consisting of representatives from each block, the committee was led by Seigoro Murakami, who had been a judo instructor and Japanese language school teacher before evacuation and had organized a judo instruction program in the camp. [18]

Designations of "Mayor of Manzanar" and "Father of Manzanar"

In March 1943, Kiyoharu Anzai, an Issei who had studied at the University of California and the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley prior to evacuation and was the father of a Nisei military volunteer, became chairman of the block managers. Merritt, conscious of Japanese cultural patterns, deferred to those traditions by conferring the honorary title, "Mayor of Manzanar," on Anzai, who would remain as chairman of the block managers and discharge the duties of his honorary position until the close of the center in 1945.

After becoming chairman of the block managers and receiving his honorary title, Anzai, working together with Merritt, "found a way to bring the Administration and the evacuees into a more cordial relationship." Using "the accepted Japanese cultural approach," Anzai reciprocated Merritt's overtures of goodwill by designating the project director as the "Father of Manzanar." Realizing the delicacy "of the compliment and the possibilities of accord arising from the use of this title," Merritt "permitted and joined in the device by which it was possible for Japanese aliens to give complete loyalty to Caucasian leadership." The "device" was used by Merritt to encourage the alien evacuees who dominated the block managers assembly "to advocate the American way of living as a means of creating better public acceptance for their children."

"Peace of Manzanar"

Shortly thereafter, an alien, who had previously criticized the government and whose attitude had been described as pro-Japanese, became the "chief advocate of the school system," while another Issei "constituted himself as the public relations officer of the Project hospital." In response, Merritt proposed that "the common ground of agreement should be the 'Peace of Manzanar' which should be preserved at all costs by all persons." This theme, according to the Final Report, Manzanar, would form the framework for "all evacuee activities from January 1943 until the date of the closing of the Center." Regardless "of differences in nationalistic views, of the selfish interests of organizations or individuals, the 'Peace of Manzanar' was maintained and the result was community accord, peace and cooperation."

Block managers were elected "by the formal or informal vote of the residents of their blocks subject to veto" by Merritt. The project director only exercised the veto on two occasions, but in both instances the majority of the block managers agreed that the person "was unsuitable for the position."

The block managers assembly became "a vital and important force within the life of the Center." Its secretary had a staff who arranged for all evacuee meetings, assigned rooms for such meetings, and directed the "life of the Center in acceptable channels." According to the Final Report, Manzanar, few "important events took place in Manzanar without the support or approval of Town Hall, the little building from which the forces of the peaceful life of Manzanar flowed."

Thus, community government at Manzanar during 1943-45 "was not cut to the formal pattern followed in other centers." Instead, "it arose," according to the Final Report, Manzanar, "from the people and accomplished the purposes of the Authority by creating peace, good-will and renewed confidence in the American way of living." [19]

EDUCATION

Recommencement of School

Following the violence on Sunday, December 6, 1942, WRA education administrators attempted to hold school as usual the next day. Because of continuing unrest and disruptions, however, "it was considered unwise for the children to congregate in groups." The administrators then determined that the schools could not be reopened successfully until requested by the evacuees. In response, the Peace Committee sponsored a resolution, which was circulated in every block and signed by virtually all parents of school-aged children:

As parents of school-aged children in Manzanar we wish to endorse the present Manzanar school program. We will see that our children attend regularly and behave in an orderly, polite manner at school and toward the teachers. We wish to cooperate with the school department in carrying out the best possible education program in a peaceful, orderly fashion. We trust that the schools can reopen soon after the first of the year.

School authorities meanwhile took advantage of the "recess" to complete improvements in the classrooms and formalize school policies and procedures. Merritt established "lines of procedure" that "released materials and labor for work on the school barracks" and "facilitated the distribution of books, supplies, and other equipment."

The interim "recess" also provided time in which to improve "the organization and morale of the teaching staff." After the violence, teachers volunteered "to help carry on emergency services" in the center. Nine teachers resigned in December, but "for those who remained improved relations with other appointed personnel became evident." As the camp returned to normal, teachers' study groups formed to revise and improve curricula and plan a schoolwide testing program. Three new teachers arrived in addition to a nursery-school supervisor who established a preschool teachers training program. The nursery, elementary, secondary school, and adult education units, as well as the libraries and the visual aids museum, were reorganized to make them more "autonomous."

On January 6, 1943, the education office issued an announcement that elementary, secondary school, and adult education classes would be resumed on Monday, January 11. A new regulation, stating that no one over 16 years of age would be required to attend school, was implemented, thus providing for "smoother high-school functioning thereafter." Some 25 former pupils over 16 years of age withdrew from school. The bulletin announcing commencement of the school program stated:

The re-opening of school brings additional responsibility to students and parents. Teachers and administrators are determined that schools shall offer the same type of work and meet the standards of the public schools of California. Most students desire to do serious work, and they recognize the importance of an adequate education for successful living. Disturbances and misconduct will be dealt with firmly. Expelling from school and other disciplinary measures will be taken as necessary. Earnest and sincere students will be protected from such disturbances.

Although elementary and adult classes reopened on January 11, a shortage of material delayed construction in the secondary school block. Thus, high school classes did not reopen until January 18. Two weeks later on February 1, nursery school classes also resumed.

Students returning to school found "plasterboard lining their ceilings and walls, and linoleum on their floors." Stoves had been installed, so that the rooms were warm and fairly comfortable for the first time since cold weather had set in during the fall of 1942. The schoolrooms had "chairs for all the children, with tables for most, as well as supply cabinets, bookcases, blackboards, and shelves." The teachers attempted "to smooth over the break that had been caused by the riot and to turn their energies to educating the children." The Parent-Teachers Association conducted a series of back-to-school meetings which were attended by more than 2,000 parents and adults. [20]

School Standards

By the spring of 1943, the schools at Manzanar had become "fairly well organized."

On June 7-8, 1943, the chief of the Division of Secondary Education in the State Department of Education visited Manzanar to inspect the junior-senior high school program. On June 21, Walter F. Dexter, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, informed WRA Director Myer that the "junior-senior high school at Manzanar meets the standards contained in the School Code of California and the Rules and Regulations of the California State Board of Education." The teachers "hold appropriate California credentials with but few exceptions and in these instances the teachers are well trained." The "course of study has been carefully developed, appropriate school facilities and equipment have been provided, and instruction is well organized." [21]

The elementary school was examined by the Helen Heffernan, Chief, Division of Elementary Education of the State Department of Education on September 23-24, 1943, and on October 11 she wrote to Carter:

On the basis of the observation, may I take this opportunity to state that 1 believe the quality of education which I observed in the schools at Manzanar compares favorably with the educational program in the schools from which these children came.

It was particularly interesting to me to observe the development of your nursery school and kindergarten program. For children from homes in which a foreign language is frequently the spoken language, this early opportunity for contact with English-speaking people is of the utmost importance. Under the conditions which exist in the relocation settlement it is of tremendous value that young children of preschool age have the opportunities you provide for them for use of educative materials, undisturbed rest, and excellent guidance on the part of young women who were charged with this responsibility. The nursery school and kindergarten programs provide opportunity beyond that available to many children in the school districts from which the Manzanar school children were transferred.

It is a pleasure to comment specifically upon the excellent physical education and health education in progress. The individual records being kept for each child are the equivalent of those kept in efficient school systems.

It was a source of much satisfaction to me to examine the records on standardized tests which have been given at Manzanar during the past year, and to note that the children enrolled in your schools have reached or surpassed the national norms on such tests. In view of the dislocation they experienced in their educational program last year, the standards which they have attained is the best possible evidence of the effectiveness of your educational program and the devotion with which teachers have worked with these children. [22]

In addition to these evaluations, the Committee on School Relations from the University of California, Berkeley, the accrediting agency of the state, inspected the secondary school program and placed Manzanar High School on its accredited list. Thus, the University of California was willing to accept Manzanar high school graduates, although evacuees were prohibited from Military Areas Nos. 1 and 2. [23]

As they sought to provide a quality education to the evacuees at Manzanar during the 1943-45 period, the educators at Manzanar began "to reach several common agreements as to certain beliefs which were shaping our education program." These key tenets, according to superintendent Carter, included:

1. Japanese American citizens must be taught the same fundamental skills as any other American citizens, and special emphasis should be given to English and speech instruction.

2. There must be a conscious effort on the part of the classroom teacher to promote a better understanding of American ideals and loyalty to American institutions.

3. The schools must equip the child with better than average formal educational and vocational experience.

4. The teacher must provide the link "between the stagnant life with the center and the changing world beyond the barbed wire fence."

5. The teacher must not allow the Japanese American child to become too absorbed in his misfortunes and feelings of being the only object of prejudice in America.

6. Teachers in adult education programs must recognize that even greater skill must be "exercised in bringing American culture to the Issei and Kibei." [24]

Buildings/Facilities

According to the Final Report, Manzanar, "great ingenuity was required in setting up special rooms for the high-school classes." A high school study hall-library was "built in the large mess hall building" of Block 7. The kitchen-pantry section of the mess hall was developed into a two-room home economics unit. A model home apartment was set up in the high school block. This project was described in a mimeographed bulletin, entitled "A Barrack Becomes A Home," prepared by the Manzanar home economics supervisor. In the bulletin, the importance of the model home was explained:

It has been felt by many authorities that this lack of a normal home situation has had a more detrimental influence on the young people of the camp than any other phase of the evacuation. Under such circumstances, the need for training in all fields of home economics was far greater than in the average school. . . .

The high school clothing classes were taught in two ironing rooms in Block 7. Thus, they were equipped with electric outlets for irons and electric machines.

Prior to completion of the Auditorium during the late spring of 1944, physical education facilities were "inadequate." Nevertheless, the facilities, as described in a mimeographed bulletin, entitled "Health and Physical Education," prepared by the health and physical education supervisor, included a hazard course, health room, and outdoor play equipment.

The physics and chemistry laboratory was placed in a laundry building. The boiler room was converted into a storage and supply room, while every other laundry tub in the laundry room was covered by a work board, with a supply cabinet set in between each tub. Large work tables were spaced in the center of the room.

During the 1943-44 school year, classrooms were enlarged, with each barrack divided into three classrooms. Each classroom had sufficient arm chairs or students' tables to "give adequate service."

One barrack was set aside for music and "little-theater work." After the Auditorium, was completed, the "little-theater building" proved "more desirable for class work."

The education superintendent's, business, and high school offices were located in one barrack "well finished inside, with adequate office equipment." The elementary school office was located with the elementary school in Block 16, while the adult education office was in Block 7 near the library office, the visual aids room, and the cosmetology school. [25]

Preschool Program

The preschool program operated under the supervision of the Superintendent of Education until early 1943, when a trained nursery school worker arrived at Manzanar. After the nursery schools were well organized, the supervisor was made responsible for the kindergarten program. Thereafter, the preschool program was administered under the principal of the elementary school.

During 1942-43, Manzanar authorities organized 18 nursery school units and seven kindergartens. Of the nursery school units, six were afternoon sleep sessions. The preschool units were housed in "regular elementary-school buildings scattered throughout the community." An undated map in the "Education Section" of the Final Report, Manzanar shows that nursery schools were located in Blocks 1, 9, 11,17, 20, 23, 30, and 32, while kindergartens were located in Blocks 1, 11, 20, and 31. Almost 1,000 children between the ages of three and six participated "in an environment which emphasized health, safety social and emotional adjustment, and mental development through wisely selected play materials."

Continuous "in-service training of evacuee teachers through field supervision, demonstration, and staff meetings was offered as a requirement since no credentialed teachers trained in preschool techniques and methods were available." More than one-half of the preschool teaching; staff were young English-speaking mothers of nursery-school children. Training courses covered subjects such as child development, techniques and methods, music, rhythm, arts, handicrafts, play materials, play yard equipment, child records, and administrative reports.

The parents of all children enrolled in the preschool automatically became members of a parent club that functioned in connection with a nursery or kindergarten unit. A central board, consisting of the chairmen of the individual unite, the preschool parent-coordinator, preschool supervisor, and president of the board selected at large, coordinated all phases of the preschool parent activities. All parents held membership in the national Parent-Teachers Association.

Parents shared in financing the preschool program and contributed "many hours of service" in constructing, maintaining, and beautifying the preschool rooms and equipment. A bazaar and quilting bee netted funds sufficient to finance equipment needs for more than two years. A monthly fee of 10 cents per parent enabled the children to have periodic parties.

Because of the relocation of most of their evacuee teachers during 1944-45, the preschools "were streamlined almost out of existence." Two of these teachers went to college to major in preschool education, and a number of others began to teach in nursery schools and child care centers outside of California. Despite the decline of the preschool program, however, all children of kindergarten age completed their kindergarten year. The success of the preschool program at Manzanar was shown in the children's ability to meet first-grade school requirements. In 1942, 25 percent of the children entering the first grade were unable to speak English. The children of the classes of 1943 and 1944, on the other hand, had attended preschool, and all of these children, except for one child who had been transferred from Tule Lake, were able to speak English when entering the first grade. [26]

Elementary School Program

The elementary school program was difficult to administer until the 1944-45 school year, when the various grades (kindergarten — sixth grade) were consolidated in Block 16. During the first two school terms, it was necessary to scatter classrooms throughout 12 different blocks — Block 1, Building 14; Block 3, Building 15; Block 5, Building 15; Block 9, Building 15; Block II, Building 15; Block 17, Building 15; Block 20, Building 15; Block 21, Building 15; Block 23, Building 15; Block 30, Building 15; Block 31, Building 15; and Block 32, Building 15. [27]

During 1943-44, the Manzanar elementary school was directed by Principal Clyde L. Simpson, "whose enthusiastic leadership put the elementary schools on a standard California public school basis." When Simpson was transferred to the relocation section in January 1945, Eldredge Dykes, the head high school teacher and an experienced school administrator, assumed his position.

The elementary school staff reached its greatest number during the spring of 1943, when it had 35 teachers and a supervisor of teacher-training, principal, vice-principal, and music supervisor. On May 29, 1945, when the Manzanar schools closed, the elementary staff included 17 teachers and a principal.

Standardized achievement tests were administered to all elementary children each year. A large percentage of the children had Nisei parents, which gave them "a better advantage in English performance." The scores of the elementary children, at each testing, "reached or exceed the national norms on all the skill subjects." They were especially "high in spelling and arithmetic computation." According to the Final Report, Manzanar, the center's elementary school curriculum "was like that of any other progressive California school which emphasizes the social studies program." The report further stated that the " school newspaper, the softball league games, the assembly programs, the girls' glee club, the rhythm bands, flute bands, and well-organized playground work all indicated matured activities that are not usually found in a three-year-old school." [28]

Secondary School Program

Leon C. High served as the secondary school principal during the 1942-43 school term. After leaving the center to accept employment as a school principal in a nearby town, Rollin C. Fox served as principal during 1943-45, completing "the organization of the high-school program," which was similar to that "found in any public school." The secondary school took over all of the barracks in Block 7. In addition, some classes were conducted in Block I, Building 8, Block 1, Building 15, and the ironing room in Block 7. [29]

In general intelligence, Manzanar's secondary students "stood at about the same level" as "students in the public schools throughout the nation" despite "a reading and language handicap." In age, Manzanar's secondary students "were somewhat younger than were students in Los Angeles city and county, and even San Pedro, the places from which the students came." Attendance "was better than average," but in "social adjustment, Manzanar's students were in need of continued significant help." According to the Final Report, Manzanar, "industry was good but spotty; initiative, generally weak; classroom participation, poor." Manzanar students presented fewer disciplinary problems than students in outside high schools, and most high schoolers found "that the standard for making an 'A' was higher at Manzanar than it was in their 'back home' school."

Manzanar's secondary school curriculum and instructional courses were similar to that found in the public schools. Five types of diplomas were offered: general, college entrance, commercial, homemaking, and agriculture. Manzanar did not have organized outlines for all of its courses, however, and this proved to be "a real handicap."

The secondary teaching staff was composed of appointed personnel and evacuees, the former comprising the majority. The evacuee teachers generally did not hold teaching credentials, although most of them had some teacher training. Evacuee teachers decreased in number much more quickly than did the student population. Turnover was rapid, and replacements were difficult to find.

Appointed teachers, all of whom held teaching credentials, worked closely with the evacuee teachers. Approximately one-half of the Manzanar high school teachers were California-trained and credentialed, the majority receiving some or all of their education at the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses of the University of California and the University of Southern California. The center experienced difficulty in retaining teachers because "of the year-'round period of service required (as contrasted with the 10-month or shorter period in most public schools)." The ratio of one teacher to 35 high school students was below "the accepted minimum standard" for secondary schools, a situation that presented administrative difficulties in scheduling work loads. The center's inability to employ substitute teachers was also "a serious and an unsolved problem."

The secondary school enrollment "ranged from a high of 1,400 to a final of less than 600." In the standardized testing program the following "facts were discovered." Manzanar students were about "one year retarded as late as a year and a half from the closing of the schools." By June 1945, however, they were "at least average in most subjects, and above grade in some." They continued to be "deficient" in English composition and the "practical use of the rules of grammar." In "spoken language," they made "significant progress but were still retarded in enunciation, pronunciation, stage presence, and the like." In mathematics, they "fared better, but were nevertheless weak in general mathematics achievement in the upper grades." They were "slightly below average" in "comprehension, reading rate, and related areas."

At the conclusion of the first school year (1942-43), commencement exercises for Manzanar High School took place outdoors during the early evening of July 3, 1943. The emphasis of the program was on relocation and Americanism. Miss Sakuma, the class secretary, spoke on the subject, "Our Next Step — Relocation," urging those who relocate to keep in mind that they are "ambassadors of good will." The class president spoke on "The Problems of Minority Groups," reminding the audience that evacuees should not be bitter, because the problems faced by Japanese Americans were largely those faced by other minority groups. He urged a realistic and brave approach to the entire problem and a sympathetic understanding of the plight of other minority groups rather than preoccupation with the difficulties of those faced by persons of Japanese ancestry alone. Entertainment featured the Manzanar High School Choir singing the "Ballad for Americans," a patriotic piece of music. Taking his theme from the ballad. Project Director Merritt delivered the commencement address, pleading with the audience to remember that "this country is young and strong" and that "its greatest songs are still unsung." To those who asked why the barbed wire, the towers, and the soldiers, he answered that the final word on American race relations has not yet been stated. He recalled the vision of an America composed of many peoples who have given of their talents and asked the graduates to believe in America. Turning to relocation, he asserted that the country needed and wanted the "God-given talents of those of Japanese ancestry for work, for family loyalty, for the creation of the beautiful." [30]

One of the first events to be held in the newly-completed auditorium was the graduation ceremony for 177 seniors on June 18, 1944, Approximately, 1,200 evacuees and appointed personnel attended the event. Clad in traditional caps and gowns, the graduates received their diplomas from Superintendent of Education Genevieve Carter. Assistant project director Lucy W. Adams greeted the class and introduced the commencement speaker. Dr. Cecil Dunn, professor of economics at Occidental College, who spoke on the topic of "Peace and Our Responsibilities." [31]

Of the approximately 500 high school graduates from Manzanar, "not one was rejected by a receiving school for credits earned" at the center. A "better-than-average success" was also achieved by high school graduates who entered college. [32]

Adult Education Program

Following the outbreak of violence at Manzanar on December 6, 1942, the adult education program was reorganized into three sections. These divisions included adult English for non-English-speaking groups; academic courses for those who wished to attend classes at the junior college level; and cultural courses for those who desired to study for personal development and improvement.

On January 11, 1943, adult education classes resumed with approximately 1,500 students enrolled in more than 30 courses. Attendance quickly dwindled, however, as a result of the registration, relocation, and seasonal furlough work programs. In January 1943, some 630 young people of college age were enrolled in 24 academic courses, but by the middle of March, some 320 students had dropped out and six courses had to be discontinued for lack of students. When the semester ended in June, less than 200 students, mostly female, were still attending classes.

During the summer of 1943, the adult education program, under the leadership of Dr. Melvin Strong who had replaced Charles K. Ferguson as director, introduced more commercial courses to help students better qualify for educational or employment opportunities outside the center in an effort to stimulate relocation and yet keep students sufficiently interested in attending classes. The courses, designed at the junior college level and accredited by the California State Department of Education, were offered especially for those contemplating relocation to outside schools. New classes were added to the adult English group, and vocational training in woodcarving, tailoring, librarianship, agriculture, and cosmetology were introduced.

During the remainder of 1943 and early 1944, the adult education program was affected by a shortage of teachers, as five evacuee instructors departed for Tule Lake and 11 relocated. Of the original group of evacuee teachers, only six remained. By recruiting evacuees and soliciting the aid of some appointed personnel teachers, the adult education program continued. Under the direction or Miss Dorothy Yamamoto, 15 young women were enrolled in apprenticeship training in a "cosmetology school."

In April 1944, Miss Kazuko Suzuki assumed temporary leadership of the adult education program after Strong resigned. Two months later, Dr. Kenneth L. Wentworth arrived at the camp to direct the program. In May, an auto mechanics course was introduced, and 24 students registered. By mid-June the course had become so popular that more than 60 students had registered for future classes. The department "saw the need for more vocational courses," but these plans never materialized because Wentworth left the center in late June after serving only a month, and the vocational training supervisor terminated in October.

During the summer of 1944, student relocation counseling became a part of the adult education program. Materials were collected for some 600 trade schools and institutions of higher education, and students and parents were encouraged to use them.

On September 1, 1944, Dr. Gladys C. Schwesinger arrived at Manzanar as Supervisor of Adult Education, and Henry W. Hough took over the work of Vocational Training Supervisor. Hough would stay at the center for only three weeks, however, thus continuing the rapid turnover in program leadership.

During late 1944, a shortage of instructors and "an attitude of indifference on the part of the residents" hindered development of the adult education program. An Adult English Activity Hall was opened, however, offering cooking demonstrations and craft activities conducted by both evacuees and Caucasians who used English "as the medium for exchanging ideas." Emphasis was placed "on enabling the evacuees to mingle informally with English-speaking Americans, to learn their language functionally, and to acquire American points of view and ways of doing things."

In February 1945, Dr. Schwesinger transferred to the community welfare section, and the adult education program "tapered off." The few remaining evacuee teachers were preparing to relocate, most of the evacuee college-age persons who had been evacuated to Manzanar had already relocated to attend schools or work on the outside or serve in the armed forces, and many parents were contemplating relocation at the end of the school term. During the summer of 1945, however, classes were offered in "brush-up commercial courses, adult English, cabinet-making, and tailoring." [33]

Libraries

The original Manzanar library, which was established in an evacuee's living quarters during April 1942 with a gift of 17 books and 80 magazines, expanded to include a collection of 24,000 volumes (20,000 volumes were donated by other libraries) and a periodical subscription of 157 magazines. Originally organized under the recreation section, the library was transferred to the education section in July 1942. By autumn the several branches of the library were consolidated into the main library in the center of the camp and a branch fiction library in the southwest corner of the center. Takako Saito served as director of the library from April to July 1942, and Ayame Ichiyasu served as director from July 1942 to January 1943.

In October 1942, the school libraries were organized. The high school library was established first, as books from the community library were transferred to the mess hall in Block 7 which was converted for use as a study hall. The supervisor of student teaching organized a small professional library of more than 200 books in her office for loan to student teachers and regular teaching staff in the elementary and secondary schools. In November 1942, children's books were ordered for an elementary school library and placed in the elementary teachers' study room for teachers to borrow for use in their classes.

In June 1943, following the arrival of Ruth Budd, a trained librarian on the appointed staff, the libraries were reorganized. A central library office was established in Block 7, and a centralized union catalog of the holdings in all libraries was commenced. The professional and elementary school libraries, originally independent units, were placed under the direction of the community librarian. The two book collections were moved into the same room, and two evacuee librarians were added to the staff to direct the new library.

A three-unit weekly staff training program in library science was commenced for evacuees, and when a student completed the entire course, he was classified as a trained assistant A total of 39 persons entered the course "at one time or another," but only 14 completed the three units, primarily as a result of the continuing relocation of evacuees.

The main library was located in one entire barrack in the center of camp. It was equipped with six mess hall tables, benches, and a camp-constructed charging desk and card catalog cabinet, and had a seating capacity for 50 readers. This library "was invariably crowded at night." It contained both fiction and non-fiction titles for adults and children until November 1944. That: month all "easy books" were transferred to the elementary school library. In January 1945, the juvenile non-fiction volumes were divided between the elementary and high school libraries. Fiction for junior and senior high school students, as well as adult fiction and non-fiction titles, remained in the central library, which also contained a Japanese language collection of 994 books. Mending of all library books was handled by an evacuee at the main library. The main library was never completely catalogued, in part because of the large number of volumes and the "problem of weeding out several thousand worthless books that were placed on the shelves at a time when hundreds of donated and discarded books were sent into the Center."

A branch fiction library, known as the hilltop library, was located in an ironing room in the southwest corner of the camp. It contained 1,453 catalogued fiction books, approximately one-half of which were for adults. Two mess hall tables for adults and two small painted tables for children provided a seating capacity for 18 persons. This library "was a favorite spot for young people to gather" on "cold winter evenings," because the "two librarians" made "it into a very attractive place."

In June 1944, approximately 350 volumes and several hundred pamphlets were moved from the teachers' study room to be housed with the newly-established professional-visual aids library. Located in "the visual aids room," this library "contained over 3,000 mounted pictures, maps, models, exhibits, films, charts, and phonograph records." The microphone and motion picture projectors were placed in this room. The library also subscribed to education periodicals, and the librarian supervised the visual education museum in Block 8, Building 15,

The high school library had a seating capacity of approximately 300 and a catalogued collection of about 3,000 titles. The preschool library, with 169 catalogued books, was handled by the preschool supervisor.

In June 1944, Block 16 was set aside for the elementary school. The elementary school library, consisting of 2,791 books, was moved from the teachers' study room in Block 1 to a room in one of the barracks in Block 16. The room, which was decorated by an evacuee mother, was opened to children on July 5, and 240 youngsters visited the facility on its first day of operation. The average daily attendance was about 200 children. A summer reading club was begun, with 197 children joining the club and 120 reading the ten books required to obtain a membership certificate. After school started in September 1944, each elementary class was scheduled for one library instruction period per week. Because many children had been unable to bring toys to the center when they were evacuated to Manzanar and many toys were unavailable because of wartime restrictions or evacuees' financial difficulties, a toy loan library was attached to the elementary school library in which toys could be borrowed for seven-day periods.

During the summers of 1943 and 1944, outdoor story hours for elementary school children were conducted twice a week during the evenings. During the school year, story hours were held on Saturday mornings, separate sessions being held for children aged three to six and for older children aged seven to eleven. [34]

Hospital Class

One full-time credentialed teacher, with experience in exceptional children's education, supervised classes for handicapped children at the Manzanar hospital. Conducted in cooperation with the medical section, the classes originated within the elementary school program. At one time, two credentialed evacuee teachers assisted the program, but both relocated to teach outside the center before the school program ended. [35]

Summer Programs

A primary purpose of the summer program in 1943 was to provide opportunities for make-up school work on both the secondary and elementary levels. Only the children whose grades and achievement test scores indicated a need for remedial work were scheduled for academic classes. All other children were enrolled for activities which "gave them a different type of group experience from any offered during the academic school year."

Another part of the 1943 summer program was "the offering of step-up subjects, a schedule of courses on the secondary level which enabled half-year students to complete work necessary to enter school the following fall on an annual basis." Some 470 students were enrolled in subjects, such as English, mathematics, and history. At the close of the high school summer session, members of the graduating class received their diplomas, thus making it possible to end mid-year graduation and have only one senior class the following year. Thus, all Manzanar high school students went on a regular annual school year basis when classes started in September 1943.

During the summer of 1943, a boys' sports program was organized in connection with the Boys' Club Center. Different hours of activity were scheduled for various age groups. The secondary school girls were offered a sports program two evenings a week, while other secondary school activities continued "in the form of clubs such as the Baton Twirlers' Club, the Arts and Crafts Class, the Choir Club."

Approximately 450 elementary school children attended a 6-week school program during the summer of 1943 "which stressed drill in school subjects." In addition, some 425 pupils were enrolled in one or more classes in the activities program — "in industrial arts, general arts, music, drama, rhythms, and dancing." Sewing and knitting classes, and "other applied arts activities" were also offered.

All nursery schools and kindergartens conducted summer activities until August 27, 1943 with programs that followed much the same schedule as that of the regular school year. Greater emphasis, however, was placed on "play activities at the kindergarten level."

The summer program for 1944 was supervised by the community activities supervisor who worked closely with the superintendent and principals of the education section. Approximately one-half of the center's high school students preferred to work during the summer rather than engage in daytime activities. For secondary school students, attendance in make-up classes was compulsory for students who had received a D or F in English. Other classes that were offered included mechanical drafting, typing, shorthand, speech, and woodshop.

During the summer of 1944, a reading program in connection with organized book clubs on the elementary level "was unusually effective." Stenciling, knitting, and sewing classes were offered, and Junior Red Cross clubs on the junior high and elementary levels were active.

As the camp population dwindled during the summer of 1945, limited recreational activities were offered. For elementary school students, scheduled activities included industrial arts, sewing, knitting, rhythm, dancing, piano, story hours, book clubs, boys' softball leagues, and general arts. Most high school students remaining in the camp preferred to work, but the Youth Center, social club activities, athletic leagues, and block activities provided outlets for teenagers.

Adult education activities during the summer of 1945 were geared toward short limited units of instruction relating to relocation. A men's cabinet-making class was altered to take care of adults who wished to make trunks, cabinets, or chests in preparation for relocation. The Adult English Activity Hall "gave way to use of the Hall by small informal groups of Issei, wishing to use the kitchen stove, the sewing machines, and other facilities when the block sewing machines were not available." [36]

High School Organizations

During early 1943, a training institute in parliamentary procedure and school leadership was held for interested high school students. There was little "semblance of group unity or feeling of belonging to a student-body," however, since they "had come from 206 different schools." Thus, the high school students tended to group themselves into numerous clubs that were not officially organized, known by such names as the Venice Boys, San Pedro Club, Roosevelt High Gang, and the Hollywood Bunch. Later, however, a student body council was elected, and the study body government began operation under the leadership of the "Associated Student Body" composed of officers, a judicial committee, and girls' and boys' leagues.

Although some high school clubs were loosely organized and short-lived, some "were lasting and made real contributions." Among the clubs were; the Girls Athletic Association, which sponsored intramural play days and outings; the Boosters Club, sponsored by the student body association for the purpose of ushering and helping with various high school and community events; the Latin, Spanish, and French clubs which fostered cultural studies; the Journalism Club, which edited the school newspaper, first called the "Campus Pepper," and later changed to "The Spot" during 1944-45; the annual staff, which prepared for printing the high school annual titled "Our World " in 1944 and "Valediction" in 1945; the Future Farmers of America, which furthered interest in practical agricultural program activities; the Campus Strutters, a baton-twirling club for girls that performed at intramural games, assemblies, and programs; and the Lettermen's Club, composed of boys who earned letters in intramural athletics. Other clubs included home economics, science, shorthand, woodshop, choir, orchestra, dramatics, library, and national honor society. [37]

Elementary School Organizations

A variety of elementary school organizations continued to be "stable and active throughout most of the school's life." These groups included the Glee Club, composed of pupils in the third to sixth grades; the Junior Red Cross, which made cards, craft articles, and games for the United Services Organization and local hospital; the "Whirlwind" staff, composed of ten elementary children and their teacher advisors who edited about five editions of the school newspaper per year; three rhythm bands that performed at Parent-Teacher Association meetings and school and community programs; and class softball teams, which played in interclass tournaments during the spring months of 1943, 1944, 1945. [38]

Adult Education Organizations

During the fall of 1942, the adult education program organized a student body fund and several clubs, including commercial, botany, chemistry, and mathematics. College Hall, the office of the Manzanar Intercollegiate Association, established a club house and social room to promote college relocation. The Adult English Activity Hall, organized in connection with the adult English program, served as a meeting place for Issei who could practice their use of English and meet socially with Caucasians on an activity-related basis. [39]

Special School Events

To foster a feeling of unity with students throughout the nation, the Manzanar schools encouraged active participation in such nationwide and state-wide observances as Thrift Week, Boys' and Girls' Week, and Book Week. During Fire Prevention Week in the fall of 1944, cash prizes were offered for essays and posters that were assigned and graded by the English and art teachers.

Each year the education section observed National Education Week and California Public School Week. Parents were invited to visit the classrooms and all-school exhibits at the visual education museum. The exhibits were attended by some 3,000-4,000 evacuee residents, as well as many visitors from communities outside the center.

Entertainment events were conducted by the schools for the evacuees and residents in surrounding communities. These included the 1943 and 1944 Christmas concerts performed by the high school choir; a graduation concert on July 3, 1943, in which the high school choir gained attention for its production of "Ballad for Americans," a senior play, "Growing Pains," produced by the drama class in January 1944; a musical comedy, "Loud and Clear," written, produced, and directed by Louis Frizzell, high school music instructor, involving the high school choir and orchestra — the first event to be held in the new auditorium on June 16, 1944; "Out of the Frying Pan," a drama presented in the auditorium on April 6, 1945; "Looking backward," a musical with selections from past programs presented by the high school's music department as the last program of the high school; and "The Round Up," a play day sponsored by the Manzanar Girls' Athletic Association. This latter event was the first instance in which any neighboring high school participated in Manzanar school events. Some 300 high school students from the center and 60 high school girls from other Owens Valley towns participated in the athletic events. A football game with Big Pine High School at Manzanar on October 25, 1944, was the first and only interschool athletic event that Manzanar had an opportunity to enter during its operation.

Elementary school pageants were performed by about 500 students during California Public School Week during April 1943 and 1944. The theme for the pageant in 1943 was "From Many Lands and People," and that for 1944 was "The Making of America." In April 1945, "Rhythm Review" was performed in the auditorium by 350 pupils, featuring the rhythm work on each grade level and musical numbers associated with the social studies program. [40]

Visual Education Museum

After nearly five months of preparation, the visual education museum in Block 8, Building 15 was opened to the public on December 5, 1942, the day before violence erupted in the center. The director of the museum was Kiyotsugu Tsuchiya, who had served as curator of a Chicago museum prior to the evacuation. Although the evacuees did not initially attend exhibits in large numbers, special exhibits were scheduled twice a month and by mid-1943 attracted from 2,000 to 4,000 visitors. People who visited the camp from the outside often included a trip to the museum as part of their visit. The variety and type of exhibits that were shown during the 2 1/2-year operation of the museum until it closed on May 29, 1945, included: flower arrangement display, fine arts exhibit, progress in transportation, wartime rationing. Youth Week, thrift (effort to stress importance of more conservative standard of expenditure as many evacuees were rapidly using up their savings), photography, Hollywood movie studios, chrysanthemum show, arts and crafts, hobbies, doll show, Education Week, embroidery and woodcraft, and Relocation Week. Many of the exhibits featured arts and crafts prepared by evacuees in the center.

The museum program supervised visual aids rooms in Block 7 established for the use of teachers. In addition, the museum staff sponsored a number of skill and hobby clubs, including a Japanese music study club, mineral club, gem-cutting club, entomology club, and taxidermy club.

After the county health department issued an order preventing the keeping of birds and animals as pets in the blocks, the museum staff secured permission to keep the animals in a zoo at the edge of the residential area so that the animals would not have to be destroyed. The churches helped finance the construction of shelters for the "accumulation of cages of rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, chickens, barn owls, and bantam hens."

The museum completed a recreational park for children equipped with picnic tables and a stone barbecue pit. This park developed "into one of the most beautiful spots in the community." [41]

Public Relations

The teachers of Manzanar played a significant role in building relationships between evacuees and appointed personnel. Teachers served as sponsors for clubs, youth groups, and class parties during non-school hours. Because food for refreshments was difficult to obtain, they often gave their ration points and supplemented the food furnished by the mess division. Many teachers were active in church affairs, and some taught Sunday School classes. With few exceptions, WRA teachers, going into neighboring communities, universities, or other school systems "served as ambassadors" for Manzanar. Those who had church affiliations in California or membership in a lodge, American Legion, or Woman's Club, developed helpful relationships with outside communities through attendance at conferences and summer sessions. Each year the Manzanar staff was invited to attend the Inyo County Teachers' Institute, and in 1944 the last session of the institute was held at Manzanar.

The county superintendent and co-supervisor of education were issued monthly passes, and they used these to make numerous trips to the center. The county school board, however, refused to work with Manzanar officials for use of federal funds in the camp made available through the state department for vocational training. The relationship with the State Board of Education was cooperative, although the main avenue for keeping in touch with California educational officials was correspondence since travel conditions made it difficult to bring people to Manzanar and WRA regulations prevented Manzanar educational personnel from business leave for such contacts. The University of California, Berkeley and Los Angeles, kept in close touch with the Manzanar program throughout the war.

In the beginning, a few teachers were hired at Manzanar "who might be classified as of the 'missionary' type." During the final two years, however, the staff, according to the Final Report, Manzanar increasingly "was made up of sensible, sincere persons who maintained a sympathetic relationship with the evacuees, without going to extremes as crusaders for causes." [42]

Parent-Teachers Association

Because of ill feeling in adjoining school districts in Owens Valley, Manzanar Parent Teacher Association members were aligned directly with the National Congress of Parents and Teachers rather than being affiliated with neighboring or state organizations. More than 800 evacuees in the camp were paid members who belonged to the National Congress. This number did not include the parents of preschool children, who numbered about 200 paid members. The organization provided many Issei with their first opportunity to participate in community life.

The general plan of the Manzanar Parent-Teacher Association was adjusted to meet the evacuee's ideas on effective participation for parents. A high school committee worked closely with the high school staff in planning monthly meetings and programs during the year. The high school PTA sponsored many of the high school events, such as Public School Week and American Education Week. It served by moving chairs and setting up the stage for school programs; installed plasterboard in unlined high school rooms; provided supervision for the study hall while the school was still unorganized; and sponsored teas for faculty meetings and graduation ceremonies.

Until the 1944-45 school term, the elementary school classes were scattered in classrooms throughout the center. There were elementary school PTA units for each building in which classes were held, and each unit held bi-monthly meetings featuring speakers who discussed various phases of the camp's education program. A concerted effort to turn the attention of the residents, as well as that of the children, toward less extravagant spending for special occasions began with the PTA meetings as many evacuees were rapidly using up their savings. Parent-Teacher Association groups raised more than $1,000 from bazaars, movies, membership fees, and other projects, to purchase curtains for classrooms; provide cash donations for tuition to the University of California, which partially paid for the extension courses in education taken by evacuee teachers; purchase three phonographs and industrial arts tools when it was impossible to buy such items through regular procurement channels; purchase a mimeograph machine for education office; and supplement the evacuee teachers' contributions for children's Christmas treats.

Three or four Parent-Teacher Association conferences were held at Manzanar. In March 1943, the president and vice-president of the California Parents and Teachers Congress and the vice-president of the National Congress visited Manzanar. On two occasions, the president of the Inyo County PTA visited Manzanar to speak to the parents. The Dean of Women from Chaffey Junior College assisted in the project's three-day PTA conference in August 1944. [43]

Fall 1945

The Manzanar elementary and high school classes met for the last time on May 29, 1945. Most of the other functions in the education section closed during August and early September. The elementary school library closed on August 10, adult classes were discontinued on August 11, the main library was closed on August 29, and the preschools did not meet after August 29. In an effort to encourage relocation, WRA authorities made no provision for school during the fall of 1945, although as late as August 9 the Manzanar Free Press reported that there were still 831 children in the camp between the ages of six and 18. The article noted that 429 families were involved, and "by failing to resettle are depriving their children of the opportunity of an education." [44]

Industries

Following the violence at Manzanar on December 6, 1942, industrial operations were suspended for several weeks, while the WRA "management took stock of the situation." Some of the plans for industrial development within the relocation centers were dropped, because the WRA was concerned that development of activities in the centers which would tend to turn them into places of "permanent abode" would undermine its evacuee relocation program. The senior manufacturing superintendent at Manzanar was transferred to other duties, and his assistant. Harry R. Haberle, who had 25 years of experience in various manufacturing enterprises, was assigned the task of "carrying out a limited industrial program" which would "stress vocational training and the development of new skills among the evacuees, rather than production of articles for a consumer market." The center administrators soon determined that a number of production units at the center would be transferred to his supervision.

At the height of its activity, the industrial section employed about 300 persons. In addition, the various activities of the industrial section enabled "scores of unskilled evacuees, especially women" to develop skills which would help them obtain employment in private industry when they relocated. It was estimated that at least 50 percent of those employed "learned a new skill or became more proficient in a skill already known."

During the summer of 1944, the accelerated relocation program at Manzanar resulted in the rapid loss of manpower to operate essential services in the center. Accordingly, the WRA determined to curtail all activities not essential to the minimum operations of the center. Thus, the work of the industrial section terminated on September 30, 1944, and its food-processing units were transferred to the mess section.

Clothing Factory. The clothing factory had been commenced with six "domestic electric sewing machines" in the ironing room of Block 2 in August 1942. By January 1943, two warehouses were converted for use as a factory, power sewing machines received from the Works Projects Administration were installed, and the "complete factory began operation."

A survey found that only one evacuee at Manzanar had operated "a power machine on a production line" prior to evacuation. This evacuee, a young woman, was employed as the first "chief operator" to aid in teaching the clothing manufacturing trade to others. The new WRA-appointed superintendent of manufacturing, having supervised garment factories for years, "personally took charge of the operation and trained the operators as they were recruited." As a result, "inexperienced workers were trained into designers, pattern makers, cutters, machine operators, floorladies, and machinists, all skilled workers capable of handling any type of power machine on any type of production line in the garment industry." These skills aided many of the workers to acquire jobs in the American garment industry, particularly in the midwestern states, when they relocated.

The factory produced garments from "baby layettes to tailored suits." The largest orders, however, were for "overalls, coveralls, hospital uniforms, children's dresses, and shirts and blouses." It produced nurses' aide uniforms for all centers, as well as a large percentage of nurses', doctors', and Janitors' uniforms. These items were produced for the WRA and furnished to evacuees as work clothes, or they were provided to Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises which paid the WRA wholesale prices and sold the articles to the evacuees at the camp's general store. Clothing manufactured for sale through the cooperative consisted primarily of articles which could not be purchased in the open market and which the evacuees needed.

The clothing factory, which made a profit throughout its operation, employed an average of 65 persons. Between June 1943 and June 1944, the factory produced 39,930 garments, and at its close in September 1944 it was producing an average of 4,000 garments a month having a value of $4,500.

Furniture Shop. Because many types of furniture were needed by the center during its early months of operation, the engineering section initially supervised the men "who worked the machines obtained" from the National Youth Administration. In February 1943, all cabinet-making machinery and crews were placed under direction of the industrial section, which immediately "concentrated on a program of making" desks, chairs, and filing cabinets desperately needed at the expanding relocation center "by streamlining the cabinet shop, and working out 'assembly line' methods of production."

The evacuee foreman in charge of the furniture shop was a "finished cabinetmaker." The superintendent of manufacturing also aided the shop by organizing "production lines" and training "the unit in mass production methods." Although lumber and materials were difficult to procure, a "source of magnolia wood was discovered which was not for the moment in demand." Enough of this " in 1 x 6 and 1 x 12 widths" was acquired to be used "for all desks, cabinets, and some chairs, to serve for the duration of the project."

Between June 1943 and June 1944, the furniture shop produced 5,931 articles of furniture for the center, "mainly executive and secretarial desks, chairs for these desks, filing cabinets, stationery cabinets, baby cribs for the Children's Village, and chairs for Manzanar school." Between July and September 1944, when it was discontinued and returned to the engineering section to be used for center maintenance work, the shop produced an additional 923 articles of furniture. During its operation, the shop "regularly employed" 22 men, 20 of whom secured jobs in furniture factories or cabinet shops throughout the country when they relocated.

In late 1943, the furniture shop supplemented its regular operations by producing Christmas toys from "the odd and short pieces of lumber which had been carefully saved for months." After being painted in an improvised paint shop, the toys were sold to the Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises, which in turn retailed them to the evacuees.

Alterations Shop. Early in 1943, the alterations shop was turned over to the industrial section, and its 17 women employees were set up in a room in the clothing factory where they had access to materials necessary for their work. The shop was needed because many of the garments (work clothing, P coats, and other woolen outer clothing) which the evacuees were able to purchase from the WRA warehouse or obtain through distribution of the community welfare department were too large. The shop altered approximately 300 garments a month. After the industrial section closed, the alterations shop was transferred back to the welfare division, where it continued to operate until the center closed.

Typewriter Repair. In January 1943, the typewriter repair crew was transferred to the industrial section, where it continued servicing center typewriters. Late in 1943, when parts became almost impossible to procure, a contract was let to an outside service company, and the center's typewriter repair shop was disbanded.

Sign Shop. The sign shop was transferred to the industrial section in early 1943 and placed under the supervision of a commercial artist who had been employed in a motion picture studio prior to evacuation. This evacuee "was allowed to have five workers on his 'staff' and to train them," while turning out needed signs for center management. Among the types of signs made in the shop were directional, road, office identification, bulletin board, and warning.

The sign shop operated until April 1944. By the time of its closure, it had trained ten men, all of whom were able to find commercial artist Jobs when they relocated. The evacuee manager relocated to Washington, D. C., where he joined the advertising department staff of the Washington Post as a commercial artist.

Domestic Sewing Machine Repair Unit. In early 1943, a crew of five evacuees was turned over to the superintendent of manufacturing for training to service center domestic sewing machines owned by the WRA. At the outset of the project, 100 machines, which had been obtained from surplus government stocks, were in use in the center's schools and block managers' offices. A small shop, including a lathe, irons, and welding equipment, was set up in the clothing factory, and its crew maintained the center's "domestic machines," "even when new parts had to be made from raw material." The shop serviced about 80 machines per week.

Mattress Factory. To meet the pressing need for mattresses in the center, a mattress factory was established at Manzanar in January 1944, employing 19 persons, only one of whom had prior experience in the trade. Thus, the factory, which produced 800 mattresses a week, also served as a "training school." After all center residents had mattresses, the factory was disbanded in August 1944.

Food Processing Units. In early 1943, the industrial section "was given the job of organizing all food processing" in the center, which at that time included shoyu, bean-sprout, and tofu operations. The section's responsibility was to "see that the products met health and nutritional standards, that labor difficulties were ironed out, and that the product or products reached the mess hall tables and did not go to the individual apartments."

When the industrial section closed in September 1944, the food processing units were transferred to the mess section.

The shoyu plant produced approximately 1,500 gallons per month, employed three evacuee employees, and produced shoyu at a cost lower than the mess section could procure in outside markets. The evacuees at the center "were particularly eager to make this product as the kind available to them on the open market did not meet their standard."

Established in October 1942, the bean sprout plant employed four men and produced an average of 7,000 pounds of bean sprouts per month.

Opened in August 1942 and reorganized in January 1943, the tofu plant soon reached a production average of "10,000 one and one-fourth pound cakes per month." Eight evacuees were employed. Daily production commenced at 4:00 A.M., thus enabling the fresh cakes to be delivered to the mess halls in the afternoon in time for the evening meal.

In September 1943, a pickling plant was established to "utilize excess vegetables coming daily from the farm during harvest, and also to keep down home pickling." The plant "pickled 105,000 pounds of excess vegetables, mainly root crops," which were used in the mess hall the following year,

Between harvests, the pickling crew manufactured miso, a sauce used to flavor baked and fried foods and salads. During 1944, the miso operation produced 36,000 pounds of miso for use in the mess halls.

In May 1943, a swarm of wild bees was caught by an evacuee ex-beekeeper who proceeded to "add more hives whenever he could obtain permission to visit the sagebrush slopes west of the Center." During the fall of 1943, the bee-keeping activities of this evacuee were placed under the industrial section, and he was placed on the section's payroll and furnished with wood and nails to build new hives. The number of hives expanded to 50, and the first crop of 170 gallons of honey was distributed to the mess halls.

Responsibility for the storage of Manzanar's vegetable crop was placed under the industrial section in 1943. During the summer, a root cellar was constructed and the vegetables, including Irish potatoes, onions, winter squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, and cabbage, were sorted, cleaned, and stored. Except for sweet potatoes, which "suffered 30 percent loss because of inadequate circulation," these vegetable were stored "with less than normal shrinkage." The stored vegetables were distributed to the mess halls until April 1944.

A vegetable dehydrating plant was constructed at Manzanar in 1943 "using surplus parts and scrap." The plant "successfully dehydrated some 200,000 pounds of vegetables," which amounted to the "daily surplus not used by the kitchens during the farm harvest." The most successful crops to be dehydrated were peas, beans, carrots, and turnips. The dehydrating plant was so successful "that designers" in the Department of Agriculture "paid several visits to Manzanar for the purpose of incorporating some of its features into their own." [45]

AGRICULTURE

The quarrel between the City of Los Angeles and the Army and the WRA over lease of the Manzanar site for the relocation center initially hampered the activities of the camp's agriculture section. Difficulties were encountered concerning the manner in which the city wanted irrigation water utilized at the center. Water was taken from streams flowing down from the mountains and from two wells located at the project. Furthermore, the city lodged complaints with the WRA concerning the manner in which commercial fertilizers were used on Manzanar's farm fields. At first, the city refused to approve a hog project, even though the WRA agreed to locate it at least one mile from the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Finally, the city's rate for irrigation water on the project was based on the price for domestic water in Los Angeles.

Finally in June 1943, the federal government, through condemnation proceedings, pre-empted use of the Manzanar site. A federal court set water rates more favorable to the WRA for irrigation and domestic use, thus freeing the agriculture section from various restrictions in water measurement and allocation.

The agriculture section was supervised by Farm Superintendent Horace R. McConnell, a WRA appointed worker, from May 27, 1942, until April 1, 1945. In July 1943, Henry A. Hill was added to the staff as assistant farm superintendent. Upon McConnell's resignation on April 1, 1945, Hill became acting farm superintendent until the center closed.

During 1943 and 1944, the number of evacuee workers on the vegetable-growing projects fluctuated between 75 in winter and 250 during the harvest period. The evacuee workers included some 40 to 75 women. Eight to 12 evacuees worked on the hog farm during those years, while 20 to 28 men were employed on the poultry farm. One evacuee was hired to tend the beef cattle herd during those years.

During the fall and winter of 1942-43, Manzanar acquired additional farm machinery, including four used 35-horsepower track tractors, four new small Case wheel tractors, and five new Ford wheel tractors. Pulled equipment for the track tractors was secondhand, while that for the Case and Ford tractors was new although limited in amount. No vegetable or feed crops were planted after January 1, 1945, thus eliminating the need for drawbar farm implement use after that date.

Vegetable Production. During the winter of 1942-43, evacuee farm workers cleared and leveled land, built irrigation canals and ditches, and constructed diversion dams in the flowing streams at Manzanar. The rabbit menace was overcome with the acquisition of five greyhounds and afghans. [46] By the spring of 1943, approximately 400 acres of land were producing vegetable and stock feed crops, the crops raised that year totaling about 2,000 tons.

After experimentation, thirty-two varieties of vegetables were selected 'as being the most desirable for Center use that could be raised satisfactorily." The varieties were "selected because they produced the most food value per pound of vegetables and at the same time supplied a well-balanced diet" for the evacuees. Approximately 80 percent of the vegetables used at Manzanar during 1943-44 were produced at the center. The cost of producing vegetables was less than the cost of purchasing them on the open market, and the center's vegetables were fresher and thus more desirable to the evacuees. Several varieties raised at the center that were preferred by the evacuees were unobtainable on the open market because of wartime conditions. Root vegetables "did well with high yield and good quality,' and tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, melons, squash, string beans, and cabbage also did well. Lettuce, peas, dry beans, and sweet potatoes, however, did "not produce well due to the hot arid summer climate." Extreme alkaline soil conditions in portions of the center also contributed to poor yields.

By 1944, four fields covering 370 acres were cultivated at Manzanar. Two fields were located north of the camp along U.S. Highway 395. North Field No. 1 comprised 12 acres of cucumbers, egg plant, peppers, sage, and other herbs. On Field No. 2, a 141-acre plot north of Shepherd Creek, potatoes, nappa, daikon, uri, kaboucha, carrots, onions, cabbage, spinach, beets, lettuce, gobo, radishes, dry onions, green onions, and turnips were grown. This field was irrigated from Shepherd Creek, and a barley windbreak planted on its northwest side protected the vegetable crops. Guayule rubber plants were grown west of the north fields.

Two fields were also planted along the highway south of the residential camp area. Field No. 1 consisted of 99 acres of cultivated alfalfa, sweet potatoes, lettuce, peas, cucumbers, carrots, corn beans, dry onions, daikon, tomatoes, and cabbage. Field No. 2, located further south, consisted of 118 acres of honey dew melons, tomatoes, potatoes, winter squash, squash, milo, corn, watermelons, peppers, cabbage, and asparagus. [47]

Poultry Farm. Construction of the poultry farm began in July 1943, and in August the WRA purchased 12,000 unsexed day-old white leghorn chicks to be delivered at a rate of 2,000 per week. An additional 8,000 chicks were ordered for delivery in April 1944. The evacuee workers cleaned the chicken houses, yards, and feeding/watering troughs regularly, gathered eggs "daily at 3:30 p.m.," and planted lawns around the farm warehouse. They also planned and laid out "some attractive flower gardens, which were well cared for until the Project closed."

Approximately 50 percent of the barley and wheat used for feed was shipped to Manzanar from other relocation centers, but alfalfa and milo corn were raised at Manzanar. The balance of the grain and supplemental feeds were purchased from outside sources in ton lots. To cut feed costs and to insure an adequate supply, a hammer mill was purchased and installed to grind grain and make alfalfa meal. To this mixture of ground grain and meal were added animal protein, minerals, and several different supplemental feeds. This substance was mixed by hand into three different mashes: chick, growing, and laying.

Egg production at the poultry farm amounted to 53,420 dozen in 1944 and 60,435 dozen the following year. Total value of the eggs for that two-year period was $45,520. To deplete the laying flock in line with the center's population decline, as well as to close out the poultry project, the slaughter of hens for the mess section was commenced in July 1945. Some 6,760 hens, having a dressed weight of 20,480 pounds and a value of $5,839, were slaughtered between July and November that year.

Although egg production was the primary purpose of the poultry farm, meat birds were also raised. The birds were killed and dressed by evacuees at the farm and delivered to the mess section. The killing room was equipped with two 30-gallon water tanks heated by butane gas. The number of birds slaughtered during 1943 was 2,077 (dressed weight — 6,000 pounds, valued at $1,800), and 6,881 (dressed weight — 21,370 pounds, valued at $6,296) were slaughtered the following year. Meat birds were "closed out before 1945."

Hog Farm. The hog farm at Manzanar was operated as a "feeder project.' Because of the comparatively short life of the project and the opposition of the City of Los Angeles to hog raising, "it was not deemed advisable to go into a breeding program." In October 1943, the farm was constructed about one mile from the center, and the first feeder pigs that were purchased arrived in November. There was "no preference as to breed," and requirements were "only a sound weight of from 50 to 90 pounds per head."

During the first two weeks, the hogs were fed grain and garbage, but after that period they were eased into a full-garbage feed diet. The daily routine consisted of cleaning and washing the feed platforms each morning. At 9:00 A.M. garbage from the mess halls was collected in a dump truck and delivered to the feeding platforms. Afternoon garbage was collected and delivered to the hog farm about 4:00 P.M.

Prices paid by the mess section for dressed pork ranged from 16 to 17 cents per pound. This price was lower than on the open market, thus making the hog farm a profitable project operation.

During 1943-45, a total of 2,320 feeder pigs were purchased at an average cost of 15 cents per pound ($32,224 in value). Of this total, 2,066 hogs, yielding 396,125 pounds of pork valued at $67,288, were slaughtered in Bishop for center use. Forty-five hogs which remained at the center when it closed were sold.

Beef Cattle. A beef cattle project was commenced at Manzanar in December 1943 with the purchase of 199 cows at a cost of 6-1/2 to 8 cents per pound. George Creek ran through the cattle area and supplied water in sufficient quantity for spring and early summer irrigation of the meadows as well as for year-round drinking water.

In March 1944, an additional 95 head of cattle were purchased. This lot "consisted of good grade cows and young steers." Thus, the purchase price ranged from 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 cents per pound.

The herd was "of mixed breed" and provided an opportunity "to determine which type produced the best beef value." This factor was "important since the cattle program was considered a doubtful source of profit at Manzanar.

Seventy-six calves were raised, and through the late spring and early summer of 1944, the herd "made fair gains." By fall, however, it "became evident that a beef herd could not be kept in slaughtering condition" unless quantities of outside feed were purchased, because the "late fall and winter grasses were not of a quality to keep cattle fat." Alfalfa and corn were the only crops grown for stock feeding, and the acreage for these crops was limited "owing to a shortage of water during summer months."

Slaughtering, "if successful for Center consumption, necessarily had to be a continuous operation." As stock feed costs were high during 1944, it was determined to close out the beef herd and resume beef purchases through the Army Quartermaster. No more cattle were purchased, and the beef herd was liquidated in December 1944. All told, 361 cattle were slaughtered in 1944, providing 139,505 pounds of beef for the center's mess halls valued at $23,560.23.

By late 1943 the acreage devoted to vegetable and feed production at Manzanar had been expanded to 440 and 110 acres, respectively, but these totals were reduced the following year to 310 and 45. Total vegetable production at Manzanar during 1942-44 was 7,747,201 pounds, of which 7,259,241 pounds were used at the center and 847,960 pounds were shipped out of the camp. In December 1943, for instance, one carload of carrots was shipped to Tule Lake, and In January 1944 one carload of 34,000 pounds of carrots was shipped to Poston. During the harvest in the fall of 1943, 19,320 pounds of honey dew melons and 18,000 pounds of watermelons were shipped to Tule Lake. The total value of the vegetable crops, based on 85 percent of the Los Angeles wholesale market values at the time of harvesting, was $217,228. Some 428,000 pounds of stock feed, valued at $4,550, was raised at Manzanar during 1942-44. [48]

Guayule. Although separate from the center's agricultural food program, the guayule rubber plant experimentation program at Manzanar related to war-related agricultural production and scientific research. In 1942, a group of evacuee scientists at the center heard about experiments being conducted in California by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in which efforts were underway to produce rubber from guayule plants to meet the nation's wartime rubber needs. Encouraged by Dr. Genevieve Carter, the center's superintendent of education who saw the guayule project as a chance to develop scientific work as well as educational opportunities for the evacuees, the men contacted Dr. Robert Emerson, a professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Through his efforts, waste cuttings and seedling culls were delivered to Manzanar in April 1942 from several Salinas nurseries. The guayule research project at Manzanar was directed by Dr. Kenji Nozaki, while the scientific work and nursery propagation and field work was supervised by Walter T. Watanabe. Breeding and flower biology efforts were directed by Masuo Kodani. By March 1943, a lath house and propagating beds had been built at the southwest corner of the camp, and a chemical laboratory had been constructed in the ironing room in Block 6, a cytogenetics laboratory had been established in the hospital, field plots had been planted in various locations outside the residential area, and a breeding laboratory had been set up in the ironing room in Block 35.

Experiments were made on the extraction of rubber from guayule cryptostegia, and other less promising rubber bearing plants. The evacuee scientists succeeded in propagating guayule from cuttings, a process hitherto considered to be highly impractical. They also succeeded in hybridizing the plant, and by selection improved the strain so that the rubber yield would be higher. They perfected a new and rapid method of processing the guayule so that the costly and often awkward storage period could be eliminated. They developed a new method of reducing the amount of resin in the finished product. Samples of the tested rubbers were vulcanized in Los Angeles, and proved to be of good quality.

Through experimentation, it was found that Salinas strains of guayule were capable of surviving the winter at Manzanar, but Texas strains proved to be more hardy. Texas strains were also found to be superior to Salinas strains in rubber production.

Scientists from Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles and Berkeley, and the California Institute of Technology visited the camp in increasing numbers during 1943-45. Several professional papers were prepared for publication in scientific journals by the evacuees while they were in the center. [49]

MESS HALL OPERATIONS

The mess halls continued to operate during 1943-45 much as they had (described in Chapter 10) prior to the violence that empted in the center on December 6, 1942. By 1945, the average staff for a mess hall serving 300 evacuees consisted of a chef who supervised a time checker, seven waitresses, three cooks, 4 cook's helpers, and 11 kitchen helpers. Meals averaged from 2,800 to 3,500 calories per day per person, including men, women, and children. The supply of fresh vegetables from the center's farm was adequate and the variety considerable, especially during the summer months.

Except during short periods when ration-point values were very low, meat consumption at Manzanar remained approximately at the level allowed by rationing. Efforts to provide palatable foods were undertaken by the evacuee steward who prepared menus which the Chief Project Steward Joseph R. Winchester approved. A considerable part of the menu consisted of rice, sukiyaki, miso, tofu, chop suey, chow mein, shoyu sauce, and various pickled vegetables.

Menus for a typical mid-week day indicate that meals served at Manzanar were generally wholesome and well-balanced, if not always the type preferred by all evacuees. On Wednesday, January 6, 1943, for instance, the following meals were served (quantities to serve 100 persons):

On holidays, special meals were served in the center's mess halls. "American" menus were generally used on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but "a full Japanese meal" was served on New Year's Day, because it was "a Japanese holiday of great importance." On January 1, 1944, for instance, the menu consisted of the following types and quantities of food (quantities to serve 100 people):

Meals were served "cafeteria style" in the mess halls — a system that many evacuees objected to. One evacuee mother, for instance, complained that "we line up, receive our food all dumped on one plate, scramble for seats, and dash to the back with the dirty dishes when we are through eating." While the evacuees ate, "the dishwashers" kept "up such a constant clatter of dishes, and making so much noise, one can hardly think, let alone eat, decently." The "biggest problem" however, was "the harm this system" was "doing to our children." The "constant change of faces at meal-times" was upsetting to young children, "especially the tiny tots who are just beginning to learn to eat and speak properly." One of the distractions was "the noise and the sight of people walking back and forth." As the evacuees were served in lines, the ones "at the head of the line" were "served first and finish first." If we "are unfortunate enough to sit at a table where the early diners are, they gobble down their food, jump up, dash to the back to dispose of dirty dishes, leaving space at the table for other diners, thus making two different sets of people the child will be interested in." The table etiquette of the children was "atrocious." Young children "6 and 7 years of age, with no supervision from older folks, gang together at one table, laughing and talking loudly, eating sloppily, with no though [sic] of manners." If "they could only eat with their families, they could be made to eat properly, out of shame, by their older brothers and sisters, if not by their parents." "I know many children don't get enough to eat because of this." At "the rate they are going, by the time they get outside they will be little savages." "Not only are the children of that age becoming unmanageable, but even children 2, 3 and 4 are becoming like that."

The "whole system," according to this evacuee, seemed to "be harming people." Even if the lines had to be maintained because of a lack of workers, "tables should be assigned each family, so that there won't be this mad scramble for seats, and so that the family may be united at mealtime," If possible the lines should be "eliminated, because of the psychological effect it has on many people." Efforts "should be made to maintain a normal atmosphere," because lining "up for meals, getting food slopped at us all on one plate is making many feel like hobos and tramps waiting in a breadline for a handout." [51]

As the war continued, rationing needs for the center's mess halls were processed according to "a definite plan." Several days before the beginning of each two-month period, Winchester notified the Washington office of the estimated requirements for ration points. These estimates were based on the anticipated camp population and conformed to allocations made to families throughout the country. The allocation for Manzanar, however, was "slightly less than that ordinarily made to institutions at large."

The Washington office obtained ration points from the Office of Price Administration. Checks for ration points were then mailed to the project. They were deposited on receipt and then drawn upon as required. As with money, points were obligated as requisitions were written, even though final payment was not granted until goods were received.

Within the center, it was necessary to issue food on the basis of actual population and not on the anticipated population upon which points were originally allocated. Shortages or overages were then adjusted at the beginning of the next period. Regulations of the Office of Price Administration allowed a 45-day advance food supply to be carried at the center.

At the beginning of each week, the population count in the center was obtained from the statistics section Rationed food was then issued in accordance with this figure.

Between August 1942 and September 1945, the ration program for the center allotted 559,145 points, of which 550,073 were used and 9,072 were saved. From March 1943 to August 1945, the ration program for processed food allotted 9,566,646 points to Manzanar, of which 6,548,368 were used and 3,018,278 were saved. Between April 1943 and September 1945, the ration program for meats, fats, and cheese amounted to 11,491,258 points, of which 9,591,581 were used and 1,899,677 were saved.

Chief Project Steward Winchester served as chairman of the Manzanar panel of the Lone Pine Ration Board. He also directed an evacuee-staffed office which issued shoe stamps for resident evacuees. Ration books, and occasionally, tire and gasoline coupons were issued for relocating evacuees.

By February 1, 1945, the mess section began to close mess halls as the center's population declined. By August 1, only 18 mess halls remained in operation.

As the number of people served in a single mess hall was reduced to approximately 125, that mess hall was closed and the residents were sent to another within the group of four blocks set off by firebreaks. As each kitchen closed, its remaining food stock was distributed to other kitchens. This process continued until only one mess hall in each four continued to operate. During the last weeks of the center's operation, only one mess hall in eight, then one in 16, continued to operate. Two days before the last evacuee left the center on November 21, one of the last two mess halls was closed, the other being left to service the few residents who remained. Two evacuee chefs were asked to remain until the last days. Otherwise, no special provision was made and mess hall help was obtained when, and as, available. Because of labor shortages, 75 percent of the work in the center's mess halls was performed by voluntary part-time workers during the final weeks of the camp's operation.

During the entire operation of the relocation center, approximately 28,790,221 meals were served to evacuees at an average cost of 12 2/3 cents per meal (or 35 1/4 cents per day) and a total cost of $3,384,749.02. Only two minor instances of food poisoning occurred. According to Winchester, feeding "some 10,000 persons — some of whom had American food standards and tastes, others of whom held to their Japanese standards and tastes — was accomplished according to satisfactory nutritional standards and was held well within the cost limits set by the Government." [52]

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Early in 1943, the community activities section, under the direction of Supervisor Aksel G. Nielsen, was reorganized into five departments — arts and crafts; athletic activities; entertainment, social, and activities; music; and gardening. This arrangement was maintained until the center closed, except that early in 1945, a sixth department called "Youth Activities" was added. An assistant supervisor, who could speak Japanese, was hired to serve as liaison between the administrative staff of the section and both the Issei and Nisei evacuee population segments. By June 1943, the section employed 102 evacuee personnel to supervise recreational activities in the following categories:

Arts and Crafts — Handicrafts, woodcraft, painting, sewing and needlework
Athletics — Men and boys, girls and women
Gardening and landscaping
Music
Boy Scouts
Entertainment, hall leaders, social activities

Departmental Activities

Arts and Crafts. During much of 1943-45, this department was the largest in terms of staff and evacuee participation. Before relocation drained many of its members, the department numbered 40 instructors.

Sewing was by far the most popular activity in the arts-and-crafts department. Some 2,500 older girls and women studied sewing. At one time, the department was able to operate three separate centers, each with a complete staff. Approximately 100 electric sewing machines were borrowed from the industrial section for the classes.

Paper-flower making was a popular evacuee activity directed by an evacuee teacher who had won many purple ribbons at California state fairs. At the height of its popularity, two schools operated for 5 1/2 days a week, with buildings packed at every session. Instruction in making 50 different types of flowers was offered. Flowers were made for funerals, weddings, and other special events.

Many evacuees participated in woodworking classes, making furniture and knick-knacks for their quarters. One of the most popular hobbies at Manzanar was working with roots of old trees — roots were shaped into birds, ships, canes, and other curios. Younger boys confined their woodcraft activities largely to making model airplanes, and model airplane clubs held exhibits and several public flight exhibits.

Embroidery classes were convened under a skilled evacuee embroidery instructor. Instructional classes were also held in knitting and crocheting, one "expert teacher" showing "her hundreds of adult pupils how to make seaters, socks, mittens, bags" and other items.

Stenciling became a popular hobby after "its many interesting patterns were demonstrated." Younger Nisei girls, with some background in the subject, taught the classes.

Two primary Japanese cultural activities were sponsored by the arts-and-crafts department. One was Japanese brush-lettering — the making of Asian characters with brushes. The second was flower-arrangement led by two evacuee instructors. The classes included learning the customs involved in correct Japanese tea service, as well as the traditional pattern of arranging flowers.

Athletic Activities. The athletic department differed from the other departments under the community activities section in that it was made up and supported almost entirely by Nisei, whereas most of the other departments were dominated largely by Issei. By early 1945, as a result of the relocation of many athletic leaders as well as active participants, the athletic department "lost much of its former importance and became relatively weak as a department."

The most popular sport of all the athletic activities was softball. During the summer of 1942, "nearly all the young people, especially the boys, belonged to a softball team." As other sports developed, participation in softball "fell off noticeably, but the game never lost its leading position as [the] number one sport in the Center." Teams were organized into leagues according to ability and as far as possible according to age. The three main age groups for which softball leagues were organized included junior high school boys, young men, and older men In June 1945, there were three leagues and 24 teams for boys under age '16. One summer, the center had a league of three teams comprised of older men, most of whom had never played the game before. Leagues for younger girls were also established, and in June 1945 the girls were organized into three leagues and 21 teams.

Volleyball was somewhat more popular among the girls than the men. Indoor facilities were not available until the auditorium was completed in 1944. Thus, the sport was "confined to the light evenings from April to September." In June 1945, there were 14 girls' teams and five teams for men.

Approximately 100 persons, the majority of whom were men, belonged to the Tennis Club when the sport was at its peak in the center. Because of the poor surfacing of the four tennis courts, no one was allowed to play without tennis shoes. This rule undoubtedly restrained a number of people from joining, because money was often not available for such purchases, and tennis shoes were practically unobtainable in the center store.

Golf facilities were constructed entirely through the labor of evacuee volunteers. Some members loaned money to finance the building of a small club house, while others with connections, secured golf equipment. At its peak, the golf club had about 150 members. The WRA employed three instructors, one of whom was a woman. At first the golf course had nine holes, but it was later expanded into an 18-hold course. When the membership dropped because of relocation, nine of the holes were allowed to revert back to sagebrush.

Early in 1944, a regulation baseball diamond for "hardball" was constructed. Uniforms were secured for eight teams, the cost being met from the five-cent charge for motion pictures. Evenings were short, so playing was generally confined to double-headers on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Players were limited to a single eight-team league with each team playing one game per week. Several younger teams wanted to join, but there was no opportunity for them until 1945, when, with relocation, most of the members of the older teams had left the center. Baseball was supported largely by collections taken during the games at the diamond. The problem, however, was "not so much to get money as to get equipment."

By June 1945, Manzanar had three boxing clubs with 105 participants, 5 boys' track teams, and 120 individuals involving in wrestling.

The community activities section did not possess any football equipment until after the 1944 spring season when the camp's high school turned over its equipment to the section. Lack of uniforms, however, did not keep the boys from playing football. During 1942 and 1943, several touch football leagues were organized, but enthusiasm for the sport declined as time passed.

During 1942 and 1943, basketball was played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, but the sport was difficult to promote because of lack of indoor facilities. In the fall of 1943, with the installation of artificial lights on two of the courts, it was hoped that night ball could be promoted. As the lights were not strong enough, however, the results were poor. Basketball was popular with the girls as well as the boys, and, at its peak, there were two girls' leagues and four boys' leagues.

Basketball players hoped that basketball courts would be installed in the auditorium during 1944. However, it was determined that the auditorium floor would be constructed of soft wood and thus be unable to stand up under basketball playing. Although badminton and volleyball were permitted in the auditorium and courts were painted on the floor, neither sport became popular, and acquisition of equipment continued to be a problem. A girls' ping pong tournament was held in 1945 with 36 participants. [53]

Entertainment, Social, and Club Activities. This department sponsored and coordinated special events at Manzanar, such as carnivals and fairs. However, it also supervised some regular activities, such as Japanese drama and social and folk dancing, as well as clubs centered around various activities and age groups.

When the community activities section turned over a number of recreation halls to the education section for use as classrooms during the fall of 1942, it retained supervision of a few which it planned to develop into adult social halls. Because of lack of equipment and the WRA's refusal to install linoleum on the floors, and in some instances plasterboard on the walls, these buildings never served their intended purposes.

Prior to early 1944, the WRA did not have a public address system of its own. Before that time, loans from private individuals served "as a not-too-desirable substitute." Four technicians on the WRA payroll owned public address systems, and two of them owned two systems each. It was agreed that when the systems were used for non-WRA activities and when there was an admission charge for the events, the owners would be allowed to charge two dollars an evening for the use of the system and an extra dollar for the use of records.

Before the auditorium was constructed in 1944, it was difficult to schedule a special event since no large building in the camp was available. This problem inevitably meant obtaining permission for use of a mess hall, which meant that tables and equipment had to be removed before the hall could be converted to social use. Usually, this rearrangement was done after supper, while decorations were set up during the interval between supper time and the time when the guests arrived. When the party was over, the mess hall had to be cleaned and the furniture replaced so that the hall was ready for breakfast the following morning.

By October 1944, an activity schedule had been established for use of the auditorium. The high school was given use of the building Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. as well as Friday evening and Saturday mornings. The community activities section used the auditorium Monday through Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises was given use of the building on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons and evenings. Beginning in February 1945, motion picture shows were presented in the auditorium on Saturday and Sunday evenings. During 1945, talent shows, recorded concerts, dances, concerts, dramas, pageants, and an oratorical contest was held in the auditorium. [54]

Music. Music played a significant role in many special events and programs at Manzanar. Moved from block to block because the evacuees objected to the noise, the music department, under the leadership of Louis F. Frizzell, a popular appointed high school teacher, finally settled in Block 24, Building 15, where a model music hall was established. The hall contained a large room for the band, orchestra, and chorus, and seven smaller rooms for instrumental practice. Evacuees made furniture for the hall and planted trees around the building. The evacuee musicians contributed to the music program either by purchasing instruments themselves or in some instances using small WRA cash allowances and keeping the instruments in playing shape.

Various music organizations were established in the camp, including a mixed glee club, a community orchestra, and a band. A senior swing band played for many dances, while a younger swing band, known as the "Jive Bombers," was one of the most popular musical groups in the camp. A solon orchestra as well as a mandolin and guitar orchestra also made numerous appearances. Smaller, but popular, orchestra units that performed for short periods during the camp's history included "Mac's Orchestra," which featured a steel guitar; the "Hot Shots," and the "Sierra Stars," the latter group including unorthodox instruments such as wash boards and pans.

The music hall staff, never large, gave instruction in "whatever instruments were available." The chief instrument for instruction was the piano, but since only four pianos were made available by the WRA, it was often necessary to regulate the number of students who could be admitted for instruction. Most other instruments were furnished by the players themselves, although the WRA provided a few such as a drum, three horns, and a bass fiddle. A number of soloists were also developed by the music hall staff.

Japanese musical activities encountered difficulties when the education section took over many of the recreation halls during the fall of 1942. After that time, it became almost impossible to find places for players to practice because of numerous objections by evacuees and many had to give up. It was not until after the segregation to Tule Lake in late 1943 and early 1944, when building space again became available, that some of the "abolished activities were reinstated." It was then that a whole barrack was set aside for the practice of Japanese music.

When space became more plentiful and interest in Japanese music developed "more normally," a number of new music organizations were established. Among the most prominent were biwa, shakuhachi, koto, shamisen, and shigin, a form of traditional singing.

As the musicians gained experience and skill, musical programs were performed in the camp. After the auditorium was completed, "friendly competition arose as to which musicians would present programs in it." According to the Final Report, Manzanar, it "became necessary to regulate Japanese concerts and to ask the various groups to consolidate or take turns," Japanese "music groups were asked to hold down their programs to not more than one a month." In addition to programs in the auditorium, four musicals were permitted in each mess hall per month.

Gardening. The community activities section made it possible for residents to have their own victory gardens. During the summers of 1942 and 1943, a number of evacuee gardeners were employed by the WRA. These workers beautified the general garden area by planting borders of flowers along the firebreak which was used for the camp's "Victory Garden." A plot in the firebreak approximately 300 feet x 1,200 feet was set aside for the garden, each family or individual being allowed a maximum plot of 30 feet x 50 feet. Some 200 families and/or individuals participated. They dug and maintained irrigation ditches, established water schedules, regulated irrigation hours, and supervised gardeners cultivating their own garden plots. According to the Final Report, Manzanar, this activity "did much for the older people, for many of the Issei did not know how to enjoy themselves in social activities." Sometimes "the enjoyment of dining on their own harvest would be added to their pleasure, but usually the garden products were donated to the block kitchen."

Youth. During 1943-44, various youth clubs were formed in the center to provide avenues for social interaction and recreational activities for young people. [55] However, as the camp's young adults relocated during 1943-44, the center's population increasingly became composed of older people and children of school age. Activities which the Issei had known in their youth increasingly gained prominence. The relatively few younger Nisei left in the center were not the ones accustomed to assume leadership. Thus, the more the Issei took on the role of leaders in the center, the more the remaining Nisei "seemed to refrain from taking part in planning or decision-making."

Alarmed by the increasing development of Japanese customs and activities at Manzanar, the WRA undertook in early 1945 to establish a Youth Council, composed of representatives of the different young peoples' clubs, to plan and make recommendations for an overall community youth program that would promote "Americanized" activities. It was believed that this council would enable young people to take their place in community life and accept part of the responsibility for a well-rounded recreational program. Many youth, however, declined to participate in the council so representatives from each block were selected to represent the youth. Although many of these young people also refused to participate, the WRA went ahead with its plans.

With the reduction in the center population following segregation to Tule Lake, the mess hall in Block 14 was set aside as a combination Youth Center and United Services Organization clubhouse. One room, furnished at USO expense, was reserved for USC club use. The rest of the mess hall was devoted to the Youth Center. Booths for four and eight young people were constructed along the walls, with small square tables and chairs placed at their ends. The kitchen in the former mess hall was used for cooking and storage, while one corner was converted into a conference room. The Youth Center was reserved for young people between the ages of 13 and 30.

The Lone Pine Ration Board granted the ration points needed for successful operation of the Youth Center. The Community Activities Cooperative Association (CACA), an organization that will be examined in the next section of this chapter, hired a manager and a cook for the center.

The Youth Center did not prove as successful as planned. A group of boys, primarily from Terminal Island, "came habitually to the Center as a gang." This "one-sex grouping had a restraining influence on the girls who felt that the Center was a boy's hang-out and not a place for dating." Consequently, they felt "embarrassed about coming to the Center without escorts."

This problem was partially resolved when the WRA arranged to have the girls' clubs take turns and furnish helpers for the center each evening. The club members washed dishes, served as junior hostesses, and helped in other ways. Similarly, boys' clubs aided the girls' clubs. Thus, at least one girls' club and one boys' club were present together in the Youth Center each evening.

Community Activities Cooperative Association

Early in 1943, the community activities section was informed that WRA money could no longer be spent on equipment, materials, or supplies. Thereafter, the evacuees would have to finance their own recreational activities. Despite initial opposition, various evacuee groups started financing their own activities, usually under leadership of an instructor who made a flat charge for participation in his/her activity. After some groups were accused of misappropriating funds, efforts to establish a bookkeeping system were initiated but proved to be unenforceable. When a Fourth of July community-wide carnival was sponsored by the community activities section in 1943, with approximately 50 clubs given concessions in the form of refreshment stands and game booths, it became necessary "to have a strong central organization which could set up rules regarding the disposition of their earnings."

Accordingly, on November 11, 1943, the Community Activities Cooperative Association was established to ameliorate these problems. According to CACA's by-laws, the organization was designed to "plan for and obtain for the membership of the Association worthwhile cultural and recreational activities such as entertainment, social activities, hobbies, music, sports, gardening and such other leisure-time activities as shall be deemed suitable for the Manzanar community." CACA would "collect and disburse such funds as the membership shall direct" and establish "a satisfactory bookkeeping and accounting system for the Association."

Initially, the organization was administered by a board of ten directors who were elected by a congress which in turn was elected by the members of the CACA. Members in good standing included those who had paid the quarterly membership dues of 35 cents for adults and 20 cents for high school students and children per three-month term. The by laws stated that any organization was entitled to at least one representative in the congress and that each organization should be allowed to elect one congress representative for every 40 members. The board of directors was elected from and by the congress for three-month terms. On June 15, 1944, the by-laws were amended to extend the directors' terms to six months and allow the community activities section department heads to become members of the board of directors automatically.

The board of directors hired an executive secretary to keep minutes at board meetings, collect membership dues, and handle the receipts and expenditures of the organization. Later, after the community activities section was limited in the number of employees that it could have, the board hired leaders and workers for activities which were not supported by the section. Among such positions were those of golf-course caretaker, goh and shogi instructor, and a Japanese brush-lettering instructor.

The CACA obtained use of Block 16, Building 15 and converted it for use as a gift shop. Here individuals and organizations could exhibit and sell "made in Manzanar articles, many of which were the products of arts-and-crafts classes. Exhibits were accepted on a consignment basis, with ten percent of the sale price being retained by CACA and the rest turned over to the owner. The gift shop became a popular stop for center visitors, and the shop experienced difficulty in getting enough articles to meet the many requests.

During the first year of Manzanar's operation, paper flowers had to be used for occasions such as funerals, weddings, and parties, because fresh flowers were not available in Owens Valley and Manzanar was too far from Los Angeles to purchase cut flowers from city florists. Accordingly, CACA cultivated about an acre of land and planted flowers and vegetables which were sold at popular prices either at the garden or through Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises. Fertilizer, tools, and garden produce were retailed at cost. Flower and vegetable seed were produced which could be sold slightly above cost to the evacuees. The proceeds helped finance other CACA activities.

As CACA developed, it had tremendous impact on center activities. Formerly, evacuees had looked toward Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises for aid in financing programs and activities, but "now the accepted thing was to look toward the CACA for help."

CACA provided regular budgets to the departments in the community activities section to finance various recreational and social activities and appropriated funds for special projects. Among the more noteworthy projects was sponsorship of an essay and poster contest during Fire Prevention Week in 1944 for which liberal prizes were offered to winners at various age levels. Six principal prizes and unlimited participation awards were offered for a speech contest in 1945. CACA served as financial sponsor for the 1943 county fair and two carnivals held at the center in 1943 and 1944. In addition, it sponsored and paid for free motion picture programs, constructed the aforementioned baseball diamond, and helped the players obtain "free uniforms."

CACA's strength was augmented by a ruling from Washington which empowered it to decide which organizations should be allowed to raise money through public programs in the center. It was also empowered to retain a percentage of funds raised by clubs and other organizations. In time, the CACA treasury mounted to thousands of dollars, and it became one of the "big businesses of the Center."

Public Relations with Owens Valley Residents

Although the principal concern of the community activities section was "to make life as pleasant as possible for the residents of Manzanar, sometimes events "were shaped" specifically "with the entertainment of the people of Owens Valley in mind." One of the more successful events "for bettering public relations with the valley people" was the Manzanar Fall Fair held on September 18-19, 1943, attended by several hundred valley residents. On other occasions, valley residents, numbering into the hundreds, visited Manzanar to enjoy indoor and outdoor concerts, exhibits, and other attractions.

Although relationships between the center and valley residents would never be "as cordial as they might have been," a "friendly and cooperative attitude," slowly developed "between many individuals and the Center" as a result of such public relations efforts. Evidence of such "neighborhood friendliness" included a Girls' Play Day attended by teenage girls from Independence, Lone Pine, and Bishop; a visit by the Lone Pine Boys' Club; and bond drives and a festival to raise funds for a swimming pool when Manzanar helped the valley out with the loan of its public address system. On one occasion the supervisor of community activities refereed a football game between the Bishop and Big Pine high schools.

Valley residents were invited to attend the fair on Saturday, while Sunday was reserved for evacuees only. Manzanar Free Press employees provided guided tours for valley residents. The tour included the industrial plant, hospital, farm, Victory gardens, nursery schools, visual education museum, guayule project, and shoyu factory. A vegetable plate dinner was prepared by the Fair Committee for 300 visitors in the mess hall of Block 7. The dinner was served by high school girls, and a charge of 50 cents was made for the meal.

After dinner, the visitors were escorted to the fair grounds where they were invited to see the main fair exhibits — outdoor agricultural exhibit in front of the Children's Village, the garden exhibits in Block 10, Building 15; and the combined industrial and arts-and-crafts exhibits in Block 16, Building 15.

Throughout the evening, free entertainment was provided on the outdoor stage. A "Queen of the Fair" was chosen by a panel of judges, the guests being invited to witness the coronation ceremony. Later, they attended a coronation ball in her honor and that of her four ladies-in-waiting.

Attendance at the two-day fair was estimated to be from 5,000 to 6,000. Booths and concessions were awarded to clubs wishing to sell food, drinks, or other articles. The clubs retained two-thirds of the profit, while one-third was turned over to CACA. Gross income from the booths and concessions was $4,269.02, while the net profit was $1,892.93. One-third of this sum ($541.18) was turned over to CACA for its role in sponsoring the fair.

Special Events

Among the special events conducted at Manzanar under the direction of the community activities section were carnivals, obon festivals, concerts, dances, and exhibits. Approximately 6,000 people attended the first carnival held at Manzanar on July 4-5, 1943. Free stage entertainment was provided by the section each afternoon and evening. Various organizations set up booths where food was sold or games were played. [56]

A second carnival was held between Blocks 16 and 17 on July 1-2, 1944. Although the center population was smaller than it had been the year before, twenty-eight clubs operated 34 booths, featuring concessions that sold hot dogs, hamburgers, tortillas, ice cream, soft drinks, and punch. Although no games of "gambling" were permitted "since that type of game has been outlawed by Town Hall," there were "a number of interesting novel games of skill." [57]

Each summer during early August, the Buddhist Church conducted a traditional two-day outdoor obon festival to commemorate the souls of the departed. The festivals, which featured dramatic dancing, were well attended, the number of spectators and participants being about evenly divided. Block rehearsals with one or two major dress rehearsals were held some weeks in advance of the festivals.

During 1943 and 1944, and before relocation took its toll of orchestra and band members, a series of outdoor concerts were conducted at Manzanar. The orchestra also appeared as a supporting element in a number of indoor musical and dramatic programs. During summer evenings, outdoor recorded music concerts were conducted. Records were "discriminatingly selected with particular audiences in mind." Modern music was played when younger crowds were desired, while Japanese recordings were presented when an appeal was to be made to the older Issei. Classical music generally attracted few evacuees.

Special holidays were often celebrated by community-wide dances, some of which were sponsored by the community activities section, while others were promoted by clubs. A combined "Oklahoma" dance party. for instance, was sponsored by all of the clubs. Stage entertainment was presented for non-dancing guests, and cakes, pies, doughnuts, and other sweets, which had been contributed by "Caucasian friends," were auctioned. New Year's Day dances, often featuring a turkey luncheon, Halloween dances, Sadie Hawkins dances, and parties for special occasions, as well as weekly and bi-weekly dances, "were held as a matter of course.

Periodic arts-and-crafts exhibits were popular with the evacuee population. Among the more successful exhibits were paper-flower shows, woodcarvings with interesting designs made from the roots of locust trees, furniture, leathercraft, embroidered pictures, knitting, women's clothing and fashions, oil and water color painting, stone carving, and cartoons. [58]

Closing Recreational Program During the Summer of 1945

Rollin Fox, the Manzanar high school principal, assumed the duties of the supervisor of community activities when Aksel G. Nielsen left the WRA to join the United Nations Rehabilitation and Relief Agency on June 30, 1945. As the center's population continued to decline as a result of relocation, a two-part summer recreational program was established. One element of the summer program was a series of recreational activities "that contributed to the interest, welfare, and morale of the residents, and were not of a kind to retard relocation." A special children's summer recreational program for elementary school age children which began on June 18 was planned for a four-week period. Since many children remained in the camp at the end of the first four-week session, a second four-week session followed with some 250 children participating. The program included arts-and-crafts classes, knitting and sewing, industrial arts for boys, dramatics, group singing, table games, boys' and girls' rhythms, playground play. hikes and picnics, a story hour, and a library book club.

A preschool session (preschools were transferred from the education section to the community activities section after the schools closed in June 1945) was included in the summer program. A WRA appointed staff member, assisted by two evacuee teachers, conducted the preschool activities. Some 65 children were enrolled in three groups when the summer program opened, but this number decreased by August 29 when the program closed.

After the community activities section recreational program for older children closed on August 11, the protestant church sponsored a two-week summer vacation Bible school from July 23 to August 4. The average attendance was approximately 125. [59]

HEALTH

Medical Hospital Services

During 1943-45, the health section, which operated under the direction of Principal Medical Officer Dr. W. Morse Little, provided extensive hospital services to the evacuees at Manzanar. All medical cases were cared for in the camp hospital or clinics, except those requiring specialized care. Advanced cancer, genito-urinary surgery, neurosurgery, chest surgery, and psychiatric cases were generally referred to the Los Angeles County Hospital. The total cost of operating the health section during 1943 was $132,675.24; 1944, $193,088.71; and 1945, $118,139.33.

Daily ward rounds in the hospital were conducted by the attending physician each afternoon, except for Saturday and Sunday. at 1:00 P.M. Present on the rounds were the complete medical staff, consisting of the chief nurse, medical social worker, public health nurse, and nurse in charge of the floor on which the patient's room was located.

Out-patient services were offered daily and non-hospitalized patients were required to attend public health clinics serviced by the health section. The work of the clinics was directed toward preventive medicine. Daily clinics were conducted for general medical, optometry, dental, school health, surgical, and eye, ear, nose, and throat problems. A schedule was established for the clinics: Monday, child health, food handlers; Tuesday, maternal health, chest, gastro-intestinal; Wednesday. child health, food handlers; Thursday, maternal health, chest, gastro-intestinal; Friday. child health, venereal disease; Saturday. maternal health. In addition, three-day orthopedic and ophthalmological clinics were conducted at the center every two months in cooperation with the California State Health Department.

According to medical officials, Manzanar had a generally low incidence of serious disease, other than degenerative diseases. Because of the larger number of older evacuees in the center, these diseases "were moderately increased." Since medical services were free, patients came in for treatment early. and thus comparatively few developed "the fulminating cases often seen in private practice in which the patient fails to come to the physician until he is seriously ill." This factor increased the number of out-patients, but saved much of the doctors' time in having to treat more severe disease arising from neglect.

There was, however, a "high incidence of psychoneurosis, hypertension, and peptic ulcer" at the camp. Psychoneurosis tended to improve as the adjustment to camp life progressed and as home follow-up was carried out by the medical social worker and public health nurse.

The laboratory at the Manzanar hospital was "well-equipped." It performed all laboratory functions, "including Kahn and Kline tests, and water and sewage-control tests." The only laboratory work sent out consisted of the "pre-marital and pre-natal Wasserman tests, which were sent to the state laboratory in accordance with state law."

Ambulance service was available 24 hours daily and required the employment of six evacuee drivers. Two ambulances and one station wagon were used to pick up and take home emergency, pregnancy, and infant and preschool cases for whom walking was "contra-indicated." The ambulances also transported handicapped children for the special hospital school and "all women workers on the swing and night shifts."

The hospital laundry operated every day but Sunday and employed 26 persons. Laundry services were provided for all units of the health section, Children's Village, and the motor transport and maintenance sections. Blankets for the entire camp were laundered at least twice yearly.

Special kitchens were established to feed children under five years of age and prepare special diets. The mess hail in Block 28, adjacent to the hospital, was set aside for special diets for ambulatory cases and their families. The mess hall was operated by the mess section with diets served on individual order of the attending physician. A kitchen in every four blocks was operated as a formula kitchen, in addition to the usual meal service, to prepare and serve infant and preschool diets. Baby formulas and children's foods were prepared by the mess chef on special order from the attending physician and were given to the mother at 10:00 A.M., 2:00 EM., and 6:00 P.M. All formulas and food were dispensed by diet aides who were trained by the health staff but who worked under the supervision of the mess section.

A morgue was established, but it did not provide embalming services since there were no undertakers in camp. Autopsies were conducted on approximately 30 percent of the cases. The evacuee residents of the camp, according to the Final Report, Manzanar, "were so cooperative in this that about 90 percent autopsies could have been performed if there had been enough medical personnel."

Mortuary services were performed by an undertaker in Bishop. Upon a death at the center, the body was placed "in a refrigerator in the morgue, where an autopsy would be performed if requested by the attending staff." If the case had not been under treatment, or if the circumstances attending death were suspicious, an inquest was by the county coroner in Lone Pine. Bodies were picked up by the undertaker within eight hours of death and taken to Bishop for embalming. After embalming, the body was returned to Manzanar where it was "inspected both before and after being clothed.

Funeral or memorial services were held according to the religious affiliation of the deceased. The body was then cremated or buried according to the wishes of the next of kin. If cremation was requested, it was shipped to a crematorium in southern California, and the ashes were later returned to the Manzanar columbarium.

Cases involving infectious disease could not be shipped for cremation because adequately sealed coffins were not available. These bodies were interred for later cremation when the special coffins would become available. All costs, including a regulation casket, were paid for by the WRA.

Public Health Services

The health section, according to the Final Report, Manzanar, provided a "full array of public health services under physical conditions that were sub-standard."

Maternity cases were seen for the first time usually two to three months into the pregnancy, and every two to three weeks thereafter. Except for a few precipitate deliveries who were later hospitalized, all cases were hospitalized for delivery. Minimum hospitalization after a birth was ten days.

Caudal block anesthesia was used during childbirth. In approximately 90-95 percent of the cases, this anesthesia was effective. Since there continued to be shortage of physicians and nurses in the camp, this anesthesia proved especially useful as its use "allowed careful control of the case and proper after care with a minimum of professional aid." Because of lack of space, an inadequate nursing staff, and construction large wards in the hospital, it "was impossible to segregate the abortions, other than to use a separate obstetrical room, or the labor room, or a separate nursery.

Pediatrics was treated "as a separate part of medicine." All children up to 14 years of age were hospitalized "separately in a ward which allowed partial segregation." In spite of the large number of communicable disease cases handled at the hospital and the use of a single nurse and several nurses' aides in the communicable-diseases and pediatrics wards, "only two cases of cross infection (chickenpox) occurred."

All children in the center were "followed in well-baby clinics and school health clinics." A "100-percent immunization for pertussis, diphtheria tetanus, and typhoid" was conducted. Thus, the incidence of communicable diseases, which had been high during the first few months of the camp's operation "began to decline and in general, it continued low thereafter." Well babies were seen every month up to one year of age, every six months to three years of age, and once at five years of age. Booster doses of triple vaccine were administered just before admission to school. In 1943, all elementary and secondary school children were examined by a physician and a dental assistant. The following year, children in grades 1, 3, and 6 were examined only, "together with those children who had previously revealed defects."

A dental chair was set up in the school clinic, where a dental aide examined and corrected minor tooth problems. During 1943-44, an orthopedic surgeon was present at the hospital for three days every two months at which time he examined all crippled children and operated on those requiring it. By 1945, however, the patient load declined "appreciably." and only two clinics were held during the war.

Food handlers in the Manzanar mess halls were given a complete physical examination. In "suspicious cases among women, a pelvic examination was made, and in all other cases a fluoroscopic with plates was taken." Blood serology was conducted on a routine basis, but "positive blood" did not preclude working so long as the patient was considered non-infectious and remained under medical treatment.

Although the prevalence of venereal disease in the camp was low, venereal disease clinics were held weekly. During 1943-45, only three cases of gonorrhea were found, and the majority of the venereal disease cases were categorized as syphilis.

Tuberculosis cases were numerous at Manzanar, and a large number of evacuees were hospitalized. Medical officials believed that this development was probably the result of overcrowded living conditions, and the "social stigma which the Japanese attached to" the disease. A person who suspected that he had tuberculosis would conceal his symptoms until the disease was "so well established that he had spread it to others." Consequently, all persons showing even a slight "suspicion" of chest pathology when seen in the chest clinic were X-rayed for tuberculosis, In addition, all food handlers were fluoroscoped, and, upon the slightest suspicion, were X-rayed. All pediatric cases admitted to the hospital were routinely skin-tested, and all reactors and their families were X-rayed. These procedures, together with a rigorous program of "contact checking," resulted in a large percentage of the camp population being X-rayed.

During the first 18 months of the center's operation, the number of active cases of tuberculosis was high. After late 1943, however, few new cases were discovered.

Generally, tuberculosis patients were placed "at bed-rest" and given a "hi-caloric, hi-vitamin diet for from two to three months." If indicated, pneumothorax treatment was initiated. In cases of cavitation, pneumothorax was commenced as soon as the patient's general condition permitted. During the last six months of the health program in 1945, a specialist in tuberculosis from the Los Angeles County Hospital visited the center every two months and advised the health staff on specialized care.

During the operation of Manzanar, two tuberculosis patients died and six were transferred to Hillcrest Sanitarium in the Los Angeles area for specialized care. In November 1942, two babies died of tuberculous meningitis within three weeks of infection. However, no other similar cases occurred.

Sanitation for the camp, a subject of utmost concern to public health officials at Manzanar, was "in general, unsatisfactory." This was due in part to the lack of sanitary facilities in the barracks, and the fact that the services of a sanitarian were not continuously available.

Nevertheless, only two cases of mass food poisoning occurred during the camp's operation, both of which took place "in the early days of the Center's existence." This low incidence of gastro-intestinal disease was attributed to "the excellent cooperation given by intelligent persons in the Engineering and Mess Sections," the "high type of sanitary work carried on when a sanitarian was available," and the "loyalty of a small number of evacuees, who in the absence of a sanitarian, served as sanitary aides often with inadequate guidance and supervision."

Because of the "large number of cross connections in the Center's mains, the water supply" was frequently "under suspicion" However, most of these connections were eventually eliminated. Acceptable chlorine residuals were maintained in the water supply at all times. At the time of the spring and fall rains, a high organic content in the water supply was recorded which led to many complaints of "too much chlorine." Although large amounts of chlorine were needed during these periods, the "residual was kept constant."

Sixteen Japanese baths that were installed in the center to accommodate the desires of the Issei were "chronic offenders of the sanitary code." WRA authorities continuously attempted to ameliorate this problem by urging that submerged inlets be raised 18 inches above the tub, but "protest and appeal to the evacuees did not improve matters." According to the Final Report, Manzanar, "a respectable Japanese bath" was "taken only from a submerged outlet." As "usual when scientific progress comes into contact with deep-seated mores, educational efforts produced no relief."

Sewage disposal, after processing in the camp treatment plant, was discharged into a dry creek bed. Traces of chlorine were kept until the water disappeared. The sludge was transferred to a digestion chamber and later to drying beds. Sludge digestion constituted a continuing health problem, and adequate temperature pH and digestion was not achieved until late 1944.

Medical Social Work Activities

The work of the medical social service was integrated with other units of the health section, as well as with social welfare agencies both inside and outside the project. According to the Final Report, Manzanar, the WRA conducted medical social work on "an intensive scale" in the center, because it was dealing with "a population suffering from the impact of forced migration." Basic functional duties of the medical social service included: (1) making office and home visits with the patient and patient's family to assist the attending physician in the proper care of the patient; (2) certifying clothing grants for patients who were chronically ill; (3) obtaining glasses as recommended by an ophthalmologist; (4) serving as liaison person in social problems affecting the medical care of patients; (5) issuing and keeping marriage health certificates safe; (6) keeping files and records of patients hospitalized outside the center; (7) closely coordinating the medical and social care of chronically ill patients; and (8) handling all sickness and compensation cases. [60]

Closing Health Section Procedures

During 1945, as the number of evacuees declined, the proportion of ailing and helpless individuals in the population increased, throwing "an additional burden upon the diminishing hospital staff." Although the clinic attendance dropped off, "it continued heavy, as organic disease became masked and complicated with psychosomatic disorders which accompanied the growing sense of insecurity of the residents." As a result, patients required "more thorough investigation."

To cope with this situation, the health section formulated a two-pronged course of action. It provided "fullest cooperation to the relocation program by making estimates of the medical need of each dependency case, by reassuring the insecure through a 24-hour program of mental hygiene that their medical and personnel needs would be taken care of, and by tracking down irresponsible rumors and referring excited inquirers to the most likely source of accurate information." In addition it eliminated "non-essential services so that the undersized staff could give adequate care to the greatest number of persons."

The curtailment of medical services coincided with the arrival in August 1945 of Dr. Agnes V. Bartlett as principal medical officer. The entire evacuee medical staff also relocated with the exception of an evacuee physician, Dr. Takahashi, who, though ailing and frail from long service and advanced years, carried a "magnificent share of the medical work" during the last 4 1/2 months of the center's operation.

In July 1945 all elective surgery in the Manzanar hospital was discontinued. Most of the tuberculosis cases had previously been relocated to institutions near the Pacific Ocean, and all chronic "bed-to-bed" cases had been processed by the medical social worker and the welfare section for placement in their counties of residence "at such time as residence verification" could be made. As far as possible, after the completion of these cases, all patients with serious illness which showed need for long hospitalization were sent to the Los Angeles County General Hospital for care until convalescent, when they were to be converted to terminal departure status and cared for by their county of origin. All prosthetic work, not in process and authorized by June 30, was eliminated from the evacuees' financial aid. The public health clinics were curtailed and limited to a general medical clinic, a minor surgery clinic during the mornings, and an eye-nose-throat clinic during the afternoons. Immunization of infants was continued until November 1, but well-baby conferences were limited to periodic weighing by an evacuee graduate nurse and conferences with mothers whose children appeared to need a physician's attention. All emergency cases coming to the hospital for medical care at non-clinic hours were screened by the nursing supervisor. In-patient hospital care was conducted by rounds every morning at which the nursing service, the principal medical officers, and the medical social worker were present.

With the lifting of the exclusion ban in January 1945, the remaining tuberculosis patients were moved to Hillcrest Sanitarium in the Los Angeles area and Ward 4 in the Manzanar hospital was closed. The hostel across the way from the hospital was closed in August at which time its residents were transferred to the hospital. In October, the relocation of "bed-to-bed" patients to outside hospitals began, because the stationary engineer and crew had relocated, thus resulting in termination of hot water service and steam heating to the hospital wards and the closing of the laundry. Thereafter, contract hospital laundry services were secured in Bishop.

On ten days' notice, the final consolidation of hospital service was completed on October 6 with the closing of Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. The hospital mess hall was closed on November 2, and thereafter bed patients were served with trays from the Block 34 mess hail, and the ambulatory hostel patients were escorted there for meals three times a day. The last "bed-to-bed" patients were transferred out of the center on November 12.

During the last week of evacuee occupancy, the health section consisted of one physician, one administrator, one nurse, three duty nurses, and one secretary. The hospital census showed six hostel patients, two maternity patients, and two nursery infants. The last evacuee employee of the health section terminated on November 19, and voluntary assistance was given by an evacuee woman who was not on the payroll up to 4:00 P.M. the last day of center occupancy. The last two confinement cases and babies were delivered at Manzanar before the center and hospital services closed on November 21, 1945.

On November 10, the principal medical officer took personal charge of the 27 boxes of ashes remaining in the Buddhist Church at Manzanar. These remains were stored in the camp pharmacy, and permits for their transfer were obtained. The last ashes were transferred from the health section to the evacuee property section for shipment on November 21.

Statistical data for the health section in the Final Report, Manzanar provided information on the number of patients, bed occupancies, clinics, births, and deaths from December 1942 to September 1945. The totals included:

MANZANAR COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISES, INC.

Operating Agreement

During 1943-45, Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises was owned, operated, and managed entirely by the evacuees under the terms of an operating agreement executed with the WRA. The operating agreement between the WRA and Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises, Inc., was executed on March 1, 1943, approximately five months after the Cooperative assumed control of the business. The operating agreement reflected the general pattern determined by the WRA for all cooperatives in the relocation centers as expressed in Administrative Instructions Nos. 26 and 27, and their supplements, and in Section 30.7 of the WRA Manual. The agreement provided:

1. The Cooperative was given a license to operate all private enterprise exclusively within the center.

2. The WRA was to make available necessary space and buildings — to be kept in repair by the WRA — for the operation of the business.

3. The WRA would render financial, legal, personnel training, and other similar services whenever such was feasible.

4. The WRA would provide assistance in establishing working relations between the Cooperative and outside business concerns for procurement of merchandise and operation of its business.

5. The Cooperative would conduct its business in accordance with WRA directives.

6. The Cooperative would select its employees through the WRA personnel section and pay them at project rates, plus clothing allowances, and would pay sick and unemployment allowances.

7. Motor vehicles would be assigned to the Cooperative from the motor pool at cost of operation.

8. The Cooperative books and records should be open at all times to appropriate WRA officials.

9. The Cooperative would provide adequate surety bonds for employees designated by the WRA.

10. The Cooperative would pay all taxes and assessments due under the laws of California and the United States.

11. No members of the Cooperative Congress should be allowed to benefit financially under the provisions of the agreement.

12. The agreement was subject to cancellation upon 30 days' notice by either party.

The operating agreement remained in force during the entire period that the Cooperative was in business at Manzanar. The only changes made were in the minor adjustment of charges for use of WRA vehicles. [62]

Facilities

As the Cooperative business expanded more facilities, supplies, and personnel were needed, including floor space, equipment, employees, materials, and supervision. At the time of its greatest need, it was not possible for the Cooperative to have the amount of floor space required. As the population in the center decreased and more space became available, however, this need diminished. Managers of the Cooperative, as well as many evacuees, hoped that a shopping center would be provided by erection of buildings in one of the center's firebreaks. This plan was never realized, however, because of labor and material shortages. Another proposal for moving several barracks to a firebreak for reconversion into a community shopping center did not materialize because of labor shortages.

Thus, the Cooperative established services in scattered locations throughout the center as space became available. At the time of its greatest expansion, the Cooperative employed 237 evacuees and rented seven barracks and six ironing rooms from the WRA. The rental rate was 28 1/2 cents per square foot per annum for barracks provided with heat, light, power, water, and rubbish removal services, while the rate for unheated warehouses was 23 1/2 cents per square foot.

Dispersal of operating units throughout the center required more supervision, travel, trucking, and duplication of equipment and personnel. For the evacuees, it meant more traveling, confusion as to where each service was located, and loss of time by not being able to perform several errands in a short trip. However, as the population of the center continued to decrease, and as the date for closing the camp approached, there was neither the need for, nor a justification of, expenditures for establishing a shopping center.

Procurement

When the Cooperative was established and took over the business of Manzanar Consumer Enterprises on October 1, 1942, it found a well-established procurement system under the direction of a purchasing agent. Contacts had been made, credit established, goods ordered, and plans developed for purchase of goods to be sold through the various branches of the business still to be established. An operating surplus of nearly $40,000 was already available and was turned over to the Cooperative by its predecessor. Procurement was centralized under the authority of the assistant general manager, who was administratively responsible as purchasing agent to the general manager and acted upon the recommendations of the department heads.

Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises became a member of the Association of California Cooperatives and the Associated Cooperatives of Northern California and joined in establishing the Federation of Center Enterprises. These actions enhanced its credit rating and purchasing contacts and enabled management to secure some goods previously unobtainable.

For some time, many items either could not be purchased on the open market or were very difficult to get in sufficient quantities. Commodities, such as potato chips, soft drinks, candy, and other confections were among the articles that were difficult to obtain.

Manzanar was a new customer in a wartime economy that had numerous shortages of material goods, and dealers generally extended preferential treatment to established accounts. Manufacturers or processors insisted that the local ration board or regional board take steps to augment their supplies of sugar or fats to make it possible to provide for the needs of Manzanar. Such actions were not taken until the Washington office finally intervened and rendered assistance. Over a period of many months, more of these items made from fats and sugar were on sale in the center's canteen, but, as in stores throughout the United States, never in such quantities to meet the demand.

A scarcity of yard goods, clothing items, and shoes also posed problems for the Cooperative at Manzanar. At first, only odd lots of shoes exempt from rationing could be handled, because the Manzanar evacuees did not have shoe ration stamps. In time, this problem eased as stamps were issued to evacuees on the same basis as civilians in the general population, and the supply. type, and quality of shoes in the center improved.

The Manzanar Cooperative was unable to send out buyers in the usual manner of mercantile establishments. At first, WRA travel restrictions on evacuees did not permit them to leave the center at all and later only with approved escort. Purchasing by mail and telephone from Manzanar did not meet the needs of either vendors or consumers. When the Federation of Center Enterprises was established, a procurement office was established in New York City. Three buyers were employed, thus enabling the Cooperative to procure many items that had been unobtainable until that time.

In 1944, the Manzanar Cooperative sent two of its officers, the general manager and the treasurer, to Chicago to attend a joint WRA Cooperative meeting. While there, the representatives contacted firms for the purchase of goods. After the representatives returned to Manzanar, a Miss Watanabe, one of their contacts who had relocated from the center, telegraphed that she had located some desired merchandise, but that the vendor wanted cash before delivery. The representatives quickly sent the sum of $2,500 to complete the purchase. Neither the goods nor the refund ever arrived at Manzanar, and there were no further contacts with the former evacuee. Thus, officials at Manzanar concluded that the money was embezzled.

Merchandising Methods

Prior to its transfer to the Cooperative, the management of the canteen consisted of evacuee men experienced in merchandising. Some of these men, and many trained by them, were carried over into the new management. Stocks and inventories had been built up to a value in excess of $46,000 at the time of the transfer from Manzanar Consumer Enterprises on October 1, 1942.

The general manager of the Cooperative, acting under the authority of the Board of Directors and the Congress of Delegates, was responsible for the determination of merchandising methods. Each of the eventual 16 operating units of the Cooperative had a department manager, assistant, and sale clerks.

As goods arrived at Manzanar, they were sent to one of the Cooperative's three warehouses located to the east of Blocks 2 and 3. As they were requisitioned, goods were delivered from the warehouses to the department managers.

The usual methods of competitive display and sales techniques were not used by the Cooperative at Manzanar, since there were no competing private enterprises and store space was not available for display purposes. Residents could not leave the center to shop in neighboring towns, although they could and did purchase goods through mail order channels. Although there was little need for advertising, evacuees were informed as to what was available in the Cooperative establishments through the Manzanar Free Press, the camp newspaper that was partially subsidized by the Cooperative.

The mark-up on goods sold by the Cooperative varied with the nature of the item and frequency of its turnover. The general mark-up for most items was between 15 and 25 percent, although it was lower on some merchandise that sold readily.

At times there was a financial loss for services such as those furnished by the shoe repair, barber, and beauty shops, because these services could not be performed at a profit for the price the community was willing or able to pay. Such losses were rectified in subsequent periods by an increase in prices for other services or by increased mark-ups in other departments, such as the canteen and general store.

As the population of the center declined in 1945, the Cooperative reduced its stocks and inventories which had reached a peak of approximately $100,000. On September 15, 1945, the stock of the canteen was transferred to a private group who agreed to operate the business for the remaining weeks of the camp's operation. Similar arrangements were made with the fish market, barber, beauty, shoe repair, and watch repair shops, photo studio, and other departments which were still in demand. Following the withdrawal of the check cashing service on September 21, checks were cashed on a restricted basis by the WRA finance office. Motion pictures were discontinued in early November 1945. The general store disposed of its stock via a clearance sale which lasted for more than a month, and the remainder was sold to vendors or jobbers. Thus, the Cooperative membership took only a small loss in liquidating its stock. The administrative offices were closed per resolution of the Congress of Delegates on November 15, and the books, records, and office were transferred to Los Angeles where the remaining business negotiations were to be concluded.

Patronage Rebates

During the period from May 24 to October 1, 1942, when Manzanar Consumer Enterprises operated the center's canteen, a total of nearly $40,000 had accumulated as undivided profits. After the Cooperative took over Consumer Enterprises on October 1, it was to determined to apply this amount toward paid up memberships to all evacuee residents of the center who were 16 years of age and over. This decision, together with future rebates to be declared, was more than sufficient to give the 7,000 adult residents at Manzanar their membership certificates. Additional rebates were declared periodically and paid in the form of cash orders and/or free services redeemable at any of the Cooperative branches. The total rebates for the three years that the Cooperative was in business amounted to more than $150,000.

Following April 1, 1945, no further rebates were declared in anticipation of liquidating Cooperative costs and losses. As of November 13, nearly $7,000 remained in the reserve fund to meet the costs of liquidation. The balance, after all liabilities were met, was to be donated at the discretion of the three trustees to a charitable or philanthropic organization.

Services

When Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises took over the business on October 1, 1942, its administrative offices were housed in one barrack in Block 1. Its services included a canteen located in one barrack in Block 8, a fish market in the ironing room of Block 8, and a general store in one barrack in Block 21. In addition, the Manzanar Free Press was subsidized, and motion picture showings were conducted for camp residents. In late 1942, an outdoor theater was constructed in the firebreak between Blocks 20 and 21 with funds provided by the Cooperative for showing of motion pictures free of charge. During October, the Cooperative established check cashing services in its administrative offices in Block 1, a barber shop in the ironing room of Block 21, a beauty parlor in the ironing room of Block 15, and a mail order service in the ironing room of Block 10.

In January 1943, a shoe repair shop and laundry services were opened in the ironing room of Block 10. Because the work involved in going to the block laundry rooms to wash clothes took more effort than some residents were capable of, or willing to undertake, the WRA had made arrangements with a commercial laundry in a neighboring town to receive work from Manzanar. Because of the inability of the commercial laundry to continue its service and the diminishing amount of work to be done, the laundry at Manzanar was closed in February 1945.

In April 1943, a photo studio was opened in the ironing room of Block 30. All types of photographs were desired by the evacuees, and commercial photographers seldom came to the camp. Cameras were not allowed in the hands of the evacuees at Manzanar except toward the end of the camp's existence. Thus, the Cooperative established a photo studio to centralize photographic services. It became necessary to pro-rate the appointments among the blocks so that all persons would have an opportunity to have photographs taken. The charges were nominal and the service provided by Toyo Miyatake, who had operated a photographic studio in Los Angeles prior to evacuation, was considered "excellent." The studio performed all the work for the school annuals as well as a considerable amount for WRA administrators.

In May 1943, an American Express Company travelers check and money order service was opened in the Cooperative's administrative office in Block 1 to meet the growing needs of those relocating from the center or going out on other types of leave. To meet the demand for artificial flowers for special occasions and sporting goods for the expanding athletic programs at Manzanar, a flower shop and a sporting goods shop were opened in Block 16 in May 1943, and a watch repair shop was established in the ironing room of Block 10. In April 1944, a sewing/dressmaking shop was opened in the ironing room of Block 32. At first, no private sewing machines or other personal equipment were allowed in the center, and the WRA did not provide sewing equipment. Later, however, evacuees were allowed to have their sewing equipment sent to them, and the WRA set up sewing machines in each block under the supervision of the block managers. These machines, however, did not take care of the instances when sewing was performed for hire. The Cooperative sewing shop did not last long, however, because seamstresses could make more money by sewing privately, and customers could save accordingly. The shop was unable to survive the competition presented by "private enterprise."

In May 1944, a gift shop was opened in one barrack in Block 16. Many arts-and-crafts items were made by evacuees in their quarters or in the shops or classes established throughout the center. Because all private enterprise was to be carried on through the Cooperative, a need arose for establishing a shop where such items could be sold at uniform prices. As a result, the gift shop was opened. Makers of articles consigned their products to the shop which established a 15 percent mark-up plus sales tax. However, many makers and buyers resented this 15 percent mark-up and the sales tax when the same or similar articles could be bought on the Manzanar "black market" minus both charges. The gift shop continued to lose money and was finally turned over to the community activities section in December 1944 and operated under a license from the Cooperative. Articles sold in the shop included getas, zoris, embroidery, needle work, sweaters, hand-made clothing, novelties, toys, furniture, water and oil prints, and pencil sketches.

A private employment services unit was opened in the administrative office in Block 1 in June 1944. From the outset, there was demand by evacuees for private employment of evacuees for personal services such as laundry, sewing, and child care. Appointed personnel also desired to employ evacuees for household duties, including cooking, child care, and other personal services. At first, no controls were exercised over this employment in terms of work hours or compensation Eventually. however, the consumer enterprises division in the Washington office issued instructions that all private employment be channeled through the Cooperative and that wages were to conform to those paid for comparable services in neighboring communities. The worker, however, would receive only the regular WRA wage and clothing allowance. The balance of the pay would be retained by the Cooperative to supplement its profits. These instructions were met with widespread opposition and non-compliance, and six months after its inauguration the plan was officially discontinued. [63]

INTERNAL SECURITY

Appointed Personnel

On December 10, 1942, four days after the outbreak of violence at Manzanar, the WRA regional director in San Francisco authorized the employment of ten additional Caucasian men to be employed on the center's internal security force. These men were recruited locally as rapidly as possible, and by January 1943 they were working at the center. Several of the recruits were installed as police officers, but most were served as temporary guards. They were permitted to carry sidearms while patrolling the warehouses and appointed personnel living areas. Most of the guards were later terminated and replaced by men "who were better qualified for the work."

On April 21, 1943, John W. Gilkey, the acting chief internal security officer, was made the chief internal security officer. By May 1943, the center's police force had secured five additional Caucasian internal security officers and seven guards. Officers and guards worked in eight-hour shifts and provided 24-hour coverage to the center. One guard was assigned to the telephone switchboard from midnight to 8:00 A.M., while another guard was assigned to the main gate where he issued passes and checked admissions into the center. Other guards patrolled the center and its perimeter as well as the appointed personnel living area. Guards duplicated the patrols of the evacuee police, "watching for fires and endeavoring to prevent crime."

One of the principal problems encountered in recruiting appointed personnel for the internal security positions was to find qualified men who met the job description. They were to have several years of police experience, plus training in a recognized police school, or a training period in the police department of a war relocation center. Often appointments had to be made in which men lacked one or more of the required qualifications, and the WRA was forced to ask the Civil Service Commission to lower the qualifications for appointment.

Retention of appointed personnel internal security officers was difficult, because ex-police officers often terminated when they could not adapt themselves to conditions in the center. At times, men joined the section with the idea that they were going to "push a bunch of Japs around." When they found that this was not permitted at Manzanar, they terminated. The "type of men wanted, and who were finally obtained, were such as could adapt themselves to a program of crime-prevention, who could learn to work with a minority group, and who, at the same time, could be satisfied with the grind of patrol duties."

All Caucasian appointed personnel police officers attended meetings and classes that were organized to assist them in better understanding the type of police work required in a relocation center. They were also "drilled" in WRA regulations and local county ordinances. Soon it became unnecessary to duplicate the patrols of the evacuee police, and thereafter appointed and evacuee personnel "worked in closer harmony on the force."

In December 1944, the associate chief of internal security segregated to Tule Lake. He was replaced by one of the appointed internal security officers, a retired policeman from Los Angeles. On November 1, 1945, besides the chief and his associate, five internal security officers remained on the force. Two of these men were trained police officers, one was a discharged military police officer, one had been trained at Manzanar first as a guard and later as an internal security officer, and the fifth had worked as a guard in Los Angeles defense plants and had trained with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Evacuee Police

At the time of the outbreak of violence at Manzanar on December 6, 1942, Manzanar had 82 evacuees on its internal police force, including three policewomen and three secretaries. The department was divided into three shifts, an office detail, and an investigation unit. The patrolmen wore armbands to identify them as police officers, while the investigators wore plain clothing.

During the afternoon of the violence, nearly all the evacuee police personnel remained on duty, but by the evening, when the trouble flared into shooting, only six men remained on the job. A few of the younger members of the police department had to be removed from the center to Death Valley for protective purposes. On the morning of December 7, no evacuee police reported for duty.

Some of the evacuee officers expressed a desire to return to duty prior to December 26, 1942, the date of the general return to work by all evacuee personnel. These officers held a meeting and decided to return to duty as soon as the residents of the center expressed a vote of confidence in them as police." The block managers met at Town Hall during which "a vote of confidence was given to the police department."

Reorganization of the Police Department

In late December 1942, a plan to reorganize the police department was presented to the block managers. The WRA authorities recommended that each block be represented in the police department by at least one man, and that the block managers give to the department the names of the men they desired to serve as police officers. If the man nominated qualified as a police officer, he would be placed on the payroll. Shortly after January 1, 1943, the police department 'was completely reorganized with most of the officers on the original force being retained." The detective section, however, became known as "investigators," and were required to wear uniforms or other means of identification.

An advisory council was established, consisting of 14 of the older men in the department. This group served in an advisory capacity to the chief internal security officer and the evacuee chief of police. The advisory council functioned in the department to settle internal misunderstandings and dissension and served as "go-between in family troubles, minor disturbances within the Center, and wherever arbitration was required."

The advisory council conducted hearings whenever an evacuee was recommended for dismissal after which it issued a recommendation for dismissal or probation. The chief reasons for discharge were failure to obey orders of superior officers, failure to cooperate with fellow officers, and "making trouble."

In January 1943, the police instructional school reopened, continuing until early 1945. Policemen completed courses in fingerprinting, investigation, laws and procedures of arrest, and regulations and laws of the State of California and Inyo County Traffic control classes were held for selected groups of patrolmen. After March 1945, new men were trained by older members in the department. In June 1943, the policewomen, who were primarily engaged in investigating family problems, were transferred to the welfare section, when "it was found that the work they had been doing could be handled better' by that section.

In December 1943, the officers of the internal security section asked for another election. Because of "political dissension," however, the advisory council urged the chief of internal security to submit names to Project Director Merritt with the request that he appoint an evacuee chief of police and evacuee supervisors for the department. This plan eliminated "the need for elections and the politics that go with elections." The appointments made by Merritt "were a complete success," according to the Final Report, Manzanar, "because the Project Director had made them, for by this time residents of the Center were more than willing to follow the Project Director's every suggestion."

In March 1944, the internal police department was reorganized again at the "request of the personnel of the department." The chief of internal security was "given complete supervision over the evacuee officers." Thereafter, orders were issued directly to the sergeant of a shift or to the investigators without going through the evacuee chief. The position of evacuee chief was eliminated, and the evacuee who held this title was transferred to the investigators' section and given the rank of captain.

As the center population became smaller during 1943-45, the number of personnel on the police force was gradually reduced. Appointed personnel on the force averaged approximately ten during 1943-45. In January 1943, the evacuee police force was nearly 80, but by January 1944 the size of the force had been reduced to approximately 50. In January 1945, there were 37 evacuee men on the force, but by October 1945 only 12 men remained in the department. By November 1, two evacuees were left on the payroll and these terminated within the first week of that month. When evacuee officers terminated for relocation, they were given an identification card "which the men were proud to have as it represented a token of their service in Manzanar.

After the evacuee police left the center, appointed personnel continued to "give the kind of service which the residents had learned to expect." During the closing period, "extra guarding of warehouses became necessary to prevent fire and theft, and unwanted animals were disposed of by shooting and gassing."

Facilities and Equipment

During 1942-43, the Manzanar police department used three half-ton former Civilian Conservation Corps trucks for "sergeant's patrol and emergency calls.' Better vehicles were secured by the end of 1943, and by the end of 1944, the police were using sedans for patrol. These autos were also used to escort residents in the center and assist the relocation office with departing evacuees.

In late December 1944, call boxes, installed for the use of the camp's Fire Department, were placed at the service of the police for emergencies. Although these boxes aided the police force, they did not "answer the need of a signal system" that the department had requested as early as 1943. Thus, the 'usual way to contact a man was by driving through the Center, locating the officer wanted, and giving the information required."

A jail had been built at the rear of the main office in the police station in 1942. It consisted of a room 20 feet square in which was installed a double tank, rented from the sheriff of Inyo County In 1943, wire mesh was placed over the windows of the room. While adequate for overnight prisoners or for those awaiting trial, the jail was far "from suitable to take care of prisoners serving terms." Thus, space was arranged for such prisoners in the county jail in Independence beginning in 1943.

Police officers were permitted to carry clubs while on patrol. The only other weapon permitted the entire force was a sidearm carried by the chief internal security officer, although it was never "necessary to use either clubs or firearms." Judo holds were sometimes used by evacuee police to make arrests.

Police uniforms had first been introduced in November 1942. As produced by the camp's sewing factory, the uniforms consisted of a wine-colored shirt and green pants. Caps were ordered from a mail-order house, and badges were purchased from a Los Angeles badge company.

Although many of the uniforms "fitted poorly," they were used until the fall of 1944, when new uniforms were donated by the block managers. The new uniforms consisted of khaki pants and shirts to match the caps purchased in 1942.

Police Program

Public Relations. During 1942, the evacuees at Manzanar had shown reluctance to make reports to the center's police force. Policemen were generally looked down upon and were often referred to as "dogs" and "stool pigeons." A few policemen were "beaten up" when off duty. Cooperation from the residents was "completely lacking, and when the police worked with the FBI and other outside agencies, popular feeling ran especially high.' Thus, it was 'realized that this fear, resentment, and lack of cooperation must be broken down and corrected before law enforcement could be made an effective reality."

Following the violence on December 6, 1942, the Judicial Council was eliminated, and Project Director Merritt "took over the job of handling the Project court." Sentences currently being served in Manzanar's jail were converted to probation, jail space was rented from the office of the Inyo County sheriff, and all subsequent sentences were served there. Thereafter, sentences to the jail were never for more than 60 days, and most averaged about ten days. Cases were generally decided by probation and suspended sentences. The project director's court soon became known "as being a fair and impartial one with the residents quite satisfied as to the way it was run."

During 1943, the police department undertook activities to regain the confidence of the people. Police officers called on residents and introduced themselves, offering their services. They began delivering telegrams and messages to the residents, calling them on the telephone, picking up and loading baggage for furlough workers, and escorting evacuee teachers who were working late at night to their homes. Evacuee and appointed police gave lectures in the center's schools and block meetings. Older members of the department began to act as arbitrators in family disputes and neighborhood arguments and to settle minor disturbances out of court. Ambulance calls from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. were covered by the internal security section. In 1944, for instance, the police carried out the following "small services" for the camp residents: car escorts — 3,464; telephone calls — 369; telegram delivery — 905; message delivery — 3,270; and picking up/delivery of baggage — 2,940.

Gradually, the evacuees began to rely on the police "for all types of assistance." More and more people came to the police "with their problems and troubles." Block managers and others would sometimes warn police of anticipated trouble, whereupon the police would attempt to prevent the trouble from developing.

During 1943-45, the police continued their efforts to stem juvenile delinquency by referring most cases to the welfare section. If a juvenile had to appear before the project court for a hearing, the session would be closed with the parents present to assist in any corrective plans that were determined. The police continued their efforts at crime prevention by assisting community activities and promoting recreational programs that were "directed toward guiding the young people of the Center." The greatest accomplishment of the internal security section was "gaining the confidence of the residents of Manzanar.

Appointed personnel also worked to establish cooperative relationships with outside police authorities, such as the Inyo County sheriff's office, "which harbored resentment against the whole WRA program." The chief internal security officer and his assistant called on the sheriff to offer assistance. They conducted classes in photography and criminal investigation in the sheriff's office, assisted the sheriff in collecting evidence after several murders occurred in the county, and hired two local men who had previously worked for the sheriff. Assistance given to local officers in serving civil papers and provided to the FBI and others with business in the center.

Animal Shelter. The police department maintained and supervised an animal shelter built in July 1943 "to care for or dispose of sick and unwanted animals." Prior to this time, it was not "uncommon for passing motorists to dump their animals on the highway near Manzanar and trust to their being taken care of by the residents." Disposal of these unwanted animals presented problems, until the police were given responsibility over all animals in the center. Several months prior to construction of the animal shelter, a police officer was assigned the task of animal regulation, and a set of animal regulations, adapted from the Palo Alto Humane Society Handbook was prepared. Between May 1 and 15, 1943, all dogs in the center were to be licensed free of charge, and a small metal disk containing a number was issued to the owner to be fastened to the neck of the dog by use of a collar. Block managers notified police when unwanted animals appeared in their blocks. These and other unclaimed animals were disposed of at the animal shelter "through the use of a carbon-monoxide gas chamber." With the cooperation of the health section, all dogs were inoculated for rabies and distemper. The hospital reported cases of animal bites to the police, whereupon the biting animal was picked up and impounded for ten days of observation. After examination by the health section for rabies, the animal, if considered safe, was returned to his owner. If considered dangerous or diseased, the animal was put to death.

Safety Proceedings. The Manzanar Safety Council held regular monthly meetings and made recommendations to Project Director Merritt for safety rules and regulations in the center. The associate chief of internal security was the first appointed personnel member to serve on this council, and he participated in it for two years.

A traffic control program was commenced in March 1943. Following traffic surveys, traffic control signs were installed, indicating speed limits, schools and hospital zones, and stop signs. With a few minor changes, the 1941 California Vehicle Code was accepted as the law for regulating vehicular traffic. The maximum speed limit allowed in the center was 20 miles per hour, except for school and hospital zones where it was set at ten miles per hour. WRA drivers' licenses were required for all drivers, examinations being handled through the motor pool supervisors.

The traffic control program resulted in slower driving and fewer accidents in the center. When an accident occurred, it was investigated by the police who made reports to the survey board and the project director. After being cited for a traffic violation, the offender appeared in the project court. Court hearings resulted in fines, license suspension, or suspended sentences.

Patrolling. During 1942-43, the police patrolled the center on foot with "check-ups" by the patrol sergeant in a car. As men became less available during 1944 and 1945, patrol cars supplemented foot patrols. Constant patrols were maintained at all times in sections of the camp that had the most trouble and violations.

Manzanar evacuees "found it a relaxation and pleasure to wander outside the 'mile-square' Center and into the rest of the [relocation] area where they could build fires for picnics." At times, children ventured out to the farm areas where they interfered with agricultural and irrigation work. Thus, the police "outlined two picnic grounds in some groves, made a number of trails and posted signs" to provide designated recreational spots. The public works section built fireplaces and provided caretakers for the picnic grounds. Picnics and fires were not allowed except in the two designated picnic areas.

Recreational regulations were issued by the center's police force. Persons going to picnic areas were required to present a block manager's pass, or if it was a group of persons, a pass from Town Hall. All picnic parties were to use the west gate on the perimeter of the residential area. The gate guard checked and picked up the passes when the picnickers left the residential area. When they returned, the passes were given back to them for return to Town Hall or to the block managers. A report was made to the chief of internal security if people had not returned to the center by closing time. The motor pool provided transportation for food and to small children and the aged and infirm who had passes to go to the picnic areas.

Persons going to the swimming pool were to use the north or west gates on the perimeter of the residential area, but they had to leave and enter through the same gate. The swimming and wading pool could be used from 1:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. on week days and from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. on Sundays when a lifeguard was on duty. The pool was reserved for men on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday. Saturday, and Sunday until 1:00 P.M. Women could use the pool on Thursday and Sunday afternoons from 2:00 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. Children under the age of eight could not use the pool, unless accompanied by an older member of the family. The pool was closed in 1945, because lifeguards were no longer available.

To leave the residential area for work purposes, farm and maintenance crews had a blanket pass held by the foreman of the crew, while each member had a badge. The gate guard checked the pass number, made certain that each member of the crew had a badge, both for leaving and entering the gate, and counted the number of men on the trucks. Farm crews were provided white badges, while maintenance crews had red badges. A blue work badge was issued to men and crews that left the area via the east gate for work projects outside the relocation area.

To enforce the regulations in the picnic areas, the police department established a mounted patrol, for which the horses were rented and later purchased. The evacuee mounted patrol covered a beat of about 10 miles per day. On holidays and Sundays, when large crowds were expected, extra police were assigned to the picnic grounds.

Investigations and Arrests. Police investigations were generally conducted by older evacuee police officers, working under the direction of the chief internal security officer. Exceptions to this rule, however, were made for investigations connected with the violence on December 6, 1942, the FBI, military registration, and immigration officials, all of which were handled by appointed personnel officers. During the military registration, the Army reported to the police the names of evacuees who made threats. Caucasian officers, assisted by other appointed personnel, made immediate arrests, and the troublemakers were removed from the center. Arrests were generally made in the middle of the night without incident. Segregation of evacuees to Tule Lake presented few problems or incidents for the police.

Written reports were prepared by the officers making the case investigations. Evacuee police wrote their own reports, but appointed personnel were assigned to follow up the cases to insure that they had been handled properly.

Arrests were made by both evacuee and appointed personnel. No arrest "was made unless a person was 'caught in the act' or unless a warrant had been issued.' Warrants were not issued "without a complete investigation, and a high degree of certainty that the person named in the warrant was the true offender." As a result, the person "charged generally pleaded guilty and was ready for punishment." There are no records "of a person so charged being found 'not guilty.' "

Relocation Office Assistance. The internal security section assisted the relocation office not only by checking the evacuees in and out of the center but also by preparing identification cards for furlough workers and others. The department took photographs and fingerprints of all evacuees who left the center during 1943 and 1944. Evacuee baggage was picked up at the barracks and loaded into trucks and buses, and the evacuees were escorted to the gate clerk's office by police cars. When evacuees returned to the center from leaves or furloughs, they and their baggage were taken home by evacuee police.

During 1944, a "new problem" was presented to the police "in the return to the Center of evacuees who had gone out on visits." At first, the police checked visitors in and out of the main gate, collected money for meals, and notified the records office of arrivals and departures. Later, the fiscal department collected money for meals, and the records office installed clerks at the main gate to check arrivals and departures. However, the police still kept a record and maintained control over all motor vehicles that entered the center. Motor vehicles were grounded at the police station upon their arrival in the center. Automobiles were not released to evacuees until they left the center.

Violations

With the exception of battery (and battery only during 1942 and 1943), violations of law at Manzanar were infrequent. The type of person involved in battery cases "was the first to relocate, for in general he was the kind who did not like restriction and could not get along with other people."

While all violations of law were brought to the attention of the project director, most were taken care of by the police and without a trial in the project court. Acting as arbitrators, the police were "often better able to handle such cases especially when they were matters of threatened disturbance or family and neighborhood misunderstandings." The method used by the police was "to talk with the disturbers of the peace and in some cases to give a police probation to them.' For instance, in a traffic case involving juvenile offenders, the "boys were given a book on traffic investigation," "ordered to study it," and "write a paper on accident investigation."

Several "unlovely types of private business" which persisted at Manzanar despite law enforcement efforts to eliminate them were gambling and the manufacture and sale of liquor. To a lesser extent, there were "occasional charges of prostitution," but there was little evidence "that immorality, especially for hire," was "a grave issue" in the camp. Some individuals in the camp, according to the community analyst, made "a rather good living by gambling." This form of private enterprise was difficult to cope with "because the laws of the State of California" were "exceedingly mild and the "Project Director's authority" was the "sole instrumentality in dealing with the matter." The manufacture and sale of liquor, "usually rice wine and brandy," posed continuing problems for the police. Brandy, especially, brought high prices among the evacuees. While it was probably impossible to eliminate such traffic entirely, the police made efforts to keep it from getting "out of hand." [64]

Violation of the center's rules against intoxication generally resulted in project court "probations for the first offense.' For the second and subsequent offenses, however, sentences to the county jail were given.

The project regulation that was hardest to prevent was that of "going out of bounds, or, in other words, the act of leaving the Center without a proper pass." According to the Final Report, Manzanar, the "attraction of the mountains for hiking and climbing, the nearby creeks for fishing — not to mention the satisfaction gained from going outside of the Center for a while — were all great temptations to many of the residents." This was "true even when the Military Police were stationed in towers guarding the Center with guns and searchlights." The punishment prescribed by the project court was "generally to be put on probation." Much "attention was given to publicity against this form of conduct, but in spite of all that could be done to prevent it, the 'out of bound' violation never completely stopped.

The total number of cases which were reported to the Manzanar police from September 1942 to November 1945 was 1,285 (there had been 136 arrests prior to September 1942). Of this total, 186 cases were pending at the time of the center's closure, while 1,099 had been closed. A total of 238 persons were arrested in cases arising during this period. These cases were classified as follows:

FIRE PROTECTION

During 1943-45, fire protection services at Manzanar continued to be provided by three platoons of 16 evacuee men each under the direction of an appointed fire protection officer and an assistant fire protection officer. An evacuee fire chief and an assistant evacuee fire chief supervised the three platoons. Until January 2, 1945, the three platoons rotated on an 8-hour schedule. After that date, they went on 24-hour duty, with off-duty periods of 48 hours. Each platoon consisted of one captain, one assistant captain, and 14 firemen. The average number of firemen on regular duty during 1943 was 34, and in 1944 the average number was 40. During both years, the number of volunteer fire fighters was 34.

The camp fire department also had seven fire inspectors, each assigned to a certain portion of the camp to ensure fire safety regulations were employed. The fire inspectors were responsible directly to the fire protection officer. The chief hazards that the inspectors looked for were pennies that had been inserted behind burned-out fuses, homemade electric cookers, frayed or worn extension cords, line overloads, papers or other combustibles stored in or beneath dwellings, and carelessness in places where public assemblies were conducted. The inspectors also supervised the fire drills in the elementary and high schools and gave fire prevention talks in the recreation and mess halls. Each day the platoons were taken out for drill and instruction supervised by the fire protection officer or his assistant.

On April 3, 1943, a Dodge fire truck was delivered to the center. The truck had a pump capacity of 500 gallons per minute and carried 1,200 feet of 2 1/2-inch and 200 feet of 1 1/2-inch fire hose and 150 feet of 1-inch booster tank hose with nozzle. Shortly thereafter, the motor pool provided a 1/2-ton pick-up truck that carried 1,000 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose with nozzles. These two trucks, in addition to the Ford pumper acquired in 1942, permitted the laying of at least five lines of 2 1/2-inch fire hose at major fires.

The total number of fires reported at Manzanar between July 1, 1942, and June 30, 1945, was 91. Of this total, 18 occurred in the mess halls, 27 in the barracks, 17 in the service buildings, and 21 were grass/brush fires. Building damage was estimated to be $6,819, contents damage was $16,096, private loss was $2,933, and government loss was $19,982.

On July 28, 1944, Manzanar's only large fire occurred, destroying warehouses 33, 34, and 35. Origin of the fire was never determined, and the total government loss incurred was $20,632, with $1,581 in additional loss to evacuees who had power and hand carpentry tools stored in the warehouses. The fire was not discovered until flames billowed through the roof. A still alarm preceded the telephoned alarm by several minutes.

All off-duty firemen reported for work, and volunteers were numerous "but of little help, because of a strong south wind which drove the flames toward block 4 and the several blocks in line with it." Evacuees living in the endangered blocks sprinkled their own roofs, while block fire brigades, which had been formed by the block managers at the recommendation of the fire protection officer the year before, wet down roofs of nearby warehouses 16, 17, and 18 and assisted the residents of Block 4 in wetting the roofs of their barracks. Some 1,200 feet of 2 1/2-inch and 150 feet of 1-inch hose were laid at the scene of the fire. All available equipment at the center was on hand for use. [66] In August 1945, the evacuee fire protection force at Manzanar had declined to such a low point that two Caucasian experienced fire fighters were employed to bolster "the dwindling force of evacuee firemen, many of whom were new on the job because of rapid turnover." During the next several months, two additional Caucasians, who had neither previous fire fighting training nor experience, were hired. In September 1945, a new schedule was arranged whereby two platoons, each headed by an assistant fire protection officer and consisting of two fire fighters and such volunteers from the appointed personnel as could be on hand in the event of fire, served 24 hours on duty followed by 24 hours off duty. By November 1, all evacuee firemen had relocated, thus leaving fire protection for the camp in the hands of the hired fire fighters and volunteers from the appointed personnel who continued to receive weekly drills. [67]

COMMUNITY WELFARE

Early in 1943, the center's administrative organization was reorganized with the community welfare section being placed in the division of community management. In addition to the work the section had carried on prior to that time (as discussed in Chapter Ten of this study), welfare took over administration of marriages, funerals, transfers between centers, liaison responsibility between the administration and the center's churches, supervision of the Manzanar Red Cross unit, YMCA and YWCA activities (including the organization's clubhouses and dormitories), housing, and "certain kinds of visits between centers." The welfare section continued clothing allowances, public assistance grants, and family counseling. Ashes of cremated persons were received and held by the welfare section pending building "of columbaria in the churches."

According to the Final Report, Manzanar, the year 1943 "was characterized by stabilization of Center life in general, Welfare working on family counseling, housing, clothing allowances and grants, and particularly on transferees between centers." The registration program, followed by Kibei, segregation and leave clearance hearings (These topics are covered more fully in Chapter 14 of this study.), continued throughout the year "with referral of special family problem cases to Welfare." The work of the welfare section necessitated voluminous record-keeping, and by July 1, 1943, a permanent system of records and monthly reports had been established. [68]

Community Hostel

From the earliest days at Manzanar, the welfare section had proposed construction of a hostel in which blind, aged, and infirm persons could be placed. Most of these persons had no relatives, and, in most cases, although needing medical supervision, they did not require hospitalization.

In February 1943, the Washington office authorized conversion of one barrack next to the hospital into a community hostel. The barrack was converted into a unit for attendant care of chronic patients. Four private rooms and two large dormitory rooms were constructed with two baths, toilets, a small diet kitchen, and one entrance room. The hostel was supervised by the principal medical officer, and its staff was placed on the hospital's payroll. Case work and grants-in-aid for the hostel's occupants were conducted jointly by the medical social worker and the welfare counseling aides.

Personnel and Office Space

During 1942, the welfare staff was limited to one appointed counselor. The following year, one assistant counselor and one junior counselor were added. During 1944 and 1945, additional appointed staff positions, ranging between 9 and 19 from August 1944 to October 1945, were authorized to cover the family counseling and temporary assistance programs related to relocation, a topic which is discussed more fully in Chapter 15 of this study. [69]

In addition to the appointed personnel, the welfare section had a large evacuee staff, since the majority of the section's work was conducted by evacuees. At its peak, the welfare evacuee staff numbered approximately 140 persons, who served as clerical personnel, counseling aides, and supervisors of the Children's Village.

The office space for the section expanded from a single room with benches and tables in July 1942 to space equivalent to about two barracks in 1945 scattered throughout the center. The Children's Village comprised three barracks adjacent to the hospital.

Inter-Camp Transfers

At the time of evacuation, many families were separated because members were living in different evacuation zones. Thus, the WRA made attempts to reunite such families, when the families requested it. Efforts were undertaken to include members of immediate families, dependent parents, married children where the social and economic connections had "been very close," and in some cases more distant relatives. Requests to be transferred were initiated by the family through the welfare section by filling out and signing Form No. 149. Transfers, which were handled through the welfare section, were numerous "through 1942 and reached their peak in 1944." Until the summer of 1944, the time of one evacuee counselor and one stenographer "were completely taken up with transfers."

The first large group of transfers to another relocation center occurred on February 24, 1943, when 181 persons were transferred from Manzanar to the Minidoka War Relocation Center near Twin Falls, Idaho. Although the vast majority of the residents at Manzanar had come from the Los Angeles area, the entire Japanese American population on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound near Seattle, consisting primarily of strawberry farmers and rural entrepreneurs, had been evacuated to Manzanar because the Puyallup Assembly Center was not ready to take them. Arriving at Manzanar on April 1, 1942, the Bainbridge people had been quartered in Block 3. These people had never felt at home in a center composed chiefly of urban southern Californians and asked to be moved to Minidoka, where other friends and acquaintances from their home state of Washington had been sent. The climate at Minidoka was more like what they were used to, and it was closer to the area from which they had been evacuated. [70]

Crystal City Family Internment Camp Transfers

The results of prolonged separation of families in cases involving the internment of family heads were recognized both by the WRA and the Department of Justice. As early as November 1942, inquiries were sent to Manzanar, requesting lists of families of interned members who expressed a desire to join interned family members in an internment camp, if such a camp were established by the Department of Justice. The welfare section was asked to prepare the list and to interview the families involved.

During the period from November 1942 to March 1944, when the last group of families left Manzanar for the Crystal City Family Internment Camp in Texas, families changed their minds, some of them several times. A total of 47 families, comprising 131 persons, originally applied for transfer. The head of the family at Manzanar, as well as each child over 14 years of age, was interviewed "to allow for free personal decisions." A family summary was prepared for each family by welfare section counselors. While families were considering the plan, some of the interned members were paroled to Manzanar, and thus the reunited family remained in the center.

On June 2, 1943, eight families were transferred from Manzanar to Crystal City, and on March 5, 1944, an additional four families were transferred, In all, only twelve families, comprising 24 persons, were transferred.

Internees and Parolees

The internment of alien heads of families, sons, and in a few cases, of wives and mothers, in Department of Justice internment camps caused prolonged separation of families and was, according to the Final Report, Manzanar, "perhaps the most disturbing single factor in the evacuation program." Eight internment camps had been established at Fort Missoula, Montana; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Sharp Park, Colorado; Tuna Canyon, Tujunga, California; Kennedy, Crystal Park, and Seagoville, Texas; and Montreal, North Carolina. Most internees had been taken from their families suddenly during mass FBI raids in the wake of Pearl Harbor with "no chance for adjusting family and business problems." In some cases, internment had "entailed serious financial loss," and in a few cases "illness and mental instability had resulted."

The "fact that definite charges against the interned member could not be known to the family members involved, together with prolonged uncertainty about the future of the internees," was "very disturbing to family life and to morale in general" at Manzanar. Children were particularly affected, and deep resentment and bitterness often accompanied such cases.

Of the total evacuee population at Manzanar, 297 had been interned and were paroled to the center (with 31 actually released). Of this number, 290 were males and 7 were females. In most cases, only one family member had been interned, but in a few cases there were two or more. Approximately 10 percent of the population in the center were members of families in which a member was interned. Of the 297 paroled to Manzanar, 48 were later segregated to Tule Lake, ten were transferred to other centers, and six died. Twenty-eight of those interned had sons in the U.S. Army.

Internees were paroled to Manzanar following completion of hearings conducted by the Department of Justice. If approved for parole, the internees had to obtain formal acceptance from the relocation center before they could rejoin their families. Parolees arrived at Manzanar at periodic intervals, although no "one could be certain when hearings would take place." Months of waiting were involved, and in a few cases family members were allowed to visit interned members. In a "very few cases, where serious illness or death occurred in a family, the interned member was allowed to visit the Center while parole was still pending."

In considering the advisability of accepting a paroled member in the center, upon notice from the Department of Justice that the interned was eligible for parole, the welfare section interviewed the family at Manzanar. In most cases, the family was eager for the interned member to come to Manzanar, but in a few cases, there were family reasons which made this inadvisable. Some wives had become involved with other men during the separation from their husbands. In some cases, this development was discovered before the husband returned, but sometimes it was the duty of the welfare section to help the family clear up these relationships after arrival.

On August 22, 1944, the Department of Justice issued a ruling making provision for cancellation of parole status. This program appealed to many parolees, because special permits were required for parolees to relocate, and cancellation of parole status removed the stigma attached to such persons. After a parolee applied under this program, the Department of Justice contacted the relocation center for an extensive "summary based on the record of the parolee since he had come to Manzanar. The welfare section, working closely with the project attorney's office, prepared about 75 summaries. Lengthy waiting periods ensued, and many parolees did not receive replies to their petitions before relocating. Many decisions were still pending at the time of the closing of Manzanar, and a directive from the Department of Justice for general release of paroled aliens was received after the closing of the center on November 21, 1945.

Children's Village

Harry and Lillian Matsumoto, evacuees appointed as superintendent and assistant superintendent of the Children's Village when it was established opposite Block 29 in June 1942, served in that capacity until July 1944. Eva M. Robbins, assistant counselor at the Jerome War Relocation Center, was transferred to Manzanar to become superintendent in July 1944. Although she had many years of experience in the child welfare field and had supervised other children's institutions, this assignment was her first experience with a group of children of Asian background. While she "found the children 'real Americans,' with reactions of the average institutional child, she also found them more than normally upset by the prospects of another wholesale transfer." Accordingly, she "put forth every effort to insure private-home care for these institutionalized children who longed for 'real homes." ' To help Robbins, Adele L. Moore was hired as assistant superintendent in November 1944. Although she came without professional child welfare training or institutional experience, she had taught school and had training and experience in adult social work. In May 1945, Moore replaced Robbins as superintendent when the latter was transferred to the community welfare office to spend more time on child welfare counseling in the center.

By June 30, 1942, Children's Village had become the home of 62 children, aged one year to 19 years. The facility offered physical and medical care to the children, and provided for their social, recreational, and religious needs. Case work services were given every child "in an effort to know and meet the need for normal development and to give, as far as possible, an understanding to the child of his own position." A case history was kept for each child, and children were discharged to parents, relatives, or to foster homes "as promptly as suitable plans could be completed."

In 1943, several applications came from other relocation centers, requesting long-term care for young infants, born out of wedlock to "school-girl" mothers. The WRA medical social service recommended these referrals to Manzanar as "the situations were most difficult to meet. Because of limited staff, however, the Matsumotos and WRA personnel at Manzanar established a policy to accept no child under four months of age. Nevertheless, the urgency of these cases forced the Children's Village to accept babies at the age of three months. Arrangements for the care of small babies in the nursery were made, and eventually 11 babies were accepted.

After the original group of older children was discharged from the Children's Village, no more boys and girls of high school age were accepted. As time passed, applications came for younger and younger children, so that babies and youngsters gradually took the places of children who were 17 and 18 years old. From September 1942 until the village closed in September 1944 children admitted to the village included those from (1) orphanages who had evacuated with relatives or others, (2) foster homes and broken homes, and (3) families in relocation centers who required temporary care during illness of the mother or other emergencies. Infants of unmarried mothers from hospitals and maternity homes in other relocation centers were also sent to Manzanar for care.

After establishment of the Children's Village, eight children were admitted and six discharged during the remaining months of 1942. As of December 31, 1942, the number of children in the village was 64. During 1943, 21 children were admitted, and 28 were discharged. The following year, 11 children, including one readmission, were taken in, while 23 were discharged. In 1945, three children were readmitted, while 48 were discharged before the village closed on September 21. Thirty-two of those discharged in 1945 left the village in August and September. Of the 101 individual children admitted to the village during its operation, 48 were discharged to parents, two to other relatives, six to foster parents, five to wage homes, ten to boarding homes, and 20 to institutions for temporary care.

One of the emphases of the Children's Village program was the effort to reunite families. As the boys and girls of the initial group finished high school, they were discharged from the village to live with a parent, relative, or friend. Some, who received aid in securing jobs in the eastern United States, relocated early.

Some children in the initial group had parents who had boarded them in the Japanese Children's Home in Los Angeles prior to evacuation. Some of these parents and children were separated during evacuation. Included in this group were six parents located in other relocation centers, whose nine children were finally discharged from the village and transferred to their parents in other centers. With one exception, this reuniting of families was the only placement work done during 1942. A child whose plan for adoptive placement had been started prior to evacuation was placed in January 1943.

The Children's Village undertook considerable efforts to find foster homes for its charges. During December 1943, a series of conferences were held to clarify California adoption laws in relation to the village. The State Department of Social Welfare assumed responsibility for those adoption cases in California where the child was placed by the parent and consent was given for adoption. The California Children's Home Society consented to assume responsibility in cases where a parent wished to relinquish the child for adoption in order to have a foster home found by an agency. Although several cases were presented to the society, however, it was unable to find homes for the children. The WRA attorney in the Washington office determined that the Children's Village only had the legal "role of custodian of its children," and thus did not have "legal status to consent to adoptions."

Despite the effort to find foster homes for the children, few families were found. The WRA was promoting relocation for all evacuees, and a "great wave of insecurity was felt by prospective foster parents within the Center, and few Japanese American families were found who would then consider taking an added responsibility." Because California did not consider placing children "of mixed blood except with families of like mixture," an "additional handicap was experienced in placement work for ten of the children." Many letters of inquiry came from the eastern United States regarding possibilities of receiving a child from Children's Village, but "state law requirements for accepting an out-of-state child hindered many applicants." Complicating the process was the fact that there were requests for more "younger children than were available."

Placement planning for the children passed through three general procedures. Initially, individual contacts were conducted between the village superintendent and the relatives or prospective foster parents, with the Children's Home Society or the State Department of Social Welfare assuming legal responsibility. When area relocation offices were established in 1943, they were asked to assist by securing foster home studies of applicants through local child welfare agencies. The relocation officer assumed responsibility for securing approval of the child's acceptance and placement by the "receiving state" for placements outside California. Any placement from the center in California required consent from the Western Defense Command and the State Department of Social Welfare.

With lifting of the West Coast exclusion order on January 2, 1945, a third procedure was initiated. All village summaries were referred to the respective child welfare division of the state in which the child held legal residence, and that state, together with the county agency, accepted responsibility for placing the child. [71]

EVACUEE PROPERTY

Establishment and Operation

During 1942 and early 1943 evacuee property concerns were handled at Manzanar by the legal division or the welfare section, although other sections occasionally were also involved. As time passed, however, it became clear to project administrators that a separate administrative office should be established to assist the evacuees with problems, such as storage and transportation of personal property, lease or sale of real or other property, collection of rents, and related issues.

The Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco took charge of evacuee-owned personal property during the evacuation, and a considerable amount of this property was shipped to the project in 1942. The welfare section was provided a small crew of warehouse workers, and warehouse space was provided for storage of this property. The crew inventoried all property items, and delivered it to the evacuee owners whenever possible. The owners, however, had little room in their quarters, so a considerable amount remained in storage.

On February 13, 1943, an evacuee property officer was appointed at the camp, and offices for the new evacuee property section were established near the center's Administration Building. The officer reported directly to the assistant project director in charge of the administrative management division. The employees who had been employed by the welfare section to handle evacuee property, as well as the property records, were transferred to the new office. David S. Bromley became the evacuee property officer in January 1944 and remained at Manzanar until after the center closed.

A second office was established in a receiving and shipping warehouse under the supervision of an evacuee who would remain with the section until the fall of 1945. The section began operation with an evacuee crew of 14, but this staff gradually expanded until February 1944 when 44 evacuees were employed by the section. After the segregees were transferred to Tule Lake, the evacuee force was reduced to 22 and later to 13. Early in 1945, the staff was gradually increased as the relocation program progressed, reaching a final peak of 37 in midsummer of 1945.

Six warehouses were assigned to the section. Dead storage, such as the property shipped to the center by the Federal Reserve Bank, was kept in two warehouses. Three warehouses were used for receiving and shipping. One warehouse was used as a lumber storehouse, from which lumber was issued to relocating evacuees who crated their own property.

The evacuee property section, working closely with the project attorney's office, offered advice when requested and assisted evacuees with property questions dealing with real estate, personal property, collections, sales, and shipping. Evacuees were assisted with preparation of forms needed to ship their property to government warehouses for storage or to have property removed from private storage to WRA warehouses, as well as with regard to requests for return of contraband from the Department of Justice. Approximately 85 percent of the cases were settled at Manzanar, but those cases which could not be closed at the center were referred to the San Francisco and Los Angeles field area offices for further attention.

Property Shipment

WRA authorities believed that more personal property had been shipped to Manzanar than other centers because it was situated nearer to the homes of most of the evacuees. Many families had all their furniture in their quarters in the camp, with the "possible exception of cooking ranges." Upon relocating, it was "not unusual for one family to have 60 or 70 crates of personal property to ship to their relocation point."

Most evacuee property was shipped from Manzanar warehouses via Western Truck Lines or the Pacific Motor Trucking Company, a subsidiary of the Southern Pacific Railroad that offered daily service. If shipment was made by rail in carload lots, the property was hauled to Lone Pine, either by government truck or by the Pacific Motor Trucking Company. After the railroad discontinued "door-to-door" delivery service, all shipments to California points were made via Western Truck Lines.

In late 1943 and early 1944, the evacuee property section had charge of the shipment of personal property and baggage for the more than 2,000 segregees who were transferred to Tule Lake. As families were listed for transfer, the section checked on their needs for lumber and packing material and delivered this material to them. Three evacuee property crews were formed to call on each family, list their property on appropriate forms, and have the forms signed by the family head. Pick-up crews followed, accompanied by military police who inspected each crate for contraband, and delivered the property to assigned warehouses. As soon as property was stored in a warehouse, it was placed under military guard until the segregees and their property left the center. Personal baggage was picked up the day before the segregants were to leave, tagged, and placed in warehouses guarded by military police. On the morning of departure, this baggage was loaded on trucks and delivered to the Lone Pine train station by evacuee employees with special passes. After the segregants left, arrangements were made with Lyon Van and Storage Company to send three "expert car loaders" to Lone Pine to ensure full utilization of the freight cars.

Arrangements were made with Pacific Motor Trucking Company to haul the goods from Manzanar to Lone Pine train station A crew of evacuee workers from Manzanar was sent to Lone Pine on special passes to assist in unloading the trucks. A carload a day was shipped for 17 days, reaching a total aggregate weight of 700,000 pounds.

Military Inspection

Until April 1944, all incoming shipments for evacuees were inspected by the military police, and any contraband articles were removed. The ruling on contraband was subject, in part, to the interpretation placed upon it by the commanding officer of the military police detachment at each relocation center. At Manzanar, for instance, kitchen knives and potato parers were confiscated. Sharp tools, such as hatchets and chisels, were taken, as were cameras and short-wave radios. As contraband was accumulated by the military police, it was boxed and shipped to the Lyon Van and Storage Company in Los Angeles, where it was stored for the Army. A complete record of confiscated contraband was kept after establishment of the evacuee property section. Late in 1944, when the government lifted most restrictions on contraband, the confiscated articles were returned to the WRA for distribution to the owners upon their request. Military inspection was discontinued in April 1944, and no more contraband was seized after that date.

Final Phases

After the exclusion orders were lifted on January 2, 1945, it was anticipated that a large number of evacuees would make plans to relocate to their former homes on west coast. A Manzanar planning committee was appointed to assist the evacuee property officer to arrange for the orderly movement of evacuee-owned property. This committee, which included the relocation officer, senior engineer, property control officer, and supply officer, developed plans for expediting the movement of property.

Additional evacuee personnel were hired, and a crating, or box-making, plant was established in a warehouse where all property would be crated preparatory to shipment. New forms were developed to tally itemized property picked up from evacuees' residences and crated. The general rule was two boxes for three persons, but if a family indicated that it needed more they were issued additional boxes.

As the relocation program continued, it became increasingly difficult to obtain adequate evacuee help, thus making it necessary to issue lumber to individual evacuees so that they could do their own crating. The small crating crew crated property that belonged to sick relocatees or to women who were left in camp and unable to do their own crating. After all evacuee craters had relocated, a few Caucasian carpenters were employed to complete the job.

Individual evacuees were requested, whenever possible, to pick up their lumber and deliver their goods to the warehouses. Some borrowed trucks from various sections in the center to haul their lumber and deliver their property. Others, who were unable to do so, were asked to lock their belongings in their quarters, and leave the key with the evacuee property officer who would pick up their belongings as quickly as possible.

Finally, it became necessary to deliver truck loads of lumber to the block manager's offices. They in turn issued the lumber to evacuees in their blocks according to need.

The Terminal Islanders, located primarily in Blocks 9 and 10, presented special problems for the evacuee property section. Early in October 1945, the relocation office began negotiating for the mass movement of all Terminal Islanders to a single housing project in the Los Angeles area. On a Friday afternoon, the evacuee property officer was advised that this group must be prepared to move the following Tuesday morning to a temporary housing project at Long Beach. Since some 73 families were involved, the section was faced with the almost impossible task of getting all of the Terminal Islanders' property picked up and stored before they left.

The block managers and the evacuee property officer agreed that volunteer labor would pick up and deliver all goods to the if the WRA would furnish the trucks. Two mess halls were set aside for storage of the Terminal Islanders' belongings. Starting on Sunday noon, Terminal Island men turned out in masse and worked until 10:00 P.M. that night, finishing the work the next morning. When the evacuees had completed their work, two mess halls were "crammed full of property, all properly marked and numbered."

When the last evacuee departed from Manzanar on November 21, 1945, approximately 100 family lots of property which had not been picked up were still left in the barracks or warehouses. These lots were soon picked up, the work being completed in approximately two weeks.

The property of the Terminal Islanders, as well as that of other evacuees who left the center during its final months of operation, had not been weighed. After this was accomplished, letters were sent to the Terminal Island evacuees who had goods in project storage beyond the 60-day limit. By January 17, shipping instructions had been received on all but two of the 73 lots stored at Manzanar.

In January 1946, it was estimated that about 30 lots of property would have to be shipped from Manzanar to the government warehouse in Los Angeles, because of the inability of their owners to accept them. In addition, there were ten unidentified items, for the most part of negligible value, and four small lots of property which had belonged to deceased evacuees without heirs, which would probably also be shipped to the warehouse.

Accomplishments

The evacuee property section at Manzanar handled a total of 1,260 cases relating to evacuee property during its three years of existence. These cases, which amounted to nearly $180,000, included sales of real (farm land, hotels and apartments, residences, stores and shops, and industrial property) and personal (farm machinery, automobiles, trucks, store fixtures and equipment, and household furniture) property, real estate leases (farm land, hotels and apartments, residences, stores and shops, and industrial property), debt adjustments, and collection of old accounts. A total of 3,080 lots of family goods were received at Manzanar, while 4,262 lots were shipped to relocation points and 796 lots were shipped to other relocation centers. [72]

Photo 56 Line crew at work, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Authority;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 57: Sumiko Shigematsu, foreman of power sewing machine women, 1943;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 58: Benji Igushi driving tractor, 1943, Manzanar war Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 59: Potato field, 1943, Manzanar war Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 60: Guayule field, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs,Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 61: Hog farm, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 62: Oil storage tanks with school children, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph Collection, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 63: Science lecture, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 64: Third grade class, Manzanar War Relocation Center; photo by Francis Stewart, February 10, 1943;
RG 210, Still Pictures Branch, National Archives and Records Administration.

Photo 65: Dancing in the auditorium, ca. 1944, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph Collection, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 66: High school graduation ceremony, auditorium, 1944, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph Collection, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 67: Sunday school class, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 68: People leaving Buddhist church, winter, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 69: Evacuee fire department, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 70: Baseball game, looking east, observation deck in background, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 71: Basketball game, guard tower in background, looking west, Manzanar war Relocation Center;
Toyo Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 72: Girl's volleyball game, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 73: Golf course, Manzanar War Relocation Center; photo by Francis Stewart, February 13, 1943;
RG 210, Still Pictures Branch, National Archives and Records Administration.

Photo 74: Band concert, outdoor theater, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 75: Manzanar Cooperative Enterprises store, 1943, Majako Suguki, clerk; Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 76: Manzanar Co-Operative Enterprises office, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 77: "Handy Family, Block 20," Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph Collection, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 78: Funeral services in auditorium for Rev. S. Nagatomi, Buddhist priest, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph Collection, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 79: Roy Takeno, editor, Manzanar Free Press, and two men in front of newspaper office, 1943, Manzanar war Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 80: Roy Takeno, town hail meeting, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 81: "Mr. Ishi, Flower Grower," Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Toyo Miyatake Photograph Collection, Toyo Miyatake Studio, San Gabriel, California.

Photo 82: Mess line, noon, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.

Photo 83: Toyo Miyatake family, 1943, Manzanar War Relocation Center;
Ansel Adams Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.