Topaz Oral History Project research files: Published articles (1920s-1980s)

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Keetley Farms 339 effort do not truly understand the situation .... They are not only willing, but eager to help." The article stressed that the migrants had come at their own expense, and it concluded by emphasizing Fisher's view that local residents had received them favorably. 33 It appeared that the tide had turned, and Keetley's new residents had been accepted. Within the next few months relations continued to improve. The Park City Record reported that Fisher had addressed the local Kiwanis Club in late May-an indication that he had not been ostracized for his Japanese initiative. Fisher proudly told the gathering that the Salt Lake YMCA had commended him for the fine work he was doing with "these people" and hoped he would continue since "proper understanding" was most necessary. The mayor of Keetley told the Kiwanians that the Japanese were certainly better off producing food than they would be "if herded in a concentration camp ... costing taxpayers a thousand dollars a day."34 A month later the Park City paper carried a story from the Salt Lake Telegram which, it said, had run nearly a page of illustrations on the activities at Keetley, including pictures of Fred Wada with the superintendent of the New Park Mining company. The Telegram reported that the new residents had had no trouble with their neighbors, who had gradually accepted them. The Japanese Ameri­cans hoped to pay off their lease and to show a profit; their children, meanwhile, planned to enter the local schools in the fall. A flag flying at Keetley junction proclaimed the group's motto: "Food for Freedom. " 35 · The Japanese first busied themselves repairing the abandoned buildings in which they resided. Once the spring snow began to melt they cleared the sagebrush from the land, dug out the rocks by hand, and then began to plant a large truck garden with lettuce and strawberries. They raised chickens (which they quickly ate) and pigs and goats. The two experienced farmers among them directed the work. But the season was short; snow fell again on September 9.36 AI though the farmers toiled seven days a week, there were other activities too. The first thing they had built was a large Japanese bath for the tub Wada had hauled from California. The women knitted ''Park City Record, April 16, 1942. H Park City Record, May 21, 1942 . .ss Park City Record, June 25, 1942. 36 Tsujimoto, "Letter to Ophelia;" Oral History, Fred lsamu Wada, p. 68.