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

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-9- many gems and minerals, which is how the camp got its name, Topaz. There was nothing but sage brush for vegetation, until later when the Japanese brought in a few trees. There were twisters and whirlwinds and heat in the summer and snow in the winter. The spring was fairly nice, at which time the sagebrush appeared to be a little greener than in winter. Dust, though, was the main problem. "For dust was the principal ingredient of commuinity existence at the beginning. It pervaded and accompanied every activity from sleeping and eating and breathing on through all the multitude of other pursuits necessary to maintain the city."25 "Despite understandable resentment and hundreds of special problems, Topaz was an orderly industrious community. The camp was so organized that it was the headquarters of the Buddhist Church in America during the period ... 26 Buddhism was the principal religion of the Japanese. The city had a hospital, three pre-school nurseries, two elementary schools, a high school and adult education classes. There were nearly 3,000 students in school and eventually Topaz would hand out more than a thousand high school diplomas.27 The adult education classes covered such subjects as Americanization, English, art of Japanese flower arrangement, automobile repair, American foreign policy and world affairs and forums in Japanese. Topaz also had an excellent library with many volumes of books. A football team from Topaz High School beat