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Show This text message is used to keep the image from rotating in ocr process. Be sure to crop the top .25" off after the ocr process. Topaz Times -- Page 4 Artwork on Topaz to be displayed in Salt Lake City Josef Ostraff and three other artists, two photographers and a cinematographer, will display an installation about Topaz at the Rio Grande Art Gallery in Salt Lake City from March 18 to April 29. The opening of the show will be on March 18 from 6-8 p.m. and the artists' reception will be on April 15 from 6-8 p.m. The title of the exhibit is "Topaz: Re-opening an American Internment Camp. " Ostraff lived near Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state . While going to work he noticed an abandoned nursery which he later found out had been owned by Nikkei who were incarcerated during WWII. Later, when he was living in Utah , he read an article in a newspaper about Topaz and began visiting the site. "It was the desolation and the sound of gravel under my feet I remembered most. " From his visits at the site, his art evolved . He said , "The camp is not re-opened , it is my heart that is opened ." Topaz Museum Board joins with Utah Valley State College's public history program For over a year, the Topaz Museum Boa rd and history professors from UVSC have worked together to form a partnership. UVSC has wanted to begin a public history program to train thei r students in designing , curating and running museums . They will utilize the Delta area for their students to do internshi ps gathering oral histories, archiving materials and planning public programs. Last year Cherstin Lyon , a history teacher, brought students to Delta to interview residents about their experiences during World Wa r II , to vis it the Topaz site, and to get a feeling of what it is like gathering history from primary sources . Now after further consultation and plann ing, the two groups are moving toward a more formal plan to integ rate their programs. Look for both students and professors to come to the Pi lgrimage on June 11. Scouts from Northern Utah volunteers to help preserve the Topaz site for an Eagle Scout project. The signs urge visitors to respect the historic property Boy Scouts erect signs at Topaz site Brian Namba and other Scout leaders from northern Utah brought nine Boy Scouts from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Delta last summer. They came to help one of the boys finish his Eagle Scout project. The Topaz Museum board provided four signs explaining to visitors that Topaz is a historic site to be respected . The boys, ranging in ages from 12-15 years old, attached the signs to poles , dug holes with a posthole digger and then cemented the signs into the ground. While they were working Clair Ostlund Peterson, her husband John, and her brother happened to visit the camp. Clair's parents had taught at the camp, so she talked with the boys about what she remembered . She told them about the Iwaki family who took care of them while their parents were teaching. The couple thanked the boys for the work they were doing to preserve the camp . The young men have plans to do more projects at the site . Plan a family reunion for the Topaz Pilgrimage. Activities for the whole family. Bentos. Music. Tours. Displays of artwork and artifacts. Learn about Topaz. June 11, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. Delta, Utah |
