Browse Items (140 total)
- Collection: Kay's Work and Personal Correspondence
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1942 12 6, Letter from Kay to Grace
Kay describes camp in more honest detail. "It's been a terrible nightmare that few of us shall forget." She describes shoveling dust out of the house.
1942 12 7, Letter from Kay to Miss Howey
Kay writes about first arriving at Topaz. The army uprooted the shrubs greesewood, that grow in the area. So the dust storms were worse than usual. They weren't finished with the barracks, so they slept at first 200 in a row on cement floors of the…
1942 12 11 Letter from Mrs. Duveneck to Kay
about working in the Philadelphia Office
1942 12 24, Letter from Kay to Mrs. Duveneck
Kay describes a trip that the Community Welfare Department was allowed to go on, a hike 35 miles away from Topaz. One ailing man went missing. They searched for him in the terrain for three days and found him. He wanted to commit suicide and had…
1942 12 27, Letter from Kay to Leila & Lillie Margaret
Kay describes Christmas in Topaz, receiving anonymous gifts from all over the U.S. for kids in camp.
1943 1 5 Letter from Caleb Foote to Kay
Letter asking her for anecdotes (moving or humorous), thoughts on a solution (and Japanese-Caucasian relations), thoughts on the cause of evacuation (political or propaganda, economic), pictures of Japanese in America (before during or after…
1943 Feb 26 Letter from Kay to Martha at Washington University
A letter to Kay Yamshita from Martha, a Japanese-American college student whom Kay helped relocate to Washington University in St. Louis. Marhta descrives her journey to St. Louis and life at the university. She also descrives a committee set up by…
1943 3 4, Fellowship of Reconciliation to Kay
The Fellowship of Reconciliation reaches out to Kay as allies on the outside of camp. Note: Members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation work with Gordon Hirabayashi and visit him when he is in jail in Washington State for refusing evacuation orders.
1943 March 27 Notice on action on Kay's leave clearance application
Kay is notified on March 27, 1943 that she has been cleared for indefinite leave in the Easter Defense Command. This notice does not authorize departure from camp. She must apply again to leave.
1943 4 2 , Letter from Kay to Mr. and Mrs. Duveneck.
Kay thanks them for Christmas gift of fabric. Tomi will sew a dress but has to wait her turn on the block sewing machine. An elderly man was fatally shot for getting to close to the barbed wire fence. The M.P. was court marshalled.
1943 4 19 Letter from Kay to Margaret of Fellowship of Reconciliation
Kay writes about discussion groups in camp on African Americans (she mentions Richard Wright's book, 12 Million Black Voices) and Japan's political history, Kay asks Margaret for a loan of $100 to move to Chicago.
1943 1 16, 1943 4 16 Letter from Kay to Ms. Howey
Kay writes about the emotional states of students in camp: cynical, bitter, broken, stoic, determined, and radiant. She also writes about getting permanent leave permit, but is staying to work for student relocation in the camp because there is so…
1943 2 23 Martha at Washington University in St. Louis writes to Kay in Topaz
Martha, at Washington University in St. Louis writes updates to Kay- thirty JA students met up to talk about how they could share notes. They don't want to make a formal group, only a workshop, so as not to be "an obvious congregation of Japanese."…
1943 2 24, Kay writes to get a job with social security board in Washington D.C.
She mentions that when she left Tanforan to testify in the Ryder Case, she was offered a job to stay in Washington D.C., but couldn't take it because she was traveling with her mother. Her former boss had tried to get her a job outside of the camp…
1943 3 6 Letter from Mrs. Duveneck to Kay
Josephine Duveneck hears that Kay was not allowed or approved to leave Topaz to go to Philadelphia to work (not sure why). Duveneck is looking into getting Kay to go to the Chicago office of AFSC.