Premiere Issues 1-5

Sept. 17, 1942

Page 1: A welcome to Topaz message.

The masthead and greeting for the first issue.

Page 2: What happened the first day, a description of Topaz itself, a list of the staff, an article on where to go for different needs, and an operation has been performed.

Interesting differences in use of words.

Page 3: A list of administration and staff. An article on scrap lumber. Hand baggage that had been on the buses can be picked up. Elementary and high school will both open soon. There are short articles about the fire extinguishers, and where the camp's water comes from.

Page 4: See below.

Various parts of the camp.

September 26, 1942

A different masthead.

Page 1: Certain blocks will soon be electing councilmen. Topaz has 4,248 people in it at the moment. The United States Employment Service will be offering some jobs outside the camp, mainly agricultural.

Page 2: There will be 3000 to 3500 people employed in Topaz itself. There's an article on the community center, the canteen, and other places in the camp.

Page 3: The article on elections from page 1 continues. There's an article on housing. There has been the first birth, the first death (at a sanitarium), and a visitors. There's also a bit about one resident that others thought had died but was very much alive.

Page 4: Church notes. Teachers are needed. There's a short bit on adult education. There's also short bits on accounting, night lites, and scrap lumber. There's also a schedule, which includes a dance, a Drum & Bugle Corps, and a handicrafts class.

Page 5: The page is entitled Administration. A list of administrators. A repeat of the director's message from an earlier issue. An article on Charles F. Ernst.

Page 6: See below.

A slightly different map from the one given in an earlier issue.

Issue 3: Sept. 30, 1942

Page 1: Seven councilmen will be inducted that night. There's an article on finding work outside the camp for Topaz residents. There's an article on the post office, and farm workers for a beet harvest are needed.

Page 2: Entitled Divisions. This is basically bits and pieces about how things are running in the camp. It includes short bits on the dining halls, food, the milk supply, staff duties, housing, public safety, adjustments, a mattress problem, a short of people arriving from Tanforan, and another short on arrivals.

Page 3: Another Divisions page. Articles on drivers, public works, the staff, city buildings, fire prevention, a fire alarm system, beautification, and athletic fields.

Page 4: A third page on Divisions, reproduced below.

Page 5: The page is called The City, but it's really like the Divisions pages. There was a truck accident and the driver was slightly injured. There's been another birth. There also articles on safety and the water supply, and a continuation of hte article on the community council from page 1.

Page 6: The article on the need for workers continues.

A map of the area.

Issue 4: Oct. 3, 1942

Page 1: Eight representatives will take the Council oath. 58 residents left to work in the sugar beet fields. Work is underway for the distribution of basic clothing.

Page 2: This is The City information page. A purse with $300 in it has been lost. Block 2 has opened. An article from the first page continues. A baby has been born, and the hospital has a new adult wing.

Page 3: Divisions, more information about various sections of the camp. Included are welfare, adult

education, maintenance and transportation.

Page 4: Church Notes and a Bulletin Board section which is sort of a collection of different short notes. The transportation article continues.

Unlike the previous two issues, this one only contains four pages.

Issue 5: Oct. 7, 1942

Page 1: Myer gave a speech, saying he hopes the Topaz residents will be able to relocate to other places in the country by the time the war is over. The Topaz Cooperative is forming. The City section starts here, and starts off talking about housing.

Page 2: The Divisions page, with more general information about the camp, starting with schooling, then moving on to welfare and the hospital.

Page 3: This page is entitled People, and some of the material deals with specific people. The first article is about the beet workers. A six-year-old boy became lost and was found by an adult who took him to the lost-and-found department. A worker there recognized the boy and they took him home. There's a letter from Tanforan, and the article on the hospital continues.

Page 4: The City Continues, with information on work furlough, the post office, the canteen, new offices and transfers. The article on Myer's speech continues on this page.



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