Stones That Speak

Relocation: Blossoms in the Wilderness

By Tom January 17, 2022Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Preparing for Relocation Ministry in the assembly centers was often challenging due to squalid conditions and the uncertain future. The Christian church, however, established a sense of normalcy for evacuees…

Santa Anita & Mayer Assembly Centers

By Tom January 10, 2022Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Santa Anita in Arcadia, California, was the most-populated assembly center, holding 18,937 people by official figures. The first evacuees began arriving on April 3, Good Friday, and continued coming throughout…

Tulare & Pomona Assembly Centers

By Tom January 3, 2022Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire1 Comment

Tulare Between May 12-14, 1942, non-Japanese Christians from Pasadena ministered to evacuees departing for the Tulare Assembly Center housed on the county fairgrounds: Friends, cooperating with other church workers, were…

Pinedale & Fresno Assembly Centers

By Tom December 27, 2021Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Pinedale The Pinedale Assembly Center, located just outside Fresno, California, was called “hell’s acre” by the internees because it was unbearably hot—up to 120 degrees in the shade (if there…

Tanforan & Salinas Assembly Centers

By Tom December 20, 2021Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Tanforan The Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California, was a former race track built for horses, and the horse stalls were the living quarters for the people. Horse stalls…

Assembly Centers in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys

By Tom December 13, 2021Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Marysville The Marysville Assembly Center was located at a migrant workers’ camp about eight miles south of Marysville. It was also known as the Arboga Assembly Center after the nearby…

Portland & Stockton Assembly Centers

By Tom December 6, 2021Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Portland Rev. Andrew Kuroda, pastor of the Salem Japanese Community Church, wrote a lengthy letter to friends and associates before entering the Portland Assembly Center, stating that he was “determined…

Puyallup Assembly Center

By Tom November 29, 2021Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Families from the Seattle area were mainly sent to the Puyallup Assembly Center on the grounds of the Western Washington State Fairgrounds.[1] According to Floyd Schmoe, In Seattle, the orders…

Assembly: Not Neglecting to Meet Together

By Tom November 22, 2021Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

Throughout the spring of 1942 the U.S. Army hastily converted racetracks, fairgrounds, and parks into seventeen temporary facilities for residence.[1] The shock of these assembly centers remained so fresh in…

Love Beyond Words

By Tom November 15, 2021Asian American History, Japanese, The Church Behind Barbed Wire

During the Japanese American internment, Christians of all ethnicities engaged in personal ministry to those who were suffering. The stories recorded here have only represented a handful of those which…