Skies over Manzanar

The day we visited Manzanar the skies were a beautiful blue and filled with spectacular clouds. When we moved to the Owens Valley in 1977 there was little to indicate what was significant about this place. I'm not sure this sign was in place then. There was a simple sign on the highway that said "Manzanar" and pointed to the entrance.

There were usually cars parked by the old guard house. I always wondered who these people were. What did this place mean to them? Had they lived here? Had their parents?

In addition to the old guard house, the old auditorium remains. When we lived in the area it was used as a maintenance building for the Inyo County Road Department. The Park Service now uses it as an interpretive center. Here you can see a film about the internment with the voices of many who had lived here.

At the site of one of the gardens I tried to visualize what it must of looked like when it was being cared for.

But the cemetery was the most moving place.

We were there just after Memorial Day and we could see the many tokens that had been left. There is a Japanese legend that who ever folds 1000 paper cranes will have their heart's desire come true. From this legend has evolved a tradition that 1000 paper cranes symbolize world peace. I'm sure that there are at least 1000 paper cranes in this wreath.

There were many smaller tokens left as well.

I suppose there are many people who still do not realize that we imprisoned 120,000 people, most of them born American citizens in ten camps just because of their race. None of these people were ever accused of a crime much less convicted

It would be impossible to visit Manzanar and not think of how we can allow fear and prejudice to cause us to treat a group inhumanely.

It would be impossible to visit Manzanar and not see parallels to what has happened over last 7 years and is still happening today.

You can find more information about Manzanar at the Park Service site.
The Library of Congress has many pictures taken at Manzanar by Ansel Adams here.

You can see find many beautiful skies, most without a lecture,

by clicking here.

Manzanar Garden

What's that, no water here? There was in the early 1940's

Open your imagination and see a Japanese garden with water running down a stream into a pond.

Ten thousand people, most of them American citizens were sent to Manzanar. They had done nothing wrong, they were there simply because there ancestors had been born in Japan. Many tried to make the best of a bad situation and tried to bring some beauty into this bleak landscape. With water and care, this desert can bloom but it is hot, windy and dusty in summer and bitter cold in the winter. The barracks, hastily built, offered inadequate protection.
I'll have more on Manzanar latter in the week.

For more watery sites click here.