I got to spend some time with World War II this week. The war itself doesn't interest me—I don't care about battles and politics. That's probably why I didn't care for history growing up. But WWII on the home front does interest me more, because it's more likely to touch on cultural history, which is what I actually like.
First, on Thursday evening, I attended an event by the Mildred Berryman Institute for LGBTIQ2S+ Utah History about queer belonging during WWII. The lecture was given by one of my professors from grad school. It was enjoyable, and I learned a lot! But I didn't stick around long after it was over, so I could go swimming.
But the more significant event was on Saturday. The Utah Historical Society had a special bus trip to Topaz, where Japanese Americans were incarcerated* during the war. It was for members of the society, but then they opened it up to staff to go along for free. A free adventure? Why wouldn't I go!?
*The camps are often called internment camps or relocation centers or evacuation centers. But these terms all downplay the morally repugnant practice of forcing American citizens and immigrants to move into camps. Incarceration camp is more commonly preferred now.
We drove down to Delta to the Topaz Museum, which opened around 2014. Even though I have two uncles who have lived in the Delta area, I had never been. There were some other people at the museum who apparently thought it was a rock museum.
Inside, they had a room set up like an original barrack would have looked like, furnished with actual items from Topaz that people had donated.
The ironing board was made by a woman while she was incarcerated. The table and chairs were made by an old man who had been incarcerated, but he made them years later.
In the back, they had part of an original building that was meant to look like it might have originally. It had tar paper on the sides and roof, with no insulation, making it super hot or super cold.
The back left corner has original sheetrock, but most of the rest of it has been reconstructed.
And the museum had various artifacts. It was a wordy museum, and I didn't read much, but it was a clean, modern museum with a small gift shop.
Incarcerees used to collect arrowheads
Then we got on the bus, and one of the museum guides, Scott Bassett, came with us. He showed us various homes and buildings in the Delta area that were built from old Topaz buildings, and he talked about growing up in the nearby community of Sutherland. Since my Uncle Mike used to live in Sutherland, at one of our stops, I asked him, "Do you know Mike Melville?" He said, "Oh, Mike! He's my relative." So I said, "That means we're related, because he's my uncle." We eventually determined he's my third cousin once removed, and he's in the same ward as my Uncle John in Delta. One of my colleagues was disappointed we didn't get a picture together.
That's my third cousin once removed
We stopped at the welcoming spot for modern visitors, where there's a plaque and "Topaz" written in barbed wire.
Then we went on the grounds of the camp. All the buildings are gone, and the artifacts are pretty picked over, but there are some building foundations, lots of leftover wood, and bits of glass and metal strewn all over the ground. It is amazing that all these things are still sitting on the desert floor after more than eighty years, though I guess that's not really all that long ago. Scott was incredibly knowledgeable about all the buildings that had been there.
This was sewer access
This was a bowl for making mochi
There was a really cool spider on a really cool web
This was a rock garden
There were tons of old nails on the ground
Tar paper from the roofs
Window screens
The top of a bottle
The West Desert is nothing like the Pacific coast, where all the incarcerees came from
Then on the way home, I read a book that I had bought at the museum. I have actually worked on quite a few articles about Topaz for Utah Historical Quarterly, and for one of them, I came across a diary of a third-grade class, which is digitized online, and I fell in love with it. This book partly tells the story of the class journal, but it's more about day-to-day life in Topaz generally. I have included some of the entries from the journal.
I was astonished to learn they used to collect spiders because they could use their webs in gunsights!
Of course, I'm interested in the entry about Easter . . .
. . . and the Fourth of July.
Another random thing from this week. I was working an a UHQ article about Topaz, and a reference to D-Day gave me a random memory. In fifth grade, our class had a pen pal from South Korea who peppered her letter with little stickers that had small pictures with English words. We were very amused by the placement of the stickers, like "Bye now! [dinner] [dinner]." But one sentence included "D-Day" stickers. What a weird thing to put on a sticker for children! (I just asked Google Gemini about it—I know, I know, I shouldn't use AI—and it tells me that "D-Day" in Korea referred to any big event, not the 1944 event.)
***
My week wasn't all about WWII. On Tuesday, I went to our state offices because we are moving buildings. We had to finish packing before our official move this week. I've been coming to this building in Millcreek for three and a half years now, but I won't miss it. It was an old, bleak building. But I will miss being close to the Normal Ice Cream truck.
On Wednesday evening, I went on a short trail run after dark (when it was cooler) to Springhill Geologic Park. As I got there, I saw a spider making a web directly across the trail. I didn't want to ruin the spider's progress, but it seemed unreasonable to turn around just for a spider. So I was able to successfully step over the spider's web without disturbing it. And then at the end of the run, I was able to step over it again on the way back. That's four times I successfully stepped over it, since I have two legs (unlike the spider).
And I still have five stores for the Independent Bookstore Crawl. One of them was located in Smithfield, but they have lost their brick-and-mortar store for now. They announced they were at Layton Fest, a vendor fair, so I went up on Friday evening, intending to get my map stamped. Unfortunately, right as we (my mom and I) got there, there was a storm, and all the vendors had to pack up. So I'll have to get my stamp another way. (I'm thinking of going to Logan's Art Beat this coming weekend to see them.)
Wow, it was a fun, satisfying Pioneer Day week! (For the most part.)
On Monday, I went into the office and logged in to my work email, where I saw a message from my colleague who's the director of the Museum of Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune was conducting an interview about the history of Pioneer Day, and he was willing to do the interview, but I could do it since I'm the expert on Pioneer Day.
I was delighted to see such a request. But the interview would be taking place within the next hour, so I immediately headed over to the museum, where I met the reporter (Addie Baird) and the cameraman (Trevor Christensen). If I had known I was going to be interviewed that morning, I might have dressed differently, but it was fine. (My salmon-colored pants weren't on camera.) They had me stand in front of a light, with a microphone above me, and Addie asked me various questions. I hadn't had any time to prepare, so all the answers were off the top of my head.
Then I headed back to the office to go through old files. Some of it is drudge work, but there are some gems. For instance, I found a handwritten letter from 1989 from an old woman who shared her memories of WWI ending and the 1918 influenza pandemic.
We recently edited an article for Utah Historical Quarterly that mentioned a man named Dr. Bitter, who was opposed to American Sign Language. We thought it was funny that he was against ASL when his name was literally Bitter. Well, I found a note in the files from Mrs. Bitter, who complained that she went to the Utah State Historical Society bookstore but no one was there, and then on her way home, she missed the bus, fell, and missed the bus again. Mrs. Bitter was bitter!
On Tuesday, Utah Historical Society staff toured the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City. I'm not an art guy, but it's always fun to see new places. (It was my very first time there. Back in October 2021, I invited a girl to see the museum, because they had an exhibition of artwork about Utah foods. But she never responded, meaning I couldn't make other plans, which caused me to resent her. Just say no if you don't want to! That was the last time I ever asked a girl on a date—thankfully!) After the museum, we had a staff lunch. Our director told me she had rewatched my Pioneer Day lecture from two years ago and sent it to a colleague who was visiting Utah. Another coworker told me she had read the article I wrote about the holiday.
Earlier this year, I bought some swim fins to use when I practice. In June, when I went to the pool, I realized that they were no longer in my pool bag, which meant I must have left them at the pool the previous time I visited, back in April. I also forgot my hand paddles, but those were given to me, so they were less of a loss. Oh well, I thought. Well, on Tuesday, I opened a locker at the rec center, and my paddles and fins were in it! Wow, could those really be mine three months later? I just assumed they were long gone. An hour later, after the swim team was done, I opened up the locker, and they were still there, along with a towel that was not mine. Those were the only things in the locker, and the towel was completely dry, so they hadn't been used in some time. So I took my fins and paddles back! I can't know for certain they are actually mine—but the fins were the same size, brand, and color, accompanied by paddles that were the same color and style, so it is extremely likely they are mine. I'm glad to have them back! (Except it was kind of nice to have the extra room in my bag for a time.)
Going back to my car, I was surprised to see we were in the midst of a heavy thunderstorm. That was a nice surprise!
On Wednesday evening, I decided I wanted to go to the Days of '47 float preview. I had never been. I think I enjoyed it more than the Festival of Trees, and it was easier to admire the floats' artwork without the tedium and heat of an actual parade. You could vote for your favorite float, and mine had a giant quilt made by various faith groups. Of course, I have an anthropological interest in the content of floats. There were two separate s'mores-themed floats! I was disheartened that the Redmond Salt float was touting raw milk. 🙄
My favorite
Interesting to see the "blossom as a rose" trope still alive and well. But their float would be more readable if they hadn't made "blossom" out of flowers.
One of two s'mores floats
And then I had dinner at the Midvale Mining Cafe, which seemed like an appropriate place to eat the week of Pioneer Day, but it was less interesting than I had hoped.
Wednesday was my niece's birthday, but she had to work, so we celebrated on Thursday. My mom was supposed to make a Mexican chocolate cake, which we often have for birthdays in our family. But she forgot, and she was gone all day. So I saved the day by making the cake myself, without being asked.
We watched old family videos from 1989 to 1991, which my niece wanted to do. Why is nostalgia so fun? One highlight was the video from July 24, 1990, when my brother was lighting fireworks (at eight years old!) while my two-year-old cousin was off-camera saying "Fire will burn me!" over and over.
And then Friday was Pioneer Day! I saw my interview on The Salt Lake Tribune, but I didn't have time to watch the video yet. I wanted to run up North Canyon to Rudy's Flat, because the first time I ever made it to Rudy's Flat was on Pioneer Day in 2015, which was also a Friday, and which was the first year I officially canonized Pioneer Day. My run was less hot than I expected, and there were lots of summer wildflowers.
sunflower
chicory
Richardson's geraniums
showy goldeneye
fleabane
sticky geranium, which is more of a June thing
goldenrod
fireweed
2026 . . .
. . . and 2015. I thought I was in the same spot, but apparently I wasn't
Sad to see Rudy's Flat looking so dry
Then I went to pick goatheads. It had been more than a week, and there was lots of new growth, unfortunately.
A bounty of goatheads
I had ordered some Pioneer Day–themed cookies, so I went to pick them. I don't usually buy sugar cookies, because I prefer it if there is a special flavor, rather than just the shape or color. But these were so cute and unique that I had to buy them, and they're a local (Woods Cross) business, Sugar Coated Sisters. Unfortunately, they were perfectly mediocre cookies. (Still better than Kneaders sugar cookies.)
Then I came home to watch the video. I was really nervous—no one likes to hear recordings of themselves, and I knew I had stumbled over my words. But I was really impressed! I thought, "Is that confident, intelligent voice actually me!?" I was pleased with how it turned out. (My dad didn't like the video, though he did like my part.)
(I am avoiding reading internet comments about this. I get worked up by online comments that are very wrong and are often hateful in their wrongness, and I especially don't want to see comments that might be about me personally. I think this is the most famous I have ever been.)
That afternoon, I took my mom to see the newly opened Salt Lake Art Museum, housed in the old B'Nai Israel Temple, which originally opened in 1891. I'm not an art person, but I was glad they had their grand opening on Pioneer Day, and I was happy to tour a historic building. They had various exhibitions, including one devoted to Julia Reagan. It was quite busy, and we happened to see my first-cousin-once-removed Ben.
In the evening we went to Salt Lake's Pioneer Day drone show. I have now been to four Pioneer Day drone shows and three Independence Day drone shows. This was my least favorite. I thought many of the images were too niche and obscure. And they keep changing where they launch the drones, so our view could have been better, though it was better than last year. Here they are in reverse order, because Blogger is a pain.
Happy Pioneer Day!
Utah flag
"Salt Lake City is for lovers." So we're just copying Virginia now?
City and County Building
Walker Center
Tower Theatre, which I only know about from working Sundance
Apparently this is a defunct restaurant in Sugar House, hence the tombstone
Eagle Gate
Loveland Living Planet Aquarium
Whatever "the wizard" is
Snelgrove Ice Cream
I did like the Hogle Zoo drinking fountain
Trolley Square
Utahraptor
Van sticker?
I guess this is the World Cup?
Utah Mammoth mascot
Jazz Bear
Snowboarding
Skiing
Utah 2034
Jello
Fry sauce!
The brine shrimp were pretty cool
Spiral Jetty
. . . not sure why they needed to show these three streets in SLC
Ugh, can we move on from Pie and Beer already?
Ox-pulled wagon
Utah with sego lily
Utah with SLC
Then Saturday was the part of the festivities that I didn't care for. My ward is in Bountiful, and all the Bountiful stakes were asked to help with the annual Handcart Days activities. My job was to stand at one of the barricaded streets to only let designated floats through. I was there with another person in my ward, with a radio guy, and with a police officer. This was chaotic and stressful—there were people trying to get through just to drop people off, and floats and entries coming the wrong way, and even people asking for directions. I know this will seem silly, but it was borderline traumatic for me—I kept replaying the mistakes I made, like letting a float through when it was on the wrong street and answering people's questions while they were blocking traffic. I have read that playing Tetris can help you overcome trauma, so I spent a long time playing Tetris later that day, which did seem to help a little. I had to take two naps, and I didn't do any cardio. (It was too hot to run, and I didn't feel like going to the pool.)
I did have a friend invite me to watch the fireworks at Mueller Park Junior High, so I did that. But fireworks aren't as special once the holidays are over. (And they're not as cool as drones.)
Despite some of my negative comments, I really enjoyed this Pioneer Day season.
***
And now that July 24 is over, it's the final installment of RWB roundup. It's pretty sparse this week.
First up is Mrs. Cavanaugh's Red, White, and Blue-Berry Cheesecake. It had cheesecake pieces and blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I don't know about you, but I'm not really a fan of whole frozen berries in ice cream. Other than that, it was fine. 6/10.
Next up is Milk Barn Firework Ice Cream. Now, Milk Barn is dedicated to selling raw milk, which makes my skin crawl, but the ice cream is not made with raw milk. Is it better to say "I will support you in this one thing" or "I will not support you at all"? Anyway, this is cotton candy–flavored ice cream with candy-coated popping candy. I didn't feel like letting the coating melt away, so it was mostly just crunchy. It was fine. Oddly enough, this is the third time I've had cotton candy ice cream with popping candy, and Crumbl even made a cookie with that same combination. Cotton candy seems like the opposite of fireworks to me. 6/10.
I believe the Chuao Firecracker Popping Candy Bar is dark chocolate with spice and popping candy. It's quite enjoyable! Trader Joe's had a similar candy bar a decade ago, and I wish they'd bring it back. 8/10.
That's the end. But pumpkinundation roundup begins in a month and a half!
