Press Bulletin [with] Poston Chronicle. [Collection of 123 Issues].

Poston, Arizona: [Colorado River War Relocation Project], 1942-1943. Sizes and paginations vary. 118 corner-stapled mimeographed newspapers + 5 offset printed tabloid format newspapers. B&w illustrations, primarily to the offset press issues and the later issues of the mimeographed ones. Text in English, with Japanese language section at the rear of many issues. Most issues toned and somewhat fragile, with short tears/minor chips to edges; oxidization to binding staples of many issues, with small areas of staining surrounding them, not interfering with readability of text; a few issues creased; offset printed issues folded into quarters. Good overall.

An uncommonly large collection of newspapers written, edited, illustrated, and printed by Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Poston concentration camp in Parker, Arizona, during World War II. Poston opened on June 2, 1942, and would go on to hold over 17,000 Japanese Americans, making it the most populous of the ten Japanese American concentration camps until Tule Lake was turned into a segregation facility for those who refused to answer "yes" to the loyalty oath questions on a questionnaire in 1943, as well as for those deemed disruptive or dangerous. Notably, Poston was built within the Colorado River Indian Reservation, over the objections of the Tribal Council, who opposed it on the grounds that they did not want to participate in an injustice, and was co-administered by the Office of Indian Affairs until 1943.

Initially, the newspaper was published as the Press Bulletin every day except Monday and sold for 30¢ apiece, but it began to be distributed for free after the the War Relocation Authority (WRA) took over control of the camp, and the paper was renamed the Poston Chronicle. It includes a wealth of information about what was happening in the camp, with the Poston Chronicle including sections dedicated to each of the three camps at Poston (Poston I, II, and III). Reports about councils formed by the incarcerated men and women at the camp, agriculture, the construction of schools, sports, etc, are in many issues, as well as announcements about national shortages and news of the war.

The collection includes:

a. Press Bulletin

  i. Vol VI, No. ?, Nov. 8, 1942

  ii. Vol VII, Nos. 2, 3, 4 (Nov. 12, 1942), 4 (Nov. 13, 1942), 6, 8 (Nov. 18, 1942), 8 (Nov. 24, 1942), 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 (Dec. 1, 1942), 14 (Dec. 2, 1942), 15, 16, 17, 19 (Dec. 9, 1942)

  iii. Vol VIII, Nos. 1 (misnumbered Vol II, dated Dec. 10, 1942), 2, 4, 5 (Dec. 15, 1942), 5 (Dec. 16, 1942), 6, 7, 8, 9 (Dec. 20, 1942), 8 (Dec. 22, 1942), 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 (Dec. 30, 1942)

b. Poston Chronicle

  i. Vol VIII, Nos. 15 (Jan. 1, 1943), unnumbered issue (Jan. 5, 1943), 20 (Jan. 6, 1943)

  ii. Vol IX, Nos. 1 (Jan. 7, 1943), unnumbered issue (Jan. 8, 1943), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 (Jan. 24, 1943), 15 (Jan. 26, 1943), 16, 17, 18 (Jan. 29, 1943), 18 (Jan. 29, 1943, "Extra" issue), 20 ( Jan. 31, 1943, misnumbered Vol. 19)

  iii. Vol X, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Feb. 10, 1943, misnumbered Vol. 9), 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 23 (Mar. 5, 1943), 23 (Mar. 5, 1943, "Extra" issue), 27 (Mar. 10, 1943), 27 (Mar. 11, 1943), unnumbered issue (Mar. 12, 1943), 30 (Mar. 13, 1943), 30 (Mar. 14, 1943), 31 (Mar. 16, 1943)

  iv. Vol XI, Nos. unnumbered issue (Mar. 19, 1943), unnumbered issue (Mar. 20, 1943), 7 (Mar. 21, 1943 -- two English issues with different Japanese sections), 8, 9 (Mar. 25, 1943), 11 (Mar. 26, 1943), 12, 13, 14 (Mar. 30, 1943), 14 (Mar. 31, 1943), 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 (Apr. 17, 1943)

  v. Vol XII, No. 7 (Apr. 29, 1943)

  vi. Vol XIII, Nos. 8 (June 11, 1943), 9, unnumbered issue (June 15, 1943), 13, 14, 15, 18, 19/20 (June 24 and 25, 1943, printed one issue to verso and one to recto of same leaf), 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28

c. Offset press issues, tabloid format: Vol. XI, No. 28; Vol. XII, No. 4; Vol. XIII, Nos. 16, 21, and 27