Joseph H. McClelland Collection

Posted December 13, 2010 - 3:16pm by revetts

Joseph H. McClelland Collection
.5 linear feet ; one 5 inch gray box
The Joseph H. McClelland Collection documents life in the Amache War Relocation Authority Camp, Granada, Colorado.

Basic details

Control number:

MSS-007

Collection dates:

1943 - 1981

Size on shelf:

0.50 linear ft

Introduction

The Joseph H. McClelland Collection documents life in the Amache War Relocation Authority Camp, Granada, Colorado.

Provenance

Donated to the Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections Department on April 8, 1981 by Joseph H. McClelland, Fort Collins, Colorado.

Biographical note

Joseph McClelland was born on April 5, 1909, in Ft. Collins, Colorado. He was the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph S. McClelland, the founder of the first newspaper in Larimer County, the “Larimer Express”, and the founder of the first circulating library in Fort Collins, respectively.

McClelland received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Shortly after Executive Order 9066 was issued in February 1942, he was hired to work for the War Relocation Authority in Colorado. Arriving in Denver in July, 1942, McClelland remained several weeks and then was assigned to the Amache Relocation Center located near Granada, Colorado. He remained there until April 15, 1945, when he resigned to take a position with Colorado State University.

At Amache, McClelland was the Reports Officer responsible for documenting camp activities. He was in charge of distributing information within the Center through the “Granada Pioneer”, and information going outside the Center to the press. His duties also included that of Center Photographer, through which he visually recorded daily life in the camp. While living at Amache with her husband, Mrs. McClelland was employed as a teacher in the camp school.

Historical sketch

1909 - Joseph H. McClelland born in Fort Collins, Colorado
1942 - hired by the War Relocation Authority - assigned to the Amache War Relocation Center near Granada, Colorado
1945 - resigns to take position with Colorado State University

Scope and content

The Joseph McClelland Collection consists of the camp newspaper, the Granada Pioneer, and its predecessor, the Bulletin. Comprised of 55 issues dated from October 14, 1942 to March 24, 1943, these papers document daily life and activities as they occurred in the camp. Articles in the main body of the paper vary in tenor and content from humorous to serious, and a page in the Japanese language was usually included. Its circulation was about 3,000.

The collection also includes a welcoming brochure given to the evacuees as they arrived at the camp, a publication from a Utah relocation center, and a number of items produced regionally and nationally concerning Japanese-Americans.

In June of 1986 the collection was expanded to encompass many of the photographs which Mr. McClelland took as Center Photographer. Also included in the collection is a cassette tape which relates Mr. McClelland's involvement with the Amache Relocation Center.

Container list

Joseph H. McClelland Collection
one 5 inch gray box
1/1              Granada Pioneer, Vol. 1, no. 1-10 - 1942
1/2              Granada Pioneer, Vol. 1, no. 11-20 – 1942-43
1/3              Granada Pioneer, Vol. 1, no. 21-30 - 1943
1/4              Granada Pioneer, Vol. 1, no. 31-40 - 1943
1/5              Granada Pioneer, Vol. 1, no. 41-50 - 1943
1/6              Granada/Amache Welcome Pamphlet
1/7              Trek (special publication from the Central Utah Relocation Center) - 1943
1/8              Printed materials about Japanese-Americans:
                    Democracy Demands Fair Play for America’s Japanese – 1944
                    Nisei in Uniform – 1944
                    What about our Japanese-Americans? – 1944
                    Issei – Nisei – Kibei – 1944
                    The Displaced Japanese-Americans – 1944
                    They Work For Victory: The Story of Japanese Americans and the War Effort – n.d.
1/9              Japanese Americans in Relocation Centers – WRA – n.d.
1/10           Nisei in the War against Japan – WRA - 1945

Photographs in envelopes – no dates

E/1              Barracks Building
E/2              Barracks Apartment
E/3              Barracks in winter
E/4              Taking a Motion Picture of an Amache Family
E/5              Leo W. Kraus and his High School Woodworking Shop
E/6              Adult Art Class
E/7              Japanese Garden
E/8              Center Dairy Farm Foreman J. Abo
E/9              Harvesting Corn for Silage
E/10           Amache Co-op
E/11           Hospital Operating Room at the Center
E/12           Amache Fire Department
E/13           James G. Lindley, Project Director
E/14           W.R.A Staff
E/15           First Amache War Casualties
E/16           Guard tower
E/17           Southeastern Colorado Plains - Site of the future Granada Relocation Center                                                                     1/17
E/18           Evacuees arriving at the Granada Relocation Center
E/19           Aerial View of the Granada Relocation Center
E/20           Trucks
E/21           Lamar, Colorado - 17 miles west of Amache
E/22           Farm Workers
E/23           Granada Pioneer Staff
E/24           Children at the Granada Relocation Center
E/25           Closed

Audiocassette

1981 Oral history interview conducted with Mr. McClelland by Louise Bashford on April 8, 1981 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
SUMMARY OF CASSETTE TAPE
Mr. McClelland relates the circumstances of his involvement with the Amache Relocation Center from 1942-45 in the capacity of reports officer for the W.R.A. He discusses his role in making reports, documenting the history of the Amache Relocation Center, editing its weekly newspaper, and facilitating the flow of information from the camp to the outside communities, organizations, and individuals. There is considerable focus on the public relation work Mr. McClelland undertook or in which he assisted to change the negative attitudes expressed toward the Japanese evacuees in the press throughout Colorado, in the nearby community of Lamar, and in the economic dealings of the evacuees.

Other related topics such as housing, schools and farming activities are discussed briefly as they relate to the Amache Relocation Center and its inhabitants.

Major Subjects Discussed (Sequentially)

Circumstances of involvement with the Amache Relocation Center.
Reaction of local people to institution of camp near Lamar.
Profile of Japanese-American evacuees who were resettled at the Amache Relocation Center.
Public relations activities of Mr. McClelland as Reports Officer for the camp.
Farming and economic activity of the evacuees in the community and reaction from the Lamar business community.
Changes in attitude toward the Japanese as a result of press conference held in the camp.
Description of accommodation in camp.
Economic and military factors which help bring about changes in attitudes toward the Japanese.
Educational activities and schools.