March at Manzanar

1943

March 6th - Senior Prom for Manzanar High School is held in block 8. The theme of the prom was Cherry Blossom Festival.

March 16th - The first Manzanar high school graduation is held. 85 students graduate

March 17th - A fire broke out in the sagebrush and covered over 2,000 acres. The Manzanar Fire Department and volunteers, with help from the Military Police and crews from the Public Works Division and Police were able to put the fire out.

March 21st - Pioneer Day Dance is held in Mess Hall 15. Prizes were offered to the persons with the thickest beards.

March 31st - The Fire Department announced a Girls Fire College to train secretaries and stenographers. Earlier in the month, the fire chief announced tentative plans to start a fire fighting unit composed of girls since much of the manpower was leaving camp.

1944

March 4th - The hospital launched a center wide drive to collect old newspapers from the camp residents.

March 4th - The mess halls in seven blocks are scheduled to be closed. The mess halls in blocks 29, 31, 18, 6, 4, 14, and 16 were chosen so the "No one needs to cross a fire break for his meal" announced Chief Steward Joseph Winchester.

March 6th - The Modern Dancing Class was resumed in Mess Hall 2. The class had been discontinued due to segregation.

March 15th - Susumu Katsuda won the monthly golf tournament. He went through the 18 hole grind, shooting 60.

March 16th - Thomas R. Bodine, the field director of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council, met with high school seniors to discuss student relocation.

1945

March 9th - 24 residents receive notices for army examinations.

March 18th - The Reverend Douglas Noble was guest minister of the Manzanar Protestant Church. He is famous for his "Chapel on Wheels."

March 30th - A lack of patrons closes the library in block 22-15. The population of the camp has fallen below 5,300 residents.