Tashme Timeline

Tashme Timeline of Events

Year	Month	Day	Event	Reference

1941	December	7	Canada declares war on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese language newspapers and 48 Japanese language schools are closed.
		8	The Canadian Navy rounds up 1200 boats from fishermen along the BC coast. All Japanese language schools closed. All Japanese news outlets except New Canadian closed.
		16	Order-In-Council PC 9760 requires mandatory registration of all persons of Japanese origin regardless of citizenship with Registrar of Enemy Alienas. The Canadian Government rounds up 38 Nationals with dossiers, supposed security risks.
1942	January	16	Order-In-Council PC 365 designates an area 100 miles inland from Pacific coast as a "protected area". All Japanese National males aged 18-45 must report to RCMP to work on the road camps.
	February	23	First group of 100 male Japanese Nationals sent to Lucerne Road Camp to build the Yellowhead-Blue River Highway.	Adachi p 231
		24	Order-In-Council PC 1486 empowers the Minister of Justice to contol the movements of all persons of Japanese origin in the protected area. Mass evacuation of Japanese Canadians begins, some only get 24 hours notice. Cars, cameras confiscated.
	March	4	Orders-In-Council PC 1665 and 1666 establish the BC Security Commission with authority to plan, supervise, direct the forced removal of all persons of Japanese origin from the strategic "protected area" established by Order-In-Council PC 365. Property left behind placed in custody of Custodian of Alien Property.
		7	First 26 men arrive at Hope Princeton Highway project, a priority for the government.
		16	The first arrivals from remote coastal fishing villages arrive at Hastings Park.
		27	Order-In-Council PC 2483 grants further "protective control" over the movement of Japanese.
		30	Order-In-Council PC 2541 permits Japanese to work on public projects and provides relief for the indigent.
			First group of families go to the Sugar Beet projects in Alberta & Manitoba for work.
	April	1	Deadline for removal from coastal areas and for all Japanese Canadians to decide which camp to go to.
		21	First arrivals at Greenwood
	May	11	Men from Woodfibre, Britannia, New Westminster leave for Kaslo
			People begin leaving Hastings Park for Tashme, Sandon and Slocan City
			First arrivals in Tashme start construction of the 347 housing units on A.B. Trites Farm, 14 miles east of Hope on the old Royal Engineer's Road from Hope to Princeton. Existing sawmill in Tashme reconditioned to produce lumber to build the houses.
	July		Arrivals begin to occupy the hastily built tar papered houses	BCSC Report May 1945
		31	10 houses complete. Many additional houses under construction.


	August	6	Name Tashme BC formally established. Former name 14 Mile Ranch, Hope BC.
		22	Report that 50 housing units to be completed by Aug 30. Pipes laid to bring water from Sumallo River. Apartments in converted barn and bathhouse nearing completion.	New Canadian 1942-08-22
	September	5	Report that additional arrivals take up residence at Tashme. First families depart for Tashme from Hastings Park. Departures in groups of 150 persons to coincide with the completion of housing units.	New Canadian 1942-09-05
		11	PC 8173 extends authority over all Japanese regardless of residence.
		16	Population of Tashme estimated at 1200. Emergency school for elementary grades organized and students enrolled.	New Canadian 1942-09-16
		30	Except for a few under care of the make shift hospital, all evacuees in Hastings Park sent to camps in BC interior or to locations east of Rockies.	New Canadian 1942-10-01
	October	31	Forced removal completed of all Japanese persons from protected area. Hastings Park closed.
	December	1	Report that construction of nearly all of 347 housing units completed. Population of Tashme: 2636. Water supplied by tap for every 3 or 4 houses. Bath houses under construction, 1 bath house for every 50 housing units. Electricity supplied to apartment, stores and other essential buildings but housing units use kerosene lamps. Construction of modern 50 bed hospital nearly complete. Tashme was the last internment camp to be finished and the largest.	New Canadian 1942-12-03
		7	Japanese committee Shinwa-kai formed to administer Japanese community affairs in the camp.	New Canadian 1942-12-19-01
			Tashme Youth Organization formed, open to all between 16 and 35. Mitsuyuki Sakata elected president	New Canadian 1942-12-19-01
1943	January	26	School opens in the D building. Enrollment is 629 students in grades 1 to 9. Staff of 30 teachers. Directors Hiroshi Okada and Teruko Hidaka.	New Canadian 1942-12-19-01
			Hospital opens.
	February	5	Order-In-Council PC 946 dissolves BC Security Commission. Authority for actions transferred to Japanese Division of Dept of Labour.
			Appointment of Commissioner of Japanese Placement T.B. Pickersgill whose task is to assist Japanese in internment camps in BC to move to locations east of Rockies. Applications accepted for work east of Rockies in sugar beets, farming, logging, sawmills, domestic services.
			Grace & Angus MacInnis, Rev. McWilliams lobby for education for high school students.
			The Tashme Youth Organization, the Judo club, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, and students council organized.
	May		Tashme May Day celebration including crowning of May Day Queen.
	June		TYO organized baseball league opened. Arawashis and Asahis met at the newly constructed ball field.	New Canadian 1943-09-25-08
		28	BCSC establishes Miso and Shoyu factory. 26,000 lbs of miso ready for sale October 1.	New Canadian 1943-09-18-01
	August	1	Travel restrictions relaxed; no permits required except for travel to protected area.	New Canadian 1943-08-21-01
			158 Nisei teachers complete 4 week study in basic teaching methods. Held in New Denver	New Canadian 1943-08-28-01
	November		The crews from each end of the Hope Princeton road project meet in the middle. Highway not completed for 4 more years.
1944	January	17	Shipment of 165 barrels shoyu, 16 boxes tea, 4 barrels of miso arrives in Tashme as gift of Japan via International Red Cross..
	February	17	Scout week in Tashme. The first Tashme troop celebrated with a torchlight parade.
	March	23	Landslide isolates Tashme. 4 large mud and rock slides occur between Mile 2 and Mile 4.
	May	20	Teruo Watanabe, 3 years old, drowns in Sumallo River.	BC Archives
	June	9	Mr Tsutae Sato and Mrs Sato, pre-war principal and teachers at the Japanese Language School at 487 Alexander Street in Vancouver, visit Tashme.	NNMCC Shimokura collection
	September		New elementary school opens. Existing sawdust/woodshed converted into a modern 8 room school. Greatly relieves school space limitations. Allows audiorium/gym on 2nd floor of D building to remain in place all the time.
1945	January	1	Japanese Americans allowed to return to US coastal areas. Restrictions in Canada not lifted until March 31, 1949.	...
	April	12	Starting in Tashme, RCMP and Department of Labour placement officers canvass all Japanese Canadians 16 years and older about their intentions, to move East or go to Japan. The population of Tashme begins to change and decrease as residents opt to move east of the Rockies and others opting for repatriation move to Tashme.
	May	13	Cooperative Committee chaired by United Church minister declare deportation unconstitutional but unable to persuade the government to change policy.
	August		United Church moderator Dr. J.H. Arnup visits Tashme supporting a petition started by the Japanese Committee at Tashme to lobby government to revoke deportation.
	September	2	Empire of Japan surrenders. War with Japan ends. .
1946	January	1	Although measures under the War Measures Act expire, the National Emergency Transitional Powers Act is used to keep the measures against Japanese Canadians in place.	Ann Sunahara Chapters 6,7
			Japanese in other camps who have opted for repatriation begin moving to Tashme. Earlier, Tashme is designated as an internment camp for Japanese who have opted for repatriation to Japan.
	April	29	Tomiko Kawashita, 3 years old, drowns in Sumallo River	BC Archives
	May	31	"Repatriation" begins. First ship US troop ship SS Marine Angel departs Vancouver with 672 voluntary Japanese repatriates and dependents, 565 from Tashme.	New Canadian 1946-06-08-01
	June	15	Closing of Tashme begins. All Department of Labour workers' payroll except for essential workers, discontinued. Hospital and medical services discontinued.	New Canadian 1946-06-15-01
		16	Second sailing SS General Meigs departs Vancouver with 1100 voluntary Japanese repatriates and dependents, none from Tashme.	New Canadian 1946-06-22-01
			Departure to other camps, to locations east of Rockies, or to Japan reduces number of Tashme residents. Population now estimated at 1200, half to move east of Rockies and half to be repatriated to Japan.	New Canadian 1946-06-22-01
		25	Tashme hospital closed. Facilities transferred to other centres.	New Canadian 1946-06-29-01
	August	2	Third sailing SS General Meigs departs Vancouver with 1377 voluntarty Japanese repatriates and dependents, 157 from Tashme.	New Canadian 1946-08-10-01
		26	Tashme internment camp closed. Tashme becomes the first internment camp to be closed. Assets turned over to War Assets for sale and disposition.	Honoured in Places: Remembered Mounties Across Canada
	September	1	11 Mile and 15 Mile Road camps near Tashme closed.	New Canadian 1946-09-12-01
		28	Fourth sailing SS Marine Falcon departs Vancouver with 500 voluntary Japanese repatriates and dependents, 421 from BC, remainder Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.	New Canadian 1946-09-21-01
	May-Dec		Five ships carrying 3,964 Japanese Canadians sail for Japan. Half were born in Canada.
	December		The Privy Council upholds a Supreme Court decision that the deportation orders are legal. By this time about 4,000 people have been deported to Japan.	Ann Sunahara Chapters 6,7
1947	January	24	Federal cabinet order-in-council on deportation of Japanese Canadians repealed after protests by churches, academics, journalists and politicians.	Ann Sunahara Chapters 6,7 & New Canadian 1947-02-01-01
	February	13	Order-In-Council PC 567 amends Citizenship Act to extend the franchise to Japanese Canadians.	New Canadian 1947-04-19-10
	July	18	A commission is set up under Justice Henry Bird to examine the losses sustained by Japanese Canadians, who receive compensation cheques totalling $1.2 million, a small fraction of the value of their property.	Ann Sunahara Chapters 6,7
1949	March	31	Restrictions lifted on people of Japanese origin from returning to the 100 mile "protected area" along the west coast All wartime measures restricting movement and placement of Japanese revoked.	Adachi p 336, p346
	June	27	Japanese Canadians vote in first Federal election. Eligible Japanese Canadian voters estimated at 9,000.	New Canadian 1949-06-22-01

References

New Canadian www.multiculturalcanada.ca Go to Collections, enter Tashme.

The Enemy That Never Was. Ken Adachi. McLelland and Stewart 1976

The Politics of Racism. Ann Gomer Sunahara. James Lorimer and Company, Publishers Toronto 1981

Honoured in Places Remembered: Mounties Across Canada. W. J. Hulgaard & J. W. White. Heritage House Publishing. 2002

Files of Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. RG 36-27 BC Security Commission