10 August 2024 – Trip Day 132
Gizmo in the morning, nestled in the blankets.
About a week ago as of the date of writing this post (early Nov 2024), Gizmo got very sick and was having some accidents. Meagan took her to the vet and the prognosis was grim. Gizzy was diagnosed with advanced heart disease, and the vet thought that Gizmo had had one heart attack, and perhaps several others thus far.
We made the decision to put Gizmo down as there was no real treatment path forward for her to get better, and she was at times struggling to breathe, causing air to build up in her stomach, and thus also making difficult for her to eat.
We drove out to see the Minidoka NHS. Minidoka was one of the sites that Japanese residents and those of Japanese descent were relocated to during World War II.
Family shot in front of the Visitor Center, which was a remodeled warehouse from the camp’s operating days.
Meagan checks out some of the displays while the big kids work on their Junior Ranger Books. Randal and Garrett hang out and cause chaos. Generally, the visitor center was fairly kid friendly without too many things they could get into.
The exclusion zone and other camp sites across the country. Meagan and the kids would happen on Heart Mountain later in our journey.
There were a number of displays with historical photos and documents. This was good for the kids to see and get a sense of what happened.
We took a tour of the facility. There was a talk by one of the Rangers, which I recorded. I’ll look to process it a bit later when I have time to do so. I spent most of that time chasing Ducky around, so hopefully the audio comes out ok.
This was one of the mess halls showing where the Japanese-Americans would eat their meals.
Barracks building.
The Japanese Americans did a good job farming, and were also utilized in the local agriculture efforts. They were underpaid and generally taken advantage of. There was evidence in the displays of coordination to provide labor from the Federal Agencies overseeing the relocation to various states.
They were very productive in their farming efforts. The display on the root cellar that the Japanese Americans constructed showed just how much produced they grew.
The ruins of the root cellar. It was an impressive structure.
This was a very good site to visit, and relevant and sobering. It provided us an opportunity to introduce and discuss civil rights with the kids, as well as the role of the Constitution and the later Supreme Court decision that, many years after the fact, declared the incarceration unconstitutional.
It was also timely to explain to the kids, who were a bit shocked that the Government would round up large numbers of people. It was good to point out to them that it had happened before, and to not discount it happening again in the future.
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