Archie. Senior Year at Tri-State

[Newell, Ca, 1944. Good.. [36]pp. of mimeographed text. Original pictorial wrappers, stapled. Wrappers chipped, closed tear to front wrapper, spine reinforced with later cello tape. Internally clean. A rare yearbook for the Senior class of Tri-State High School, located inside the Tule Lake War Relocation Center during the period of Japanese-American internment during World War II. This senior yearbook was published alongside the November 1944 issue of the school newspaper, the Tri-Stater, which is printed here as the last ten pages. The material within is consistent with traditional high school annuals, including a superintendent's message, president's (truncated) message, list of staff, senior cabinet members, hall of fame, class will, a section printing each student's "secret ambition," pages for signatures, a "Senior Days" essay by Miya Kayata, a yearbook staff list, and sports section. According to the Foreword: ‘Archie’ was created by the journalism class to represent the 235 members of the class of November '44. We hope to signify the fond memories in the halls and classes and on the grounds of Tri-State High School with 'Archie's' adventures as a senior." As with issues of the Tri-Stater, the senior annual is profusely illustrated, including portraits of the eight students comprising the "Senior Cabinet" and a two-page Archie-style comic strip; many illustrations echo characters in the Archie universe, an odd but somehow understandable juxtaposition of American pop culture within the lives of young internees. Other illustrations are peppered throughout the work, and were mostly, if not exclusively, created by the internees themselves. This work is separate from the larger Tri-State High School annual for the wider school community, entitled Aquila. OCLC records a total of four copies of Archie, at Yale, California State-Dominguez Hills, Stanford, and Claremont College. (Inventory #: 5924)