Series S9 - Personal records

Jack Hemmy was sent away to labor camps during the WWII internment. He wrote letters to his friends and family, both still in Victoria and others who had been displaced and forced into camps. These letters and correspondence give a glimpse into life into the internment camps and the feelings of non-Japanese Canadians who watched their high school classmate be pushed out of their homes. Jack had begun to photograph his life during high school, and continued to do so when he was sent East. He also collected some of the correspondence from the various government bodies, employers, and other organizations that helped him eventually move to Toronto, O.N. The second portion of the series includes photographs and correspondence regarding employment from near the period of Jack Hemmy’s retirement. This includes his trips to the Lemon Creek reunion and Victoria reunion, and resumes when he applied to teach at the Ontario College of Art.

The series is composed of both photographs and textual records. The photographs are either loose or organized by Jack into albums. Many of the albums have marginalia noting who the sitter is, location, or other notable information.