PARTNER

OBJECT ID

ddr-one-5-30 (2015.1)

PARENT COLLECTION

Dr. Keizaburo Koyama Family Collection

DESCRIPTION

Envelope addressed to Dr. Keizaburo Koyama at Camp Livingston from his wife, Teru Koyama, and daughter, Miriam Kiyo Koyama. Postmarked Sep 16, 1942. In red pencil “9/20-42” is written to the left of the postmark. In the lower left corner is a purple "Censored" stamp from Camp Livingston. Inside the envelope are two letters, one from Miriam Kiyo Koyama dated September 12, 1942, and one from Teru Koyama dated Sept 14, 1942. Kiyo writes about how her sister, Eva, was upset at having been called fat in his last letter, and that Eva's lost weight since coming to Minidoka, in part because the walk to the canteen is far. She also writes that she's seen a dead snake outside the barracks, and that her mom now works in the camp kitchens. On the back side of the letter is part of the poem “For I'm Grown Up” by Sydell Merl. Teru writes to Kei about the hardship of raising children in camp since there is little family structure and her worries about their education. She writes of meeting the Kakekashis again in camp and that William is befriending Hiro Kakekashi. She wishes Kei could be here, but is certain he would not like Minidoka, and that there are too many dentists anyway, and that they even sent some Portlanders to Wyoming because they had a full medical team at Minidoka.

CONTRIBUTOR

Japanese American Museum of Oregon

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of the Koyama Family Collection, Japanese American Museum of Oregon

RIGHTS