<Begin Segment 15>

SS: What was the worst part of it? Was it the living conditions, the physical constraints, the barriers?

EW: Well, you had guards up in the towers, and guns pointing in to us. And walking through the mud when it rained, and it was, and going to the latrines and showering, doing laundry in the main laundry place. We didn't have any water in the barracks and so any time you wanted water or whatever, you had to go to the latrine.

SS: Was it the kind of conditions where it was sort of every person for himself or herself?

EW: Yes, right, right.

SS: What was that like?

EW: Well, with what you were able to take to camp, if you were lucky and you took the right things, well, you were well off. But if you didn't... I know we could order through the catalog, like "Monkey Wards" or Sears catalog, people did that.

SS: Were there certain things at camp that made life bearable?

EW: Well, being with my family, I guess... I think the people were self-sufficient, everything we had, we had to do for ourselves. And people tried to make life in the camp bearable by having parties and dances and things like that. But I didn't do much of that because I was engaged and I thought, well, I shouldn't be dating and I shouldn't be, you know. When I look back on it now, that's kind of dumb.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 1996 Densho. All Rights Reserved.