<Begin Segment 52>

MK: [Jpn.] I think that the area was a beach long time ago. That Tule Lake was.

TY: [Jpn.] Oh.

MK: [Jpn.] We call it Tule Lake. So it has the word "lake", doesn't it?

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] So the reason why there were so many sea shells...

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Those were all dried up things. So if you want sea shells, you can find as many as you want. A lot of small sea shells. If you dig a little, you can find lots of them in the sand. So some people with skills made hair accessories from them. Also...

TY: [Jpn.] Brooch?

MK: [Jpn.] Made some ornaments to put right here. They made many kinds of things. There was an exhibit once or twice a year to show off what you created. People displayed what they made. Just like here.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] So we all went to see that.

TY: [Jpn.] I hear that people created many handcraft items during the stay in camps.

MK: [Jpn.] What?

TY: [Jpn.] Many people created handcrafted and woodwork pieces...

MK: [Eng.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Woodwork, too.

MK: [Jpn.] They did that.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes. Anything else?

MK: [Jpn.] You can do it if you are interested in it.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. But I was no good at sewing.

TY: [Jpn.] Oh.

MK: [Jpn.] So I went to a sewing class. Then I made an overcoat for my second child, Betty.

TY: [Jpn.] Then you left your job and...

MK: [Eng.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Such a class...

MK: [Jpn.] Yes. That's right.

TY: [Jpn.] Oh.

MK: [Jpn.] So whatever you like...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] If you love flower arrangements, you become a flower arrangement teacher. There were many Japanese. All the Japanese were there. So there were people with many talents. There were a plenty of teachers.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] So you can learn from them. Many different things. So if you want to learn something, you just go to see that person and you could learn anything. Uh-huh.

TY: [Jpn.] Then in your case, it was the first time that you found the time.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. That's right.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] That's true.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. That was a nice place. We didn't have to think much.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] We didn't have to do anything but play.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Even with the child care, our youngest child, was that Donald?

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] He just goes out to play on his own and so I went to a sewing class and enjoyed it.

TY: [Jpn.] Then isn't it the first time for your children also to be surrounded by so many Japanese people?

MK: [Jpn.] That's right. Uh-huh. Oh, was that twenty thousand people? The population, the population of that place was twenty thousand, I think. Wasn't it twenty thousand?

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] There were twenty thousand people. It was a big city.

TY: [Jpn.] Indeed.

MK: [Jpn.] See? That's why we also had "Alaska"...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] We were divided into two.

TY: [Jpn.] Didn't Hideo go to Tule Lake?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. And he was in Alaska. As I said before, there was a big ditch. The area beyond the ditch is "Alaska." Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] He made some friends.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. That's right.

<End Segment 52> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.