<Begin Segment 57>

JA: So then, from, because of the Hashiguchi family or part of reason, you went to Minidoka and you were there again for, for quite a while.

MH: That's right.

JA: So, again, can you give us some of your memories of your arrival to Minidoka.

MH: In Minidoka? Minidoka was well-organized, everything was well-set up, everything was really well-organized. And, of course, with my father-in-law there and all the Seattle friends and relatives were all there, too, now, by then, so it made it nice for all us. We just kind of visited with each other and everything like that and it worked out real well. And we were there, and then we were living right next door to my mother and dad again, which made it very convenient for us. They, they made sure we had an apartment next to them, which made it very special. And our life was very busy there, too. And a lot of walking from one end of camp to the other end of the camp to see the other people on the other side, which was a thrill to us, and be able to visit with them and hear about what they were doing and things like that was just great.

JA: And this camp had already been existence for a while.

MH: Yes.

JA: So were they already growing some fresh vegetables?

MH: Oh yeah, things were just really growing very well. So all the fresh vegetables and everything was just getting more Japanesey style. Everything was the way the Japanese people liked because of fact that you have... see, like Mom was, went in there and she was cooking the rice, I understand. And Dad started boiler in the morning in that block in the morning so made sure the stoves were going full speed so they can cook. And they had some young women doing all the serving and clean up and things like that so it all worked great because everybody was well-organized there because they had one step ahead of the other camp.

JA: So the internees weren't as sick as when they were in Pinedale?

MH: Uh-huh, that's right. And they had a lot of activities for everybody, all the children and everything. There is always something going on. They had movies and things like that for them all to go and do and so the kids won't get in trouble. So it worked out real well for them.

JA: And with the survival skills of the internees, they had made a community for themselves.

MH: Yeah; that's right. And my brother said even they were -- even though my brother was only twelve years old -- they let him go outside the camp, when the harvesting started outside in Idaho all over. So he took his younger brother and took him along, too, even though he was useless, but they took him, and he said they worked together and he said they made a few dollars so I said that's good, better than nothing. So that's what they did, too, from Hunt, Idaho, from Minidoka.

JA: Now, I mean, in spite of all the improvements that the internees made to the Minidoka camp, would you say that they were still very spartan?

MH: Oh, yes. Of course, it was. That's for sure.

<End Segment 57> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.