<Begin Segment 13>

AI: So then, you were starting to tell us what happened in May.

SH: Pardon?

AI: You were starting to tell us about what happened in May. That, how did you hear about that evacuation was going to happen?

SH: They had what they called an executive order, signed by the President. And it was publicized, it was posted on, in the cities, it was posted on the telephone poles, printed in the papers, and all the restrictions were publicized. And from the time that the war started until we were evacuated, it was about five months, some thought we would be left alone. By "left alone," I meant we wouldn't be evacuated, and the other group said no, we're going to be told to go inside into, into the interior, and which did happen.

AI: So even though you had been encouraged as farmers to keep farming, planning for your whole year of farming and you had planted and prepared, and things were well underway for the spring... and what happened?

SH: I got paid by... they formed what they called a War Relocation Authority, a government authority. And representatives of them locally had the authority to settle with each individual farmer for the produce, for the plants that were growing. Each individual farmer got negotiation, and got a price for the crop. We didn't have time to sell the land. Even those that owned the land didn't have time to sell it. But I remember selling my, I averaged about, on the 10 acres, about a hundred dollars an acre, which was very little for all the work we put into it. And, in fact the day I left, they came to harvest some lettuce that I had sold to them. That was about the first thing that they would harvest. I had thirteen acres all planted, some, some kind of plant. And I got a thousand dollars, cash, for the 13 acres. That's all I left home with. Well, no, I didn't get to leave home with that, I had to finish paying off some seed and fertilizer bills. I don't think I had but half of that left to my name when I left the home.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.