<Begin Segment 13>

[Ed. note: This transcript has been edited by the narrator]

TI: So describe those, like the first few days of school, what that was...

SA: Oh, gosh, you know, because they had to open up one block (of barracks), I think that's what they were, so the schools, the classrooms were there. I (...) thought that the science teacher, (Ms. Frances Haglund) was very good, as I said. She chose the laundry room because there was running water, you can't conduct anything in the barrack rooms. And I thought, "How smart she is." So we had to sit alongside on the benches, you know, that (...) was the laundry room and then the toilet facilities, showers (...) were taken out. And I know that the first thing she did, when I say "teach," 'cause we didn't have blackboards, we (really) didn't have anything. And so she said we would have to get things like on, go out in the field and find something. And (someone), some truck driver came across this little baby rattlesnake, so they popped him in a (milk bottle) and then must have given it to his child to take to school, And that's what we had for our first science (lesson) was this little rattlesnake. And we would scream 'cause every time its little head popped up over the thing, we'd be afraid it was gonna come out. [Laughs] So (...) then, poor thing,(Ms. Haglund) ended up taking it out and dissecting it in the end. She (made a lesson out of it to) show us things. But I thought she was tremendous.

TI: So they had to be very...

SA: Innovative, creative.

TI: ...innovative, spontaneous.

SA: And we had to go look for things until we could get the textbooks. And again, we didn't have individual desks and things of that sort for quite a while. Toward the end, (...) when I heard about the camp, (...) they had (...) the blackboards, (...) the textbooks and (...) paper (...) brought in, so they did very well. But I thought for the beginning, these teachers with their aides who were the internees, (...) conducted... classes in math, literature, and (even) P.E., 'cause you can do (sports like) baseball. We had more (space) there than in (Puyallup's) assembly center. Because the assembly centers, in Area B, as far as I can see, the only thing we could do (for sports) was volleyball, because you can string (the net) up between the barracks. And I know, I don't know if you saw it, but I was captain of the, what we called the "Weak Spots" at the time, but we did take the championship for our little area, which wasn't much. [Laughs] But that's the only sport (in small areas). They had baseball in Area A and D, 'cause they had more room, and they did invite us up. And of course, as I said, it was pretty sad, 'cause I was pitching and they hit everything I pitched 'cause I (can't) pitch very (fast balls). we never got our turn at bat. [Laughs] It wasn't fair at all, 'cause they had practiced and we never did. So I always thought, "That's terrible," (not fair).

TI: Going back to school at Minidoka, I'm curious about how the students reacted to these chaotic, sort of, situations. Was it hard for students to really kind of focus and do the work?

SA: Well, it was like play, (...) you know, I think it's amazing we even got accredited. But that allowed us, when we went out, to get into colleges, (and) over the years they really got it up to standards, which is amazing. But it was because the teachers were so good.

TI: When you say it was "like play" initially, what do mean by that?

SA: Well, we were mostly talking. I think discipline was hard for them to maintain. But as a rule, we were more quiet than other minorities. I keep thinking, "Boy, if it had been any other race, it would have been (more) chaotic."

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.