<Begin Segment 17>

MA: So you attended high school then in Amache. What was the name of the high school?

IN: Amache High School

MA: Amache High School. And who were some of the teachers that you had? Were they internees or people from town?

IN: No, they were recruited from the outside, the government. And I must say, those who volunteered were very -- some of them, not all -- were very dedicated to the students, I must agree on that.

MA: And how did you feel about your education there in Amache High School?

IN: Well, see, I can't compare, because I never went to Petaluma High School. I can't say. There's no comparison.

MA: And the facilities of the high school? Was it in a barrack or something?

IN: No, they built special buildings for that. But all in all, I thought the teachers were very dedicated, when I think back now.

MA: And who were some of your friends that you made in Amache? You were telling me that you had a close-knit group of friends?

IN: Well that was the block, I lived the block 6-H. And could you call it a little girls' gang? But it was a little gang. And of course we had the leader, she was very aggressive, but very nice, called Setsuko. [Laughs] And we were all a little boy crazy, we were all from the country. And I'll tell you that incident Setsuko befriended a soldier, a Caucasian soldier, that looked over the lumber during the night. Because I guess a lot of the evacuees would steal the lumber for their little barrack. So he was lonely out there. And then she would tell us, "C'mon." After we had dinner and it was sort of later on in the evening. And she says, "C'mon, let's go out there. This soldier is very, very lonely." So we'd go out there. And he'd build a campfire, a little campfire, and he would talk to us. And I forget where he was from, but we would talk to him, and then we'd go home. Now, I don't know how much involved Setsuko was, but... [Laughs]

MA: And I'm curious about your meals. Did you eat mostly in the dining hall with your friends?

IN: The mess hall we called it.

MA: I'm sorry the mess hall.

IN: Yeah, and I had a job, and most of my friends had a job. Waitressing, I remember carrying metal containers of water and filling up the waters for the people. And I remember how much I got paid, sixteen dollars a month. But then that's room and board.

MA: Did your mother also work in camp?

IN: Yeah, she was a dishwasher. And we all got sixteen dollars a month.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.