<Begin Segment 18>

TI: When you were at Puyallup, was there any contact with the church?

TK: Yes. Father Tibesar came every day. In fact, he stayed over if he could have, but he was there every day with us at Harmony, "Camp Harmony." The Maryknoll sisters came whenever they could, two of them.

TI: And what would they do when they would come to...

TK: Oh, they would just be with us. No religion, unless they had the chance to, I guess. Just to be friends, hakujin friends, you might call them.

TI: And how did that feel to you and others?

TK: Oh, great, because they were some contact with the outside people. 'Cause usually they couldn't come inside, see.

TI: Oh, so if they couldn't come inside, then you would just meet them at the gate?

TK: At the gate. Father Tibesar could come inside.

TI: And was this...

TK: The sisters could come in if they were allowed to. But I'm sure they weren't, too much.

TI: And was this... did you see this with the other, sort of, ministers?

TK: Oh, yes. The Reverend Shoji is it? Oh, that's... Reverend Shoji, that's the Episcopal, isn't it?

TK: Yeah, but he was Japanese, so he would already be in camp.

TK: Yeah, that was Japanese, yeah.

TK: But I was thinking about maybe...

TK: Oh, Reverend Andrews from the Seattle Baptist church was just like Father Tibesar. He was a great guy. He was a Scoutmaster, and a good friend of the Japanese.

TI: Other than the Reverend Andrews and Father Tibesar, were there other people like that visiting?

TK: There must have been, but I didn't notice any. Of course, the Buddhist church, they were there, so there was no problem.

TI: So let's go from Puyallup to Minidoka. And describe that. What was that like when you guys moved to Minidoka?

TK: We moved everything that was in Seattle to "Camp Harmony." So Father Tibesar said mass every morning if he was available, at one of the barracks.

TI: And this is at Hunt in Minidoka?

TK: Minidoka, yeah. Twenty-two, area 22, you know, where it turns?

TI: So Block 22?

TK: Block 22, that's right.

TI: So did he have his own barrack to do this?

TK: He lived at Hunt, Idaho. And then when he got permission to stay inside, he had a room in Block 22.

TI: Oh, so Father Tibesar got permission to actually live on site.

TK: He had to get permission from the higher-ups, yeah.

TI: And this would be different than Reverend Andrews.

TK: Reverend Andrews, I don't think, ever stayed in the camp. I don't know.

TI: I think he lived in Twin Falls or someplace.

TK: That's right. Father Tibesar lived in either Twin Falls or... oh, Jerome. Jerome, nearby.

TI: But, I'm sorry, Father Tibesar eventually lived inside?

TK: Inside, eventually.

TI: And had his own, or his own barrack, or his own room, I'm sorry.

TK: Yeah, because he had a, I don't know how far that was, twenty miles.

TI: And what did Father Tibesar do inside...

TK: Oh, he would say mass every morning, and then he would go visit different families.

TI: And about how many people would attend mass every morning?

TK: Well, that I don't know, because I only stayed there six months. I volunteered. But I would say about twenty, maybe, in that small room.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.