<Begin Segment 7>

TI: So you're now working at this burnt down dairy. So how long did you do this?

TO: I think it was probably about three or four months.

TI: And then after that, what did you do?

TO: Then I went back to camp, and then my buddy said, "Let's go out. Let's go to someplace." So I don't know why we picked Cleveland, Ohio, but that's where we went. I think three or four of us went to Cleveland, Ohio.

TI: And before we go to Cleveland, what was, how was your family doing at Heart Mountain?

TO: Quite well. My father's health was stabilized and, of course, he was still somewhat of an invalid, he couldn't do too much because he ran out of breath right away and all that. So they were doing okay. My mom, I think, was working in the mess hall, and my younger brothers and sisters, they were going to school. And so everything was as normal as could be considering the situation and being in a camp.

TI: And your older sister, was she still at Heart Mountain?

TO: Yeah, I think she left, she left about the time, I think I was working in that sawmill, she went to, as a housegirl to St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. And, but my younger sister and brother were still there.

TI: And the earnings that you made from all these sort of work excursions, how much did you keep, how much did the family get? How was that...

TO: Very, very little. I gave most of it to my mother. Because I had not much use for it, you know, there wasn't anything you could buy. You couldn't buy a car or anything, so I just gave it to her. As well as when I went to Cleveland and worked, I always send her, send her some money.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.