Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Lillian Nakano Interview
Narrator: Lillian Nakano
Interviewer: Megan Asaka
Location: Torrance, California
Date: July 8, 2009
Densho ID: denshovh-nlillian-01-0009

<Begin Segment 9>

MA: And then tell me about your time in Jerome. Can you describe your living conditions?

LN: Oh, yeah. Jerome was... Jerome was a camp that was very underdeveloped yet. So in the winter, the rain would come, and oh, it would be all flooded. And then you would be deep in mud, and things like that. It was, Jerome was very raw and crude. So with the elements like that, like rain, and sometimes a little bit snow, it became difficult, especially for my parents. I think for us, we kids, you just manage. Nothing bothers you. I think it's very difficult for parents. They had to, the weather, the cold and everything. Because it's a community bathroom, that's the only thing we didn't like. And so my mother, she used to, she would, I think she developed asthma out there in that period. It was so cold, and having to go in and out, in and out all the time like that to the bathroom, you had to walk. I think all of that was very hard on her. She started to cough a lot more. Yeah. But for us, it was, we were kids, so kids are very flexible and open about all that. You just... I mean, you don't even think about it, you know. You just take what's coming. So when you think about it, it's the best time to be kids, when you have to get through all that. It was much harder for adults, especially those with infants, and for my parents and things like that.

MA: What was the relationship like between people from, Japanese people from Hawaii and then from the mainland in Jerome?

LN: Oh, I think at first it was kind of hostile. Because they thought we were strange, Hawaiians were strange, because they didn't, they talked funny. And then they had... how would you say it? They would be walking barefoot and stuff like that. Just these different customs, they just thought that was weird. And then, of course, the Hawaiians would get very defensive. The Hawaiians were very... how would you say it, feisty people. So there were a lot of fights going on. But eventually, though, eventually you get to know each other. And when you come down to it, there isn't that much of a barrier or difference. Except at first, the cultural differences, I think kind of shocking to them, especially. [Laughs]

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.