<Begin Segment 27>

TI: But in addition to your job, I'm thinking, you got married when you were at Tule Lake. So describe, how would you have a courtship at Tule Lake?

MY: Oh, gosh, I don't know, go into the mess hall and the guy, the crew would usually... he was a steward, mess steward, whatever they call it. And so then after everybody got through eating and stuff, then they would clean up and everything. And the guys started playing poker. And so then they would stay there 'til about ten o'clock playing poker every night. So I just, I didn't know anything about poker, anything like that. So we just sat around and watched them play poker and things like that. Once in a while they had those, Tule Lake had the open air entertainment and things like that, and then right outside our door, the, what do you call it, windbreak or whatever they called it, right straight down from where we lived, the Sacramento people lived. And they were always agitating, you know. So pretty soon we could hear the banging on the dishpans and stuff and they said, "Oh, there goes Sacramento again," you know. And I know that for a while, one of the guys that George worked with was scared to go home. He was afraid to go home because he was from Sacramento. So he stayed with George and Dixie for a while. I don't know what happened to him, but I thought, god, that must be scary to have be afraid of your own kind of people.

TI: Going back to your husband, or husband-to-be, when did you first start dating? Was this back in Thomas?

MY: Oh, well, it was, they had moved from Sumner to Auburn, so we were running around together since we were sophomores in high school.

TI: And what was his name?

MY: Huh?

TI: What was his name?

MY: Maki, M-A-K-I.

TI: Maki Yamada. And how did you guys decide to get married?

MY: I don't know, we just did, and then Reverend Naito was from Sacramento, so we got married that way, no fancy dress or anything, wearing my cotton dress, everyday after-work clothes. [Laughs]

TI: And so where did you get married?

MY: In Tule Lake.

TI: But which facility did you...

MY: Oh, I think it was Reverend Naito's barrack. I don't remember where it was now.

TI: And then after you get married, was there any kind of honeymoon or anything, or what happened after you got married?

MY: No, no. We lived at home, and then it wasn't too long after that, they started talking about relocating and stuff. Well, then my oldest brother had a produce business, and they were, he got sent to Minidoka so that his wife could help him clean up the business that he was leaving behind. And then, so then celery season came around, and they needed harvesters for celery in Weiser, Idaho. And so Tom got a hold of George or Mun or somebody, and he wanted him to recruit some help. And so they decided, well, I don't remember how many people they allowed in, but he recruited a bunch to go to Weiser. And then the next thing you know, Tom had written and told the folks, he says, well, he didn't know if that was, would be a good idea, but there's this opportunity, that he's got to help some people get out of the camp to start the life over again. So says, "Do you want to come and see if you could find a farm to work on or something?" Then he says, "I'll put in an application." So then we just all jumped on the wagon.

TI: So this is kind of the Ontario, Oregon, area?

MY: Idaho, Weiser, Idaho. It's about 20 miles from Ontario.

TI: Okay. So to get out and work on the farms. Okay, but going back to, I'm just curious in terms of ceremonies like weddings in camp. So after you were married, did you guys have like a little party? Did they have a reception for you or anything like that?

MY: No, nothing.

TI: So it's so different than the weddings you see today where...

MY: Oh, gosh, yeah. Just plain old housedress and Reverend Naito. Still have a picture, I don't know what it is, character or anything, but he did brush painting, and I still have that.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright (c) 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.