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Densho Visual History Collectiom
Title: Toshi Nagamori Ito Interview
Narrator: Toshi Nagamori Ito
Interviewer: Martha Nakagawa
Location: Laguna Woods, California
Date: November 9, 2010
Densho ID: denshovh-itoshi-01-0020

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MN: Now when you went to National College, you brought along this pair of red boots. Can you share with us what this meant?

TI: Yes. Well, since my father bought me those red boots, I really treasured them because I felt there was a parent that really loved me and cared about me. And so it ended up being my "security boots" instead of a security blanket, it was a "security boots." And I would always place it in the closet where I could see it, and it really gave me comfort when I was lonely or blue. I had some homesickness when I went to college, especially at Christmastime.

MN: How was living in the dorms at National College different from living at Heart Mountain?

TI: Oh, such a difference. We had central heat, steam heat, and we had, you know, your own room, but I shared it with a roommate. And the food was so much better than camp, especially once... no, there was a time when our food wasn't so good because the cook miscalculated our points. During the war, you had to have points to buy meat, and you had to have points to buy butter, and you had to have points to buy shoes even, and sugar. Because they all went to war. And so she miscalculated our meat points and so we ended up eating tongue and sweetmeats and things like that that we weren't used to. [Laughs] So some of us that had a little money would go down to the hamburger stand a half a block down the street.

MN: Now, at this college, you had to take a dose of cod liver oil?

TI: Yes.

MN: Why did you have to do that?

TI: Because they thought since I'm from California, I would be susceptible to catching the flu, or a cold. So they made us take cod liver oil every morning, and a nurse was assigned to see that we took it. [Laughs] Oh, dear.

MN: Now, you arrived at National College late in the semester when midterms were going on. How were you able to catch up?

TI: Well, I was able to catch up with most of my classes except my history class. So the professor that taught the Rise of Civilization on the Mediterranean Basin said she would lecture me during the Christmas holidays, so I couldn't go home. And I stayed, and she lectured me.

MN: How was that like, being away from your family?

TI: The first time. It was hard at first, yeah. But it was an adventure, and I had such a wonderful roommate, and I really was lucky to get away and go to college in a natural environment without being incarcerated.

MN: Now, is it my understanding that each student was assigned a church and they had to teach a Sunday school class?

TI: Uh-huh.

MN: Were you one of the only Japanese Americans to be teaching a Sunday school class?

TI: Uh-huh.

MN: Now, how did the congregation react to you?

TI: They were all told before I went there, so it was very nice, and nobody said anything.

MN: Now, when summer came, did you stay at National College or did you return?

TI: No, I returned to Heart Mountain the first summer.

MN: Now, when you returned to Heart Mountain, was it hard to adjust back to camp life?

TI: Yes, it was. [Laughs] It's such a culture shock when you have to, you know, go to the latrine outside of your room and take all your meals in the mess hall. Though it's something like school, too, you went to the dining room. But it was different.

MN: How did you spend your summer at Heart Mountain?

TI: Well, I just had a good time, and I didn't do much. And since Jim came to court me, we went to movies, the camp had movies and they had dances, we would go to dances. He would come over and my father belonged to the Book of the Month Club, so Jim would sit there and read all these books. I had other boyfriends, too. [Laughs] So in camp, you don't have a telephone, you know, so they can't telephone ahead and say, "May I come over?" So sometimes I would end up with three guys on the bed in our living room space. [Laughs] It was really funny. Then my father would come in at nine o'clock and say, "Well boys, you'll have to leave. I've got to go take my shower and I want to go to bed." So then all the guys would have to leave, get up and leave. It was funny.

MN: So your husband had competition?

TI: Oh, sometimes. [Laughs]

MN: Did he ever get jealous?

TI: I don't think so. [Laughs]

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.