<Begin Segment 30>

MN: Now, when redress, when talks of redress happened, did you ever think that was possible?

TI: Well, I didn't think we would get it, but I was surprised when we did get it, yes. You know, Aiko Yoshinaga was in my club, in the same club, the Junior Misses. That's how I met Aiko. And I was one of the first ones to send my name in to get reparations through Aiko.

MN: That's wonderful. Now, was your mother alive still to get redress?

TI: No. She was gone.

MN: Now, your son is a judge. Has he ever talked to you about the legality of camp and how he feels about it?

TI: No.

MN: Now, regarding Heart Mountain, when did you first return to Heart Mountain after the war?

TI: Well, we first, we took the children up to see Yellowstone, and then on the way back, we stopped at Heart Mountain. But the children were so young, I think Chrisie was eight and Lance was five. So they don't even remember.

MN: How did you feel about going back to camp?

TI: Well, it brought back memories, some good, some bad, but mostly good, yeah. And it was amazing to see how much has built up around there. Because when we went there, there was nothing there but our camp. But, of course, there was the little town of Powell and Cody, but they were, one was fifteen miles away, and thirty miles away, that way.

MN: How do you feel about the work of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation?

TI: Oh, I think it's wonderful that they're going to build this museum. And I hope that it sends a message that, you know, "Let's not have another concentration camp ever in the U.S.A."

MN: Is there anything else you would like to add? I've asked my questions.

TI: No. I think I've been fortunate to become a teacher, because before the war, they didn't allow Asians to become teachers in the elementary school, and high school, too. And so when I got out of camp and I had my two children, and I went back to college and got my teaching credential, and I was one of the first Asian teachers to go into teaching. So that was a plus.

MN: How many years did you teach?

TI: I taught about twenty-five and a half years, twenty-six.

MN: So your husband and yourself were teachers, so during the summer you were able to travel a lot?

TI: Yes, yeah. So we were able to travel. And then we were fortunate to get a sabbatical one time, and we went to Europe and Israel and all over.

MN: Okay, thank you very much.

TI: You're welcome.

<End Segment 30> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.