<Begin Segment 13>

MN: Let me ask you about your eating arrangement. Which mess hall did you eat at?

YY: It was the Yellow I remember. It was at Yellow Mess Hall. You had to line up. They still gave me milk.

MN: I thought milk was for the young children.

YY: Well, they gave it to me. [Laughs]

MN: Did you look really young?

YY: I don't know.

MN: Do you remember what kind of food you ate?

YY: Well, you know, I like food, so I'll eat anything. [Laughs] So it was no problem for me.

MN: I hear a lot of complaints about mutton.

YY: Oh, yeah.

MN: Did you like the mutton?

YY: I love mutton. I love lamb, see, so I used to enjoy stew. It's smelly, but I still love lamb. So I didn't mind it at all.

MN: Were there other types of meats that you...

YY: They say it was horse meat, but it was tough, but it was food and I enjoyed food. So no problem with me.

MN: So did they really serve horse meat?

YY: Yes, they did. They really did.

MN: Now a lot of the younger people ate with their friends. What about yourself?

YY: No, I wasn't allowed to. I always had to be home.

MN: The Takahashis were very strict.

YY: Oh, yes, very strict.

MN: What did Mrs. Takahashi do in Santa Anita?

YY: She was a cook. She was a helper in the kitchen. So she used to bring leftovers and made jell-o or something, treated us real good.

MN: Now you're still in high school. Did you attend classes at Santa Anita?

YY: Uh-huh.

MN: Where were they held at?

YY: The little barracks they had especially for school.

MN: So what was classes like?

YY: Well, the teachers weren't the best, but you know, we used to... I would never skip class, but we used to do that. Things I never used to do. We were not a hundred percent interested in going to classes and things.

MN: So you skipped classes and did what?

YY: Oh, we fooled around doing something, go canteen or whatever. But I had a job there, remember I told you? My ojisan knew all these religious people, ministers, so he got me a job there as a secretary.

MN: Wasn't that at Heart Mountain?

YY: That was at Heart Mountain.

MN: Okay, don't go there yet.

YY: Okay.

MN: So Santa Anita, you went to school, who were your teachers?

YY: I don't remember. I think we went to the stands. I don't know if it was a class per se, we'd just sit there and listen to lectures and stuff. But I don't think it was like a class.

MN: Oh, you're talking about the grandstands.

YY: Yeah, grandstands.

MN: That's where the classes were held. And your teachers, were they Caucasians or Japanese?

YY: Mostly Caucasians.

MN: Did you take any, like art classes?

YY: Well, I took knitting and things I enjoyed. I think I started to take drafting, but I don't think I was cut out for that.

MN: That's the sewing drafting?

YY: Yeah.

MN: Santa Anita had a riot. Do you remember that?

YY: I don't think I do remember that. Because I probably was kept home or something, I don't know.

MN: Now in general, how did you spend your time at Santa Anita?

YY: Well, I don't know. I was going around with my girlfriend, and I guess we found things to do. I don't know for sure, I can't remember. But it wasn't boring. Most of the time I think I was knitting. Because I learned to knit, I enjoyed it, so I just stick with it until I finished some things.

MN: Did anyone from the outside come to visit you?

YY: No, I don't think so. Might have been one of my brothers', a Caucasian friend, he used to come, I think, and bring things.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.