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TI: So tell me about your job at Minidoka. What was your job?

MN: Minidoka? I worked in the procurement office, and I started out... since I didn't go to school, I mean, since I finished school, I worked, started out as a clerk typist. And then when the position for the secretary to the procurement office officer was available, somehow I was chosen to replace this person who left. And so that's what I did until I left, I was secretary to the procurement officer. And the wages were sixteen dollars, I think. I think I started at sixteen doing clerk typist, too. But anyway, sixteen dollars, and then a little... I can't remember if it was just before, maybe before I left, maybe a year before, or maybe not quite that long. But anyway, I got promoted, not promoted, but they gave me a raise, and my rate was for a supervisor's rate, I mean, supervisor's rate, and that was nineteen dollars. And so I was still a secretary, but then they gave me a raise.

TI: Now that was like the, wasn't that the top rate, or was there a... nineteen dollars was the highest rate that you can make.

MN: Uh-huh. So I was given that. And when I left camp, my procurement officer, my boss, and his superior, who was a supply officer, they both gave me, I mean, they bought a purse, and gave me a handbag when I left camp, which I thought was really nice, nice of them.

TI: Do you remember their names?

MN: Uh-huh.

TI: So what are their names?

MN: Well, my boss's name was K.G. Merrill, M-E-R-R-I-L-L. And the supply officer's name was Howard Mann, M-A-N-N.

TI: And in general, what would you do as a secretary?

MN: What did I do as a secretary? Oh, I took dictation, typed his letters, took phone calls and whatever else that was necessary. So I guess I was quite reserved growing up, and I think some people thought I was being stuck up or something, because I didn't talk around too much.

TI: But all those skills that your father wanted you to learn in high school, I guess, paid off in this job. Learning how to type, take dictation, do all these things.

MN: Yeah.

TI: Good.

MN: I think when I was doing typing, somehow I have it in my mind that when I was either, probably a sophomore, I don't think I was, it was during my freshman year, but I think around sophomore year, 1939 to '40, that has to be my freshman year. I couldn't have been taking typing, well, at night. I remember going to night school to take my typing, because I couldn't fit it into my day schedule. So my dad, you know, thought I should learn how to type. But that's beside the point.

TI: Now at Minidoka, what did your father do? Did he have a job?

MN: My father, he was a night watchman, I think, night watchman.

TI: For... what did he watch?

MN: Night watchman, I think that's what his job was. And seems like he was at the mess hall, but I don't know. Because we were, I mean, he was gone during the night, and I was gone during the day.

TI: So during the day he would sleep, and then at night he would be up? Is that the schedule?

MN: Well, I don't recall my dad sleeping that much. But I think that's what his job was, a night watchman, as I recall. I could be wrong.

TI: And how about your younger sister? She'd be only like eleven, twelve years old. So who would watch her?

MN: Well, she was, she had a job at the hospital working there, I mean, at her tender age, after school and everything. She was working after school, so that would be kind of late. But I do remember her working at the school, I mean, at the hospital.

TI: So other memories at Minidoka. Do you recall any fun times at Minidoka?

MN: Fun times? Well, they had movies, they had dances. I'm sure they had baseball and all that kind of sports, but I'm not very good at sports. [Laughs] So I didn't do any of that. Let's see, what else did they have? I was just thinking, of course, there's Saturdays and Sundays, but...

TI: How about hard times? Were there any hard times for you when you were at Minidoka?

MN: Hard times? Oh, let's see... of course, there's always people you don't agree with or whatever. But all in all, I guess I just went along, work and whatever.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2014 Densho. All Rights Reserved.