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TI: So let's talk about going to camp. So talk about that process. What was that day like, or the days leading up in terms of getting everything ready and going to, I'm thinking you went to Puyallup, so talk about that.

FS: Well, you know, we went to "Camp Harmony," and you know that we were allowed one suitcase and that was it, if I remember right. And so essentially you got rid of everything, it was a pretty sad day. I remember when we left the farm, we put these suitcases on the back of our flatbed farm truck, and it must have been the neighbor, I don't even remember who took us there, but we went to that "Camp Harmony" in Area B, which is the south side, across the street from the fairgrounds. And I remember going in there, and the first thing we had to do was to, after we got our room assignments and get our cots, and they gave us these canvas mattresses, and there were bales of hay, you just stuffed them with straw for your mattress and all. And I remember, I was just devastated. Dinnertime we went into the old dining room that they had set up, and again, that was just kind of a very sad experience for me. You know, on the farm we never went hungry, because we always had abundance of food, and my mother always prepared it nicely. And you go from that environment into this thing where kitchen produced meals en masse, it just was not appealing at all. I don't remember too much other than that. All I know was it was a pretty sad experience, geez.

TI: And then after you got settled in a little bit, what was a typical day? Did you spend more time with the family, or did you have friends that you would do things with? Describe that.

FS: You know, I don't have much recollection of that time. The only thing I remember is just before we went into camp, I had an unfortunate accident where I damaged my front teeth. And so the first thing after we went into camp and we get the care lined up, I used to always go across the street, every day, to get my teeth treated. And that's one thing I remember distinctly of that period.

TI: So this was before the war, before the war you did this, or when was this? Where every day you got your teeth treated, this was in Sumner?

FS: No, when we were in camp.

TI: Oh, in camp, okay. So in Puyallup.

FS: Yeah, at "Camp Harmony."

TI: When you went across the street, you had to go outside of camp?

FS: Well, you know, Area A and B was what is the parking lot across the street from the main fairgrounds. And in the main fairgrounds was Area C, and there were sleeping units in there, too. But the medical staff were located inside the building there. So I used to have to get a pass to leave there and go across the street and get my teeth checked.

TI: Okay, every day.

FS: Every day. You remember Dr. Fukuda? He's the one that used to treat me.

TI: Okay. But in some ways, that was convenient, I guess. You lived right across the street. If you were on the farm, you wouldn't have gotten that kind of treatment.

FS: No. I used to have to come with my dad from Sumner to Puyallup, we used to go to the dentist. But that's the one thing I had to do every day.

TI: And did you take that trip, going across the street to the other area, did you just do it by yourself, or did you go with someone when you went to the dentist?

FS: I think I used go to by myself.

TI: Any other memories or incidents or experiences of "Camp Harmony"?

FS: Well, no, not particularly. It just was not a pleasant time. I remember the mud in that place, the grounds were not graveled and everything, we got some rain, it was muddy and crazy. And the other thing was people talk about the lack of privacy between you, rooms, that was all pretty crazy. Even the walls that were built really were no more than a partition, per se. Bedding was terrible, food wasn't good at all in my view.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2017 Densho. All Rights Reserved.