Densho Digital Repository - Mary Kato - Frances Kajita Nishi Interview (Densho ID: ddr-densho-1000-494-12)

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BY: Okay, so do you remember moving from, leaving Pinedale and going to Tule Lake? Do you remember that at all?

FN: I don't remember any of that either.

BY: Okay. And what do you remember about Tule Lake?

FN: Well, I don't remember too much about Tule Lake except I remember there was a man in there that always put on shows, and he would stick needles into his arm and different things. And so that was what I remember, is the shows that they put on.

TI: Was this a Japanese or Japanese American?

FN: Japanese man.

TI: But this was a show, it was like...

FN: I mean, he would act like... and then stick a needle in his... that's all I remember. [Laughs]

BY: Oh, okay. So, Mary, do you remember the journey from Pinedale to Tule Lake?

MK: Like I said, this was an older train. And whenever we traveled we had to close the blinds and go on the side tracks so that the other trains could go by. And so it was a slow trip, because they side tracked. They must have used all kinds of old, old trains, because some had those velvet curtains.

BY: And what were your first impressions of the camp?

MK: Just a bigger Pinedale. [Laughs] It was big. But it was near Klamath Falls, which is in Oregon, you know.

BY: This is not on the list, but what were their living conditions like?

MK: Lived in those camps like Pinedale, except they had water and mattress and all that in cots.

BY: Sounds like it was better. Do you remember anything about your living conditions, like your barrack or anything about that?

FN: I get the two camps mixed up, from Tule Lake to Topaz, Utah, so I really don't know that there was much of a difference.

BY: Okay, so what do you recall? It doesn't matter whether it was Tule Lake or Topaz? What do you recall about living conditions?

FN: All I recall is we had a one-room place to live for five of us, and so you could imagine five beds strung up in a row and no privacy at all. So you could imagine how my parents felt with all the kids around. And so eventually we built screens to screen off the areas. And since it was one room, there was only one pot stove in there. So that kept us warm, but like you say, every time we had a storm or anything, there's dust and everything.

BY: So Mary, how did you spend your time in camp?

TI: Is this Tule Lake?

BY: Either.

MK: We were graduated from high school, so I worked as a kitchen helper. And then they had classes that you could go to like ikebana and sewing. So I took those classes and they brought those water reeds from the... because Tule Lake was more of a swampy land, you know. So they brought all kinds and so we made the ikebanas. And the ladies went to the lake shore there and got seashells. And all the wood that they brought in from the sawmills and they dropped it in the middle of the camp there. The people would take those wood and carve it or make furniture, all kinds of things. So they kept busy.