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BN: And then what do you remember about arriving at Pomona?

SM: Well, there was, the train stopped at a siding and it was very close to the Pomona camp. I recall it was close enough we were able to walk into the camp. And we were assigned a barrack which was right adjacent to a horse stall, a horse stable, but it was a temporary barrack shelter, really flimsy. There were some dividing walls, but no ceiling, open ceiling, and very noisy, and all four of us in one room. You could hear all the neighbors over the ceiling because there was no ceiling. It was a very difficult environment.

BN: Were your grandparents in a separate room?

SM: Yes, they were in a separate room, I don't remember where, but it was clearly not in the same room. So it was a family of four.

BN: So just the four immediate family.

SM: Four of us, yeah.

BN: And then in the immediate area, was it mostly other people from San Francisco who were in the same area?

SM: I don't recall where they were from, just strangers to me.

BN: What do you remember, what else do you remember about the assembly center? One thing I always ask people is, because it's such a vivid memory for a lot of people, is the bathrooms. Do you remember anything about that?

SM: Well, it was a communal bathroom, and as I recall, it had no partitions, it's kind of embarrassing. But I remember the food was awful. I don't recall exactly what the dishes were. I knew what they were at Heart Mountain, but at Pomona, all I remember is it was terrible, not the kind of food we were used to. And there were long lines waiting, waiting for food. But it was chaotic at that time.

BN: Had you been to Southern California or spent a lot of time in Southern California before being more from the Bay Area. Because the weather in Pomona is very different than it would have been in the Bay Area.

SM: Yes, that was my first time in Southern California, never been to L.A. before 1942, that was the very first time.

BN: How was the... because the weather was so different, was that noticeable?

SM: I don't remember it was especially unusual. It seems like it was a little bit warmer than San Francisco, but other than that, I don't remember exactly the climate.

BN: Do you know if your parents did any, worked in the camp at all?

SM: At the Pomona camp, I don't believe they did any work at all, no.

BN: You weren't there very long.

SM: No, that was a short time.

BN: Right, right. In terms of what they brought from home, did they literally bring just stuff in a couple suitcases, or were they able to bring more things? Or were your parents' friends able to send other things along later?

SM: I recall it's simply suitcases, nothing more than what you could carry as I recall. I had one small suitcase. Both my parents had larger suitcases, but that was fairly simple. I don't remember anything else beyond what they could carry.

BN: And then were you able to make furniture or other things once you got there?

SM: At Pomona, no, there wasn't much time, much resources to do anything else other than just wait it out and see what happens.

BN: Okay. Do you remember anything else about, because Pomona is built on the L.A. County Fairgrounds. So do you remember any elements of that, the racetrack or other areas as part of the assembly center? Grandstands?

SM: No, I don't remember that, but there was one event that I'll never forget. I had a toothache, and there were no dentists in the camp at that time. And so I remember a guard in civilian clothes escorted my mother and myself to a dentist in downtown Pomona. And I remember going and while being treated, the guard decides to stop away for doing something, I don't know what it was. But he gave instructions to my mother, "Don't move." But my mother decided she needed some essential supplies, so the guard left at first, and then she disappeared. And the guard came back, and she was gone, and he panicked. And when my mother came back with whatever she'd bought, the guard went, he went through the roof. He was really upset. I had a feeling, I knew he was carrying a gun, I have a feeling that he was ready to pull a gun on my mother in case she tried again or attempted to get away, because the guard felt he didn't do his job. And he chewed her out, I remember that very clearly. But that's about as close as she came to a disaster in the dental office in Pomona.

BN: Wow, that's quite a story.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.