<Begin Segment 38>

DG: So let's kind of summarize. What impact did camp have on these different people in your life. Let's start with, like how, how was your family different having had to go to camp, do you think than the average. Compared to maybe the hakujins that maybe we around. Well let's -- your business, we were talking about that. Because you were, you had a thriving business and it was interrupted.

FN: Yeah the business, what, you know, until we knew, we knew that about the war. But we didn't actually, what to do. Of course we kept growing things. But when we came home as I said, it was a mess. But there, then it was quite a few Japanese here and they, there were a lot of them that weren't working so. People that we knew came and helped us. So in that way it was always really good.

DG: How do you think it impacted your kids that they had, they went to camp?

FN: Well you know I, I was asking Betty the other day. I said, "Betty, how did that impact you?" And she said, "You know what Mom, the, wherever went, I never felt that, that we were discriminated against." She said, "I really didn't have any bad incidents in her school, school years." So. Even Herb, he was about that age where they're little brats and running round everywhere. The only incident he had when he went back, he was only in the second or third grade. I think he was in the third grade. The kids started to pick on him, a whole bunch of kids did. And there's one big kid, he said, he just got mad at them and, and he came and protected Herb. I think Herb will remember that to this day that that one boy has always been, was always really protecting him. So he, he got along, after that he got along real well. It just takes one incident like that to happen. And Herb also had an incident where he wanted to join the Cub Scouts and oh, the parents were all just against him. They weren't going to have any. So I got so mad I called the head parent and told them, I said, "What is your creed?" [Laughs] And by just saying those few words, they, they, they let Herb in.

DG: Where was this?

FN: In Seattle.

DG: In Seattle.

FN: It was after, Seattle, Herb was in about 3rd grade and the kids, all, all the other kids were all, you know. Cub Scouts, so, "Come join us." And he couldn't join. And the parents are the ones that really objected. You know in those days of course, there was a lot of parents that very against, even... so you kept, you more or less kept to yourself. But how can you keep a kid from. So. And mostly they were able to get along quite well at school too. And Betty, mentioned too that she was in the eighth grade. And she said one day they was at gym and they were all exercising and something and they made big ring like this and the girls all clapped hands, would go by each other and clap. And this one Chinese girl of all things came, came, when it came her turn to. She just took Betty's hand and slapped it like that. And Betty said that one incident in all her time in school that she remembered, you know, where that girl had... at home, she came home she told me, "Mom, you know everybody was real friendly but this once Chinese girl." And you remember those times that the Chinese were very, well they were against Japanese. Because a lot of people thought they were Japanese, see. And so, there was a little trouble there for a while after we came back. But, I don't, I'm sure the Chinese have forgotten about that. But we, recall it and that was what over fifty-some years ago. But that. And small incidents like that remain in your mind. But...

<End Segment 38> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.