<Begin Segment 24>

LH: So you're at the point where you're starting to understand a little more about the situation, your circumstances, sort of coming to an awareness about what it means to be in the camp?

MS: Yeah.

LH: And you are also... earlier you mentioned about wishing you could go places. And how did that affect you?

MS: Well, there was a time when, later on in the camps, they allowed radios because I remember vividly listening to Hit Parade and some of the music of the times and some stories that came on theaters or whatever they were. So I remember that you do, wistfully think, you know, "I wish we could be there and see these things," or, "Why can't we do things like that?" And I do remember that, but you knew you couldn't bother your parents about that because they couldn't do anything about it either. But I do remember near the ending of camp where they were getting a little looser about things, they allowed a group of us youngsters a chance to visit the neighboring city, which was Twin Falls. And we could go in there, and we could go to a real theater because up until then we used to go to the canteens and they'd show the Flash Gordon movies, Buster Crabbe. [Laughs] But that was what amounted to the kinds of films we used to see. But we were going to see a full-fledged movie, and we were going to go to a regular theater.

LH: So was this a group of children?

MS: Yes. There were children in... well, by then we were about, let's see, about seven, eight years old, still young but still old enough to be in, and I'm sure there was an adult there. But all I remember is that we all piled in, and most of us were about my age. We piled in this big truck that took us from the camp grounds into Twin Falls to see, to a real theater, to see this movie. And I'll always remember that movie. It was National Velvet and it was one of Elizabeth Taylor's first movies. And we saw that movie twice. We sat through it twice. [Laughs]

LH: Now why would you do that?

MS: Well, we loved it. But also, we were told by the camp authorities or whoever was the one to give us permission to go, that we were not to venture outside that theater, that we were just supposed to stay in there. We never questioned that. We just figured we'd better... we had never been out of the camp, period. So we were thinking we'd better just do whatever and go only where we're supposed to go. So we went to the movie, sat through it twice because we knew that was the length of time it would take before the truck would come and pick us up again. So that movie is indelible in my mind, and I still remember that. But we never really interacted with any of the people of the community there because we were told not to. We were dropped off in front of the theater and picked up in front of the theater and brought back.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.