Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Tad Sato Interview
Narrator: Tad Sato
Interviewer: Stephen Fugita
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: August 15, 1998
Densho ID: denshovh-stad-01-0014

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SF: So here you are, after Pearl Harbor and after the beginning of '42, where most of the folks that you knew who lived in Seattle and all on the Coast...

TS: Yeah.

SF: ...were put into camps? Assembly center first and then the WRA camps. But you were out of all of that because of what the Great Northern...

TS: Yeah.

SF: ...did to the folks. So what was life like for you guys who were not in camp? But you knew that the war was going on. Your former friends and everybody was in, was in camp, but you guys were out? How was that?

TS: Well, I would say that we were happy not to be in camp. But other than that, I don't think, I don't think we thought about it that much.

SF: Did you experience any hostility from folks -- and you were in western -- I mean, I'm sorry, eastern Washington. Then when you went into town to get a meal or buy something, did -- was it always kinda tense or not tense?

TS: Well, some of the towns were happy to have us come in because that means we'd -- and a lotta young guys on the gang -- we'd buy -- go into town, and we spend bucks for all sorts of... and we'd buy cans of chili, because we didn't... and potato chips and, you know, what'd you buy. Whereas other towns would not allow us in. For example, north of Spokane, there was a town called Colville. And I was supposed to -- my age group was supposed to sign up for the draft. They wouldn't allow us into Colville to sign for the draft.

SF: How did you find out you weren't allowed into this town?

TS: 'Cause they wouldn't let us in.

SF: How -- tell us some about that I mean, did they, did the police chief come out and say, "You guys can't come into town," or...?

TS: Well, no, there was something out. I don't know how we found out. Anyway, as it turned out, somehow the word got, somebody, maybe the foreman, someone told, told them up in Colville. And they -- somebody came down to the gang in the boxcars where you lived in. Signed us up for the... and that was, we're in a place called Arden, which is north of Spokane. The people there were nice. It was small. All they had was one small store. Met the people there, and they were really nice.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.