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DG: And can you tell me about your friends at Manzanar?

ES: We, we were all in the same block. So we stuck together, pretty close together, we went to church together, we used to play together. We used to go to this recreation hall where they had, oh, they had some singing sometime. And then I used to play what they call sticks, pick-up sticks and things like that, marbles. There's this one girl says, "Yeah, don't you remember playing jacks?" you know that, you bounce the ball and you pick up... I said, "Well, that I don't remember, but I probably played it." 'Cause there was a recreation hall where you can do... play with all these games. At least they furnished some recreation for the kids.

DG: So how was camp different for you as a seventh grade young girl compared to living on Bainbridge Island at that time?

ES: The seventh grade? You mean the schooling?

DG: Well, everything. How was life different for you now that you were at Manzanar?

ES: Well, there wasn't... I don't think the learning power was as great. I meant, they were more strict at the regular school that we went to. Otherwise, I didn't think, I didn't compare that much. It's just that I felt that I didn't learn as much for some reason. I mean, I didn't apply myself. I didn't take myself so seriously there as I would have at home. I think we were out to have kind of... enjoy ourself, to have more fun than studying, to me, at that time.

DG: And you started to run around with a group of, of girlfriends...

ES: Yeah, when we moved into camp, we did, 'cause we were all in the same block, so somehow we just stuck together. And then we didn't... since we were in Manzanar, we were the only one from the Northwest here, and so the others from California used to kind of think we were kinda snobby or something 'cause we wouldn't affiliate with them. But somehow we just... the people from the Northwest just stuck together, more closely together. They were kinda different from us, I mean, their attitude and things, I thought. And the way they dressed, it was different from... so I think, I think that's why we kinda was always together, stayed together a lot.

DG: And can you tell me more about the 7-Ups? How you got.. how, why they were called the 7-Ups?

ES: Oh, that we don't know yet. Because we figured somebody must have called us -- since they see us together all the time -- they called us 7-Ups one time. But no one seems to kind of remember. We were kinda talkin' about that one time and no one seems to remember how we happened to get that name. But, you could imagine, we were always together, the seven, so they just happened, maybe somebody just mentioned seven, so we says, why not call us 7-Ups, I guess. So that's something we don't know yet, maybe we could eventually find out, but I really don't know.

DG: Did you call yourselves the 7-Ups?

ES: Yeah. [Laughs] 'Cause we're still together.

DG: And what sort of things did you do together?

ES: You mean when we were down there?

DG: Uh-huh.

ES: Well that's... we went to fellowship together and concerts and to each other's place, just visiting. And I don't think we did... I remember going to a dance, just sitting at... we couldn't dance so we just watched, our, our older people, watching them dance. But no, we didn't do that much. Like birthday party and things, I figured that we didn't start that until we went to, moved to Hunt. Because, you know, Manzanar, we weren't there that long. But when we moved to Hunt, we started doing things more together. In Hunt we were stuck way at the end of the block, too, and then... so when we had to go down to the school we all went together because, we just somehow came together 'cause we're all going to the same place. [Laughs]

DG: And so were you close friends before the war and before camp?

ES: We knew each other, but we didn't know each other that well. I mean, we didn't get to see each other that often. But we knew, yeah, we knew each other. Except Kiyo was the one, she was, I think she lives quite a ways... I think she was in Crystal Springs somewhere, so that was quite a bit out of the way. But, and she -- her and another girl went to another school on that end of the island. So, we, we knew them, but then we weren't as closely affiliated as with the girls that went to the same school in Winslow. Well, we still knew they were there. We knew them and they were the same age as us. So I think we came together more closely in camp, when we were in camp.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.