Densho Digital Archive
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community Collection
Title: Yaeko Yoshihara Interview
Narrator: Yaeko Yoshihara
Interviewer: Joyce Nishimura
Location: Hilo, Hawaii
Date: December 3, 2006
Densho ID: denshovh-yyaeko-01-0004

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YY: On March 30th, that morning, at nine o'clock, the soldiers came. They went to each house at the same time, so there was a big army convoy truck that came to pick up each family. And so at nine o'clock we had to be ready. Oh, excuse me, just prior to that time, my parents had to arrange who would take care of the farm. And that was the year when the strawberries were early. It was doing beautifully, there were flowers on the bushes, and it was gonna be a bumper crop. It was so sad to have to leave that and fortunately my dad was able to get one of his Filipino workers to take over the farm. So Pete Garcia took over the farm and took care of the harvest and managed during our absence. They also needed someone to rent the house. So this lady and her son rented the house and stayed there during the war years. But anyway, when we were picked up on that March 30th, then, of course we went to the Eagledale dock. There was about an hour or so. Many people came to say goodbye -- especially the older ones who could drive -- to say goodbye to their classmates. There were a lot of hugs and tears.

And so at eleven o'clock we boarded the ferry. When we got to Colman dock, they marched us off, and I could see on that overhead, overpass by Colman dock, they were loaded with people who was watching what was going on. Then we, of course, had to board the train. It took us... it was basically three days and two nights on that train as we headed south. I guess there was a time where they pulled the shades so we wouldn't see. But actually, I don't remember that much because we were looking out the window and seeing the places that we were going to. So it was on April Fool's Day in the morning, and we reached Mojave, the town of Mojave. That's where our train ride ended and we were herded onto buses. It took almost four hours to get to Manzanar, and it was a hot, dry, winding road. Because we reached Manzanar a little bit after twelve o'clock, at noon. It was dry, dusty. Manzanar was just in the process of being built. So first thing they did was, after we got off, and then they took us to the mess hall, because it was lunchtime. We had lunch and then we were issued, assigned our quarters, which was one room. They told us, "Here's this canvas ticking. Go fill it with straw. That's your mattress." So, that's what we did. We each had an army cot, and each person was given two army blankets. But the rooms were bare and it had one oil heater and one light bulb dangling from the ceiling, and no tables, no chairs. Then we had to make the best of what was there in the beginning. At that time too, there were other people coming in. Like people from L.A., that area. I remember the next day, we had to all line up for our typhoid shot because that was, because of the water change, the climate change, everyone had to have their typhoid shot. The place was different and... dust, a lot of dust storms and scorpions. [Laughs] So we had to be careful because I remember walking into the community bathroom and there was a scorpion right there on the floor.

The facilities and of course our unit, no privacy. And there were rows of toilets with no partition, no doors, and then an area for showers. There were about eight showerheads, no curtains, no privacy. You were open to the public. They had, of course, one for the women and the other for the men. This is all in one block, and each block had a similar setup. And then the dining hall: it was, of course, cafeteria style and all, but the thing is, when we ate, we ate with friends. And so we didn't eat with our families. It kind of broke down that family unit, unless the children were small. Like I ate with my friends and so did my sister. She ate with her friends and so it did change family life. When we went there eventually different services were provided, but there was no school. We played a lot, we visited a lot, we made new friends. Eventually there were clubs, classes, and they even provided piano lessons. This lady who taught the piano was a professional. And so a group of us would go to lessons. The problem is we really didn't have a piano to practice, you know, hardly. But we got a lot of theory. Eventually there was tap dancing. The older ones found jobs, they worked. It was a long summer. Perhaps you remember my sister, Nobi, saying that her class of thirteen had to complete their schoolwork in order to receive their high school diploma. That occurred in June after they finished their coursework. But for the rest of us, we spent the summer playing a lot. That's one place that two of my friends said, "Oh, we're going to Sunday school." And you know, we had nothing better to do so the others kind of tagged along, and that's when I started to go to church. At Sunday school I learned a lot. I was like a blotter that absorbed all this because my parents were Buddhists. I knew very little about Christianity, but I really enjoyed it and that's how I became a Christian even when my parents wanted me to go to the Buddhist church which opened up. I never did turn back. Then since we had missed two months of schooling on Bainbridge, in late August we were given books to study and we received help from the older people to make up the work in math, science, English and so forth. They tested us and so forth, and that way we completed our seventh grade, for me and my friends.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.