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FK: When you think back on your time when you were in camp, what's your fondest memories about camp?

SK: My fondest memories? I think my friends were fun to be with... and then I had some, I had some good teachers. There was only one that I didn't care for, and I don't think... as I think about it today, I think she was not cut out to be a teacher, but she was a teacher, and she was just very mean. And the kids and... one of the students at the Sakai School asked if she hit us and we said no, I said, "No, she didn't hit us, but she was very verbally abusive." And I remember one day, the teacher walked out of the classroom and the superintendent of schools was there, outside, talking to her. She came back in and she was in tears because I think... I don't know for sure, but I think that she was scolded for the way she was treating us. I don't know, but it was, I just remember that, and I said, "Oh, it's about time somebody got after her." [Laughs] But I, of course, I was one of those very meek, mild individuals. I never got my myself into trouble at school, I didn't dare. But I just remembered, she was the only teacher I really disliked. And in all my years of schooling, I've had fairly good teachers, and, but I've never had anyone like her before or after. And so that was the only... I guess that was the one thing that I wasn't very happy about in that fifth grade situation. But school was not, school was not too hard for me, except when it came to certain things and I didn't know about and I'd have to go, I'd have to go ask Pauline Nakata. I said, "Pauline, how do you do, how do you do this math?" it was algebra or something, I forgot. Anyway, and she would help me through. Because all my sisters, everybody was gone, so nobody to help me. But I remember Pauline Nakata was there to help me, and I would see Jerry Nakata around. But other than that, yeah, Pauline was a wonderful helper. [Laugh]

FK: If you had to pick your worst memories about camp, what would that be?

SK: I'm sorry?

FK: If you had to pick the worst memory you had of camp, what would that be?

SK: My worst memories were the dust storms, and the fact that all the Bainbridge people, most of the Bainbridge people left me. Other than that, I, my experiences were pretty good there. And the, as far as the, as far as schooling and everything, things just went along. Of course, I was very naive, too, but things came along quite well, just a couple of incidences that I wasn't happy about. But on the most part, there was... and of course Manzanar had the most, it was a very barren place when we first got there. But the people decided we needed flowers, we needed a lawn, we needed trees, and we had, and so all those things came up. And it turned out to be a very nice place as far as, as the looks. And then, of course, the Sierra Nevadas stood out for us, and that was just beautiful. We used to see it every day in a different light, just as we see Mount Rainier here. So, yeah, that was... I didn't have too many bad, bad experiences in camp, 'cause I was, of course, I was still a kid.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.