<Begin Segment 6>

SY: And do you remember the, how many kids your age that you would, like who you would play with?

KS: We had, I would say, maybe twenty or thirty or so. I really don't remember. I didn't associate with all of 'em. I didn't get to know much of 'em, many of 'em. I did get to know a few of the family people that, related to the area that we came from.

SY: That, while you were in the Children's Village?

KS: 'Cause they were also, they lived in the Los, I mean downtown, Japanese-town area, being picked up from there, and that was one group that I was in there with. And there were other people that I got to know somewhat. We, not a close relationship, just got to know who they were and we did a few things, but we never stayed together as friends.

SY: But you remember playing with one another?

KS: Yeah, we played. We played. The teenagers would get to provide activity and stuff like that, and I know the management there would get these teenagers to get together. They says, "We're gonna build a wooden fence around this area. Go get the, get logs and stuff and build up fences. And we want a fence in this central, between the mess hall and the Children's, to make a little safe area for crawling children." So they could keep the lawn in there and keep it bordered. And I remember them, I don't know where they got it, but I know about two miles outside the camp there was a stream there and they had birch trees, and what we made the fence with was from the birch trunk. And I thought... it was nice, it's white, it's clean and all that. There's no place that you can get hurt. But the thing is, the way they joined the thing and stuick it in the ground, after a short period of time that thing started to root and grow, so we have a growing fence. [Laughs]

SY: That's very funny.

KS: Yeah, I thought that was funny.

SY: You remember that, that's really good.

KS: That was, to me it was very humorous, in the sense that here they're getting wood and they're sticking it in the ground, and it actually rooted in the ground and it started having fresh branches and leaves come and growing out of this thing. [Laughs]

SY: So did you actually all go to the same, did you all go to school? Was there a school there?

KS: Yes, the school was usually a walk outside of the Shonien area. There was some, they had grade schools located at certain barracks. Certain teachers were occupying one of the rooms in one of the blocks, and one of the rooms is, maybe first and second grade is here, so forth, so on. And so these kids, like us, we, I don't remember how many blocks we had to walk to get to one of the classes. I remember my teacher's name was Mrs. Sandwich. I remember to this day. Periodically, I did check how she was doing and all that, but I never really contacted her after that.

SY: Now, was that, was that the teacher that just taught kids that were from the orphanage area? Or did she teach --

KS: No, she teached --

SY: She taught --

KS: -- children from the, that block area, wherever the...

SY: So you intermingled with --

KS: We intermingled, as children we intermingled.

SY: In school. So what was that like? Was that something that you...

KS: It was interesting. It was new to me because, I mean, intermingling with children was not a common thing in my life, anyway, at that time. It was all sort of new, and I thought, well, interesting people. Some people were very interesting and that I wish I got to know them a little bit better, but now that I think about it...

SY: But did they ask you, or did you talk about the fact that you were --

KS: Well, they, I remember one asked me, he said, "How old are you?" And I says, "You know, I really don't know." [Laughs] "When's your birthday?" "I don't know that either."

SY: And how about the fact that you came from this orphanage area, did they, it didn't bother...

KS: It was never, probably they knew. Probably they knew, but it was never asked of us.

SY: So you never felt --

KS: Never asked of me, anyway.

SY: And so you didn't necessarily feel different.

KS: No.

SY: You really sort of, just like one of the...

KS: One of the kids in the class, and you learned what you can.

SY: And then you went back.

KS: And went back. From that standpoint, we were somewhat obedient of the requirements of you going to class, "Come back here and have, be here ready for dinner. And go wash up and change your clothes in the morning, and this is where you get your clothes." [Laughs]

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.