<Begin Segment 13>

SY: So your father and mother, do you remember what they did when you first got there?

YY: No.

SY: Your sisters were going to school, though, so did they have school right away?

YY: Yeah.

SY: But it took a while for everybody to get there, right?

YY: Right. I don't know, I don't know if the school was open or not when we got there.

SY: So you were, since you were among the first people to be there, they, did they have activities? Or do you remember that period when nobody else, when people hadn't gotten there first?

YY: No. No, I don't remember. I can't remember.

SY: You don't remember what you did at night?

YY: No.

SY: Did you have, do you remember who was living next door to you?

YY: No.

SY: No other young people your age?

YY: No. But I knew the two volunteers that came, and then they were living in a bachelor's place, so I remember going over there to talk to them. But other than that, I can't remember.

SY: They were the ones that were already there.

YY: Uh-huh. They were the ones that volunteered to go and help build up Manzanar.

SY: Do you remember what, did they have just one or two mess halls then, when you first got there, operating?

YY: I don't know. I just know, I just knew that 9 and 10, they both had mess halls.

SY: So you had your own in your, where you were. So was it, so you remember anything about the food?

YY: I think at first we were just getting canned food. But I know, I know they were complaining about the food at first, but afterwards, I think it got better.

SY: So did you feel like they were just, did it feel like they were getting ready for everybody else to come? Or do you, did it even occur to you that...

YY: Well, I'm pretty sure they were waiting, 'cause, for the other people to come in, because they were coming in all the time, the place was filling up real fast.

SY: And your parents, they were, were they busy during the day? Do you remember what they were doing?

YY: I don't know what they did.

SY: But while you were, and your sisters, your youngest sister, how old, she was about ten or eleven?

YY: No, she was...

SY: She was born in '34, so she was pretty young.

YY: I think, yeah, 'cause we were there in '42.

SY: So she was, so I assume that she was not able to go to school 'til the next semester, the next fall.

YY: Well, I don't know when she started, but I know she had to go to school. [Laughs]

SY: Eventually.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.