<Begin Segment 9>

DG: Do you remember how you felt as a sixteen-year-old, having to leave the place you knew to go to this prison?

TS: Well, I wouldn't say prison, but... well, we didn't know what it was gonna be like in camp. But then it was, in a way, it was good, because there was some people that was prejudiced outside of, I mean, that didn't care for the Japanese, so in a way, 'cause some were, when they, I remember one man went fishing and then he was attacked by some other fisherman that, "You don't belong here," and to get out and this and that. You know, it was prejudice going on, so in a way, it was better in camp because it's safer. You were protected in there. And whereas outside, some people went to restaurants and they couldn't get served, and you don't want to see those things or hear it. And so I think it's better in camp. It was safer. You couldn't go outside, if somebody's gonna be watching you all the time.

DG: Did you have any experiences like that before camp, where your family wouldn't be served at a store? Or --

TS: No, I never heard of such a thing. We were served at restaurants or anyplace. The clerks would take care of you and, go to any grocery stores or anything. There was no prejudice before the war, but after -- well, I don't know about during the war, but even after the war too, it was like those people, colored people there, they couldn't get in the, get on the bus. And some people would say, "Well, you don't have to get on this bus. You don't belong here." I never had that kind of experience 'cause I didn't get to ride the bus, but some have. Yeah, and I think that was kind of bad, you know.

JS: So you heard about others who experienced that, but you didn't experience that.

TS: No. No, I didn't experience any of that. Course, we didn't go out like that. Kind of scary too, so we stayed home. Even the movies too, you didn't want to go to the movies.

DG: Before the war or after the war?

TS: After the war. It was kind of scary, I think.

JS: So do you remember coming back? Did your family come back together, or did your father come back earlier to...

TS: Well, no, we came, my brothers were in the service too, so let's see, my brothers were in, is it Vietnam War?

DG: Korea?

TS: Or is it Korean War, I guess?

DG: So they didn't serve in World War II?

TS: No, no, no. They were in camp then. But my husband was in World War II, yeah.

DG: But, so the Shimadas came back to Clarksburg together?

TS: Yeah.

DG: Do you remember when?

TS: It was right after the war, so 1940-something. I guess.

JS: '45.

TS: '45 or '46, I don't know.

DG: '45 or '46.

TS: Yeah.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2012 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.