Densho Digital Archive - Chiyoko Yano Interview (denshovh-ychiyoko-01-0014)

<Begin Segment 14>

MA: So you mentioned that you went to Poston. Did you go there by train?

CY: Yes, by train.

MA: And what was that journey like? How many days did it take?

CY: Well, it was getting hotter and hotter as we went. We couldn't see where we were going, 'cause it's all, shades were drawn. But then we know it was getting hotter, and then just before we got there, we could tell that we were in a desert. 'Cause I think the train landed in Parker, Arizona, and from there, we got on the, those covered army truck with benches, and good thing we were young those days, we could climb the, climb on the thing. And then we had a dusty ride to our camp, which was about, quite a ways, maybe five or six miles away.

MA: When you arrived at Poston, what were, what did it look like? I mean, what, I imagine it was pretty barren.

CY: Oh, it was, it was very barren, and it was hot, real hot. 'Cause we came from Salinas Assembly Center, which is cool, about sixty or seventy, to about hundred and twenty. And an empty barrack with, we had a cot and a mattress, a thin mattress, army mattress, and we got an army blanket, and that's about it, one room (for a family of five).

MA: And were your parents also in Poston?

CY: Yes, uh-huh, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, my brother-in-law and Harry and I, so there were five of us. 'Cause my father-in-law was still in North Dakota.

MA: And your actual parents were also...

CY: My parents? They were in the next barrack.

MA: So you were able to stay kind of close to them, too.

CY: Oh, yeah, they were next barrack.

MA: And you mentioned that you worked in the canteen in Poston.

CY: Yes, uh-huh. It was nice because, you know, when things come in, people would be lined up, and you know, I should have kept those diary, I had diary, but how much, the price those things were, but I can't remember now. But I know we used to sell soap and toothbrush and combs. And then cookies and candies would come in certain days, there'd be a line outside. And ice cream, and I guess they used to have, we didn't have refrigeration, so they had ice, they'd put sodas in there, you know, in a big barrel with ice in there. So it's very primitive, but everybody craving for something from the outside, you know. And if you want to get anything like your shoes, later on they had a main, canteen had clothing and other things. But my canteen was mostly just food and, you know, like, minor necessities, soaps and all kind of, you know, like for everyday things, you know. Nothing luxury, no luxury item, yeah.