Densho Digital Archive - Jiro Sugidono Interview (denshovh-sjiro-01-0015)

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TI: So, so I want to ask now, so pretty soon you have to start making preparations to leave Watsonville. And earlier you talked about how your family owned the property.

JS: (Yes).

TI: So what happened to the property? How did, what did you need to do to prepare that?

JS: Well, we were, fortunately, I think where we were living, we lived there since 1970 -- I mean, 1930, and most of the people around there was Latino and Chinese family, and they knew each other pretty good. We didn't have no trouble, any of the people stealing from each other, you know. So when the war broke out and they said we had to evacuate, so only thing what we did was left everything in the house and locked it up. And we had an Italian friend that lived on the corner, Mr. Merendoni, and we asked him if he could kind of look, look at the property. And I don't know if we gave him the key or not, but I don't think we did. Anyway, when we came back, nothing was, our house wasn't broken in at all. So too bad I didn't get to thank him enough, 'cause they're all, both, both of 'em are passed away already. (Yes), they were nice people.

TI: So that was easy, then, for you, because you just locked up the house and then you left.

JS: 'Cause most of the other Japanese people, they were either renting their houses, so when they came back, they had to stay at the Buddhist church hostel or something like that. And, but we had a place to stay, so, (yes), and so we were fortunate.

TI: So, and so when you had to leave, what was that like? Where did you have to go?

JS: Oh, (yes). I don't know if you knew about it, but Mas Hashimoto, he's really active in the JACL. He, a while back, maybe you heard about that program he had about that evacuation of Watsonville.

TI: Right, he did a reenactment?

JS: (Yes), that's what. Well, that's where we went, went through that, went to the VFW, we went there and the bus picks, picked us up there and went, I think from there we went to... oh, (yes), Salinas Assembly Center. We stayed there at the Salinas, rodeo ground, stayed at that... well, I guess it was a stable. Heck, we stayed, I think it was either February, March, April, I know 'cause when we left there, it was July the 4th. (Yes), 'cause I remembered that was one of the hottest time in Arizona. And oh, I tell you, because went there one day before, but we were unfortunate, we were shipped right to Camp 1, which is mostly L.A. and Boyle Heights, the southern people, you know. And we were kind of separated from Camp 2, they were mostly from central California.