Densho Digital Archive - Tom I. Mine Interview (denshovh-mtom

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TI: So after weeks at Salinas, then you go down south to Poston.

TM: Poston, yeah.

TI: What was Poston like?

TM: Boy, that day I got there it was windy, it was hot, that was in March, I think it was. Hundred and twenty degrees in the hot sun, and the barracks, you know, you're, where it's put together, you could see the sand underneath there. The wind blew, and it was a mess. I don't see how people, I thought, "Gee, I wonder if my mother's gonna live through all this." I can't forget that, how terrible it was, especially for the elderly people, hundred and twenty degrees.

TI: When you saw that, what were you thinking? Not only was it that hard, were you...

TM: I was thinking, "I wonder if I'm gonna live through that." You can't think of anything good or anything bad, you're just gonna go through what's coming to you.

TI: And so how did people adapt? I mean, Watsonville, it's pretty cool and very...

TM: Yeah, we come from a cold place and get thrown in the hot, hot...

TI: So how did you adapt and what did you have to do?

TM: I think everybody, they all seemed to do all right, they all managed, came out of it and yeah, that was hell. That was too bad, especially for the older people who were disabled a bit. See, I was a young man, twenty-five years old, you know, so nothing bothered me at that time. But I said, "Gee, I feel sorry for the other people, the older people, the women, ladies, and disabled."

TI: You mentioned your mother got through it, she adapted. When she was at Poston, what were some of the activities that your, your mother did?

TM: Oh, only thing she did was knitting, so you know, so she had time to just knit, and so that kept her busy.

TI: Now, would she do this in the barracks, or with a group?

TM: Well, within the, in the barrack, yeah.

TI: And then for you, what did you do to keep busy?

TM: [Laughs] I don't know. I did something, but I forgot what I did.