<Begin Segment 16>

RP: Then they decided to close Jerome and then where did you go?

DT: Well, after Tule Lake went... I mean, after people went to Tule Lake and Tule Lake people came to Jerome, well, there was a lot of empty spaces and then people were going out to Chicago and New York and everything because the young people, they all left camp. So they had to close the camp and we had pretty close friends at Rohwer so we ended up went to Rohwer but we had a choice I think. Everybody kind of scattered.

RP: What was the choice between Rohwer and another camp?

DT: Well, we wanted to go to Rohwer and I guess there was space and then we had friends so we were able to go there. There was no question of going anywhere.

RP: Do you know if your parents ever considered going out of Jerome, relocating like some of the other folks were?

DT: No, well, for one thing my dad couldn't speak English and for another we knew we were coming back home. Otherwise I think we would've gone to Seabrook, New Jersey, where they have that cannery or something. I think we would've gone 'cause a lot of Florin people went there.

RP: Do you remember them coming into the camp to recruit people?

DT: No because I imagined they did that otherwise they wouldn't know where to go and they had no place to go so they chose to go there but they didn't, some of them ended up coming back to California. I don't know if it closed or what, but anyway.

RP: How did you get to Rohwer from Jerome?

DT: I don't think it was a train. It must have been a truck or something 'cause it wasn't that far.

RP: Do you remember what block you were in?

DT: Not in Rohwer 'cause we were in one block and then we decided we wanted to move closer to our good friends so he made arrangements for us to move into his block so I can't remember.

RP: What was his name?

DT: Nakamura, you mean the friend's name? Nakamura and they were from Acampo and they were in Rohwer. Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura.

RP: They were from Florin?

DT: No, they were from Acampo.

RP: Acampo.

DT: Acampo, close to Lodi, and they went to Rohwer.

RP: So what was it like for you in Rohwer? What did you do there?

DT: [Laughs]

RP: You got into some mischief there.

DT: Yeah. A bunch of us people, kids, we were, I guess, close to the gate and so we found out that there's a store outside the gate about a mile or so away. And so instead of going to the canteen or PX or something I'm sure they had the same kind candy or better, we'd go out... well by then there was no guard so we'd go to the store and I think we were their best customers. That man, he never reported us 'cause we all went and bought his candy.

[Interruption]

DT: Okay, we were living close to the end of the camp and there were no guards anymore so we would go out, sneak out and walk about a mile and buy the... I don't know how we found out where that store was but somebody must have told us. A bunch of us would go to that store and they had nothing but off brand candy, but that's what we bought and that man never reported us because he was getting a lot of business from us. [Laughs] And I guess a lot of people went because there was a pathway so I guess we weren't the only one. And then one time we never got to ride anything so this guy and a bunch of guys said, "Hey, Doris, you want to go out have watermelon?" I don't know where they got the watermelon so we took me and we had watermelon and boy, that was the best watermelon. But those are the things we did because we just didn't have anything else.

RP: You went outside to eat the watermelon?

DT: No, no, I don't know where they took me 'cause it was kind of in the woods. It must have been part of the camp or maybe they tore down the fence, I don't know.

RP: And then those boys you ran into 'em later on after camp didn't you?

DT: Yeah, they called, couple of 'em called me and they were going to come play basketball at the Buddhist church and I guess they called me and said, "Well, meet us there." I said oh, okay, I never went because I was going around with Bill. I had no use for those guys. [Laughs]

RP: So you were able to just kind of do your own thing in Rohwer?

DT: We were only there one year, yeah, only one year. And then my sister was very popular. She knew the beauty queen and I don't know, she just had a way with people... well, she was nice looking too so I guess but she always got in with the right group. But that beauty queen became Bill's, she married Bill's cousin.

RP: What was her name? Do you remember?

DT: Let's see now, well, she married Tom Taketa, but it slipped my mind.

RP: She was the beauty queen of Rohwer?

DT: Yeah, class, but I didn't know her. But she was going around with Bill's relative and then she ended up marrying him. Well, he came, he was at Mississippi or someplace the soldiers, and they ended up coming to... they were invited for a dance or something and he met up... small world that she would end up with him but I didn't know him then.

RP: Do you remember seeing the soldiers come into the camp?

DT: No, well, I didn't go to the dances.

RP: But did you see the soldiers at all?

DT: [Shakes head] Well, by then Japanese soldiers were coming into camp I mean from the Mississippi training camp.

RP: Camp Shelby I believe it was.

DT: Something like that, yeah. Tom Taketa came. Oh, it's Terry, I can't remember her maiden name. She just ended up becoming... but I says, oh my, what a small world 'cause I didn't know her but I knew of her and then my sister knew her. So I go, my goodness my sister always kind of got in with the nice group.

RP: Now was Rohwer very much like Jerome? It was sort of a lot of woods around and forest kind of environment?

DT: Yeah, it's just like Jerome but we weren't there that long so I can't remember them having all those shows. I'm sure they had kind of wood working shows and snake shows.

RP: And did they have talent shows in camp?

DT: Oh, yeah, they had it in Fresno and they had it in Jerome, yeah.

RP: Did you ever get into those?

DT: Well, they tried to make me do the jitterbug and they cornered me and got me but I gave up. The other girls danced the jitterbug but not me.

RP: How about the baton twirling?

DT: No, we didn't have... I can't remember talent... it was just lessons. We weren't that good I don't think.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright &copy; 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.