<Begin Segment 15>

RP: How about sports in camp? Were you involved with activities?

SK: Well, I did horizontal bars. And then I remember one thing that we were required to do was, we were all required to take judo. And there used to be that judo, it was kind of a, not a lean to but an open-air judo place with a mat in there. And I remember having to take judo for a while. So I did judo. I did horizontal bars. I never did play basketball. Maybe we just shot some balls and things like that. But for recreation... oh, and then I did play, I did play marbles and spin tops. But I got pretty good at marbles, I remember that.

RP: Best in the block?

SK: No, not the best in the block but I used to be, do pretty well. Yeah, we used to call it... they had that marble made out of, they used to call it an agate. We used to always try to get the agate from the other person. Yeah, so anyway.

RP: So you had a pretty good collection?

SK: Yes. And then well, one of the things that we used to do was we also used to do, make slingshots. So, we used the marbles as the slingshot ammo.

RP: What would you shoot 'em at?

SK: Hmm, we'd shoot at all kinds of birds out of, out of camp.

RP: You didn't shoot at the guard tower windows did you?

SK: No, no. Because I remember they used to be, I think it was still inside the camp, there used to be cottonwood trees or a bunch of trees on the north side of the other end of our, our barracks. There used to be a bunch and we used to go out there and there used to be night hawks and things like that. And I got pretty good at using a sling shot too.

Off Camera: What did you make your slingshots out of?

SK: You know, I do not remember what we used as the rubber. I...

RP: Guayule.

SK: Yeah, I don't, I don't remember.

RP: Do you remember what, remember the guayule?

SK: Uh-uh.

RP: Oh, those were rubber plants that they were growing in the camp.

SK: Oh, okay.

RP: It was a special project.

SK: Oh.

RP: And they manufactured small sink stoppers and some other things but...

SK: You know, I think we got those, you know we got old, I'm pretty sure it was old tubes, from the military, the trucks. I think we got the tube portion... and you cut 'em in small strips. I'm pretty sure that's what we used as the, as the rubber portion.

RP: So you were able to, you were able to hit birds with those?

SK: Oh, yeah. Yes, we, most of us kids at that time got pretty good at it, yeah.

RP: Those birds haven't forgotten that either. They're still there. Well, your block still has a fair number of cottonwood trees. A new generation but...

SK: Yeah, the last time we went there in October I don't remember as many trees. I thought there were more than that before. So it kind of surprised me how bare it was.

RP: Though you had a little bit of shade out there then.

SK: Yes. Yeah, there were, I mean, there was shade to the north. I remember that. There was shade toward the pig farm. Let's see. Toward Mount Whitney, not as much. And on the other side going toward 395, nothing. But north and south seemed like there was more cottonwood trees or whatever kind of trees it...

<End Segment 15> - Copyright &copy; 2011 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.