<Begin Segment 16>

WP: And you mentioned that your mom took some classes at Manzanar.

SY: Yeah, that one there.

WP: Uh-huh. Did she take any other kinds of classes, or do other activities?

SY: I think... well, she didn't have that many time on her hands. I think that was about the only thing that she did in camp, most of the time she did that.

WP: And what about your father?

SY: My father used to go up in the mountain and go get those woods, dig up those woods. But then there were a group of men that did that, you know, they'd go out to the, out of camp after, and go dig for wood, they'd bring it back.

WP: How did he get out of camp?

SY: The gate was open. At the beginning, you know, listen, you know those watchtowers? The mothers got together and they said, they went to the block, "You've got to do something with those towers. Nobody in there, and we found out the kids are up there messing up." You've got to take something, tear it down or something. I think it was about six months after we got into camp, we noticed there's nobody up there. The searchlights weren't going up there. And at the beginning, the jeep used to go all around the camp. First they were in and out of the camp, you know, they quit that. They were driving around the camp, you didn't see that. The weeds were growing up, so you know the jeeps weren't going. And we were all by ourselves there and nobody... and then they put the cemetery out there, and that's outside the gate. You can go out the gate. I remember when my girlfriend and I said, "Let's go climb up the mountain." And so we said, "Okay." So we said, well, we got to get lunch, so we went to the mess hall. And we told the cook we need a lunch for tomorrow because we're going to go up to the mountains. So the man says, After breakfast, come and get your lunch, we'll have it ready for you." So after breakfast my girlfriend and I started walking up the mountain. You know, when you're down there looking up, the foot of the mountain, it doesn't look very far. Ever try walking back? Yeah, well.

WP: Much too far, I think.

SY: It's further than you think. And so we started out. And you know, it's beautiful, you see these little animals and lizards and squirrels or rabbits, and creatures, the water running no matter where you go, you are always by water. You got hot, you can always drink water there. And there was lots to see, and you're walking. Nobody, in those days, people didn't have watches, only the rich people had watches, so we didn't have watches. So we walked and we walked, and we thought, oh, it must be lunchtime. And when you're up there, the sound travels, you know, it travels up. You can hear the bell ringing for the mess hall, oh, it must be lunchtime. We'd sit and we'd eat our lunch, and then we'd walk on. And so we thought, oh, gosh, let's go back. So we started walking. We didn't realize how long we walked up there, because by the time we got back into the camp, it was black, it was dark. And as we were walking by, I had to walk by the mess hall, I saw all these people out there. And we were wondering, oh, something must have happened here. So I'd go inside the house and my mother, madder than hell, said, "Where have you been? We heard you went up to the mountain? How come?" And I got bawled out, and they said to go back to the mess hall. They're getting the search party ready. [Laughs] Boy, did I get it that day. Anyway, and everybody knew about that we were gone, but we didn't know what time it was. And when we decided to come back, it must have about two or three o'clock, because we were hiking up there. We couldn't even get up halfway, you could still the see the foot of the mountains, you know, halfway there.

WP: So you didn't tell your parents that you were gonna plan on doing that?

SY: No, we didn't. We thought we'd be back by dinnertime. But we didn't know, like I said, we didn't have a watch so we didn't know.

WP: Were you nervous at all about going that far beyond Manzanar?

SY: No, because you're up there, you could still see camp, so you're never lost.

WP: And you didn't need any sort of permit or something to leave?

SY: No. You had to let the chef know that you're gonna be gone for lunch, and they would pack you a lunch, that's all we knew, that's all we did.

WP: Did you do any other excursions around the area?

SY: No, after that we did there. [Laughs] Because the whole block knew we were gone. And you had to stand in line every morning, noon and night for, to eat, and everybody knew what you had done the day before, you know. It just, oh, god, what have I done? And that was a big sin, you know, that I did. But other men have gone up, and they would pack, they would go overnight. So there was no restriction as far as getting out of camp. Nobody tried to run, nobody tried to escape.

WP: Did your father ever, was he gone a long time when he went out?

SY: No, he was always back when it was dinnertime.

WP: Did your parents have any sort of rules for you and your siblings at Manzanar?

SY: Oh, plenty. [Laughs]

WP: Uh-huh, what were those?

SY: Well, you have to do all your... it was, before camp we had to do the laundry, the house had to be clean. The laundry, if there was ironing to do, all these stuff, the sheets have to be changed, you know, all these things, they had to be done. And if you didn't, you couldn't go to the dance, or you couldn't go to see the outdoor movie, or you couldn't do this or you couldn't do that. You always wanted to have everything done so that if somebody came and said, "Let's go," you were able to go, is my motto.

WP: Did you ever get in trouble with your parents besides that one excursion you made?

SY: Oh, I'm pretty sure I did. Nothing major, though.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2013 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.