<Begin Segment 14>

KL: What about across the way? Do you remember any other neighbors or Block 22 people?

HF: No, I don't remember them. We didn't keep in touch with them, so I don't know. I don't remember.

KL: What about the... oh, actually, one of the people you wrote down, Mr. and Mrs. Yoshitsugu?

HF: Oh, yeah, when we moved to Block 34, they lived across from us.

KL: Pretty early in Manzanar's opening there was a man who was, like you said, constructing furniture for his apartment, and he was shot by one of the military police. Do you have any recollection of that, or did you know anything about that?

HF: No.

KL: There's a man in Block 22 who was pretty deeply involved in the Manzanar riot eventually named Harry Ueno who worked in the mess hall there. Did you know Harry Ueno?

HF: No, I can't remember.

KL: Did you ever interact with the block manager in Block 22?

HF: No.

KL: Or go to his office?

HF: No, because he was quite a bit older than us.

KL: But that was kind of a gathering point, wasn't it, for newspaper reading?

HF: Well, he gave us all the news that was going around. He came around every night and gave us the news.

KL: You said he was quite a bit older than you? What was his personality like?

HF: Well, I don't know him, Mr. Yasuda, but I didn't know him.

KL: Was he grave or did he crack jokes?

HF: Not that I know, 'cause he spoke Japanese mostly.

KL: Within the block, within Block 22, could you... I mean, it was a pretty diverse camp as far as language like you mentioned, and rural versus urban, and people who had lived in Japan and had not. Were there any factions in Block 22 or ways that people kind of divided themselves that you were aware of?

HF: Well, actually... well, maybe there was, because probably the American-born people kept together, and then the other, the Japanese-born people probably kept together.

KL: Was Mr. Yasuda from Japan?

HF: Uh-huh, he was.

KL: Did he remain block manager for very long, do you know?

HF: No.

KL: In Block 22 there's one of the more elaborate gardens outside of the mess hall.

HF: Oh, yeah.

KL: What do you remember of that garden?

HF: There was a pond, I think. And you know, there was a lot of gardeners in camp, didn't used to be gardeners. So that's why they, there was a lot of beautiful gardens.

KL: Did you spend much time in that garden, or what are your memories of it?

HF: No, I don't. Because I went to work as soon as there was jobs available.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2013 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.