<Begin Segment 16>

EB: So have you returned to Manzanar in the past, and what kind of response did that trigger and how did you feel?

GS: The first time we went... when I say "we," the family, and our kids were very young, they must have been in grade school. So we made our own family pilgrimage in the wintertime, and that was way, way back when it was even difficult to find that road to go up to the cemetery, because nothing was really marked off or anything. But we found our way up there, and the kids were, I mean, they couldn't believe that there was something like that there. And then we did kind of walked around here and there. We found, I think we found one of the... must be the base for the watchtower, the foundation, yeah, I think that's what it was. I mean, things like that that we saw. Then when we have gone to Mammoth on Boy Scout trips for the summer, we used to drive past there naturally and we'd point out, "That's Manzanar," they know that's Manzanar. And then I went there for the dedication two years ago, that was the last time I was there. And I must say, you've done a beautiful job with that interpretive center.

EB: Thank you.

GS: Very nice, very good. I have written about this in my emeritus writing class, and many people in there are immigrants from Europe, some of them are, have even been prisoners in the death camps, so they've been very surprised to hear about our camps here. They knew nothing like this existed. And so I have had a couple of my classmates who have actually gone to Manzanar to see what it's like. So these are all retirees, older people.

EB: So when you went back for the grand opening two years ago, how did that make you feel to go back and see that something was there, share your experience with other people?

GS: I mean, I was really happy to see what was accomplished, and I really felt this was very, very important, that we need this. And it's really a learning experience, not just for those of us who have been there, because I was so young, but for anyone, everyone, they should know this happened and what it was like. And you have the blocks all marked off, so we took that driving tour. But in addition to that, my son actually wanted to go to Block 30. He says, "I want to go see where you live." I said, "Well, we passed it." He said, "Yeah, but I want to see it," and I said, "Steve, it's like this in here." But no, we had to walk down there. And since I lived right off the road there, I could tell him, well, the road is there 'cause you could still see the road there. And I said, "The building must have been about here," where the barrack is. And I remember a tree that was right in front of our barrack, so I don't know whether it's one of those trees that is all grown today, I mean, I don't know. But he really wanted to see what it was like, and he was really intrigued with the foundation of the restrooms that are still there, and the laundry room, all of that is still there. So you can kind of get a picture of what it was like, the placement of the buildings and such.

EB: I tell visitors they need to use their imagination, 'cause it's really there, you just have to look closer and you can see the foundations.

GS: And I'm glad you're putting together that one block where you brought in that building. At that time it was all cordoned off, but still, my son was able to get a really good idea of how big the building was, and how it stood. It's one thing to talk about it, but to actually see it, even though only part of it was there, gave him a better idea of what it was like. So it was very good.

EB: Good. Did you have any political involvement in attaining redress? Did you ever donate money or attend rallies?

GS: We did not attend rallies. I regret that I did not attend the hearings. I wasn't able to. But yes, we did get the redress.

EB: And once you received an apology letter, how did you react to that?

GS: I was grateful we received it. If we did not get it, I would not have regretted it. But more important to me was the fact that the U.S. government recognized and admitted that it was a mistake. And I really wanted this to be more of a learning experience for the general public, so that this would not happen again to other groups of people. That was my concern.

EB: And once you received the check that came with it, what did you do with the money?

GS: What did we do with the money? Well, we put it in the bank. [Laughs] But just about that time, or shortly thereafter -- and my husband and I had kind of talked about this -- we said, "If this does come about, if we do get the money, what shall we do with it?" And I knew people were going to be using it, I had heard others say they were going to travel, this and that. But just about the time that we did receive our checks -- my husband got it before I did -- my daughter was in the process of purchasing a condo, and she needed some help financially. So my husband and I had kind of talked about this, and we said, okay, I don't know what the others are going to do, but for us, we'll give the money to both of the kids. So that's what we did, for Susan to purchase her condo, and then when my son bought a place in New York, we helped him also. And I'm glad we did.

EB: Yeah. So the few other people we've interviewed this weekend did similar things. They used it to help pay for college or for their children. So did you ever attend any Manzanar pilgrimages before the one for the grand opening?

GS: No, just that time when we went as a family, but not the group ones that are being held.

EB: Okay.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2006 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.