<Begin Segment 7>

EB: And we were talking earlier, your father was a block manager at Block 30. Can you tell me a little bit about his job and whether you knew this as a child when you were at Manzanar, or maybe he shared this with you later on.

GS: My father was block manager, and I did not know fully his role as a block manager nor his responsibilities at that time. But I knew he was somebody important, because people used to come to him. And he, I guess it was his office, was in Barrack 1, which was just across the way. And I had been there, and I saw the setup, and it was this important looking room, which was obviously his office. But more than that, like I said, I felt that he was important because he made announcements in the mess hall to inform the block residents of what was, I guess what they had to know and what was going on. But more than that, I used to see people come to him and speak to him. And the type of conversation that went on, even as young as I was, to me it was, it sounded very important. That it wasn't just, "Hello, how are you?" sort of thing. It was more than that. And also the way they treated him, I thought it was with great respect. Whenever they greeted him it was always, not so much Mr. Nakano, because they used to address him as Nakano-san. But just by their demeanor, as a child, I was able to pick up that he obviously had some important job. But how he got that job or why, I don't know. But that's what he did.

EB: Did he... do you know how much money he earned each month? He was a volunteer...

GS: Well, at the time I did not know. I was to learn years later, yes, I think he got the top, which was what, thirty dollars a month or something?

EB: Nineteen.

GS: Wait a minute, not thirty. That's right, you're right, thirty was something else. You're right, the top pay or whatever, because I think there were three...

EB: Yeah, twelve, sixteen and nineteen.

GS: Nineteen, something like that.

EB: Later on it bumped up a bit. Did your mother work?

GS: My mother did not work, no. She stayed at home and she took care of us. And then, of course, then she had my younger sister who was born, so all the more...

EB: So your sister was born in the hospital then at Manzanar.

GS: Yes.

EB: Do you remember going up to the hospital and visiting them?

GS: No.

EB: Or did your mother ever tell you what it was like to have a child in camp?

GS: My mother, no, she didn't. I don't even remember when she went to have the baby. All I know is the baby came home. And, but I do remember that she had to go to Block 25, which was the next block over, because they had, they must have had a special meal service for the infants and the younger children.

EB: Yeah, they did.

GS: So they used to go there, she used to go there, and that's where she met some of the other mothers with their infants and babies. I don't know if this was done... was this done because there was no special food for the little ones at the mess halls? I don't know.

EB: Yes, and there was a dietitian, I know Nancy Shimotsu, who we interviewed yesterday, for a while she served as a dietician for the babies at the hospital, the newborns, and even up to a certain age, and so she did make special foods for the babies at the hospital is what she told us yesterday. So she might have done that for your sister.

GS: Could be, I don't know.

EB: Could be. [Laughs] Have to compare dates. So did... I know your family was fairly close physically when you arrived at camp, your extended family living in the same apartments. Did it bring your family closer together in another way as well, or not?

GS: You know, I really don't know whether it brought us closer together. My mother is the second oldest, but my mother has, throughout her life has always been very close with my grandparents, probably more so than her other siblings. And perhaps that was the reason why, all the more, my dad wanted to move us up to Florin before evacuation knowing that that was imminent. And then when we relocated together with my grandparents to Maryland, even though my father knew nothing about farming. My grandfather is the one who was the farmer. But my parents have always said that they wanted to be as close as possible to my grandparents. I do recall in camp that I used to go next door to visit and see my grandmother.

EB: Okay.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2006 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.