Densho Digital Archive - Irene Yamauchi Tatsuta Interview (denshovh-tirene-01-0011)

<Begin Segment 11>

KL: You said, you told me before we turned on the recorders that you had vivid memories of your father having a stroke at Puyallup. Could you, would you tell us your memories of that?

IT: Well, we were told that we had to get ready to move to another place. I don't think they told us where. And so they told us to pack our goods, so my dad, who was very healthy and capable, was packing these crates. And I still remember how all of a sudden his hammer went, he was holding his hammer up here [holds arm up] and he just went [mimics spasm], something like that, and later found out that he had a stroke. He lost, I think his left side or something, his mouth was, you know. And his speech, he must've lost some of that speech because he talked funny. So when we got ready to go, I guess, I'm sure my uncle finished packing for us, because we didn't have any men in the family that could hammer that. Anyway, my mother was sickly. I was told she had heart problems after I was born, so she was sickly. And my dad was also, after the stroke, they put them both in the hospital train and our uncle had to take care of the rest of us. Then my dad -- oh, okay, you go to camp, Minidoka, everybody has to work and you get sixteen dollars a month, in any job.

KL: Let me ask you two more questions, if I can, about Puyallup.

IT: Sure.

KL: Did you attend school in Puyallup?

IT: I don't remember. I don't think so.

KL: What was a typical day like there? I mean, you weren't there for very long. Maybe it wasn't a typical day, but like...

IT: I think it was a few months, wasn't it? I think so. You know, I don't, I just remember... I really don't remember too much. What I was going to say, too, earlier, was we had mattresses full of hay, and I think the three of us were allergic to that, the women were. [Laughs] My mom and I had hay fever, and my sister had asthma. But anyway...

KL: That reminds me, it would be good to get a description of your living quarters in Puyallup. You said it was small and told me about your burn experience, but as you, did you live in a piece of new construction or was it existing from the fairgrounds?

IT: I think it was existing. I think.

KL: As you walked in, what would you see in there? I'm just kind of --

IT: It was just a small room. I just remember the two double beds were put together wall to wall, no space in between, and all five of us slept that way. And then there was some space in front. I don't think they gave us chairs or anything. I don't remember. They had to use boxes tipped over or whatever to put things on. Although I do remember a shelf there where that guy got some cigarette stubs. But that was near the door, I just remember that. 'Cause I know when we went to Minidoka, they went, they got lumber, I guess it was, I don't know if it was surplus or they had to look for it or whatever, and my -- now, see, I don't know how my dad did it. Maybe he was able to... Somebody made us a sofa-like.

KL: In Minidoka?

IT: But it was with wood slats, with space between 'cause we didn't have that much wood, and then my mom would put an army blanket over it. But I don't, of course, we had the beds. Well, I shouldn't say "of course," but we had beds. But everything was one room.

KL: In Minidoka? This is in Minidoka?

IT: Both. And when I think about it, we, they could've moved us to a bigger place in Puyallup, and we didn't have much baggage anyway, so moving wasn't that big of a deal. But I don't think we could've run around with that, and me sitting on that, in that small space. 'Cause the room was, I can't even imagine. I mean, when you're small the sizes look different. But the width was, I remember the two double beds were hitting the wall. So we put that in the back part.

KL: Did you have any encounters in Puyallup with military police or army or other staff?

IT: No.

KL: Was there an evening, like, check, room search or anything that you recall?

IT: Not in Puyallup.

KL: Do you remember other parts of Puyallup than your living quarters?

IT: No. You know, I think the government was in such a hurry to get us in there -- in fact, when they sent us to Minidoka, things weren't even done there. Then we lived in barracks with cracks and the wind comes through and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, we didn't...

KL: Did you guys go outside in Puyallup, like you and your siblings? Did you, did you play?

IT: No, they wouldn't let -- you mean out of the gate?

KL: No, no, out of your living quarters. Out into the other parts of the...

IT: We'd go outside. But I don't remember what we did. We must've played with some little kids that were there too, just make up games. But in that book, it said we didn't have balls, so that guy from the parks rec or something brought us balls. That could be true because, I mean, I could believe that.