Densho Digital Archive - Sumiye Takeno Interview (denshovh-tsumiye-01-0016)

<Begin Segment 16>

RP: And how much did you recall about social life at Manzanar? Did you go to dances or movies?

ST: I think it's what you do for yourself. You take part in it or you don't take part in it. And I tried to take pretty much part where I could go. Now you, when you're on as a nurse's aide you have night duty, day duty, it depends.

RP: So you had different shifts?

ST: Uh-huh, that's right.

RP: Sometimes you had a graveyard shift?

ST: Uh-huh, yes. I have, I had every shift. Everybody had to take every shift. So, I enjoyed it and so I took whatever program that was available at the, when I was free.

RP: Now did you, did you do any dating in camp before you met Roy?

ST: Not, not that kind of a dating. There was a fellow that I liked, but what can you do on a date in the camp? [Laughs] You can't even go to a movie unless they have the movie for everybody. There's no separate movie to go to or maybe we might have taken a walk. He was a nice guy. But he, he died early. I don't know what happened, but he died early.

RP: Now, was your entire family, did your entire family go to Manzanar?

ST: Yes. We all went.

RP: Everybody.

ST: We practically took the whole, whole barrack.

RP: You took up the whole...

ST: In fact, I think three barracks, three rooms and then the fourth my brothers roomed with the other men who didn't have their own barrack. So they enjoyed it very much. They were friends.

RP: Like a little bachelor pad.

ST: Yeah, that's right, that's what it was. They enjoyed it.

RP: So, you said you were in Block 30 or 31?

ST: Thirty. It was at the very end.

RP: At the very end. And do you remember the barrack number and the room number?

ST: Mine must have been, it was the third one.

RP: Third barrack?

ST: Uh-huh. On Block 30, the third block, third room. I forgot the room number.

RP: Oh, okay. So Block 30, barrack three.

ST: Barrack something.

RP: Okay.

ST: I guess I knew exactly where it is so I don't even remember the number.

RP: So, who did you stay with in your barrack room?

ST: Oh, my parents.

RP: Oh, your parents.

ST: Uh-huh. See, the boys slept next barrack with their friends, my brothers. And then the girls, my sister and I, well, there, there were three of us, four of us? Anyway, May, myself, Eileen, so the three of us stayed with the parents in the third room. And the boys slept on the fourth room with the other men.

RP: Now you had these, you had these sewing skills that you had acquired from going to school. You know sewing, the sewing school?

ST: Sewing room?

RP: Sewing. Sewing school?

ST: Oh, sewing, sewing school.

RP: Yeah. So did you, when you had free time, did you sew clothes or curtains or anything for the barrack?

ST: Not much.

RP: Not much.

ST: Because as a nurse's aide I had different shifts. And whatever I could help I did, but not much. I was... and then the hospitals had their things going, too, so I would join them.

RP: Did you ever go out of camp on any hospital activities?

ST: You mean, to, for enjoyment?

RP: Yeah, outings.

ST: Well, let's see. Yes, they, they had some... not really outing. You know I, I can't remember that now. So apparently I didn't do too much of that.

RP: So what was your least favorite food that, in camp, at the mess hall? Something that...

ST: Well, everybody complained but I, having come from a whole big family, you're used to everything. So I didn't care. I enjoyed everything. I know a lot of people were complaining. But I ate whatever they served and after all, you're hungry, too.

RP: Right. You're very hungry.

ST: Uh-huh. And you don't have too many things in your apartment. The stores were pretty far from us at the, at that time. So, no I don't have much complaint about the camp. I made fairly good friends. And I enjoyed working in the hospital.