<Begin Segment 19>

RP: Yeah, let's talk about that a little bit. You got involved in camp sports, you were involved in a club in Manzanar.

CH: Yes, I was the president of the club.

RP: Did you start the club?

CH: Yes, I did. I gathered all these gals, and I think I had pictures of them in there, but I couldn't remember all the names.

RP: These were all Florin gals?

CH: Mostly. There might be a few outsiders, but that was because they were in our block anyway.

RP: Did you come up with the name, too?

CH: No, their name was chosen by a high school student, and her name was Mary... what was her last name? Murata. And I believe she lives in San Francisco now. I have no idea.

RP: What was the name of the club?

CH: Crackshots. Everything's Crackshots. [Laughs]

RP: So you had a baseball team or a softball team?

CH: Uh-huh. We had a very good pitcher from another block, that way, which is the Block 35, I think it was. And I had to catch her softball, whew, it was quite hazardous, you might say. [Laughs]

RP: Did you have a regular large catcher's glove?

CH: Yeah, but I'm not very good at it, I don't think. 'Cause I sprained this finger, and my mother sent me to the, called it a masseuse, and he just wrung it around and just made it look like I broke it. I didn't even go to the doctor, it was terrible.

RP: There was a masseuse in the camp. Was he in your block?

CH: No, he was up on top of the hill. So I don't know where it was. Maybe some of the twenties, I guess.

RP: And where did you customarily play your games, Carol?

CH: Well, let's see. There was a basketball court designated for these girl's basketball. Gee, I can't remember where it was.

RP: There was a court in Block 30.

CH: Oh, yeah.

RP: To the east of the latrines.

CH: Probably so, yes.

RP: And baseball was probably played in a firebreak area?

CH: Yes, yes.

RP: Did you have bases or a home plate?

CH: They had something there. [Laughs] You know, this was an after, after supper, yeah, 'cause they had it kind of early, suppers. Once they rang the bell, you better be there or you're just not going to have anything.

RP: Did you play girls from other blocks or just...

CH: Oh, yeah, we played with others, other teams, you might say.

RP: And the Crackshots also were, you also organized events like dances or activities?

CH: Yes, we did that, too. But as you know, there's a lot of timid people. We tried to encourage them to start dancing, oh, no, they just stood back. It's hard get them going. And I think we, I think we had a... I forgot the lady's name. This Caucasian lady, she was with the... she was just kind of a social person, social, and we're trying to establish a, kind of a clubhouse, and that didn't go well either. I don't know what happened. People are not accustomed to changes, I guess.

RP: Did you have any contact with the Manza-Knights boy's club at all?

CH: I've heard about them, yeah. Maruki, huh?

RP: And Shy Nomura.

CH: I don't know about them. I heard about Modernaires, the girl's club. I think it's that team that had that championship bowler, (Tashima), Chiyo (Tashima), Chizu Toyama, something like that. She was a pitcher for that one team.

RP: And she went on to be...

CH: Yeah, she was amazing person.

RP: Did you have to hit against her?

CH: Pardon?

RP: Did you have to hit against her or bat against her?

CH: I think so, yeah. I don't think I did well. [Laughs]

RP: Your father took up shigin.

CH: Shigin, yeah.

RP: What did you think of that?

CH: You know, it was okay. It's nothing that I would do, but he liked it, and it was okay with me.

RP: He didn't practice at night in the barrack? [Laughs]

CH: I just remember that -- maybe I better not say it right now. It's, you know this voice thing, I'm supposed to do like the shigin people do. They breathe in and breathe out kind of thing. It starts from the belly, they say.

RP: Abdominal breathing?

CH: Yeah.

RP: You might start singing if you do that.

CH: Oh, boy. That would be the last thing I'll do. [Laughs] I couldn't sing normally with this voice, you know.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.