Densho Digital Archive - George Uchida - Leo Uchida Interview (denshovh-ugeorge

<Begin Segment 18>

RP: Did either one of you have, take a chance and go outside the fence to go fishing or hiking? George, you told me about a story...

GU: Yeah. Ben, my friend Ben and I, we walked out one morning telling ourselves that we can walk out to that base of the mountain. Not realizing how big that mountain is, and it seemed close to us but we walked and we walked and never got anywhere near that base of the mountain. Finally walked back to camp. But I just can't remember going through a fence to get out of the camp. I'm sure we had to do that, we didn't go through a gate. Anyway, I don't remember trying to climb through the fence at all, but we did go out to walk. And the other time, it was where we had a youth group. I was in a youth group that we camped out, I think, at the Alabama Hills area, one time. Other than those two times, I don't remember being outside the camp. Would you believe we had a golf course in that camp?

RP: Well, you know, when we talked to Henry Nishi yesterday, he helped construct the golf course.

LU: I read about it.

GU: And it was near this creek, Bear Creek that was running through.

LU: Oh, I don't know where it was.

GU: Yeah. Anyway, golfers would hit the ball, and they'd, some of 'em would land in the Bear Creek, and Ben and I would go around picking up the golf balls. Sometimes the golfers would be close by, they'd get angry at us for going after the golf balls. [Laughs]

RP: Did you try to give 'em back to 'em and get some money for 'em? Or did they pay you to put 'em...

GU: You know, I don't remember anything about that.

RP: Or you just collected them?

GU: I'm not sure that we even, how many, if we did find a golf ball. I just can't remember the details. I guess just the fact that we were there, the golfers were mad at us.

RP: During your time there, did you collect any... there used to be a number of Indian sites where the camp was built. Did you see any arrowheads or collect arrowheads or anything else during the time that you were there?

LU: No, I never did.

GU: Only thing I remember is the first time I'd seen a scorpion, and I think it was a horned-toad lizard. The scorpion was the first time I'd ever seen one. I was told never to touch it. [Laughs]

RP: Where did you see it? Outside, or in one of your...

GU: On the ground in the, around a barrack.

RP: How about the latrines?

GU: For the community.

LU: Wide open.

GU: Yeah, wide open. You can sit next to each other while doing your business. And then, of course, the shower was also community, no separate stalls.

RP: Did your block build any ofuros in your bathrooms? Some of the blocks did.

GU: They did?

RP: Yeah.

GU: I don't think our block had it.

RP: Cement tubs.

LU: So I don't know if the mothers with small babies, I don't know how they washed it. Maybe they went into the laundry room.

RP: Yeah, they put 'em in the washbasins. And some of the Issei guys got the idea that you have, too.