Densho Digital Archive - Ann Sugimoto Interview (denshovh-sann-01-0028)

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KP: Could I just, before we start moving out of the camp, couple questions about Block 18, I hear there was a really nice lawn by the mess hall?

AS: Every place, that's another thing, I'm glad you asked. The dust was coming. I don't know, it's worse than out in the desert, so they decided they're gonna put a lawn between every other barrack. You know Japanese people, so they put a lawn between every other barrack, and so at least we could, there was a place for us to go sit. And there still was some remnants of the... see, Manzanar is apple orchard, or pear orchard. There're a few trees left yet, and so we could sit under the shade there. But every other barrack they put lawn. At least we had a place to go sit. That was unusual. You know Japanese people, they are that way. You got to have a place to sit. It was very unusual, but maybe that's what they must've said, that we're using water 'cause we have to water.

KP: And then the other question is what do you remember about your meals in the mess hall, Block 18 mess hall? And do you remember any of the cooks?

AS: No, I don't remember... no, I don't remember the cooks, but there were some, my friend's father was a cook. He had a restaurant outside and his reputation got around that he's a good cook, so they all wanted to go to his kitchen. He knew how to cook mutton into lamb. [Laughs] Isn't that something, though? Yeah, because a lot of the cooks were not cooks, and so they didn't, if they gave them all mutton, how did, they didn't know how to cook it. But you could sure smell it. But he knew how to cook all things, you know, if they had a restaurant and they knew, so, yeah, he was a real good, so everybody liked to go to his restaurant. But the guys like my husband, they drove a, they were like, internal, they did guard service. They, in the truck, so they'd go around to the mess hall at night, and he said oh yeah, certain cooks were nice. They'd make him a steak. And I said, "Oh, really?" But otherwise, they tried to do their best.

RP: Your husband wasn't a policeman when the riot occurred, was he?

AS: No, no, he wasn't there. He wasn't...

RP: He wasn't there. He was out.

AS: Best to stay away. We all, we didn't go down to look. Everybody's heading toward... we said, why go to it? That's, all that shooting. 'Cause the few ones that instigate that are, you know, they're that way. There would've been some fights and stuff. I know one of the, couple of people I knew, they were beaten up and this and that.

RP: Oh, people that you knew?

AS: Yeah, they had the group, that subversive group, or "no-no boys" they called 'em. So they, I guess they came out okay. One I knew was a Tayama, Mr. Tayama, he was beaten up, but some of those people, I guess... you know how they are, "no-no boys." But, no, I never was in... otherwise we were just peaceful people. But I know Fred, he was kind of hit, and I know their family well. They were -- did he live on our block? His family, part of his family lived on our block, but I remember he, when he was beaten up. It was... I don't know. But otherwise, life was stalemate. You could go crazy, if you stayed there a long time, doing nothing.