Densho Digital Archive - John Tomita Interview (denshovh-tjohn

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KP: So, do you remember getting ready to leave? Did you go to, directly to a camp or did you go to an assembly center first?

JT: Oh, we, we went to the assembly center.

KP: Which one?

JT: Walerga, Walerga is a... yeah, it's funny. Some of these people went to Walerga and next town, like Walnut Grove, they went to an assembly center in Stockton or someplace. We went to Sacramento, Walerga, Isleton route... yeah, first time I rode on a... yeah, rode on a train from Isleton. See, first time I ever rode a train. I mean, that, that train in Alton that came down there not too long ago. But that's where we got loaded up. Yeah. And then we went to Walerga. Yeah. Walerga, first thing we were supposed to do it put the straw in the mattress. We were wondering what they were gonna use that for. But it turned out that that was our mattress. [Laughs] First time I ever seen it in my life that straw mattress. But, when we went to camp, I mean, at Walerga, it was amazing. There was nothing to do. And then, some people, somebody came around and says, "Hey, anybody knows, work in the kitchen cut meat?" And, and I said, "Oh yeah." We had a restaurant so... and I used to see them sharpen their knife so I know what to do to sharpen the knife. And so they're lookin' for a guy who could cut meat for the camp and I just picked up a knife and a whatchamacallit and I start sharpening it. [Laughs] As if I'd been doing it all my life. And they, they took one look at me and says, "Okay, you're on." [Laughs] And first time in my life, I'm cutting the meat. I just asked, "How thick you want it?" They say half inch. "Okay, half an inch." And, and that's how I got a job. That was funny.

[Interruption]

JT: So I had a job. I forgot how much they paid us, and what I got.

KP: What did your, what did your father do in Walerga? Anything? Did he work at all, do you...

JT: No, they, in Walerga I don't remember. Because I hardly saw him. But in Tule, I remember, they all hang out and in, in that boiler room and my father was good at playing Japanese card. I guess the gambler's friend that he had, yeah, he used to... so my father, he's playing. But, in camp he never did anything. He was supposed to help out at the mess hall. My mother was helping but my dad never went in to help.

[Interruption]

KP: So, so how long were you in Walerga?

JT: I think we were there only about three or four months. It was a very short time. See, after, let's see, it was in the spring that we went into Walerga and then, then we went, yeah, they ship us to Tule Lake.

KP: How did you get from Walerga to Tule Lake?

JT: First we took on a bus and then got on, got on a train. And then all the way to Tule Lake was on a, on a train, as I remember, yeah.

KP: How was that train trip?

JT: All the shades were closed. And there wasn't much talking, too. Pretty quiet ride as I remember. Everybody wondering where we were gonna go. Nobody was told where we were gonna go. Yeah, at that time, yeah it was rumored that we would end up in Montana someplace. That's right. When we got to Tule Lake we were so, we thought we were in Montana or someplace. But we were still in California.