<Begin Segment 16>

RP: Phyllis, are there any other stories that we haven't touched on that you'd like to share with us?

PF: I remember, you know that, there's hieroglyphs, hieroglyphics is it? North Bishop? And I've never seen them. Never been there. And I remember going out to (...) Chalk Bluffs. That there was a pond out there and we ice skated. I skated on the side of my skates, but needless to say I didn't do very well out there. And there was something, something else that I remembered that was north of Bishop. I remember thinking what a wonderful place to have a, that house out on the (hill), just before you go up Sherwin grade. It's up on that hill and a rock house and I thought it was so neat. And I heard the woman always wanted a house on a hill. And so her husband built it for her and I guess it couldn't get water. It was so far down to water that, that didn't work out too well.

RP: I wanted to ask you, we talked about your dad. But I wanted to kind of wrap up the story of, of the house with your mother. She was there 'til 1997.

PR: Uh-huh. And, then she moved into assisted living center?

PF: Uh-huh, on Pine Street.

RP: And you mentioned that there were, the city of Bishop was interested in the house.

PF: Yes.

RP: What did they want?

PF: Well, the city, the museum wanted to buy it. And I thought you know, well, city of L.A. wouldn't sell it because of that well. And I've thought many times, why wouldn't they just rent it to them for the museum? And so that it would be kept up. It's just falling down around the paint, inside the paint. And it's such nice big rooms and so many stores. Oh, I know one story I wanted to tell you about that Halloween party. My mother loved to give parties. And while Dad was in the service she gave the Halloween party for the high school classes, all of them. And I remember that there was one game. It was a card and a piece (...) of bubblegum. And you chewed the bubblegum and then on this card was a name of a, like a cat. And you had to take that bubblegum out and make the cat out of that bubblegum. And it was so much fun. And she had black crepe paper cats and orange and black crepe paper streamers here and there. And, and this where you did the cat, animal things with the gum was up those creepy stairs. And she kept it not too brightly lit so that it was really... and that's where that classmate said, "That spooky old house."

[Interruption]

RP: When you say the museum, you're referring to the Laws Museum?

PF: Uh-huh. Yes.

RP: At any point did they actually want to move the house off the lot?

PF: Yes, they wanted to move it but I understand that because there's electric wires in the front and then they had those trees, cork elms, a row of cork elms in the front which are now gone. (So) I guess they couldn't figure how to move it without costing too much money. And maybe the city wouldn't let them have it anyway. Which would have been nice if the city, I mean, the city of L.A. if they had donated it. Cap, keep the well capped and just donate the house. Keep the property even. Put something on the back of the lot or something. But, city, the museum couldn't get it. Which was a shame. They have moved some other buildings out there. I was talking to somebody who had worked on the restoration of some of them and it's wonderful what they do.

RP: Yeah, just to be able to save the building.

PF: Uh-huh.

RP: Whatever it would take to do that. Well, if you don't have any other additional stories you'd like to share.

PF: I don't think of anything else.

RP: But I know you will tonight around midnight.

PF: Well, yes, I will. [Laughs]

RP: But we want to thank you, National Park Service wants to thank you and so do Kirk and I for a great interview.

PF: Well, thank you very much for asking me and inviting me into your little interview.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.