<Begin Segment 15>

RP: This is tape two of a continuing interview with Russell Demo. And Russell, we were talking a little bit about your time at Manzanar and the MP camp. And you mentioned that there was a PX in the MP camp?

RD: A what?

RP: A PX?

RD: Yes.

RP: Can you tell us about that?

RD: Well, I don't remember too much about it like I said, I was just talking a little while ago and got to thinking about it. But it was just a little dayroom over there, more or less, it had, we had a little bar in there where we got to [inaudible] certain times during the day. We'd buy cigarettes there, and I imagine they had candy bars or something there, it was a little day room. And you asked me whether there was a pool table in there and I can't remember. I don't remember too much about it.

RP: There was a piano in there.

RD: Yeah, there was a piano there, it had tables in there where you could play cards or do whatever, you know. As far as anything else in there, I can't remember too much about it.

RP: And who played the piano?

RD: Pardon?

RP: Who played the piano?

RD: Well, there was some old guy that was in the service there that, he was an old honky tonk piano player from down in Los Angeles out there, skid row, he was playing the bars there all the time down there in the panhandle section or wherever you want to call it down there. A pretty nice little guy, though. He'd play anything we want, "Beer Barrel Polka" and all those songs, he knew 'em all.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.