Densho Digital Archive - Helen Mori Interview (denshovh-mhelen

<Begin Segment 22>

RP: Did you have a chance to visit the, any of the gardens or parks in the camp?

HM: Yeah, when we went to Manzanar last year, October, we did... was that October? Yeah it was. We did, you know you have that auto tour? And then a lot of time we'd stop and get off and look around. I didn't even know that some of these blocks had such marvelous gardens. I didn't even know... 'cause our block, nobody had anything like that. Or any of our neighboring blocks, had anything like that, nothing. So I think, I think those are the ones who were on the border blocks of camp where they were able to leave camp and get those big rocks. [Laughs] Probably the biggest rock in our camp is like this, maybe smaller. We just didn't have the room for it or... and we were in, 21 was in the middle of camp, you figure. Nineteen, 20, firebreak, 21, 22, firebreak, 23, 24. So we were right in the middle so how are you gonna get those big old rocks to make a nice garden like that? Plus, no space. We don't have, we didn't have the space. Don't you think?

RP: Oh, yeah.

HM: Weren't the gardens on the outskirts, blocks of camp? I think so.

RP: Yeah.

HM: Yeah, they were on the outskirt blocks of camp. Or those ones in 9? The Terminal Island block?

RP: Uh-huh.

HM: Nine I think had a garden. But see that's closer to the other border, that side.

RP: Right. There was one in 15 I think, and one in 17.

HM: Seventeen? Well, see, 17 is --

RP: A little ways from you.

HM: -- that end of camp.

RP: Uh-huh.

HM: Maybe not.

RP: Uh-huh.

HM: Anyway, we didn't have any.