Densho Digital Archive - Osamu Mori Interview (denshovh-mosamu-01-0010)

<Begin Segment 10>

RP: During your time in Santa Anita did you ever ask yourself, "What the heck are we doing here?"

OM: Not really. Not really. 'Cause at the end, I think we were the last ones to leave camp, we were on a cleanup crew. Us young kids, I don't know who they were, can't even remember who in the heck they were but I'm sure my brother was there but we used to go around in trucks, in open truck bed, trucks, pick up trash from wherever. We'd just drive along and pick up trash because that's, when people were leaving they were just throwing things out that they didn't want or whatever. I don't even know if we were paid, that was a job or what. Because in Santa Anita, I don't think there was a pay scale, if there was a pay scale, was even lower than relocation camp, you know. I know in the relocation camp, you know, there was a pay structure of nineteen, sixteen and twelve or something like that. I think it was even less than that in Santa Anita. But I still remember maybe the last month we were there in... I think it was around October, we were very busy cleaning up the whole camp.

RP: Were you aware of a camouflage net factory in camp?

OM: Oh yeah, it was in the grandstand in Santa Anita on the high... it was all attached to the rafters there. In fact that's where the school was. If you wanted, you know, not that you got any credit for it. That's one thing, there was no school, organized school but if you wanted to go to a... like my mother, she wanted to go to English school, you went to that... it was high above the... I guess the grandstand in the lower part of the grandstand where there's a flat area for standing, you know, where today if you went to Santa Anita, the poor people would stand there in the grandstand. There they had the nets from above, but as the seating went up like this, that's where they held the schools, just in open areas like that.

RP: So attendance wasn't mandatory?

OM: No, no, there was no mandatory attendance or anything. There really was no formal school organized because it was meant to be a temporary assembly place. I don't think there was any regard to... they weren't even thinking about school then, you know.

RP: Any other memories about Santa Anita that you can share?

OM: Really no memories other than we were just talking it about the other day that if they ever have a get together, I'd like to go, just to see. I understand that they do have, not reunions, but they have a... this last time they had two or three hundred people go to the... I don't know, are you familiar with the "Horse's Mouth"? He's George Yoshinaga?

RP: Right from the Rafu?

OM: Rafu. He, I guess, organizes once last year he did, not a reunion, but a get together of people who were incarcerated there to come and see. In fact, last year they even had a tour, I guess you can't, most people can't get into the stable area. I guess the property values there are too expensive and they don't want any vandalism or whatever. But anyway, you can take a tour, actual tour of the area and everybody claims to be, that's where they stayed there, you know, Seabiscuit, or whatever, you know. And then there, I guess, there's a little statue or memorial place somewhere in the garden area that says they were, you know, talking about the multi-use Santa Anita, about camp. So I'd like to go back, you know, I remember running around that track just to see if I could do it, you know. We snuck in... we used to sneak into the clubhouse and, you know, lay around, they had nice sofas and everything, you know, but I wouldn't mind going back just to see what it's like. I don't think it's changed that much. The grandstand is exactly the same.