<Begin Segment 10>

AC: And from Pinedale, they shipped you out to Tule Lake?

MH: Tule Lake.

AC: How was that? How did it go from Pinedale to Tule Lake?

MH: Ah, I can't remember whether we went on the train or whether we went on the bus. But Tule Lake is one of the internment, one of the ten internment camps that government built, and I'm surprised that they built two internment camps on the California, on the Western Coast where we were evacuated from Manzanar and Tule Lake. The rest was inland of course. Okay. Tule Lake was a lake bed. It was sandy. During the summer, it was pretty hot. Winter, it got cold. That's where we spent most of our time, I spent most of my time. After the two questions that came up, our family went to Heart Mountain, but I didn't stay in Heart Mountain that long. But in Tule Lake is where I spent most of my time. It wasn't too bad. They started schools. They used Japanese doctors and nurses. But all the rest administration; libraries, schools, whatever, they brought in Caucasians. They didn't use Japanese school teachers or librarians or whatever. They brought in Caucasians. Anybody who knew how to do anything like if I was an artist, I would start an art class. If a lady knew how to sew, she would start a sewing class. If anything a person wanted to do, you could start a class, and people would love to come because we had to do something besides work. They had movies into the mess hall for ten cents. We had dances with records. Jitterbug and swing was popular then. Sumo, the Isseis love sumo, so they had sumo. We had basketball teams, softball teams, baseball teams and played against the other blocks. We tried to keep busy and have fun too, you know. We all had to work, do something.

AC: Was your whole family with you at the time?

MH: When we evacuated, it was my father, mother and my older brother, me and my two younger brothers and sisters, so six of us I think. And at that time, my older brother was classified 4-C "enemy alien" at that time. All people who were supposed to be drafted was classified 4-C "enemy alien." Then of course, you know that after a couple of years, the army come in, and they made him 1-A and wanted them to volunteer to the 442nd. There was much controversy because the parents were in camp, and the boys were willing to go. But after all, I think when I have surveyed it, it's about 45,000 Niseis who volunteered to go to the army.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2004 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.