<Begin Segment 9>

JK: And when it was time for you to go to Minidoka, did they prepare you at the assembly center for where you were going? Did they tell you what...

MO: What to expect?

JK: Uh-huh.

MO: I guess so. They said there's always a sandstorm, that's all they were concerned, that we will not like it too well. There's always a sandstorm, it was sandy.

JK: So you had some anticipations. And how did you get to Minidoka?

MO: Well, the train is all I can remember. They grouped us, I don't remember the details, whether it was alphabetically or how, but we took the train.

JK: Okay. And how long, do you remember how long that took by train?

MO: We had many nights together, so must be more than one.

JK: Okay, so you remember it took several days. When you got to Minidoka, what was your first impression? What did you see or hear?

MO: That's a wide open, deserted place. Nothing but sand, nothing but open place.

JK: And when they assigned you to your living quarters, what was that like?

MO: Barracks? Well, it was shelter. I don't think we could complain, it was shelter. It was fine. It had beds in there. We all had to sleep in one room, of course.

JK: How did your mother cope with this? Your father was still ill, and how did she handle setting up the living quarters?

MO: Well, she did what she had to do, but I think probably my other brother helped, 'cause he was the next oldest in our group, now. And my sister and I had to do what we can to make it into a home.

JK: And so what things did you do to help make it homey?

MO: Well, make the beds. All they did was put in frames of bed, we had beds together, and each had a bed to set up. We each had mattress and stuff like that.

JK: And what was camp life for you as a young person?

MO: You know, it's a funny thing to say, but it was fun in the sense that we got to meet other people. I almost looked forward to going to school because I could meet new people from different area. But that wore out very quickly, rapidly, because we had to walk so far to go to school. And Idaho is not known for good weather, so we had windy, sandy, dusty walks to get to school. And you always felt dirty because the dust is, clings to your skin. You're perspiring from walking so far, and you're always scraping sand off of your perspiration. It was a challenge.

JK: How did you wash your, if you had to wash your clothes and things, how did you adjust?

MO: There was a big washtub, washroom. Lots of sinks. It's like a military place, rows and rows of washtubs. So there would be a crowded place, but then people want to wash all about the same time, so you'd have to wait in line, but they had plenty of washtubs to do your washing. You'd have to find a way to hang it someplace, but you have to find your own hanging place.

JK: How'd you take care of your own bathing needs and things or keeping clean?

MO: They did have shower, shower stalls, open shower stalls, miles and miles of shower.

JK: But these weren't, were they by the barracks or did you have to walk?

MO: It's all in the barracks, yes.

JK: And how did they handle feeding?

MO: Feeding is the same; rows and rows of tables all lined up, we all ate at a bench like picnic benches.

JK: How did this work for your mother and for you kids? Did you eat with your mom or did she eat with her friends?

MO: No, you could do either way. If you want to eat with the family or... it's so scrambled there that you go when you can, sit down when you can.

JK: So made it kind of hard to...

MO: Well, it was okay. It was harder to get the family together at a certain time and try to sit at the same place at the same time.

JK: Did you participate in any cultural, did they have cultural activities and things there?

MO: I think they did, but I didn't pay much attention to that, I guess. I don't remember doing anything at the assembly center.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.