<Begin Segment 16>

LL: So how long were you in camp?

MI: As I remember, I got out in... the date is kind of fuzzy, but I think it was the end of the year. I can't even tell you which year it was. '41, '42, I can't tell you.

LL: And your reason for...

MI: Well, I got accepted, finally, into a college that would take us, so it happened to be a conservatory of music. And this head of the conservatory was very sympathetic toward the whole program, and so he was able to get me in.

LL: And what college was that?

MI: Oh, this is called Baldwin Wallace College in Ohio.

LL: So you left camp, then, to attend college?

MI: At that time, yes.

LL: So then did you graduate from that school?

MI: Yeah, I graduated from that school, from Baldwin Wallace.

LL: And then after you graduated, had your parents been, were they out of camp by then?

MI: Yeah, by the time I graduated, they were in the process of moving back to Portland from Idaho. And then by the time I was completely done, then they had already found an apartment house that they bought.

LL: So you returned back to Portland?

MI: Yes, I was trying to figure out what day it is, but I just can't remember.

LL: What were your expectations going back?

MI: I guess I didn't have much, other than the fact that my father had a place for us to live, and I'd have to do something about getting a job eventually. But that was far from my mind at the time.

LL: So where did they find a place?

MI: They found a place around Northeast Eighth and Couch, or Davis or something. I can't remember the name of the street, but they found an apartment house there, which they bought. And that's where we lived.

LL: So what were your first impressions when you arrived back home? What were the differences between what it was before you left and coming home? What did you see as the major differences?

MI: Well, I was trying to get a job, and I wasn't sure what kind of job I wanted. and I ended up at the Portland Council of Churches, and from there, I went to Portland Public Schools, and then from there I went to the library, a library, and that's about it.

LL: So you started working shortly after you returned?

MI: Uh-huh, shortly.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.