<Begin Segment 11>

KN: What was it like when you got to Minidoka?

EK: Well, we got to this vacant room they assigned to us. There was one bulb sitting in the middle, and a great big potbelly stove, we had to go get our coal and dust, it's terrible. And then we had to get our own mattress, we'd fill this big long thing with straw. Luckily, Joyce got a good mattress. If you had children, it was a small room, and then next, people that lived next door were real good to us. They were there before, and they brought us water and told us where the bathroom was and where the mess hall was.

KN: How far away was all of that?

EK: Well, it was very close to where we were living.

KN: And how did you make your environment and your new living quarters feel like home for you?

EK: Well, we just did what we usually did, we could, and then we mail ordered a lot of Montgomery Ward, and so I remember we had to buy... they got army blankets and peacoats, you know what they are? [Laughs] And, of course, the children didn't have anything, so I had to buy stuff for Joyce.

KN: How did you get the money to buy the stuff?

EK: Well, I think every month we were, clothing allowance. And it's just a bare, but I saved it so I could buy stuff for Joyce. Everybody got clothing. I don't remember how much it was.

KN: Were there any jobs in the camp that --

EK: There was all kinds of jobs. My father went out, he went out, he did carpentry, and he worked on the farm. My mother worked in the mess hall, and my husband liked, he worked for an electrician and he learned the trade.

KN: So they got paid for doing all that.

EK: Oh, yeah, there was all kinds of jobs.

KN: When you're in Minidoka, how old was Joyce?

EK: Three.

KN: Did, while she was in Minidoka, did she start going to school there?

EK: Kindergarten.

KN: So they had classes --

EK: Oh yeah, they had good teachers. Teachers from outside and a lot of Japanese teachers, and we had good doctors and nurses and they're real good facility at the hospital.

KN: Were most of the people that, were they Japanese?

EK: Yeah, there was a lot of other Caucasians.

KN: When you guys were in Minidoka, what did you talk about? What did you do?

EK: Well, we all tried to go to these activities, and they had movies, and I don't remember what. But anyway, there was a lot of teachers, sewing classes, Japanese classes, anything that you want. They're trying to keep us busy.

KN: And while you were in Minidoka, did you have any more children?

EK: Yes, I had one, Gail was born in camp in 1943.

KN: What was it like giving birth to your daughter in camp?

EK: Well, the hospitals were very good, good doctor from California, and so I didn't have any problem. But then it is a great big ward, I think there was about eight or ten of us in that ward. In November, everybody had babies at that time.

KN: When you were in Minidoka, did you ever hear from any of your friends or neighbors here in Portland?

EK: Neighbor used to write to us what was happening to the place.

KN: What neighbor was that?

EK: Well, her name was Lyla Fitzgerald. She lived next door and she kept us track what was going on.

KN: And was she storing some of the stuff for you?

EK: No, no.

KN: What did your parents' (...) room and their quarters look like and how were things for them?

EK: Well, of course, it was real bare at first, but gradually we found stuff. Of course, I told you my father made stuff from wood.

KN: What about your siblings? What did they do?

EK: Well, Gail was small, but Joyce went to school and made friends.

KN: And did you ever see your sister or your brothers in Minidoka?

EK: In Minidoka?

KN: Did you see them very often?

EK: Of course, my brother, three of them volunteered, you know, Tom and Kenny and Aki, and my sister worked at the hospital, I remember.

KN: And what did she do at the hospital?

EK: I think she worked for a dentist. She worked as a dentist assistant in Portland before we left, and I think that's what she did.

KN: Did you do any, did you work in the camps?

EK: I didn't do any, just enough to take care of the girls. What I remember is Kenny and Tom and Aki were writing English. Of course, parents couldn't understand. I did a lot of translation.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.