<Begin Segment 9>

KN: What can you tell me that you remember about the assembly center?

EK: Well, we had one of the hottest summers, and went up to a hundred and four degrees. And you know it was a stock yard. Well, there was one layer of floor, and then come along and water that down, and oh, the smell, that's the only thing I can remember. And then another thing I remember was this little apartment that we lived in didn't have a door, it had a canvas curtain thing on it, and it was open outside. And at night, you can hear people snoring and crying. There was one man that lived next door, he used to sing in the middle of the night. [Laughs]

KN: Did you live, were your quarters at the assembly center, was it just for your family or did you live...

EK: Yeah, just my family, Joyce and my husband, three of us.

KN: And were you able to be close to your parents?

EK: Uh-huh.

KN: And what was that like for... did they communicate anything to you about what it was like for them and what they were going through?

EK: Well, of course, we had friends, and we couldn't communicate outside, so people from the community that we lived and the friends that they knew, and I think they had sort of a gathering that they talked about.

KN: And what did you do while you were you were in the relocation center?

EK: Relocation center? Well, there was a lot of things, activities, pictures, and of course the kids had school to go to.

KN: What kind of activities?

EK: Oh, there was crafting, sewing class, Japanese reading classes, and I can't remember, but anyway, we tried to get out.

KN: What kind of food did you eat in the assembly center?

EK: Well, we had a mixture, we had a Japanese cook, and we got everything from the government. So sometimes it would be just spaghetti and meatballs. Sometimes we'd have Japanese rice and miso soup and sukiyaki, whatever they can send to us.

KN: So it wasn't like the normal food that you were eating before, huh?

EK: Not usually. [Laughs]

KN: Do you know what your mother and your father did in the assembly center?

EK: In assembly center, well, there wasn't much that they'd do, friends gathered and gossiped and passed the time.

KN: How long were you in the assembly center for?

EK: Let's see. We went there in... can't remember what day it was. Anyway, we left in September. I think it was the end of May, I can't remember, I think we were there during the summer.

KN: Did anyone talk about the war or talk about why you were there?

EK: [Shakes head]

KN: How did you feel about it? How did you feel about being, living in the stock yard?

EK: Well, it wasn't pleasant, of course, and I thought, "Why in the world they put us good citizens? What about the Germans and the Italians?" I couldn't understand that.

KN: Were you able to have any visitors?

EK: Uh-huh. We had several Caucasian visitors that came and visited us. And if there was something that we needed, they'd go and get it for us.

KN: Do you remember anything in particular, any visitor that you remember?

EK: No, I don't remember. Anyway, our neighbors were real good to us.

KN: What would they bring to you?

EK: Well, I remember one day my daughter needed a pair of shoes, and so they went and got a pair of shoes for 'em, and then I think there's some food that we wanted, like Joyce wanted... I can't remember what, but we didn't get enough milk, I remember. And so they'd come quite often. Of course, we didn't have any refrigeration, so we put that stuff in cold water and had to use it up quick.

KN: What were the facilities like, the bathrooms and the showers?

EK: Terrible. It's a community shower, toilets were community.

KN: Was there any challenges or anything? Because I know Japanese people were usually very private. Was there a change for your mother and some of the older, the elders, to be in a community bathroom?

EK: Well, they just took it for granted that's the way it's gonna be, so they couldn't change it.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.