<Begin Segment 10>

LT: You graduated from high school at Minidoka. So do you recall what school was like? You had gone to school at Parkdale. What was school like at camp? How was it different?

JH: I don't really remember too much about it, because I was there just the year, I think. And then I left as soon as I got out of school for New York.

LT: But you did graduate from Hunt High School.

JH: Yeah, from Hunt High School.

LT: And after you graduated, you also became an assistant.

JH: Uh-huh in home ec.

LT: And how did that happen and what did you do?

JH: I really don't know. I don't know if the teacher asked me to help. I think that's what happened, because I would have never volunteered. [Laughs] I think the teacher asked if I would help with the class, and I did.

LT: So you would actually, that's a follow through from your being invited to help with Sunday school in Parkdale, in church. So you also were invited...

JH: Home ec.

LT: Sounds like you were good with kids. So life in camp, how was it different from life in Parkdale? If you thought about a day that you spent living in Parkdale, Oregon, how was it different from a day that you spent in Minidoka camp?

JH: I think the only difference is we didn't have chores to do, so we were free to do whatever we wanted to do. And other than that, everything else was the same, I thought.

LT: Yeah, at home you would have changed your clothes and gone out to work on the farm.

JH: Yes.

LT: Or you would have gone to Japanese language school. And so you didn't have any chores. After you finished high school, you didn't have a lot of responsibilities. So how did you and your friends spend your time?

JH: I really don't know what we did, we just... one day we'd go to Block 30 and then the next time they'd come to where I lived in 19, and we kind of walked around the block. There wasn't much to do. [Laughs]

LT: So you didn't have jobs or have chores?

JH: No, uh-uh.

LT: One difference is that in Parkdale, at school, there were Japanese Americans and Caucasians. In camp, there were mostly all Japanese Americans except for perhaps a few teachers. So what was it like for you to live in camp with mostly Japanese Americans?

JH: I didn't think much about it, I guess, it came natural. Now that we are in... we were sent to camp, which is all Japanese people, I felt, well, this where I'm going to be 'til whatever they decide to do later, whether to ship us back to home or just keep us there.

LT: Okay. So if you think about your camp life, and you were there about three years. And if you looked at positives and difficulties, can you talk about what might have been positive about being in camp, and then what might have been difficult with camp?

JH: Oh, gosh. I don't think there was any... of course, we knew that the Waltons would take good care of our place while we were gone, and they mentioned to us that, "Whenever you're ready to return, the farm is back in your name. It'll be back to you, we're just here to help you out." Other than that, we couldn't see any difference.

LT: Okay, okay.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.