<Begin Segment 7>

BH: Now, your family went directly to Tule Lake without reporting to an assembly center. How did you get from Brooks to the train station to Tule Lake?

SF: Well, I don't recall... oh, I think we went on, you know, those army trucks, to the train station. And then after we got on the train, shabby old, it felt so dirty train. And we all got on and the blinds were all pulled down, and we were told not to touch the blinds, to leave it down. So that's the way we left it until we got to Tule Lake.

BH: So you didn't know where you were going, you left home in the back of an army truck with your one suitcase each. What did you think when you arrived at Tule Lake?

SF: I was really shocked, because at the gate were army people with a gun, with their gun, and they directed... well, we got into the truck, army truck, and we went to our barracks, assigned barracks.

BH: What did it look like?

SF: It's just rows and rows of barracks. And there's no trees. Tule Lake was built on a riverbed, it's just sand. And we had one, the barracks were divided in three, family housing, and we had one on the outside. My brother, had, because of our large family, we had two. And my brother, both of my brothers had the middle one. And we would have dinner at the mess hall, if you have to go bathroom, the building was in the middle of the unit, and the laundry room would be there also.

BH: And showers?

SF: Showers were there with the laundry room and the bathroom.

BH: So there was a different sense of community and privacy. How did your mom and dad cope with that?

SF: Well, I can remember when we got, we divided our room kind of with a blanket, so, you know, you really didn't have that much privacy. And I was surprised because you didn't have too much privacy, well, the lady folks, plus Mom, they would all wear smocks all day long. And when Mom was pregnant with Ed, even the neighbor lady didn't know. They would shower next door, but she didn't know.

BH: When you lived in Brooks, there were a few Japanese families near you. But when you went to Tule Lake, there were thousands of people. What was it like to be surrounded by people who looked like you?

SF: It was... well, I don't know. I can remember standing in line because we had to be vaccinated at the beginning, and that's when I noticed the amount of people. But you know, you're in sections, so you don't see that many people all at once.

BH: Were you able to continue your schooling?

SF: The school, I felt, at Tule Lake, was very good. It felt like school outside of the camp, and we went every day. Not the weekend, but we went to school every day.

BH: How did you pass the time after school and the evenings and on weekends when there wasn't school?

SF: Well, they would have classes of... it could be flower making or flower arranging, it could be tap dancing, it could be... they had a lot of different activities going on. We played softball, and I was into flower arranging and tap dancing, that's why I know the activities, what activities they had.

BH: How did your parents pass the time at Tule Lake?

SF: Oh, do you want me to... [laughs]. Mom was busy, they would even, built some garden area in front of their barracks. And Dad would work, and he was a warden, I think, for Tule Lake area. Oh, I better let you know about this other incident. Well, since Mom and Dad didn't have anything to do, anyway, my brother, Mutt, and Mom were talking, whispering, and this was in November. So I thought, "Oh, they're going to get me a dog for Christmas." And I was so happy. And then I forgot about it, and when I came home from school, this other kid says, "Oh, your mom had a baby." I said, "No, she didn't." I was getting mad at him. But sure enough, she did. And that dog, the puppy that I thought I was going to get, turned out to be my brother Ed. So he's my puppy. [Laughs]

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.