<Begin Segment 6>

BH: And what was your first impression when you arrived in Minidoka?

HI: Oh, thinking what a desolate place. I have never seen a desert type terrain before. I thought, "Where in the heck is this?"

BH: Tell us about your barracks at Minidoka.

HI: They were just a room, and they gave us cots with straw mattresses. We had to take our own bedding. Well, they gave us a few army blankets, but as far as sheets and things, I think we had to take our own. (There was) a potbelly stove. I don't think there was any other furniture in there.

BH: What was the food like at camp?

HI: Not very good.

BH: Any particular memories?

HI: Well, in the spring, the smelt was plentiful. So every Friday we'd get smelt, and, of course, mutton, which I hated. I don't know what else they served, I couldn't tell you.

BH: How do you feel about smelt and lamb now?

HI: I still don't care for it. My husband and son loved it, 'cause they didn't eat that much of it.

BH: How did your parents cope? What did they do when they were at camp?

HI: My mother was a dishwasher, and my dad was, I think he was a carpenter for a while, and then a fireman.

BH: So as a carpenter, what kinds of things did he work on?

HI: I'm not sure if it was the buildings or what, but he was able to make some furniture for a little room.

BH: That was nice.

HI: He made a desk (and dresser), and we had chairs (...). It was pretty nice.

BH: Did you, I know there were mess halls, did you eat as a family?

HI: Supposedly, but we never did. Because my mother worked, my dad was someplace else, and my brother was off roaming around.

BH: Well, and your dad probably had to stay at the fire station.

HI: I think so.

BH: Quite a bit. What was it like to be among all those Japanese people?

HI: I didn't know there were that many, for one thing. And then the Seattle people were in Area A, and the Portland and Oregon people were in Area B. So we didn't see them very often, but after going to school and different functions we got to know quite a few of the Seattle people, and made good friends with them.

BH: Did you ever think about or did anybody talk about why you were there?

HI: (Yes), they talked about it, but that was about all.

BH: What kinds of things did people say?

HI: Not knowing what was going to happen. And then our boys started going into the service. I don't think we got a newspaper, I can't remember reading things in the paper.

BH: Was one of your brothers in the service?

HI: Later on. He went to (the) language school in Minneapolis.

BH: Uh-huh, the MIS. Did you hear from him when he was there?

HI: A few times. Then he was sent to Japan. The war had ended then, but they still sent him to Japan for occupation forces. (...) I can't remember how long he was there.

BH: At Minidoka, were you able to continue your high school education or begin your high school education?

HI: Began (high school).

BH: What was school like in camp?

HI: Well, sometimes it was a circus. I felt I didn't learn that much, especially in math class. Algebra was okay, but when it came to geometry, I had three different teachers. I probably flunked it. But we had fun.

BH: Who were some of your friends in camp?

HI: Oh, there were some people from Portland and Seattle that we met in school, we became good friends through school.

BH: You had that issue with the fainting with the typhoid shots. Any other health issues among your family in camp?

HI: I was about sixteen at the time, and in December of '44 I got sick, and I couldn't walk for a bit. (...) The doctors in camp couldn't diagnose it, so they sent me to Boise. Right away they told me I had Poliomyelitis. I didn't know what that was. If they'd have said infantile paralysis I probably would have been scared to death. But it affected my left arm, the deltoid muscle, and they treated me with the Sister Kenny Method, which is to keep it immobile, and now I don't think that was the right thing to do. So they put me in a body cast and then gave me heat treatments and massage and stuff like that. So I don't have the use of my left arm very much.

BH: And did your mom or anybody go to the hospital in Boise with you?

HI: Yes, my mother was able to go with me, and they were able to find a home, a very nice lady that, they became friends later on, too. She stayed there I think about two, three weeks, and I was there a month. That was nice of them to take my mother in.

BH: Do you remember her name?

HI: I should, but I can't remember. Something (like) Goodall... it started with a G. And she used to write back and forth afterwards, too. My mother could write simple American English words. So they used to exchange Christmas cards for quite a while.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.