[NOTE: This transcript has not undergone a final proofreading and may contain
errors. It is being provided in draft form to enhance access to the video recording. As soon as possible, it will be replaced with a final, corrected transcript and will be synced to the video to provide clickable timecodes.]Kelly Weiss: 00:02 Okay Gram, what is your name?
Mary Taira: 00:04 Mary.
KW: 00:05 Mary. What's your last name?
MT: 00:08 Taira.
KW: 00:09 What was your name when you were born?
MT: 00:11 Coachee.
KW: 00:11 Koji. Mary Koji. Do you have a middle name?
KW: 00:15 Fumiko
KW: 00:17 So, Mary Fumiko Koji.
MT: 00:20 There you go.
KW: 00:21 Did you know, do you remember that my middle name is Fumiko?
MT: 00:25 No.
KW: 00:26 [laughs] Yeah, that mom named me after you.
MT: 00:29 I didn't know that. If I did, I forgot.
KW: 00:32 You forgot.
KW: 00:33 Where were you born?
MT: 00:38 Los Angeles.
KW: 00:40 In California?
MT: 00:41 California.
KW: 00:43 And when, how old were you when you went to the camp?
MT: 00:49 Hmm, I think I was about 15.
KW: 00:51 About 15?
MT: 00:53 I think so.
KW: 00:54 Did you go to school in the camps?
MT: 00:56 Yes.
KW: 00:56 And what was school like?
MT: 01:00 Fun.
KW: 01:01 What was fun about it?
MT: 01:03 Boys.
KW: 01:06 Okay, tell me more and describe it a little bit more.
MT: 01:13 Yeah, I liked the teachers. Teachers. Very kind. You bring, uh, no
animosity towards us when we, there were some that Kinda had a, I don't know, but yeah, they were all nice teachers.KW: 01:35 Did you go to class all day and all day?
MT: 01:40 Not all day. When I mean regular school hours.
KW: 01:44 Did you have a school house? Was there a school building?
MT: 01:48 No, we had our own, an old school building? Yes. Yeah. Separate from
the, our house.KW: 01:55 Separate from your house.
MT: 01:56 and from our camp anyway.
KW: 01:58 Who lived with you in your space in the camp?
MT: 02:01 My mom, my stepfather.
KW: 02:04 Your mom and your stepfather.
MT: 02:05 And my sisters.
KW: 02:06 How many sisters?
MT: 02:07 Two
KW: 02:08 Two sisters. And all of you are in the same,
MT: 02:12 Same room.
KW: 02:14 Just one room?
MT: 02:15 One big room.
KW: 02:18 Can you describe the room a little bit?
MT: 02:20 Well, it was partitioned off from my, my parents and um, like myself
and my sisters, we had the three little cots that we had as our beds. And that's about all.KW: 02:38 What else was in there with you? Did, wasn't there a little kitchen?
Was there a desk? Anything?MT: 02:43 Where the kitchen was, we had to go to a main, main building to eat.
We didn't have no kitchen in our room. We weren't allowed to have any, anything.KW: 02:58 What was the food like?
MT: 03:02 Wasn't bad. It was edible.
KW: 03:05 What about bathrooms? Bathrooms.
MT: 03:09 Oh, we had to go into a, uh, they have a separate, uh, building for
men and for, for women we had to go to, we didn't have our own bathroom, we had to go to another room. Um, kind of a house? Yeah.KW: 03:30 Were there stalls for showers or were the showers open?
MT: 03:33 No showers, stalls for showers.
KW: 03:37 Was it dusty, did you have to shower a lot? Cause you were in the, you
were in a muck too, right? Was it really dusty there?MT: 03:46 Yeah, I had a lot of dust storms there. Yeah.
KW: 03:49 What were the dust storms like?
MT: 03:50 Dust storms? storms? Dust.
KW: 03:55 Well did you have to protect yourself or go inside or did you,
MT: 03:59 you know, we stayed inside and we always had to have a kerchief over
our nose in order to go do lunch in for your, uh, for dinner or lunch and dinner, you had to have a scarf so we can at least breathe.KW: 04:16 And were you and your sisters in the same class and in school?
MT: 04:21 Not In the same class, no, but the same school. Yes.
KW: 04:26 And did you, did you graduate high school in the camps?
MT: 04:32 Well, I don't remember. I think so, yeah. So long ago.
KW: 04:41 Do you remember what your favorite subject in school was?
MT: 04:45 Recess.
KW: 04:48 Did you play any sports when you were in the camp?
MT: 04:52 Baseball.
KW: 04:54 What position did you play in baseball.
MT: 04:57 Pitcher.
KW: 04:58 You were a pitcher?
MT: 04:59 Yeah.
KW: 05:00 I didn't know that! I thought I remember you saying you used to play volleyball.
MT: 05:05 Well, I played volleyball too, but at least I liked to play baseball.
KW: 05:10 Yeah.
KW: 05:12 Do you have any favorite memories from the camps? Anything that stands out?
MT: 05:19 Boys.
KW: 05:22 How many boyfriends did you have?
MT: 05:24 Only one.
KW: 05:27 What was his name?
MT: 05:29 Yeah, come to think of it. I don't remember. It's been so long ago.
KW: 05:35 And do you remember, um, leaving the camps?
MT: 05:41 Vaguely.
KW: 05:43 What do you remember about leaving the camp?
MT: 05:46 Waving goodbye.
KW: 05:49 To who?
MT: 05:51 Anybody that I could wave out the train window. Well some of my
friends came too.KW: 06:01 Yeah. Were your parents with you? Your mom and your stepfather?
MT: 06:06 Yes.
KW: 06:08 Your whole family left at the same time?
MT: 06:10 No.
KW: 06:13 Who left when?
MT: 06:15 I don't remember. It's been so long ago.
KW: 06:19 Where did you go after the camp?
MT: 06:22 Chicago.
KW: 06:25 What did you do when you got here?
MT: 06:28 Where?
Speaker 3: 06:31 He's the one who answered the job. What kind of job did you
have, Mom? What kind of job did you have?MT: 06:36 I see.
MT: 06:39 I had so many jobs. I forgot. I mostly work in the office.
KW: 06:47 What about your job working in the school cafeteria? Do you remember?
MT: 06:53 Not very much. I used to work. It should be the bots.
KW: 06:59 and how many kids do you have?
MT: 07:02 Three. Oh, it's four.
KW: 07:06 Yes, you have four. Sharon,
MT: 07:09 Thee, Bruce and Paul.
KW: 07:14 Yeah, well, what did you get to bring with you to the camps? Do you remember?
MT: 07:19 One suitcase.
KW: 07:20 What was in your suitcase?
MT: 07:22 Like panties. [laughs]
KW: 07:28 Well, let me rephrase the question. What was something special that
you brought with you to the camps that you didn't want to leave behind?MT: 07:37 Right. Who remember?
KW: 07:41 And were there any family heirlooms?
MT: 07:45 No, I don't remember.
KW: 07:47 Do you think your mom brought any of those things?
MT: 07:51 That, she originally probably did, but I don't remember.
KW: 07:54 So tell me about your mom. What was your mom like?
MT: 07:59 She was pretty, always dating. Lots of fun.
KW: 08:09 Was she born in California too? Was your grandmother born in California?
MT: 08:15 No.
KW: 08:16 So your mom was the first one?
MT: 08:19 Yes, she was the oldest.
KW: 08:23 and when did you meet Ji-Chan?
MT: 08:27 I don't remember.
KW: 08:30 Okay. Let's try and find some other questions.
MT: 08:34 I don't.
KW: 08:35 What do you like about living in Chicago?
MT: 08:38 I don't.
KW: 08:40 You don't like living in Chicago? Where would you rather live?
MT: 08:43 California.
KW: 08:45 You want to go back?
MT: 08:46 I would like to.
KW: 08:47 What did you like about living in California?
Speaker 3: 08:51 Everything. My childhood.
KW: 08:56 Tell me about your childhood. What was your life like before the camps?
MT: 09:00 Fun.
KW: 09:02 Why?
MT: 09:03 Why? Yeah, a little young. Yeah. Okay. I didn't know any better.
KW: 09:08 What kinds of stuff did you do?
MT: 09:12 Everything. Played dance, sing, everything.
KW: 09:21 What did your, um, what did your parents do?
MT: 09:27 Well she worked, and my mom worked in the restaurant and that my
grandfather owned.KW: 09:31 He owned the restaurant? And what happened to the restaurant when you
guys went to the camp?MT: 09:37 Well, we had to close down. Do you know who got the restaurant? Have
you been back to the restaurant? Did any of you ever go back?MT: 09:52 I don't remember.
MT: 09:53 I think I went back to see what it looked like. But it's not the same.
KW: 10:00 Not the same.
MT: 10:03 Surprising. The name was called the New York cafe.
KW: 10:08 When you were a little girl, the cafe was called the New York cafe? I
bet that's new information. I've never heard that before. Why was it called The New York Cafe?MT: 10:19 I guess my grandfather, liked New York.
KW: 10:24 Do you know when your grandfather came to the United States?
MT: 10:26 No. No.
KW: 10:27 Was he born in Japan?
MT: 10:30 Yes.
KW: 10:31 Did you speak Japanese growing up?
MT: 10:34 No.
KW: 10:35 Why not?
MT: 10:36 Because I didn't learn.
KW: 10:38 Did your mom speak Japanese?
MT: 10:39 Oh yes.
KW: 10:41 But she taught you English, or she wanted you to speak English?
MT: 10:46 Oh, I learned English on my own. When you're kids, you just pick up
things then you're on your own.KW: 10:56 Do you read, do you do understand Japanese when you were little?
MT: 11:02 Yes,
KW: 11:05 But I remember you don't understand Japanese now though, right?
MT: 11:10 Little bit.
MT: 11:11 When someone talks to me, it depends on what they say. I can
understand some of it.KW: 11:21 What makes you the most happy every day? What makes you the most happy
every day?MT: 11:27 Being alive.
KW: 11:29 Do you remember how old you are?
MT: 11:32 No. I think I'm in the eighties someplace or in the nineties somewhere
around there.KW: 11:37 You are. You're 91.
MT: 11:39 Oh yeah, am I? Surprised myself.
KW: 11:45 Do you remember any of your childhood friends?
MT: 11:51 No.
KW: 11:53 And you said you had two sisters, right?
MT: 11:57 Youne and Baby.
KW: 11:59 Were they older or younger?
MT: 12:01 I'm the oldest in the family.
KW: 12:05 And so, um,
KW: 12:08 you were 14 when, when the war broke out?
MT: 12:12 Somewhere around there.
Daughter: 12:13 She was born in 1925.
KW: 12:17 And do you, do you remember when uh, Pearl Harbor was attacked.
MT: 12:24 41.
KW: 12:24 do you remember that day or hearing about it?
MT: 12:32 Um,
MT: 12:33 no, really because I didn't care that much then fine. Then I was
finally realize I was Japanese.KW: 12:43 You were just a typical American kid, right?
MT: 12:46 Going to school, seeing my friends.
KW: 12:50 Did you, did you know other or did you grow up with other Japanese
American kids or?MT: 12:56 Not too much. There were some that went to school with me, but I
mostly my friends were American.KW: 13:06 And uh, what about your, your parents or, or your mom and your Stepdad?
MT: 13:10 Well you know, my mom was born in Los Angeles. My father, I don't,
probably was in Japan. I don't even remember any of my father, just my stepfather.KW: 13:23 When did your father pass away?
MT: 13:25 I don't remember that either. I don't even know he died.
KW: 13:34 So, um,
KW: 13:36 Did you expect mom to marry Japanese person?
MT: 13:42 No. I wasn't born there. So I didn't know.
KW: 13:44 No, your, my mom.
MT: 13:46 Oh, your mom. You didn't say your mom.
New Speaker: 13:48 I'm sorry. Let me restate the question again. Did you expect
Sharon to marry a Japanese man?MT: 13:55 Not really.
KW: 13:56 No?
MT: 13:57 No.
D: 13:59 Why not?
MT: 14:01 I didn't really remember her going around with any Japanese men. You didn't!
D: 14:09 Well because there were not around.
MT: 14:11 See? So.
KW: 14:11 So, in Chicago, did you have a lot of Japanese friends when you moved
to Chicago?MT: 14:19 Not too many. It's a, I didn't associate too much with Japanese too much.
KW: 14:26 Why not?
MT: 14:26 I had mostly American friends I went around, 'cause the kids, school
was all American.MT: 14:32 Well you kinda...
MT: 14:36 The Japanese at that time, we didn't associate them much and mostly
all American friends.KW: 14:45 Do you remember in the 1980s when President Reagan apologized for camps?
MT: 14:51 No, I didn't care.
KW: 14:55 You didn't care? Because the family got the money. Do you remember
getting the money?MT: 15:01 I did. I don't remember getting any of it.
KW: 15:05 Why didn't you care that he apologized?
MT: 15:08 'Cause at that time I was too young to care, to matter, that even
realize anything happened. Except that I was in camp.KW: 15:20 Well, this apology came 40 years later in the 1980s.
MT: 15:26 What you mean? I was still too young to know.
KW: 15:31 that mean. Yeah, too little. Too late. Maybe.
D: 15:36 Where did you move to when you came to Chicago? Which, which
neighborhood or, or what part of Chicago did you come to first?KW: 15:49 I forgot, I think it was in Uptown.
D: 15:55 We lived on Hampton court. Do you remember Hampton Court?
MT: 15:59 Not too much. Well, where was Hampton Court?
D: 16:05 We lived at, that's where I was born, and then we moved to Burling. You
remember Burling? That's where Auntie Chiyo was there and Auntie Margaret when we lived on the third floor.MT: 16:18 No, those things is so past in my mind. I don't want to remember.
D: 16:22 There, there was a big three flat and the different families lived in a
three flat at the different floors.MT: 16:28 I don't even remember that.
KW: 16:35 Well, when you think about your memories, what's one of your favorite memories?
MT: 16:42 Hmm, let's see. I only have too many favorite memories except going to
the dances. You meeting boys? No, I don't really remember too much. Except I had fun when I went to go dances because I love to dance at that time. The jitterbug. Remember the jitterbug? Yeah. You don't know what the jitterbug is.KW: 17:12 I do know what the jitterbug is! I'm just trying to picture you doing
the jitterbug. [laughs]KW: 17:18 What about being a mom? What do you like the most about being a mom?
MT: 17:23 Having kids.
KW: 17:25 What do you like about having kids? I know you love kids. What do you
like about kids?MT: 17:30 Oh, that's kinda hard to say, was kind of rough, but it was, I like
it. I think the kids.KW: 17:39 Yeah.
KW: 17:40 What's your favorite part about being a mom?
MT: 17:44 Being a Mom.
KW: 17:44 Yeah.
KW: 17:49 And you were around kids when you worked in the cafeteria. Do kids
make you happy?MT: 17:54 Yeah, there were. We had a good time working in the cafeteria, meeting
the kids, seeing what they ate, be sure they ate.KW: 18:03 Was that a school cafeteria or can you talk a little bit more about that?
MT: 18:10 No. The school cafe-- was a camp cafeteria, but the school kids came
there to eat. You know the family. It was a family style cafeteria, so.KW: 18:22 Well, when you got out of the camps, you spent most of your career
working in school cafeterias.MT: 18:30 I don't remember. All I remember is working.
D: 18:33 You were a lunchroom manager, mom.
MT: 18:37 That, that part I remember either, but I remember what working, um,
for uh, help to used to write books I forgot it was, I forgot the name. It's been so long ago. Anyway, that's where all the Japanese got a job and that got a job just like dad.D: 19:13 R. R. Donnelley? Oh, was it Donnelley?
MT: 19:17 Uh, the name is familiar, but I don't remember if it's the name or not.
D: 19:23 Yeah it was one of the few places that hired Japanese-Americans.
New Speaker: 19:26 Yeah, very few. In fact it was about the only place at the time.
KW: 19:34 How would you describe yourself?
MT: 19:38 What? Then?
KW: 19:39 No, just in general. If you were going to pick some words to describe
your personality. What is your personality like? What are you like?MT: 19:48 Old. Grouchy.
D: 19:53 That's not true. Sassy. [laughs]
MT: 19:58 That's how I feel like. A grouchy old lady.
KW: 20:03 [laughs] Well, what were you like when you were young then?
MT: 20:07 Oh, I don't remember being happy. Happy that was having a nice mother.
I know I didn't have a father very long. I didn't like my stepfather, so I guess I was okay.KW: 20:27 What was your mother's name?
MT: 20:27 Hana.
KW: 20:32 And did she have family too? Did she have sisters or brothers?
MT: 20:37 Yeah, she had sisters. Um, two sisters and a brother.
KW: 20:44 And did you know them?
MT: 20:47 Auntie Matsuko and Auntie Margaret. Uncle Chiyo. Oh, Auntie Chiyo and
Uncle Charlie. Auntie Matsa.D: 20:58 Yes she had more than two sisters.
KW: 21:00 Were your mother's sisters and brothers with you in the camps? Were
you all in the same camp?MT: 21:07 Mm, no.
KW: 21:09 Do you know where they went? No.
KW: 21:12 Who was with you in the camps other than your mother and your
stepfather and your sisters. Who else was with you guys in the camp?MT: 21:19 That's about it.
KW: 21:22 So none of your aunties came with you?
MT: 21:25 You know, I don't remember. It's been so long ago.
KW: 21:29 What about your grandmother? Who's in the picture that we were looking
at in front of the trains, you're there with your aunties and your grandmother.MT: 21:41 I didn't like my grandmother so much.
KW: 21:43 Why not?
New Speaker: 21:45 She's kind of mean.
KW: 21:49 Do you have any stories of her being mean?
MT: 21:53 Just be mean.
KW: 21:56 Was she in the camp with you?
MT: 21:59 I don't know. Not In the same campus as I was.
KW: 22:04 So did your, if your family split up into different camps, how did you
guys find each other again after the camps?MT: 22:14 I don't remember that either. I know one person had a place and we'd
all come together to live there, at that, but I don't know which one was my Auntie Babe or Auntie Youne. That's about it. I don't remember.KW: 22:34 So somebody left first and set up a house and then you guys all went
to that house after the camps?MT: 22:42 No, no, no. I don't remember. Yeah. I had to sit back and think about
it. I don't remember it. This one was gone and you'd probably... huh?D: 23:00 Go ahead.
MT: 23:02 No.
KW: 23:04 Okay.
MT: 23:06 No, it isn't ok, when your mind is gone. I don't remember, who are you?
KW: 23:13 You remember who I am. See, this is her stand up. Yeah.
D: 23:17 You remember who I am?
MT: 23:20 Ohh.
D: 23:20 Do you remember becoming a grandmother?
MT: 23:23 No.
D: 23:24 Did you like having grandkids? No, he didn't have Julie and Kelly and
was good and she said, yeah, that's just very, you're being smart at like, yeah. What do you like about being grandmother?MT: 23:42 I don't remember because I don't remember being a grandmother.
D: 23:45 Do you remember being a great grandmother? Nope. What's your great
granddaughter's name?D: 23:52 My daughter. What's her name?
MT: 23:55 I don't know why, I don't remember.
D: 23:56 Cora. Does that sound familiar?
MT: 23:58 I don't see her.
D: 24:00 She's right outside.
MT: 24:01 She is?
D: 24:03 She's right out there.
MT: 24:08 I don't remember what she looks like.
KW: 24:14 Uh, so where do you live now in Chicago?
MT: 24:20 Steels 3631 North Pine Street.
D: 24:24 Francisco 3631 North Francisco.
MT: 24:27 Oh, North Francisco. Yeah. I think of Vine street all the time. Yeah.
I don't know why I think of Vine street.KW: 24:35 Did you live on a place called Pine Street?
MT: 24:38 Yeah. Didn't I live on Vine street someplace?
KW: 24:42 When did you live on Vine Street?
MT: 24:43 I don't remember. She'll remember more than I would.
D: 24:45 When, we lived there for a long time Mom, when I was in grammar school.
MT: 24:53 And what was the hybrids?
D: 24:56 1661.
MT: 24:57 Oh, that's right.
D: 25:00 And I went to high school at Waller and I transferred Amundsen, Thee
transferred to Senn and then we moved. Paul went to Lane Tech.MT: 25:17 I don't remember.
D: 25:17 You went to Newport. You remember 918 Newport? Well that's where we
lived with when Paul was little.Anna Takada: 25:29 You said that when you moved to Chicago, you enjoyed the, the
dances. Can you tell us what, what were the dances.MT: 25:37 Well, those were the dances that the, yeah, they would have, um,
dances for the Japanese American and used to go, I used to, forgot what, I would with stag with her. Had a friend at the time. [laughs] There was a time I would go by myself, one year with some girlfriends and we'd all go sit on the side and be some wallflowers.D: 26:10 Where did you meet our dad?
MT: 26:11 You know what, I don't remember.
D: 26:15 Wasn't it Club Waikiki? Was it at Club Waikiki?
MT: 26:15 No, I don't think so.
KW: 26:24 Do you remember Club Waikiki? What do you remember about Club Waikiki?
Tell me a really good story about Club Waikiki.MT: 26:32 You know, when you sit and ask me, I don't remember. I didn't know I
had a good time.AT: 26:40 What, what is Club Waikiki?
MT: 26:43 It used to be a club for all the Hawaiian boys, or Hawaiian people
used to go to. In my, at that time, my husband was a bartender there.AT: 26:58 And so would you go to visit him at the bar?
MT: 27:02 I don't remember. I don't think so.
D: 27:05 We did. My mom used to make crepe paper leis.
MT: 27:08 Oh that's right. I used to make leis to sell. They used to sell there.
D: 27:13 And that's where my mom met my second dad, my first and second ever
best friend. That sounds bad, but [laughs] we used to go as kids when the, when the bar wasn't open. But yeah, I had a lot of Japanese-American friends as well.KW: 27:39 So you did hang out with other Japanese people! You did hang out with
other Japanese people at Club Waikiki.MT: 27:47 At the time, but not anymore. I don't have that many friends.
KW: 27:52 Yeah. But at the time it was all Hawaiian boys. There must've been a
lot of Japanese people at Club Waikiki.MT: 27:59 Yeah, second-generation, no third generation, no third generation.
She's third generation so it was always second-generation boys. A lot of Hawaiian boys, all mostly all home from Hawaii.AT: 28:18 And when you came to Chicago, where are you only working or were you
going to school as well?MT: 28:23 I was going to, I was pretty young then I was going to school.
AT: 28:31 Do you remember where?
MT: 28:33 No.
KW: 28:33 I don't think you went to college.
MT: 28:36 I didn't. I went to junior college but not for very long.
KW: 28:42 Oh, you went to junior college? I didn't know that.
AT: 28:45 And what about your, your sisters? They came to Chicago too?
MT: 28:48 We all came together with my mom and stepfather.
AT: 28:54 And were they they were probably young enough to still be in school?
MT: 28:57 Oh yeah. In fact they were. Yeah.
D: 29:05 So your sister Kim was born in the camps, right? So what was it like to
have a baby in the camps? Did you help take care of your baby? Help the baby? Did your mom leave the camps to have the baby or did your mom have the baby actually still in the camp? Do you remember?MT: 29:28 I don't think Kim was born in camp.
D and KW: 29:30 Yeah. Yeah, she was.
MT: 29:34 She did, I don't even remember because at that time I didn't care that
much as all the boys.AT: 29:43 Do you remember feeling like or how you felt um, as a teenager when
your family got the evacuation notice?MT: 29:53 You know at that time all I know is we knew that we had to go to camp
and when I went to Camp I had a pretty good time there.KW: 30:07 Were you ever angry that you had to leave your house and your friends?
MT: 30:13 No.
KW: 30:14 Why weren't you angry?
MT: 30:16 'Cause I was too young to realize what was happening, really.
KW: 30:22 Did you ever get angry later when you thought back on what had
happened to you?MT: 30:27 No, not really cause I had some pretty good times there
D: 30:33 Ever since I can remember you always said, you know when I was little
that you had a good time.MT: 30:40 Yeah, I think that, I made a lot of good friends and a lot of the
activities that I went with the time and a lot of boys.KW: 30:55 What kind of activities did you do? Arts and crafts or did you sew or?
MT: 31:00 No, a while I did a lot was not that much sewing, but I worked in the
lunch room a lot more. Mostly with the cafe, with the lunch room 'cause I became the lunchroom manager.D: 31:15 You were a good bowler. I remember you bowled a lot. You did bowling.
MT: 31:20 Oh yeah, I bowled a lot.
KW: 31:22 What do you like about bowling?
MT: 31:24 What do I like about bowling? It's fun.
KW: 31:29 So in the picture from the trains, you're wearing a hat and Auntie You
thinks that's her hat.MT: 31:37 No, that was my hat. I always wore a hat. She always says it's her,
but it was me.KW: 31:46 Why do you think Auntie Yo thinks it's her hat?
MT: 31:50 I don't know.
KW: 31:53 Why did you always wear a hat?
MT: 31:55 At that time we, we knew we were going new to someplace sunny, so we
all bought a hat. So that was one of my hats and my only hat and I thought I was kind of smart. The thing with the hat, so I wore in the back of my head and sit on top.AT: 32:17 How does it feel to see that photograph up in a, in an exhibition?
MT: 32:24 Sad. 'Cause I remember the time we had to go on the train, but I don't
remember anything else except sitting in the train and looking out when we pulled up on station. And where are we in that? Yeah, I don't remember that. I don't really want to remember actually, 'cause I had a fun time.D: 32:59 You didn't go to the camp right away though, right?
MT: 33:02 Uh, no, not right away. I think they took us in sections.
D: 33:10 Where did you go before the camp?
MT: 33:12 Santa Anita Racetrack.
D: 33:16 And you slept in the horse stalls?
MT: 33:18 Horse stalls. We all slept in those quarters. So had to make our own,
had to clean the, oh hay out of that place and made our own beds. Had cots and the bell would ring for lunch and dinner and breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh I had the lineup. That's about all I can really remember.KW: 33:50 I think that's a lot Gram. I think you remember a lot.
MT: 33:53 Yeah, I guess so. But when you asked me the question right now, I
don't remember a thing [laughs].AT: 34:00 When when you had children, did you tell them about your experiences
growing up and then camp?MT: 34:08 No.
D: 34:08 When we were growing up. My dad didn't want to tell the stories.
AT: 34:12 Hmh.
D: 34:12 It was like an embarrassment that they were there.
KW: 34:23 Do you remember when I was in high school in the 1990s you came to my
high school and you gave a talk about the camps?MT: 34:32 I did. I did?
KW: 34:35 Yeah. And you brought a bunch of stuff that you'd kept from the camps.
You had little wooden birds and you had other things that you kept and you brought them to my high school and you told your story. I wish I would have recorded it. And you told your story and you, you told my whole high school class about what it was like to be in the camps.MT: 34:58 I don't remember those things anymore.
KW: 35:01 Do you know my friend's now, still 20 years later, they still talk
about that?MT: 35:06 Really?
KW: 35:09 It made a real big difference in their lives.
MT: 35:14 Well, made a big difference in mine.
KW: 35:18 But I want you to know that that that still means a lot to me all
these years later. Am I right? That still means glad to my friends to.MT: 35:25 Really? Oh, that's good. All I remember is I had a good time. It was a
sad time, but I had a good time. 'Cause I met boys and went to dance. School was really not a school, but it was fun going to school.MT: 35:57 And all the boys I've never met before.
KW: 36:01 What do you think about the way Japanese people are treated in America?
MT: 36:08 Now?
KW: 36:09 Now or then? Either way.
New Speaker: 36:11 What? Well, when I was a kid, I don't really don't really
remember it all, I was a kid, but even now, I don't know 'cause I just lived my life as I live it. If people like me, that's fine and they don't. I don't care. [laughs]AT: 36:31 If you could leave any, any message or or legacy for your children and
grandchildren, what, what would you want them to know?MT: 36:41 Well, they know everything. I told them everything they. Needs to know
KW: 36:46 What's the life lesson. My daughter Cora, she's seven years old. What
do you, what life lesson do you want to pass to Cora?MT: 36:55 I don't know. Just grew up and be smart.
KW: 37:02 And have fun and meet boys.
MT: 37:04 Expect that they have fun with the boys.
KW: 37:09 Okay. I think that's good.don't
AT: 37:12 Is there any last thing that you might want to add or that we may have missed?
MT: 37:18 I don't think so. I think she's caught everything that that needs to
be known about me. Right?KW: 37:27 Well, we could never know as enough about you, Gram. You're a pretty
fascinating person.MT: 37:32 Well, ask me and I'll tell ya.
AT: 37:37 Thank you so much for recording with us.
D and KW: 37:40 No, thank you.
MT: 37:41 Oh, well, what's this recording for?
KW: 37:45 It's so that we always have it.
