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8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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UNCLE MARK AND AUNT
EDNA McMILLAN
MONTHS ATRIVERS ; A JAPANESE-AMERICAN INTERNMENT CAMP
t e ching
SCIENCE IN MIDDLETOWN OHIO HIGH SCHOOL FOR
URTEEN YEARS MARK WAS GIVEN A TWO YEAR LEAVE OF ABSENCE
TO
TO
RESTORE
HIS HEALTH. HE
APPLIED
FOR CIVIL
SERVICE EM
YMENT IN THE SOUTHWEST IN SOIL CONSERVATION. THERE WAS NO
EMPLOYMENT IN SOIL CONSERVATION AND THEY RECEIVED
TELEGRAM FROM SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
IN
RIVERS ARIZONA
o u t a POSITION TO
TEACH
SCIENCE IN
HIGH
SCHOOL. HE ACCEPTED
o r t h e SCHOOL YEAR OF 1943 1944
WITHOUT
ANY IDEA
WHERE
IT WAS
THAT IT WAS AN UNUSUAL S CHOOL. UNC LE M AR K TAUGHT
HIGH
AND
AUNT EDNA ENGLISH T O T HE ADULT
WOMEN.
Gila River Internment Camp
Arizona
;v
.- s.
wesuir-
Canal Camp ^
ened Jufy20 1942. Closed November 10 1945. Peak Population 13 348. Origin
of
isoners: Sacramento Delta Fresno County Los Angeles area. Divided into Canal Camp
d Butte Camp. Over 1100 citizens from both
can^s
served in the U.S. Armed Services.
e names of23
war
dead are engraved on a plaque here. The State ofArizona
credited the schools in both can^s. 97 students graduated from Canal High School in
44. Nearly 1000 prisoners worked in the 8000 acres
of
fermland around Canal Can^
wing vegetables and raising livestock ^
nee
MAEY L. COOK PUBLIC IffiMAlY
3G1
O LD S TA CL
ED
WAINESYILLE OmO 45068
/aoo/;
8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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About
\irri t tM. Hia t t
He
attended Wilmingten College and Harvard University
He worked
for Plre Insurance
Agency
during
his
college years.
After Harvard he entered Advertising profession of Philadelphia North
American at
Philadelphia.
In 1911 he worked for
ew York
Ayer and Sons
Advertising
Agency
in Philadelphia. In
9 3
he
worked
for
Good
Housekeeping
Magaaine enqaany
in
ew York
City. Later we
was
in advertising at Irwin
Auger Bit
Company
in
Wilmington
becoming the sales manager in 929
In 92U he helped form boy scouts in Wilmington.
About Clarence
J
Robinson
His first wife died when Martha
Ann
was bom pg 162 In 1978 he and
his
second wife
celebrated their 50th
anniversary.
Martha Ann
married
ThOTias C. Farquhar. Clarence Robinson
was
factory superintendent of
Irwin Auger Bit Company.
8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
3/14
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8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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H a r r i e t
M c M i l l a n
rtiatat the Mmy
Cook PiifcTic Library.
Mrs.-
McMillan who is bettgjr
known
in
||ir
h s hung
8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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SEVEN MONTffi AT RIVERS
^
Sdna and
Mark
McMillan
WHT
After teacMng science at
Middletown Ohio
Senior High School
from
1928 to 19U2
Mark
naB given a
two
^ a r leave of absence to attempt
to restore his health in the southeastern United States. Our departure
was
delayed by the
illness and
death of Edna s mother, Arllla Waller Kel-
sey in June
9 4
Two
veeks
after the funeral of
mother
Mark
had
near
fatal surgery
at
the
Bliddletown
Hospital, so cteparture to the southwest
was further
delayed. After a prolonged coztvalescence we learned
that
ga
stamps
so essential for travel by car
during
World War IX were
available
only
to take
work
in another location.
So Mark
applied for
Civil Service employment in the southwest in Soil Conservation. Not
only did he
have
the experience of
growing
up on a
farm
but he also had
agriculture training at
Ohio
State University
after
graduation from Wil
mington C o l l e g e .
We were real anxious to take the car not only for taking our
many
belongings but also to
use
while there. A telephone call
from Washing
to n D. C.
seemed to
confirm Mark s appointment to
th e
Soil Conservation
Service
irtien
a position
opened
up
but there
was
no
follow up.
After giving
up
on gas stands to drive, and deciding to
buy
tickets?
to Hot Springs New Mexico
Mark
received a telegram
from
the Superin ndent
of schools. Rivers, Arizona, asking if he would teach high school science
there. Inaiediately we searched
in
vain for Rivers on the map.
It
was
late November
and
Mark
was
in
bed fighting the
flu.
He wired a request fo r
further information and
soon
received qiiite a lot size of Rivers,
number
of students number on
the
faculty climate
etc.
but not one word about
i t
being a Japanese Relocation Caap. However mention of so many Buddists
gave us a clue.
t
soultdsd like an
interesting experience
so the offer was
accepted providing we would be released when th e S oi l Conservation Service
had an
opening.
We
now could
get
gas
stamps the salary was satisfactory,
and
i f
we d id n t lik e i t
we could
resign.
We
would at
least be
in
a
suita
b le
c l imate
While making arrangements
to rent
our home
furnished
and
deciding i^at
few items
to
take
along
we
came
on an
article in the Christian
Century
listing the Relocatior^
Camps.
Sure enough Rivers Arizona was among them
confirming what we ha d guessed.
Teaching a t a r el oc a ti on e m p was under Civil Service and someitfiat
temporary.
The
Rivers superintendent
was
desperate
fo r
a qualified, ex
perienced science teacher not committed to another school of making
more
money
a t
some munitions factory.
Mark
never knew Just
how
th e offer from
Rivers came about
but
probably through Denver
cleararwe.
Or how about
Divine Guidance? It was surely
advantageous
to
have
some faculty members
sympathetic to th e plig ht o f innocent Japanese Americans.
DEPARTURE AND
JOURNEY
On a raixy morning
December
3, 19U3 with toaperatures above normal
we
bid ilghbors
goodby fully
intending to retixm the following summer
hopefully in good health after a warm winter in sunny Arizona. The two-
year leave
of
absence would expire in June 19l4i4. Few relatives and friends
knew
o f our plans so t h e r e
was no
fan
fare
During war times miles per hour was th e
limit
permitted for auto
mobile
travel
so the Journey was slow compared to now. There were no
di-
roads
were crooked
w ith s te ep g ra de s. We
made
to
Wasiilngton, Indiana the f i rs t night. Edna developed sore throat and a feel
^Ing of taking the
flu from which
Mark seaned to have recovered. After
8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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2 -
med icat ion she thought Well^ w e l l have
to
go back but I
won't
t e l l
Mark u n t i l morning, But a f t e r a good night 's r e s t she f e l t much b e t t e r
and the
s p i r i t
o f xf l adventure
took over*
In Oklahoma we encountered snow and hazardous
driving*
y
the
time
we reached Albuquerque there was very strong wind, snow had accumulated
and
store windows displayed
fur
coats and heavy winter undeiiwear
Rem^bering
the
mild Ohio weather we
had l e f t
we thought, Is
this the
weather
for
which
we
cane
a l l
this
distance?
By
the
time
we
reached Soccorro,
New
^xlco
the
sx w
had turned to rain in fact a down pour which, together
with
a snoring man i n
an
adjoining room prevoited much sleep*
The next
day
we were introduced to a method of
road
drainage cal led
dips *
lou come
to what
looks
l ike
a
mere
danp
place i n the
road
but
turns out
to be 3 or U feet deep f i l l e d with water where
springs
on a car
could easi ly be
Injured
i you drive i n t o one without
reducing speed.
Ex
perience with one
dip
teaches the
d riv er to
slow down and not t o
cross i
I t i s f u l l o f swif t running water* Res iden ts here are s t i l l drowned i n
attempting
t o cross some
dips
i n flood time*
Later
i n Globe, Arizona, I t was colder
and
more wind
thai i n
Albuquer
que*
Nhere
was t h a t wazm
d ry c limate?
After an hour
o r
so
of
driging we
dropped
o f f
the
mountain
into the Gila
r i v e r
valley
and
real ized
t h a t
sum
mers
do e x i s t r igh t close
to
winter
weather
depending
upon the alti tude*
At l a s t
we found t h a t Arizona Shang-rl-La
which had
been
promised*
We
could
follow the
road
map t o
near
Rivers b u t
as
we
l e f t
t h e
main
highways and needed l o c a l information we
disco-vered
t h a t f i l l i n g s t a t i o n
attendants
only
a few miles d i s t a n t from camp
had
never
heard
o f
Rivers*
We kept
going i n the l i g h t general direct ion and bufiped i n t o the r e a r en
t r a n c e wherd o u r creden- tLals a d m i t t e d
us
and
we
were d i r e c t e d t o
h e a d q u a r t e r s
seven
days
a f t e r leaving Kiddletoirn*
Although
it was four o'clock when we
arrived, Mark was put on the pay
r o l l
for
the whole
day From
headquarters
we were directed
to our l iving
quarters
four
miles
dis tant
to Canal Camp,
o u r home f o r t h e n e x t s e v e n months*
LIVING
CONDITIONS
We had not t ime t o unpack before the evening mea l a t the Anglo
employees mess
hall*
Very good food for 30
to LO cents
was prepared
and se rved by Orientals*
Later
we
learned
upon
request,
Japanese
dishes
would
occas ional ly be served*
We were assigned to a
ra-ther
small room i n a barrack l ike a dormitory
reminiscent
o f
college days one bath and t o il e t f a c il it ie s for
a l l
the
women, another for a l l the men There was a
coimnon kitchen
with a good
stove and
a large
refr igerator but they were
seldom
used* There
was
also
a large ccmimon room where we met and visited and s
8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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iras
divided in to four
large
rooms with one who le family, sometimes two,
to
a
r oom .
Jobs
were developed for as many
of
the Japanese as possible and a
small
salary paid them
All
l iving
expenses were
provided
whether
they
had
a 6b
or
not*
MaiQr worked
the
i r r iga ted
land
growing
vegetables
for
c n p
consump
t ion and shipmen t to other cas^s*
Truck
drivers were
needed*
Many were hi red
fo r
of f ice help
and
a t l e a s t one, George
Oaoda,
a cAllege
g ra du at e, t au gh t
high
school subjects*
WAR REIXX3ATI0N AUTTfORITT
Shortly af ter the United States
became
involved
in
the
war
with
Uapan
after
the Pearl
Harbor attack
in Iplil,
i t was feared ther might be spies
among the
Japanese people
in
Hawaii
and the western
coast
s ta tes who should
be rounded up and
Jailed*
I t may be sa id th at
the
Germans
were
as much our
enemies as
Japanese but identi fy ing
them would be next to
iiqpossible
2iA
Nbtet
The re w ere some German
r e l o ca t i on
caaps
idiere
there was a large German
population*
But
to
weed
ou t
th e sp ies
from
among
severa l
thousand
Japanese,
many
of
whom were bom in the U
S*, would
be
too di f f icu l t with
any
degree
of
accuracy
and speed* With
something of that l ine of
thinking the War Re
locat ion
Au tho r wa s establ ished by
the
Roosevelt
Adnioistration*
The task
was to
bui ld barracks
in about
10 d i f f e r en t camps in
lo
cations away from the
Pacific
coast states and move ALL of the ^J^apanese
from t he i r homes
to
these camps
where
they
woiild supposedly
be under
guard
and
behind barbed wire
a l l the time* I t was a
^r ry-up
Job* One
of
-yie
Japanese
men, George Onoda, to ld me
t ha t
they
were
notif ied to
be
ready to
move
within p week They could
take
nothing except that i^lch
they
cou ld car ry*
Their
homes,
household
goods and
a l l other
belongings had to
be disposed o f - stored in th eir church, so ld or given away in shor t time*
As he said , We took
an
awful beating
Getting the ^^pane e out of
California
seemed to
please
many Anglos
there
because
t
removed
strong
competition
in many l ines especially
vegetable growing* They
were
an
in te l l igent hard working people*
The
relocat ion
was
po l i t i ca l ly
favorable*
In the Arizona deser t Just above a newly bui l t
canal
about miles
south of
Phoenix a t a place named
Rivers,
there were establ ished two cemps
U
miles apart under one administration,
one
cal led Butte
and another.
Canal* At i t s peak both together housed
over 10,000
people, the th i rd
l arges t
c i ty
in Arizona*
For loyal
American ci t izens , such as practically a l l
Japanese
a t Canal
Camp
were,
to
be moved out of the i r homes away frcm the i r businesses and
t reated as enemies almost, would
be
enough to make them vezy
resentful*
I f
any
were
t
was
not not iceabl e* They
took
t
on
the
chin
and
made
the
best
of
t
whereas
Anglo
AmericaBS would have been f ight ing mad
HIGH
SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
After one day a t school , Mark
looked
over the class roUa
of
un-
proBouadeable
names, the task appeared
staggering* Many
f i r s t
names
were
American which
helped
some The fac t tha t
a l l
l e t t e r s have
the
same sound
always
and a l l
syllables the
same emphasis,
helped
more Here
as else-
idiere, personal contacts and
interviews
with pupils were invaluable*
Mark reca l ls the
f i r s t
or second day
af ter
school tha t
Takeo
Nishihara
and Kinji
Imada interviewed him for
an
ar t ic le
in
th e sch oo l paper.
The
look of appreciat ion
and
f r iendl iness
which
came on
the i r
faces when they
learned
tha t
we
were
in
sympathy
with
the i r
pl igh t ,
was
something
to
hmaember
Most of
the
usual
subjects
were taught at Canal High School Science^ ^
8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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It -
Suoh iraa
the
thinking
of
the goTerBmeat
bur eau e^ea though
scieace
teachers spent as
maay
or
more
years
to
training
aad^ a t that time^
were
s c a r c e r and more demand
Classed were a l l
large
in
Biology
sad Chemistzyy the
subjeots
Hark
taught. There were no
vacant
seats More
often
two,
three or
more chairs
needed to be added. In Anglo-dmericaB clasaes of tiiat size, 3^-iiO, a
teacher
would
expect
some
eenfiwioa
and
disciplinary
problems
but
her e t ii ere
were none.
Pupils
were a ll v/ell behaved, j (^ful and eager to le arn .
Normally
science
subjects
require
laboratory work
bij the
student. But
here laboratciy apace was limited and some supplies and equipment
lacking.
This made i t necessary for the teacher to perform many of the experiments
in
front of
the
class and
the
puplils observe snd ask
questions.
Teaching at Canal high school was different but very interesting.
Japanese names and faces were so strange at first but as time passed they
becane familiar as do Anglo children and
mames.
s one teacher put i t
After
becoming
accustomed to almost 100 percent Oriental faces you begin
to
feel
like one of
Ihem. One
feels out
of
place to be surrounded by Anglos
Associate
teachers
cone frcm many parts of the U. S. Mary were from Ari
zona who
lived
nearby. Some from
California.
were the only ones from
Chic.
The
superintendent
did
not reveal the
fact that
an applicant to teach
a t Riveiv would be
teaching
Japanese children. At least one teacher did
not
even guess this unt i l her arrival . Having
had
a brother who was
killed
in
the war by Japanese made he r
very
resentful toward them. She said
she
would
have returned
home
immediately i f she had had the
money.
Later she
grew
to
l i k e
them.
Athletic teams in the three major aports were maintained. laterclass
ganes were played in baaketball and tennis. To our knowledge Canal high
had no outstanding teams
but they
played
well.
Competition
to
make the
team
waa
k een
Some
school drama plays were given in
English.
Meetings
of
some
of
the school clubs were not
regular
and even rai^. However, when i t
came
time to make up the school annual, pictures of mmnbers with their sponsors
were
taken and
printed
of the Forensic, Future Farmers,
Los
Pan
Amricanoa
Art, Science,
CouBaercial
Band Orchestra and Glee clubs. Like elsewhere,
annuals were exchangdd and signed by as
many
as possible. They were a much
valued keep sake
even for the teacher.
EDNA S
ACTIVITIES
More teachers
were needed, so
Superintendent
Sawyer asked Edna
the
first night i f she had ever
taught
school but she had had a rough year
and
did
not feel physically up
to fbll time teaching yet. Later she sub
st i tute taught High
school
math when George Onoda became
i l l
She was
surprised that twas necessary to take her
finger
prints for she had
worked under Civil Service
in
New York City in 1921-22.
Mark s pupils had attended California schools so there
was
no
language
barrier.
But
many
of their parents
knew
l i t t le
or
no English so an attempt
was
made
by
volunteers
to instruct adults in evaiing English
classes.
Edna
joined the evening
teadiing staff
and found i t most rewarding.
Edna wrote
to
Dr. Handchin, her exceptionally fin German instructor
at Miami University, Ohio
191^17, for
informatito about aids in teaching
English
similar
to ^ose used
in teaching
German. He
replied tha t there
were none and suggested that she wri|}e some. She did not but
got
along as
best she could. Teaching noiuss was easy but prepositions, verb tenses, etc.
was something e l se
Some
nf students were quite old but tried so hard
both to
speak and
write
English
that
they were
lovable. Learning that their teachers
were
not paid, s tudents brought
gifts
of vegetables they had raised and pre
sented
them
with
two bows. They
l iked
learning
songs
in
English
especial ly
Home
on the
P.ange . They
may have absorbed
l i t t l e English
bu t will ingness
8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)
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the project worth
while
CHRISTMAS 19h3 AT KTVERS
A Chriitmae
Eve
party and dance
for all
Anglo-employed poraormel
was widely publicized both
in
the Gila
News
Courier and the post
office
bulletLn board. Being rather new
emplpyees, wo
thought
we
should go though
Mark
was scarcely well enough. Having
arrived
Deciiber
10th
we fel t
un-
ACQual
itted
especially
in
Butte
Camp,
However^
a
single
man
had checked
into our
dormitory
even more recently. He invited us to ride to the party
with
him saying that he too
wished
to
go
early and stay a very short
while
Well
we
arrived at the appointed time with no
one else
there. About
^o
or
three
hours later others began to trickle in. The more freely the
lii^uor flowed^ permitted and provided in the
camp
only by the
head
adninis
trator the less interested
was
our friend in retnraing to
camp,
Mark
was
feeling worse and worse
and we were
not sure our friend was in any condition
to drive back.
So Mark
cast about for other transportation. Fortunately
a
group
of dapanese American teenagers from the Canal Christian church had
been driven by bus to sing
Christmas
carols to hospital inmates at Butte
amp They made room
in their bus for
us and sang
carols
all
the
way
home
the only really nice part of that Christmas
The
next
day
Mark
was
bedfast.
The very
elaborate
Chris-tmaw dinner
was served only at Butte
amp Edna
was
able to bring back a
plate for
Mark but he was too i l l to care
much
about food or lack of
i t
We think of that Christmas as the worst
of
our
Xivos
CANAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
When
we first
arrived on Thursday
evening
there
were
so masy foreign
looking
people everyidiere
that
Edna
was fearful of going out alone.
saw
a sign on a barrack which
said
Canal Christian
Church
which eased the fear
fulness a
little.
There was a time for English service and one for Japanese,
On our
way
to attend the English services the first Sunday
we
passed a Bud-
dist
Church
barrack and recognized the
melody
of hymns
had sung all
our
lives but
with
Japanese words.
Later
we
learned that the priest
had been
trained at
the
Union Theological Seminary, New Tork City Also
we
passed
a Catholic barrack but there were few Catholics in
camp
so i t was quiet.
We found the Christian Church filled with Japanese young people and two
Anglos
Bitting
on backless wooden
benches ifeich
had been made
in canp.
Every
thing including the bare
wooden
floor
was
very clean
Alice Sasaki was at the picno. We were
warmly
greeted. And then occurred
per^s the most significant to \is
event
of those seven months at Rivers
we heard Rev, Pail Osumi
Speak, We
were
deeply
impressed
by
his lack of bitter
Mss
by
his
firm
conviction that all things
work
together for
good
to Whose
experience
in prison canp of how his Christian
faito
had
sustained
him
and other prisoners. During his long illness in the
hospital in the spring of 19hh, ministers from
Mesa
and Phoenix cane to filA
the
pulpit
The one
who
came
most
was
a
Bi^tist
minister to the largest Christian church in Honolulu
Each
Christmas he writes us about his two married sons both
graduates
of
U, S. universities and his grandchildren.
The Osumis
entertained Ednas
first cousin Esther Smith daughter of Grace Kelsey Smith and her friends
^thetr home and took them sight-seeing in their ear. Rev. Osumi has
written several books,
some
of
which
are treasured by us and our
New
Mexico
friends Edna, after listening to Harry Bhierson Fosdick and other equally
renowned ministers daring her eighteen
months
with the Veterans Bureau
in
New
York, often says she has never heard aiyone she liked better than
Rev.
Osutoi
At
Christmas
the Canal Christian young people put
on
a very creditable
proAict ion
o f
Dickens
Chris tmas Carol
in th ei r
crude
b r r ck
Church
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fhoK E.
Stanley
Jones
visited
a l l releeatlen amps he was amazed that so maaiQ
s tood^ under
the
eircumstaBoes,
to
pledge allegiasiee to
U
S, Ao The
few
except ions were the
young
people who had been loya l c i t izens in Calkfornia
pr io r
to relocat ion
camp
e^e r iende
One Sunday in
Febzuary
t was arranged for some of
the
young people
of
the Canal Chris t ian Church to worship w ith th e
Pima
Indians a t the Saca-
ten Baptist churchy
j us t a few
miles
out of the caiq)
boundary.
We
took
as
many
as
we
could
In
our car .
I t was an
all-day
meeting. The morning
service
was
formal
with
an
English
speaking
preacher .
Although
most
whe
were present knew
SngUshy
the
sermon
was
t rans la ted Into Plma language fo r
the sake
o f
the o lder Plmas. A t
noon
t ime we a te and v i s i t e d
ou ts ide
the
ehu rch under an open she l t e r We were gues ts o f
the
Plmas Tdie furnished
the dinner. There was nothing
fancy
l ike pie and cake
but
p len ty o f good
food. t
was
an excel lent
opportunity to v i s i t and get acquainted
which
m
aveiybod^ did. They seemed
to
mix
wel l
The afternoon service was more
Informal
with many speaking and asking questions. I t was surely an Interest
ing
and broadening experlaice for
us
to
worship with two
ether dthnio groups
idle outnumbered Anglos.
After tha t f i r s t Sunday e:}q eriencey Edna was never again
af ta id to
roam
the s t ree ts alone. She went fo r the m ail or to the commisary where a few
groceries and e ther
i tems were kept . She
met
the Japanese people whe
bowed
low
saying
xQ-H-i-O
idiich i s
good
morning in
Japanese.
Shh went
alone
a t
night
on
dimly
l ighted st ree ts
to
English classes.
CCMMUNirr ACTIVITIES
Students and other ydung
people
seemed to be having a very joyous t ime.
May la tery
no doubty
considered the
experience
a t Canal a
very r ich
one.
Many
adultSy
on the ether handy probably looked upon
I t as
a very
tough t ime,
of the i r
l ives
- 4 thing to endure. Other adults profi ted by camp experience.
Tbeir
outlook
broadened. They became be t te r qua li fi e d to work in other par t s
of
the
count ry
a t an Increased
sa lazy
They have helped ttielr
people by
demonstrating the good qual i t ies of Orienta l s
Adult relocatars wore encouraged to leek to o the r par t s of th e c ou ntry
than
Cal i fornia
as
a place in idilch to l ive permanently. Many meetings were
held
in
the
evenings
to
acquaint
them
with
t he opport uni ti es
in
northeastern
U. S. Mark to ld them
about
Ohio one
evening.
Some did go
to New Jerseyy
Clevelandy ChicagOy Colorado and
elsewhere.
For fear of
being
classed with
the
negroes
they
stayed airsy from
the
deep south. In June af ter school
elesedy Mark was called upon to accompany a
t ra in
coach fu l l of
relocaters
from Chandlery Arizona
to
ElFase - a Federal
regulation
required
guards
to
be with
any Japanese
in the
western
sta tes They
were
a l l headed for the
east . They were permitted
to continue
east of
ElPaso as
they desired.
Some
have
remained
in
the
eas tern
s t a t e s
We
heard from
a
few but many
r e tu rned
to Ca l i f o rn i a
when
r e s t r i c t i o n s
were
lifted
a f t e r th e war
Re
set t l ing
to a permanent
loca t ion
was uppermost
in the
minds
of
most
Japanese
a^lts
English speaking pichure shows
were
given each week
in an open a i r
auditorium
and were
r a ther
wel l a t t ended A
smal l admission was charged .
Occasionally
a play in
Japanese was
worked up and performed. Many of the
men
busied
themselves a t
making
something
in the
wood shop. Some played
baseball among themselves. The women made
most of the i r dresses.
Most
a l l found time to beaut i fy t he i r barracks by ra is ing plants of various
kinds .
Cas tor beans d id net die back i n the winter months and
seme
grew
as high as the barracks. Bat the i r
sweet
peas were
so
besu t i fu l Each
wanted to grow
the
bes t
All ef
th i s boosted our
morale as
well as t he i r s
Although
gambling
was
a ga in st t he laWy somehow the Japanese men were
able
to f ind
a
s e c r e t
pAace fo r a
ha l f
dozen
or
so
to
gather to spend
the
evening doing
ju st t ha t George
Onoda told me
tha t the urge
to
gamble
was
very strong; among Japsqnese.
I f honever. any
man came whoy
to
the
knowledge
of
others,
could
not
afford
it
ho was
not permitted
to
take
part .
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J^utk^rltles
tried to
find
the
gaifl)ler8
but
could not llpon
revisitintj
Hivers
a
fev
years after i t v/as closed arc; all barracks
moved
away, we could see
where they met.
buildings had been built
with
any
kind
of basement.
But new
i t
was
revealed that a
few
had a small shallow one ?4ierc
no
doubt
the
gamblers met.
How they carried the
dirt
out
and
built
them without
detection
was
not known.
Veiy clever and deceiving
when
they want to be
m
MAKE
LASTING
MIENIB
The
group
of evening
English
teachers
was
not large.
Edna
especially liked
one of them, Chizuye Iraada,
who
was an excellent seamstress and made very
attractive clothing for herself. She
had
an interesting personality. Edna
and
Chizuye corresponded
for years after both left camp. Chizuye sent pic
tures of
her
marriage to a Buddist
priest
in California
Alice
Sasaki who
played
the piano
at
the
Canal
Christian
Church,
and
Edna were drawn
together because
Edna
had considerable ejqperience^
playing and teaching piano. Edna talked with Alice
about
cillege training.
We
had
several talks with her about Wilmington College
and
what she might
expect.
After we left camp we learned that she did
attend
Wilmington. e
heard l i t t le from he r
or about
hor afterward
Mary Fujimoto
was
a jolly Christian teenager whom
we
enjoyed greatly.
She
And
her
friends
came
frequently
te
visit
us
at
camp.
Later on a
trip to California
with
Mark s sister Eva
and
another nurse,
we
called
on
Mary
and family at
Fresno
and were warmly received. We
still hear
from
her a t Christmas ^ ^ 4.u^
The Minami sisters were
devoted Chrlstisn workers. After trying
east they
returTied
to their florist
business
at
Gardenia,
Calif. e called
on them just before Easter
and saw
room after
room
of Easter
lilies
at just
the right stage.
They were almost too busy
t
visit and appeared
very
pros-
Edith Peterson a grade school teacher lived in our dorm and worked
in the Christian
Church.
Edith
was young
but had spent some time
in
Mexico
with the Fellowship of Reconciliation
and spoke
vanacular Spanish like a na
tive
Edith
was
an interesting
and
valuable passenger
when
she another
teacher and
we
drove to
Tucwon
and a
showt
distance into old
Mexico
dur
ing spring
vacation.
Though we never
met her brilliant
conscientious
jector
husband who
was a guinea pig in an eastern hospit^ in lieu
of
mili
tary service we
have received commencement and wedding
invitations from
their children
as well
as snap shots idien they grew.
This
treatise
would not be complete without mentioning the head nurse
in
charge
at both
camps.
Josephine
Rappaport was
a
native
Silesian who had
lost
all
her family in the war. She was a beautiful highly intelligent young
woman
who
spoke
excellent English with a slight attractive accent. She
lived in one
of those small
rooms in
the
same
dormitory with
us We
enjoyed
hor
and
kept in touch with her in the
post-camp
era idien she
was
en the
faculty of
Duke
University,
did
some riedical research and sent cards
from
far
distant
lands as
she
traveled
extensively
Mother s day in 9UU with Josephine stand out in Edna s memory.
It
was
the
first Mothers Day without her
mother.
e with Josephine
deci^d to
walk some distance frii camp into the desert to photograph those giant
cacti
the saguaras. At that season they were in bloom and
looked as though
they
were wearing t iny Easter bonnets
As mentioned before George
Onoda
was a science teacher.
His
class
room
was
nent to Mark s. He taught senior subjects physics and math while Mark
taught Sophomore
and
Junior
biology
and
chemistiy.
He
and Mark
had ma^
talks together between classes
and
on their to and from school. Before
relocation he and his wife
owned
and operated a variety store in Sacramento.
Our
families visited together some in camp. We corresponded many years after
ward. e shall never forget him telling ^?*aSd ellow^ea^^
Canal,
the
treatment
he
had
received
from
the principal
and
fellow teaoners
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8 -
Bft4o
him f e e l
f o r the
f i r s t
time t h a t ' 'he
was
semeboeljr ^ an equal with Anglos *
The l a s t we
heard
thsy were In Japan*
As
the
school
year progressed we
learned
to know seme of the senior
honor
students*
One
of these
was Jane Hayashl* Her father had been a
den
t l s t before re locat ion and b et t e r o ff f inancia l ly than most of them* We had
several
t a l k s
with
Jane* She seemed
to
value
our
acquaintance
and
we hers .
Although a
Buddiat (Jane
inforaed us
la te r th at she
was not a
Buddist but
did not
say what*
We queried
perhaps a Quaker , she seemed to have moral
s tandards equal
t o or
h ighe r th an many Christians - a fact we
learned
was
net uncommon* She had an attractive personality* Many
boys
could
easi ly
have fa l len
i n
leve with her
but
she
d i d n t
encourage them* She inqiiired
abeut eastern col lege s bu t s e t t l e d en
the
University of Ca li fo rn ia for a pre-
med course* We gathered
that
Califeraia did not grant medical degrees t e
Japanese students
a t
that t n
- ens
ef those
discriminations* She
went
te Philadelphia
Wosans
College
for
that
and returned t o Ca li fo rn ia for her
internship*
She became a medisal doctor in the Los Angeles
public
schools*
She
marr ied about 19^8 and
now
has
two b e a u t i f u l
daughters*
CL0S2HQ EATS
A few Anglos under
Civil
Service were employed
in other activities than
education* One e f these was haildlag* Nicer l iving quarters were erected
for
seme*
Building
continued even though population was on the
decline*
The largest and
highest
building
erected
at Canal Camp was a school auditorium*
I t
was
buil t during
the
spring
ef
19Uli
and was
made
available
fer commence
ment
and
ether school a c t i v i t i e s that school y ar* Up
to t h i s
time
one
long
barrack
had been used which
had very
poor lighting and seating
with
hardly
enough room
for
all the high sehoel students. Uko
all
other
buildings
there
the new auditorium was
in-the-rough
but much, much bet ter as an auditorium
than
the
eld one* As
i t
turned out
though
only two cossneneements
were
held
n t
School a^inistrators, faculty,
students
and
parents a l l looked forward
with
pleasure
to
having
commencement
in
Ihe
nice,
laz^e well
lighted audit
orial* Mark was
asked
to t ra in the gradating class in the order they would
march
in
and out, where
they
were te s i t
etc*
There were 97 graduates, 19
honor studmtts, and 1^ members ef the National Honor
Society*
Sverythlng
went as planned* They looked well in their caps and gowns* Mark sat on the
stage with the valedieterian, Jane Hayashl, en one side and one
of
the salu-
tatorians, Helen Pujishige, en the ether* I t f e l l t
his
lo t to present
the
science
award te Prank Wataaabe*
I t
was quite a
unique
oemmencement
f e r
him
and
one
he
would
never
forget
-
his l a s t as
a
teacher*
For most sdioel
systons
iriaen oenBenoeaieat
i s
ever summer
vacatloa
begins
for
the teachers as well
as
the pupils* But since this employment was under
Civil Service we earned
only
one month annual
leave
a year* So our job con
tinued through the
summer
I t wasn't l ike having class one after another
a ll
day long however.
We
thoroughly cleaned
mur
rooms,
labs, store
rooms,
ordered
supplies fer
next
year, etc*
We
were t plan for the
future as
though
we were
te
ge on
and
on*
t turned
out
school lasted only one more year*
Camp seemed much quieter
after
school was out* There must have been
more departures than we
realised*
Many ef the elder boys enlisted la the
an^* Those who
made
i t
to
active service gave a very Sd account of them
selves* They proved
that most a l l Japanese in
the U.S. were true Americans*
Many adults relocated te the east, seme perhaps only for a year or two*
What
few army guards were around must have decided they were not needed so they
lef
We had known s in ce Apr il that a job was waiting for Mark in the
Soil
Conservation
Service a t
Simla,
Colorado,
We were to leave
the
f i r s t p a r t ef
July*
In
a way i t was a
sad
thought to terminate our work a t
Canal
Relocation
Camp
for
we
had
made many
friends,
the
work and
climate
were
agreeable. How
ever, as
June progressed
so
did
the
temperature
in this desert
country
110
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iuittaax Xr Anzotta -
the
days had been clear and
sutmr
with a law hnn-ts-i v
freeziag.
t
was most favorable for Mark s
infected sinias.
He felt
much
better.
Because work in the
SCS
would be healthier
by
being partly out of
deman^ag
than the
constant attention to pupils all
dar long
sf.
::s;-4rssr
-
-s-
s
C.B8eryatioi, days are over, e
SSted^d
rewardiag
had beeie
?hrS^eta f
S
P OPI
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UNCLE
MARK
AND
AUNT
EDNA
McMELLAN
MONTHS
AT
RIVERS ;
A JAPANESE-AMERICAN INTERNMENT
CAMP
n c ^
TEACHING
SCIENCE
IN
MIDDLETOWN,
OHIO
HIGH
SCHOOL FOR
YEARS, MARK
WAS
GIVEN A TWO YEAR LEAVE OF ABSENCE TO
TO RESTORE HIS HEALTH. HE APPLIED FOR CIVIL SERVICE EM
IN THE SOUTHWEST IN SOIL CONSERVATION. THERE WAS NO
EMPLOYMENT
IN
SOIL CONSERVATION AND
THEY
RECEIVED
TELEGRAMFROM SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS IN RIVERS, ARIZONA
A
POSITION
TO
TEACH SCIENCE
IN HIGH SCHOOL. HE
ACCEPTED
o r THE SCHOOL
YEAR
OF
1943-1944 WITHOUT
ANY IDEA
WHERE IT
WAS
THAT IT WAS AN
UNUSUAL
SCHOOL. UNCLE MARK TAUGHTHIGH
AND AUNT EDNA ENGLISH TO THE ADULT WOMEN.
Gila
River
Internment Camp,
Arizona
yP
f
/
J
m t J b
Canal
Camp
nedJuly20,1942. ClosedNovember 10,1945. Peak Population 13,348.Originof
soiwrs: Sacramento Delta, Fresno County, Los Angeles area. Divided into Canal Can^
d Butte Canq Over 1100citizensfromboth can^s served in the U.S. ArmedServices.
names
of
23 war dead are engraved on a plaque here. The State
of
Arizona
credited the schools in both camps. 97 students graduated from Canal High School in
44.Nearly 1000prisonersworked in the 8000acres of fermland around CanalCanqj,
wing vegetables and
raising
livestock
MAllY L.
COOK PIJBIIC
LIBILytY-