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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

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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.

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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

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h s hung

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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

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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

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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^ ^

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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

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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

8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)

10/14

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 .

8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)

11/14

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

8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)

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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

8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)

13/14

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

8/10/2019 MC MILLAN (4)

14/14

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-