We washed up in the shower hall, only going to our room to sleep. One funny memory was when I had a date for a dance and was late. I was running back from the showers in my getas (wooden clogs), robe and towel-wrapped hair, and I ran into my date, already waiting to pick me up! Embarrassing!!
About the contributor: Grace Mori Saito Tom grew up in Chinatown in Oakland, CA. She was 11 and attending Lincoln Elementary School when Pearl Harbor was attacked. The family was sent to Tanforan and later, Topaz. After the War, Grace’s family was among the last to leave Topaz, having nowhere to go. They returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, where the family lived in one room at a church hostel. Grace wrote her memoir in 1999 and passed away the same year.
Copyright 1999, Grace Mori Saito Tom. All rights reserved.