by Anonymous
But even if the work is hard, it is worth the freedom that we are allowed, I think…
(From the Topaz Times, October 24, 1942, page 3. Originally titled “Feather Pickers,” written by “a girl who left Topaz to go turkey feather picking.”)
On Monday, around 11:30 AM, we went to work 4 blocks away from our hotel. None of us Coast nisei had ever experienced such a trial (as turkey feather picking).
The smell is terrific until you get used to it; at first everyone felt like leaving for Topaz. We all wore gunnysacks around our waist, had a small knife and plucked off the fine feathers.
The boys who butchered the turkeys had knives, and while the turkeys were alive, slit their necks. And the blood spurted all over the boys. As the boys were beginners, they didn’t bring any aprons; and about an hour after we started, they were just caked with blood as if they had taken a blood bath.
“… I can tell you now that I know that this is about the hardest work that many of us have done – but without a murmur of complaint, we worked 8 hours through the first day without a pause.
“… The issei appeared more fatigued than us; for on the first day of work we came home at 9 PM. We were all so tired that we didn’t even feel like eating. To make it worse, we changed our rooms for a larger one, and we had to move the furniture from one room to another. And after scrubbing the floor and dusting everything out, we four slept around the clock. Our fingers and wrists were just aching, and I just dreamt of turkeys and more turkeys.
“… But even if the work is hard, it is worth the freedom that we are allowed, I think. There is no limit to ice cream and Coca-Cola and shows here. “
… To me, no matter how difficult the job is, I believe that it is a good experience for all of us. But it is not for those in bad health. I’ll stick it out anyway–. “
“Hope is the thing with feathers…”
–Emily Dickinson