By Ruth Hidaka
The humiliating part of camp life for me was that there was no privacy,
especially in the bathrooms...I try to forget those humiliating moments
but hopefully, by sharing with others those memories will vanish!! What
I enjoyed the most about camp life was the fact that we were able to
attend classes and to meet so many beautiful people. We have made life
long friends there who shared the hardships in a concentration camp and
made the best of it. The life we led in Hood River before the war built
our character through hardships, close family ties, parental guidance and
strict school systems but in a small prejudiced community. When we
relocated to Chicago., it broaden our horizons. It was completely
different from a small farming community to a huge metropolis in the
Midwest but we persevered and we are where we are today by being a
close-knit family. All the money in the world cannot replace the love of
my brothers and sisters who have supported one another through our
lifetime .... we were fortunate too that we had grandparents living with
us ... how many can say that?