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Oral history interview with George Iseri, 1971
Overview of the Collection
- Interviewee
- Iseri, George
- Title
- Oral history interview with George Iseri
- Dates
- 1971 (inclusive)19711971
- Quantity
- 2 sound cassettes (circa 1 hour)
- Collection Number
- 2467 (Accession No. 2467-001)
- Summary
- Oral history interview of a Japanese American who was interned at Tule Lake internment camp during World War II
- Repository
-
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Access restricted: For terms of access, contact Special Collections.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Mr. Iseri was born in Thomas, Washington on April 23, 1920. He lived there until 1941 after attending Thomas grade school and graduating from Auburn High School in 1937. He then went to business college for two years. He worked at his brother Tom's wholesale distribution store. Mr. Iseri married on November 5, 1941 and moved to Kent. He describes the evacuation dividing lines and departure times. Japanese in the Kent-Sumner area went to Pinedale, California (9 miles north of Fresno), Seattle area Japanese went first to Puyallup and Pasco, and Yakima-area Japanese went to Portland. Mr. Iseri describes the evacuation at Tule Lake, California, where he was paid $16 a month as a Junior Marketing Specialist. There were 15,000 people in the camp and a lot of black-marketing and stealing was going on. The Japanese did not resist orders because they did not want to bring shame on anyone. He was asked to volunteer for the service, but he said he would do so only if his family were allowed to return home. At this time Tom Iseri was a partner in Western Producers Exchange and somehow arranged a contract for the family to go to Weiser, Idaho. George Iseri share-cropped for two years with Charley Joseph and in 1945 he moved to Ontario, Oregon to work in the trucking business and farming. In 1946 he quit farming and went into the radio-appliance business until he was bought out. From 1950-1963 he was in the insturance business with his brother Mun. After Mun died in August 1966, George brought out Mun's share of the insurance business and travel agency.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Tape recorded interview conducted by Dee Goto on 3 Apr 1971.
Mr. Iseri discusses events in his life between 1920-1971. He describes the Japanese American evacuation and the Tule Lake internment camp in detail.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Alternative Forms Available
Listen to the audio recording of this interview on the Libraries Digital Collections site.
Restrictions on Use
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
- Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
Personal Names
- Iseri, George--Interviews
Corporate Names
- Tule Lake Relocation Center
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Goto, Dee (interviewer)