Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/839/

Fire started by illegal sake still at the camp

If you look at some of the paintings where I have Main Street, you'll see sitting up there were two red buckets that were filled with sand. It was, and that, those were supposed to be used for, in case of fire. And then we had a bucket parade. Of course, it was useless, a bucket parade to the, to the lake, and you'd carry the water to douse the flames. Well, it turned out it was almost useless. They could prevent other houses from getting burned, but that house that was burning just went up. In fact, it didn't even start from a candle. The guy had dug a hole underneath and made a, had made an illegal still to make rice wine, to make sake. And in the business of making the rice wine, some, something went wrong and the thing blew up or something, and it caught the place on fire. And of course, the whole thing went down in flames, and his main worry was that the RCMP would not find the illegal still was underneath the house. He had gone to a big trouble making this illegal still. But that was the only fire that we really knew of, that I remember that occurred.


Date: July 25 & 26, 2006

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Tom Ikeda

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Henry Shimizu was born in Prince Rupert, B.C. in 1928 and was interned in New Denver during the war. After leaving the internment camp, he moved to Edmonton where he still resides. As a medical graduate, Dr. Henry Shimizu specialized in plastic surgery and has been active in the medical community by serving in numerous leadership positions. From 1989 to 2002, he served as chairperson of JCRF. He is an artist and has painted a number of scenes from his internment days. His works were exhibited in several communities. For his outstanding contribution to the community, he has received several awards including the NAJC National Award 1999, the University of Alberta Distinguished Alumni Award 2004 and the Order of Canada 2004. (July 26, 2006)