Peggie Nishimura Bain

(b.1909) Nisei from Washington. Incarcerated at Tule Lake and Minidoka during WWII. Resettled in Chicago after WWII

Learning American cooking Getting citizenship back Evacuation Conditions at Pinedale Assembly Center Making craft items from shells found at Tule Lake Response to loyalty questionnaire Move from Tule Lake to Minidoka Apprehension about leaving camp Difficulties finding apartment in Chicago after leaving Minidoka

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Peggie Nishimura Bain was born on March 31, 1909 in Vashon, Washington. Her family was originally from Kumamoto, Japan. She was the second of six children. Married at seventeen, she had two children - a son and a daughter.

At the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she was helping her parents with the three farm properties they owned under her brother's name. She was sent to the Pinedale Assembly Center, before going to Tule Lake, and then eventually Minidoka.

After leaving Minidoka, she relocated with her daughter to Chicago, where she lived for many years working as a full-time colorist in a photography studio, a skill she learned while in camp. She eventually returned to Washington to be near her parents. (September 17, 2004)

community food citizenship discrimination politics evacuation incarceration World War II internment pinedale pinedale assembly center corsages crafts civil rights racism minidoka tule lake resettlement