Oral History Interview with Eada Silverthorn

Oral History Interview with Eada Silverthorn

March 25th, 1993

Caucasian female, born March 17, 1905 Juarez Chihuahua, Mexico to Mormon missionary parents. Eada graduated from Brigham Young University in 1927 and married Kent Silverthorne, a lawyer who worked in his father�s law office. He applied for and was hired by the War Relocation Authority (WRA) to conduct loyalty hearings at Tule Lake Relocation Center. at age thirty-seven, Eada taught two weeks as substitute teacher upon arrival at the camp in 1942. She was then granted a temporary teaching credential. She taught five courses each term in the camp high school. Eada had never seen Japanese people before and knew nothing of their culture. She handled total immersion of Japanese faces, names, and behavior with sensitivity and openness. She was impressed by her students� study habits and eagerness to excel. In her Problems in Democracy class she was surprised by the reaction of students when she asked how they felt about a crisis in camp. An overzealous military policeman shot a Nisei worker returning from the fields as he checked in at the gate. A brother of the victim was in Eada�s class
he expressed opinions but did not show anger. She was to be remembered by many students for her qualities as a teacher and as a kind person. Eada remained in Tule Lake a full year even though her husband was reassigned in six months after the hearings. Still in the WRA, Mr. Silverthorne assisted internees who filed for losses due to internment. Eventually, the Silverthornes moved to Sacramento where Mr. Silverthorne worked in water law and Eada attended California State University, Saramento to become a fully credentialed teacher. She taught at San Juan High School for seventeen years.Additional Descriptive Notes: husband: Kent Silverthorn
teacher at Tule Lake

Transcript available at California State University, Sacramento University Library

Creator: Florin Japanese American Citizens League
Interviewer: Yui, Etsu
Interviewee: Silverthorn, Eada

Sound

Audio cassette

2 Tape

Master

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California State University, Sacramento

TC324

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