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TI: So describe, so in Renton, where were you picked up or where did you go?

TO: We all went to the Renton train station, and we boarded the train there with our one suitcase, two suitcases, I don't remember how many suitcases we had. But I remember we still had those, I guess, suitcase-like things from Japan, that woven suitcase that you tied with a rope that my father and mother had that came from Japan. I remember we had one of those that was kind of odd looking thing among all the suitcases. But that's... I think my mom went and bought some suitcases, but we did have that.

TI: And how did you get from your home to the Renton train station?

TO: Neighbor took us down. We had a neighbor, I think the guy's name was Goodwin, and he was a retired Seattle police officer. And he was, him and his wife, I don't know if they had children, but they were real good people, real nice people. In fact, they bought our truck. Of course, they probably got it for practically nothing, but they were nice people. They never, even being a police officer, he never was discriminatory, treated us real good and helped us get down to the Renton train station.

TI: Do you recall any conversation you had with Mr. Goodwin about the situation or anything?

TO: No, I don't think I... definitely did not, no.

TI: So describe what the Renton train station looked like when you were down there. What was happening, how many people were there, what did it look like?

TO: It was kind of interesting. The people that were there at the Renton -- there wasn't very many Japanese around that Renton area. But I remember some of the people from the Maple Valley area, I think the Hirais, and I think there was a couple other families from the Maple Valley area. And there weren't a whole lot of people, but I think for some reason, I don't know how this came about, but I remember some of the people from the Highline area. They were on the same train we were, but I don't remember them boarding the train at the Renton train station, but they must have. Because it's kind of something that I should remember because it happened to me, but I don't remember too much about what happened.

TI: Describe what people were wearing.

TO: Well, I guess the best clothes we had, which was, for me, I think it was just my typical school clothes, I think. I don't really recall. I think I saw some of the men wearing their suits. I kind of thought, "Gee, that's odd," to be wearing a suit to go on the train, but they were wearing suits and maybe even ties and hats. They were very nicely dressed. But for me, I dressed in my school clothes, if I recall.

TI: And so when you boarded the train, were there soldiers?

TO: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. There were definitely soldiers. I distinctly remember the soldiers there at the train station when we got there. And I don't remember anything that they did that's distinct, other than they were there, I don't know if they... they were just standing around, I think. I don't recall anything, any action that was memorable, so to speak.

TI: And just how about the mood of the people at the train station? How would you describe...

TO: I don't really remember anything about that part. We'd talk to people that we knew, just small talk so to speak. We were still kids yet, so I don't... [laughs].

TI: So, the train ride, what do you recall of the train ride?

TO: Well, I remember... well, one thing I definitely remember is the Highline people. There was some of these, this one gal named Nobi Kodama, she's married to a judge, but she was a very attractive young woman and all the guys were saying, "Oh boy, look at that pretty girl." So apparently there must have been some other people from that Highline area, so I don't remember exactly how they got onto the, where they got on. They must have come to Renton and got on with us, but I don't remember how they got on. Then, of course, the train ride was, babies crying and very crowded and smoky. All the locomotives then were coal fired, at least the ones that were carrying us, evacuees, were coal fired, and so the soot and everything would come into there. But one thing, the way they fed us, we went into the dining car, that was very, something very different for us. And being on a train was very different for us because we had never been on a train before. But, of course, having your blinds pulled, and as we kept going south, it kept getting hotter and hotter, so we figured that we're going south. Of course, the train tracks, there's not too many directions it could go, so we kind of figured that we're south. And then we got to Fresno, I think, where we got on the buses or something and they took us to Pinedale Assembly Center. The only thing, distinctly, I remember on that train ride, for some reason, we crossed a real high trestle that you can look way, way down. And I don't recall that -- you know, we took the train back from L.A. just a couple years ago just to see what it was like. And I was looking for that and I never did find it. But I recall distinctly that it was a real high trestle going down into, must have been northern California, through the Siskiyou Mountains.

TI: Yeah, that's what I was probably thinking, maybe through Grant's Pass.

TO: Somewhere around there. But I distinctly remember that. I was looking for it when we came back from Los Angeles on the train, yeah. But I remember it was very crowded, and I think the worst part was those little kids crying and disturbing everybody, and that kind of bothered me more than one way. I felt sorry for the little kids that were crying.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.