<Begin Segment 11>

MN: Now, from your gathering train depot place, did you go straight to Poston or did you go to assembly center?

LW: We, we went straight through to Poston, from Reedley straight out to Arizona.

MN: How long was the train ride?

LW: We left there about four o'clock in the afternoon and arrived at Parker, Arizona, about -- that was fifteen miles from the camp -- about twenty-four hours later. It must've been, well, maybe it was mid-afternoon of the next day.

MN: Now what do you remember of the train ride?

LW: Well, we were supposed to keep all the shades down because, to keep us from looking out or from others looking in to see who was riding the train, but the... let's see, your question was what was the train ride like?

MN: Your memories, yes.

LW: Memories, yeah. Well, we had to keep the windows open. We certainly, we didn't have air conditioned cars at that time. It was hot, August, so we had to keep the windows open, but on the way, after we left Bakersfield we went through some tunnels, and the smoke from the steam engine, from the, yeah, from the engines blew right into the coaches, and so we had to slam down the window to shut down the smoke. As soon as we went through the tunnels we were able to open up the windows again, but that was one memory I had, of smoke coming into the cars.

MN: Now, when the train stopped at Parker, Arizona, how did you get from Parker to Poston?

LW: By that time Camp I was already settled, so the, the residents of Camp I were already organized enough to drive their trucks and provide transportation by the camp trucks, to pick us up from the train to bring us down to Poston III.

MN: So you ended up in Poston Camp III?

LW: Yes.

MN: And you said you arrived at Poston about mid-afternoon?

LW: Late afternoon. I think it was, must've been about four or five o'clock in the afternoon.

MN: How, how would you compare the heat compared to how you grew up in Reedley?

LW: Well, the heat, we were used to the heat, but the thing that really was eye-catching was the windstorm. There was a lot of wind blowing and it was like a mini sandstorm as we got close to Camp III, so it was the wind and the sand.

MN: Would that be your first impression of Poston?

LW: Yeah, that, that was the first impression, not a very, not a friendly welcome to Poston Three.

MN: What about your first meal at Poston?

LW: Well, the wind was blowing up through the, the knotholes in the floor. They used very poor lumber. There were knotholes on the walls, but also in the, holes in the floor, and the wind was blowing sand up through the knotholes and it settled onto our dish of rice and two pieces of baloney. Made the, it was practically inedible, so fortunately we had a few snacks leftover from our train trip and able to have some snacks instead of the meal.

MN: Now, were you able to live with your parents and your siblings?

LW: No, they, my parents and my three siblings had a one part of a barrack. I think their barrack was twenty-four feet by twenty-four feet, so the five of them were able to live in that barrack. The, that was the limit that could live in that space, so my friend from Reedley, my buddy from Reedley and I were able to room together in the barrack that had eight spaces. These spaces were for couples, these little rooms. They were half the size of the regular barracks, so my buddy and I were able to room together in a barrack, a space, a room of eight by twelve.

MN: Now what were some of the first things you did when you got there to settle down?

LW: The, Camp III was organizing itself to carry on its, the necessary work, and the, so they had all kinds of, of departments that people could work in. You had the kitchen crew, maintenance, the recreation, and the maintenance was the job that I latched onto. I decided to, since I, gathering trash was done by tractors and trailers and I had that experience of driving tractors and trailers in, at home on our farm, another friend and I signed up to carry trash. So we went around picking up all the trash and bringing, bringing it to the dumping place, so I did that for about three or four weeks.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.