<Begin Segment 16>

TI: So tell me what it, so how did you get to Philadelphia? It was all train?

KG: Train, yeah.

TI: That took a long time, that was a long trip.

KG: Yeah.

TI: Any stories or memories from that train?

KG: Yeah, sitting on our suitcases because it was during the war and the trains were crowded, and about as low a class as one can, how one can travel.

TI: So it was kind of like standing room kind of train ride.

KG: Yeah, uh-huh.

TI: Do you recall how you were feeling? I mean, in some ways, there must be this sense of relief of leaving Tule Lake, but yet apprehension in terms of what you're going to find.

KG: Yeah, well, I found out that I couldn't stand to be with (the Japanese people). Because the first thing people asked was, "What camp were you in?" And the moment you said Tule Lake, it meant only one thing: that you were disloyal. Because people had no understanding of what went on, and they just... well, that's how the government labeled the desegregation camp, was for the disloyal people, is how they publicized it more or less. At least, that's the information that was gotten across.

TI: But how about friends that knew you before the war? Like this woman that had the hostel in Philadelphia? Did her feelings change at all towards the family because you were at Tule Lake?

KG: No. They knew, at least, my parents explained and all.

TI: So it was really people that you didn't really know, so other Japanese, Japanese Americans who you'd just meet.

KG: They came from all over. That was a hostel, you know, people came out of camps and went there, they were from different camps. And they were people we didn't know before. There were a few we knew, but most of them were just strangers. And I could not stand being with any of them.

TI: And again it's because of how they treated you when they found out that you were from Tule Lake?

KG: Well, I don't know that they... well, as soon as they stated I was disloyal, then I just left. I mean, I didn't care to deal with them, and I just avoided the Japanese period because of that.

TI: Now tell me a little bit about the hostel. I'm curious what a hostel would be like in Philadelphia.

KG: It's a boarding house.

TI: And so how large, was it just like a big house?

KG: Yeah, it was a big house. It must have been two, three stories. And there were bedrooms and then a big dining room where we ate together. And from there, people looked for jobs and all.

TI: I'm sorry, about how many people were in the hostel, would you say, at one time? How many different families?

KG: Oh, maybe four or five families, I don't know.

TI: And generally how long would people stay at the hostel?

KG: I have no idea. Depending upon how long it took them to get a job or whatever.

TI: And then earlier you mentioned...

KG: The government had hostels throughout the country in different cities like Cincinnati and Chicago and Philadelphia. And this is one means of getting people out, or providing people a place to stay, you know, right after they got out of camp.

TI: Now, were these hostels subsidized? Did the government sort of pay for your rent?

KG: I don't remember. I don't remember paying, or my parents paying or anything like that. Well, we didn't stay long, so it's possible that the government paid, I don't know.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2015 Densho. All Rights Reserved.