Densho Digital Repository - Barbara Reiko Mikami Keimi Interview (Densho ID: ddr-densho-1000-459-15)

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VY: Getting back to your experiences related to being in camp, do you ever go to any of the pilgrimages?

BK: Yes. Well, I went to a couple of Tule Lake pilgrimages, and I think I went to one, I think it was a pilgrimage for Amache, Colorado.

VY: And why do you think you go to those?

BK: Well, see, my husband was in Heart Mountain, and then he's at the age where he was, like, ten or twelve when he was in camp. And so a lot of (the) older people that were in camp are not as active. And so he kind of got roped into helping with the reunions, and so because he's involved with Heart Mountain, then I go with him to the Heart Mountain pilgrimage and reunions. In fact, we're on the Heart Mountain committee to do the luncheon reunions. As far as my camps (go), so I'm more involved in (his) reunions than in my camp reunions.

VY: Why do you think it's important to have these pilgrimages?

BK: Well, I think because of the fact that people didn't talk about it. But now, they're more open about it. I think we're losing a lot of the older people, and so it seemed like (they want) to get together and reminisce, I guess. Because I don't have that much connection with the camp people like, I think, (...) people that are older than me have. Because I think it affected (people) at that time (that) were in high school and in college, I think it really made a big difference in their life, because that's when they were going to college or meeting friends, meeting mates, and that got all disrupted. So, to me, it seemed like that was the hardest age. Well, it really changed their lives. And they lost contact with their friends, could have been their lifelong partners. And I guess, since we're on the committee, there's always someone that says, "Okay, we've got to do it again," and so we say, "Okay, we'll help you." So just being that we're volunteers at the Japanese American National Museum, I guess we have more interest in it.

VY: Yeah, and why do you think you started doing that? Talk about that a little bit, working as a volunteer at JANM.

BK: Well, I think that it helped when we first got introduced to it. My husband started it, and then I was still working and then I got involved in it. The people that were in charge of the volunteers, they were very accepting, and they made you want to be a part of it, and I think that's what made us think, "Well, why not?" And so ever since then, we've been participating. (...) While I was still working, I used to volunteer (on) Thursday evenings after work, because that was the only time we were open in the evening. And then at that time, my husband had retired, and so he got involved in the history part. Because he was a teacher, and so I guess this is kind of like, fit right in doing tours and things, still being connected with the kids.

VY: You've been doing it for many years.

BK: Yes, because we started, well, I started in '92, and he started a year or two before me.

VY: Have you found, the kind of questions that people ask you, have they changed over time, or are they the same kind of questions? Are you ever surprised by any of the kind of questions you get?

BK: Well, not really. I mean, I don't have interaction with the visitors as much, because I'm more in the office area. Whereas my husband is more into, like he started doing school tours, but now he's into taiko drumming, and so he does the demos for the kids that come to the museum, the school tours. So they usually offer a guided tour of the objects and things, and then they do origami, and taiko is part of it. And so it seemed like the kids remember the taiko more than anything else. [Laughs] And he's been doing it for a while, so he enjoys it.