<Begin Segment 9>

VY: Okay, Barbara, so let's talk about what your family did after leaving camp. Where did you go? This was after Tule Lake.

BK: Well, coming home, coming back to L.A. from Tule Lake, I guess we were on the train. I remember the train ride. Well, in fact, it was funny because before we left camp, our last meal was lunchtime, and I remember as I was going through the line, I don't really remember the daily things. But then on that particular day, the people that worked behind the counter knew we were leaving. And so I remember this man saying, "Oh, today's your last meal here today," and we had bologna, fried bologna. And so he stacked my plate with fried bologna and said, "You're not going to be able to eat this again." So he loaded my plate up with bologna, and I just remember that. [Laughs]

VY: Did you like bologna?

BK: I guess so. I mean, we don't have it very much now. In fact, I don't know if I ever had fried bologna after that when we got out of camp. I've had bologna sandwiches, but not... but okay, so when we were on the train ride back, I guess we were on the train and so we were looking out the window and everything. And so I think my granduncle was with us. Well, for one thing, I think that it was just my brother and I and my mom, because my dad had left the camp earlier because he wanted to find a place for us to live and get a job. And so he left early and then he got a job working at a mattress company. And I don't really remember, but I kind of think it was like the swing shift, so he worked at night. And then he found an apartment, and then so when we got out of camp, we went directly to the apartment. And I know a lot of people had to go different places to live, but we went to this apartment. And so I guess we were fortunate.

VY: So your dad went first, he earned a little money, found an apartment, and then sent for you guys.

BK: Uh-huh, and then we joined him. And I guess on the train ride home, I guess I saw this big red building. And so I (asked) my mom, I said, "What is that?" And my mother said, "Oh, that's a barn," and I went, "A barn? What's a barn?" And she was talking with my granduncle saying, "Oh, she missed out on a lot because she doesn't know what a barn is..." and that was a common thing, right, in the countryside, to see a barn. But then that was the first one I ever saw.

VY: And you were probably, what, nine years old?

BK: Yes, I was nine. And so she thought, oh, I missed out on a lot.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2019 Densho. All Rights Reserved.