<Begin Segment 19>

TI: So tell me about Mrs. McCullough, you stayed at her house?

TW: Yes. She had a large home, and I would say a woman about forty-five or so. And thank heaven for people like them. We stayed a couple of weeks before Dad was able to find a place for us in Seattle.

TI: And do you recall where Mrs. McCullough's house was located?

TW: No, I don't.

TI: Okay. And then after a couple weeks, your dad found a place where he could stay, where the five of you could also. Do you remember where that was?

TW: I don't remember the address. I think it was downtown somewhere. And we finally ended up in the home on Beacon Avenue.

TI: Now do you recall how this was for your father? This must have been... I'm just thinking of all the things that happened. Your mother passing away, the taxes on his farm not being paid so he lost that. Do you recall what this time period was like for your father and how you dealt with that?

TW: Well, I think he... fortunately he had his mom. My mom died, but he had his mom. They were very supportive for each other. And he found a job on the railroad cleaning freight trains. It must have been a hard job for him. But like I said, Kats went on his own and I went on my own. And then I guess I went home when I started the UW. I was home... yeah, when I started UW I went home, but before that, I went to Garfield High.

TI: Okay. At what point, when you said you were on your own, was this the time period you were, like, a schoolgirl?

TW: (Yes).

TI: And so how old were you when you first started?

TW: So I was thirteen.

TI: Thirteen?

TW: Yeah, and Kats was fifteen.

TI: Okay, so this is pretty much right after you got out of Tule Lake, went to Seattle, it sounds like you became a schoolgirl. And so who did you stay with, who'd you work for?

TW: I lived in Dr. Baker's home in the Mount Baker area.

TI: Oh, Dr. Baker. Dr. Baker in Mount Baker?

TW: Bill Baker and Sylvia Baker.

TI: And do you remember where in Mount Baker, do you remember the house?

TW: Now, I see Mount Baker, but is Magnolia area Mount Baker?

TI: No, that's different. So Magnolia is...

TW: I remember it was the end, I was taking the bus all the time, end of the bus line and down the hill and on the water. Isn't that...

TI: Yeah, so the water, was it on Puget Sound or Lake Washington?

TW: No, Lake Washington.

TI: Mount Baker then, it'd be Mount Baker. Yeah, Mount Baker would be Lake Washington. Magnolia is more Puget Sound.

TW: Oh, okay.

TI: But that was Bill and Sylvia, you said?

TW: (Yes), he was a psychiatrist.

TI: And how many, how long were you a schoolgirl for the Baker family?

TW: I was still there when I was in... I would say about three or four years.

TI: So this was, you said you went to Garfield, so while you were attending Garfield?

TW: Yes, I was living with the Bakers there when I went to Garfield High.

TI: Yeah, I'm just thinking of the school districts. So Mount Baker is traditionally Franklin High School and you went to Garfield. You might have been a little more east, maybe toward Leschi and that area? But still by Lake Washington. But I'll actually do some research, that's kind of interesting. And so what were your duties as a schoolgirl? How did that work?

TW: Well, I recall mostly looking after... they had a Jacqueline, a daughter, and Jonathan, a son. And I recall mostly sitting with them when they were gone. I don't remember... well, I did dishes, served meals. I don't remember particularly working hard.

TI: Now, who would do the cooking? Did they have a cook?

TW: Oh, they cooked.

TI: They cooked, okay. So you were kind of helping out with the kids and some of the cleaning? And did you have, then, your own room?

TW: Yes, I had my own room.

TI: And do you recall how you got this job, how it came about?

TW: That's a good question, how did I get the job? It might have been through Andrews, I'm not sure how I got it.

TI: And while you were doing this, how often were you, did you check in with the family, with your dad and your younger sister and younger brother and your grandmother?

TW: Not very often. I don't recall being off very, having off time. I remember my brother Rye and Kats came to visit me there at the Bakers' home, and I remember taking chicken, offering them chicken. And that was probably the only time they visited me. Of course, my sister and my younger brother were too young.

TI: And how was this time period for you? Thirteen... the sixteen or so, three years. How would you characterize this time for you?

TW: For me it was a good learning experience. I learned how to set the table properly, things like that. They were very kind to me. I remember they bought me my first coat, first raincoat. They were good, they were good people. Sylvia was especially nice, and I think when I was living in Honolulu, flying for Pan American, I got the word that Sylvia, the mother, passed away. And they couldn't understand why I couldn't come to her funeral. I couldn't go. Just because I worked for Pan American didn't mean I can get off any time. And Jacqueline was very disappointed that I wouldn't come for her mother's funeral, but it was unavoidable.

TI: So it sounds like you were very close to the family, they really respected you and wanted you to be at the funeral.

TW: But I was trying to track down Jonathan Baker when I got up here in 2019. I understood that he was a doctor, but I can't track him down. He was Jonathan Baker, but I can't find him, I tried.

TI: And so he would be, I guess, you were taking care of him, so younger than you.

TW: Yes.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.