<Begin Segment 10>

FK: So when you got back to the island, was Art still in the hospital then, or were your parents already back on the island, then?

NK: I think he was in the hospital. I think he was still in there. Boy, I don't know.

FK: So was the farm already started back up?

NK: Pardon?

FK: Was the farm already started back up when you came back, then?

NK: Well, the Rayburns kind of took care of it for us, and he was... there was some strawberries still in the ground. He had harvested for us, and so there were some things still there, but pretty run down by then.

FK: So you had to replant, or what did you have to do?

NK: Yeah, we had to start over. But there were still some plants in the ground, I remember, when I went back. Arnold Rayburn, yeah, he was a good man. He helped us out.

FK: So when you came back to the island, did all, was your whole family back on the island, or did some of them, your family stay elsewhere? Did you all work on the farm? How did that work?

NK: I think we all were on the island, my parents and grandparents and the kids, we all came back.

FK: So how many of your brothers ended up in the service? It was you and Art...

NK: Well, I think boy my other younger brothers, there was Tony and Genzo, they were both in the service, but I forget now what kind of service they saw. I think Tony was in Japan. I don't know much about it.

FK: When you were in Europe in the service, were there any other Bainbridge Island guys that you saw there or knew?

NK: Oh, I'm sure there were, but I can't remember now. But there were, if they were about my age, they had to be serving. I forget.

FK: So was it pretty hard to start over then on the farm?

NK: No, because the man we were buying it from, Arnold Rayburn, he had moved into the house, taken care of the place, and took care of the fields. So it was just a matter of getting back into it.

FK: Do you remember when you were in camp, having to sign a "loyalty questionnaire" or something like that?

NK: I don't recall.

FK: You don't recall, okay.

NK: We really owe a lot to the Rayburn family, Mr. Rayburn, for taking care of our place. No payment coming in to him from us, you know, he took care of the place. He took care of everything for us.

FK: So you really had a lot of gratitude to them.

NK: Oh, yeah, we were grateful to his help, for his help.

FK: Did he have boys or kids who were about your age?

NK: Yeah, there was one, Doug Rayburn was in my class. I don't remember any other. All I remember is Doug, who was in my class. He was a nice guy. Yeah, we owe him a lot. He took care of things for us. He moved into the house and took care of the place.

FK: So did you build that house, then? Did your family build that house on the property, or was that already there when you got the property?

NK: No, it was a brand new house when we moved over there. When we bought the place, Arnold Rayburn agreed to build a house for us.

FK: Oh, okay. How about the barn that was there? Was that built later or was that already there, too?

NK: I think we built it. Except for there was a wood, just horse barn there. But we built the one with this concrete base and everything, it's still standing. We built that.

FK: Do you know how Mr. Rayburn got the berries picked, then? Did he keep using people from Canada, or what did he do, do you know?

NK: Yeah, I think some people from Canada came down.

FK: And stayed with the farm.

NK: Yeah. He took care of everything for us.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.