<Begin Segment 11>

MA: So how, I mean, you were a teenager at that point, thirteen or so?

BU: I was thirteen, Boy Scout.

MA: And how were you feeling about this?

BU: The evacuation process?

MA: Right.

BU: You know, being the oldest and going, getting everything together, getting organized to go, I don't say I enjoyed it, I definitely was helpful (to) the family (for) getting everything organized to where, to determine what we can carry. And I just, remember just trying to be as helpful as I could. I always liked to do that, trying to help in our family, and again, my dad wasn't that much of a help. It was just me and my mom, really, that did everything, organized everything. I don't think my dad really had the foggiest idea, at least I didn't get the impression that he did. And he just, maybe just left it up to my mom and me. And my youngest brother was only, what, I was thirteen, so he was four, so he was no help. And Don and I, of course, were very helpful. And I guess we cabbed it to the assembly point in Oakland and got on the bus.

MA: And where was the assembly point?

BU: Twelfth and Oak. It as a state building on Twelfth and Oak. I think it was a state building on Twelfth and Oak. And we got on the bus, and I don't remember the bus ride at all. What I vividly recall is after getting to Tanforan and walking into the horse stable, and Mom laying down her, putting down her suitcase and just crying. [Becomes emotional] And it tears me up. But then I can remember we had to, there were the, we had, I think we had the metal cots. Anyway, there was these ticks, these bags that you had to use for a mattress, and they were empty, and we were told to go down a ways and pack a stack of hay, straw, not hay, straw, and we had to go fill 'em all. Don and I took this as a, not a fun thing, but we just went out there and saw all the other kids out there, we start seeing some of the old, local friends, and kind of happy that we're together. And that, yeah, and that was the first impression. And then just the stench, just awful.

MA: And it was you and your siblings and your mother and father.

BU: Uh-huh, five of us.

MA: Five of you.

BU: One stable. And what they did was, the stable where the horse was, you know, the double door, and then they had overhang and a dirt walkway. What they did was brought the walls out to the overhang and then put a floor. So actually, it was two rooms. And I don't know how wide the stables were or anything, but there were five of us in there for five months. But I didn't have that reaction that I'm having now, then. I thought it was an adventure, and at thirteen years old, I know the first, that whole event, all us guys that, our age, they did a good thing. They organized us into age groups, eleven to thirteen, fourteen to sixteen, and immediately they had a rec. hall. And at first, they didn't have anything in there except the kids, and they appointed a couple leaders, and immediately organized different kinds of activities. And all we did was play. From that time, moment on, we started eating with our friends, and the big thing was, as soon as breakfast was over, we'd all go to the rec. hall and start playing until the other, lunch and dinner.

MA: How about your parents? Did they have jobs in Tanforan, or how did they occupy their time?

BU: Tanforan, no, I don't think they had, my mother and father did not have jobs, I don't think, in Tanforan. I don't think they had jobs for people, paid jobs, anyway, I don't think. I don't think... the rec. directors were the senior guys that were college kids, and helped organize. But when we (got to) Topaz, then they, they got jobs.

MA: And how long were you in Tanforan?

BU: Five months.

MA: Five months, so about from April...

BU: Yeah, April, May, June, July, August, September. I think it was September sometime that we left. I think, I'm pretty sure we went in April, not in May. I think we were April.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Topaz Museum. All Rights Reserved.