<Begin Segment 12>

MA: So you mentioned going down to the vets hall to leave for Salinas.

KI: Uh-huh.

MA: And were you on buses then to Salinas?

KI: Yeah, they took us to, by the bus to Salinas.

MA: And what did you think when you got there and...

KI: Well, we weren't the first ones there, you know, so I thought, "Well, I guess this, they looked like they were okay," so we weren't that worried. And they gave us a room and you stayed there. And the young people, you know how they are, right away, they want to play baseball or something, they got together. And, but Sunday school was started. But I don't remember doing it -- and the smart people, I don't know how, but they all got little jobs, you know, working in the kitchen and stuff. But we being country bumpkins, we didn't know how to do anything. We just sat around until...

MA: And it was you and your parents and all your siblings together?

KI: Yeah, all our siblings.

MA: And what were your living conditions in Salinas?

KI: Well, it was just one empty room, and they gave you the cots and they gave you a canvas bag that they said, "This is your mattress, so go and stuff it full of hay," and that's what you got. A couple of blankets and that was it.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL. All Rights Reserved.