<Begin Segment 11>

TI: So pretty soon, after Santa Anita, you were there for, what, several months. And then, then where did you go?

TO: Oh, we were shipped to Jerome, Arkansas.

TI: Can you, can you describe for me the trip from Santa Anita to Jerome? Because here you're in California going all the way to Arkansas, so that's a long ways.

TO: Yes, it was.

TI: How did you get there?

TO: Well, by train, of course. They had these train that, they were shipping these enlisted men -- well, I guess, these soldiers, I guess. So we were on the same train.

TI: So this train, you're saying, is a long train, some of the cars were filled with soldiers.

TO: That's right.

TI: And then others were from, the people from Santa Anita going to Jerome.

TO: That's right.

TI: So how, can you recall how long the trip was?

TO: Five days.

TI: And what was that like? Was that a hard trip? How would you describe the trip?

TO: Well, we had to sleep sitting, of course, you know, on a train. And we wouldn't see outside, of course, it was all, the blinds were drawn. And then the MPs weren't around, so we would open that, they didn't want to show us where we were going.

TI: Now, did you know where you were going?

TO: No, uh-uh.

TI: And for food, what did they give you for food?

TO: Oh, they had one car, these GIs were cooking for us. And so we get in line, they had one car, tables, so we were able to all take turns eating in this dining car.

TI: And so eventually, you get to Jerome. Can you describe what you saw when you first got off that train?

TO: Well, there was a cotton field, and those black women that were picking cotton, they were very friendly, and they just waved, were yelling, saying, "Welcome to Arkansas." It was really nice. They were all colored people.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.