<Begin Segment 13>

BH: How did you find out that the war was ending?

AK: I can't remember that. I think I remember somebody came home and told us that the war was over.

BH: And how, what was the reaction in camp?

AK: Oh, everybody... well, it was kind of hard to believe after so long. You wondered if you'd go home. That's the first thing that came to our minds.

BH: And people left at different times sometimes. What was that like for your family?

AK: My family, my father-in-law and mother-in-law and the daughter went home first. And I don't know if Uratas family and the Kato family, do you know them in Gresham? They had a berry farm, and so they went right to work for them. But then two kids and my husband and I came home later, because he was working outside. And so when he was ready to come home, he picked us up and we came home on the pickup.

BH: How did your husband get a pickup?

AK: Well, he had... it's his, he had it sent.

BH: What were your expectations about going back home?

AK: I know I was worried. But then we didn't feel it as much though, because the people that took care of the farm were so welcoming, and they had, the farm was not taken care of because they're not really a farmer, and there were a lot of weeds. But it was nice to come home to somewhere you could be safe.

BH: What was the drive like going from Minidoka in Hunt, Idaho, back to Gresham, Oregon.

AK: It was quite far, I remember.

BH: And you had two little kids.

AK: Yeah, we made it, though.

BH: Did you stop along the way anywhere?

AK: Yes, we did.

BH: Where did you stop?

AK: Well, that I can't remember, but I just remember coming home.

BH: And what was that like when you saw the farm and the house again?

AK: Well, you know, the older folks and my sister-in-law Mary were already home. So we just came home and there they were, and we were happy to be home.

BH: Now your neighbors who were the dairy farmers, their daughter and her husband moved into your house while you were away at camp. So how did you work on moving back in?

AK: Well, before they were able to go back right to the farm, the farm was, we had an upstairs, so they let us use upstairs. Well, the folks and Mary were living in the boy camp, and then we moved upstairs. And then when they were ready to move, we didn't have any trouble. They welcomed us back, so we were happy to... I remember being happy to be home.

BH: Tell me about the boy house. We've learned about many farm families having boy houses. Who lived in the boy house?

AK: Nobody lived in it. When we have young people that come to pick berries, they used to batch in those.

BH: Did most of your neighbors in Gresham come back home after the war?

AK: I think so. The Katos both came back, then the Ouchidas came back. I think most of them came back. I don't know if there are any that lived back east. There are some that went back east, though, weren't there?

BH: Did you or your family encounter any incidents of prejudice or discrimination after the war?

AK: Well, we didn't because we were home. But then I think maybe the menfolks would have some. In Gresham, there was some prejudice, I know, they didn't want us to come back. But if you have friends, see, the friends, it doesn't make any difference to them.

BH: There were some people in Gresham who didn't want the Japanese Americans to return to Gresham. How did you know how they felt, and how did you deal with that?

AK: See, I didn't see any of that because we were home all the time. But I'm sure my husband did. On the whole, though, we were lucky. You hear of people trashing their homes, and we didn't have any of that.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.