Fred Kendal - May 25, 1983
Living in Hiding
After you escaped in to the forest um, can you tell me more about that? How you lived which is that or for in the camp in one location eventually or...
Yeah. Eventually what we did--this is pretty vivid in my mind. Um, in the summertime, in the summertime it was quite--much easier because we never stayed long in one area anyhow uh, because uh, we were always afraid that we would be discovered or somebody would see or whatever. Uh, when they were--so in the summertime, they would have like--we would build tents out of Y-shaped posts. Two Y-shaped posts and then one across and then lay some posted crust on either side with one, one entrance and then just lay a lot of leaves uh, branches and then cut the vegetation--sod, you might say, and just laid that and so build it like a hi...hill, you know, it was like a hill and sort of covered that around and that's to keep the--number one, it was good camouflage. And number two, would keep the rain out and the elements out. There was one--no that was good for spring, summer and, and sometimes partly in the fall but when it came fall--when it came and just before winter, normally they, they would try find a location where they would consider it to be quite safe for a few months, you know. And then we would dig out--dig trenches--not that but dig out a square like area in the ground, like a bunker, and again uh, the dirt from it would be going around the sides and that across the top again build the roof-like area and again branches laying on top of that and stuff. And um, and then cover it up with the sod from the surrounding area. And then again it would--that's not--there was a reason for building this underground, because it was warmer. And the roof would just be protruding just above the ground like a little hill and it was sodded. Normally, there was also an area left open for a chimney ??? because we were having a fire going and the smoke would be going out to that area.
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