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VY: And what kind of memories do you have of growing up in the church? Like who took care of you, who made the meals, bathing, activities, that sort of thing?

JF: There were several families with children, so we... and again, there was one kitchen on the property. So we took turns or did communal cooking. The bathing story, I'll call it a story, is well-known in our church history, in our family history. Because eventually there were five children, two others that were born while we lived at the church, so five all together. And, of course, again, no running water in that building where we lived, so Dad would, he had this large, round galvanized tub. And he would have to bring hot water and fill that tub up, and that's how we bathed. So the story is that we lined up in order of our birth, of our age, and, of course, the face is the first to get washed, so mine got washed, then Jo's, then Kent's, then David's, and working down. And so I don't know how David felt as being one of the last, was the water kind of murky, I don't know. But anyway, that's just a story that we all laugh about and we love to tell. Because, as it also turns out, years later, that galvanized tub showed up at our church picnics to hold our cold drinks. [Laughs] I don't know, I can't say for sure that it was the same tub, but that is the story.

VY: This dirty old tub.

JF: Yeah, this dirty, dirty old tub.

VY: Let's see. Do you have any other early childhood memories before you moved out of the church?

JF: I do. I guess being the oldest, I was just very aware of the siblings, the younger siblings and my mom and dad's presence, in and out. So I do remember that when David was getting, was being ready to be born, I had to be young, three or four years old, right? Or maybe it was Susan when she was born. I remember thinking, "What's going to happen to us if Mom doesn't come back after giving birth?" Now, don't ask me where this idea came from, had I heard about mothers losing or not making it through childbirth, I don't know, but I do remember saying, "That's okay," because we have Koike no Neesan. Now, Koike no Neesan was not married at the time, but she was a wonderful friend to our family. And she and my dad always had a very special relationship. They loved to laugh together and they just enjoyed each other. So I knew that if something happened to Mom, she would be stepping right in there. And I had no worries, I mean, that thought came, but I thought, "No, we're going to be okay, because Koike no Neesan is going to be here for us." That didn't happen, of course, Mom was fine, she's a strong woman. But she, again, it's the community feeling that we look out for each other. I even knew that growing up, that we'd be okay.

VY: That's interesting, too, what's coming through, is that sort of older sibling responsibility, the feeling of responsibility even at that very young age, of thinking about, "Well, what if this happens?" and then kind of working through, okay, then we'll be okay because this other thing will happen?

JF: Yes.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.