<Begin Segment 2>

SS: What, is there any one particular instance, or one particular memory, or family gathering that sticks in your mind?

EW: No, we used to have a lot of fun... there were a few Japanese families living up north, in Arlington and then in Bellingham, and we would get together maybe two or three times a year and have picnics. And we would go to Chuckanut, and right on the bay there and have our picnics on the beach. We had very good times there.

SS: What about your early friends? Are there some friends that you remember from your childhood that are still friends today?

EW: Yes, I have a girlfriend living in Hilo that I grew up with. She was one of the children of the only other Japanese family in Burlington. And so I knew her from when she was a child, and we grew up together. We saw each other in July this year.

SS: Are those friendships very important to you?

EW: They are. They are.

SS: Why?

EW: Well, because we had the same experiences, and we went to camp together, and had the same heartbreaks and joys together.

SS: What was it like growing up being one of the few Asian Americans in town?

EW: Well, I didn't experience very much racism, prejudice. We knew about everybody in town by name, and it was just a really nice place. Maybe occasionally there might be a bad experience, but I think I try to block them out of my mind now.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 1996 Densho. All Rights Reserved.