<Begin Segment 20>

SS: What was life like then during the war, I mean, in terms of how much money did you make? And was it enough to make ends meet?

EW: Well, when we were first married, I think my husband was, got an allotment of 21 dollars a month. So we lived on that for a few months until I could get a job.

SS: What could that buy? Could you buy enough food?

EW: Well, for our first Christmas dinner we had a bag full of Castle, White Castle hamburgers. They were a nickel a hamburger, and I think we bought about twenty of them. But you know, when you're in love and you're first married, anything is good, you know, we were together.

SS: Is that one of your fondest Christmas memories?

EW: I think so. When I talk about White Castle hamburgers, they say, "Oh yeah, I remember those." They were great.

SS: Were times tough then?

EW: Well, I guess they were. But we didn't... there were other people in the same boat, other couples away from their families and they were girls married to GIs, and all taking jobs that were available to them. And we would get together and we would try to make our own good times.

SS: What did your co-workers, neighbors think of you and Harvey as Japanese Americans?

EW: Minneapolis was a great place and they were very, very good to us. And we didn't run across any prejudice, you know, openly like that. Because they were aware of what was happening. There was the Military Intelligence School at Camp Savage, near Minneapolis and they knew about that school, and they welcomed us there. And my sister and I joined the USO, and then we belonged to the women's professional group and we could go to the "Y" and meet with them and had our good times with them.

SS: Did you eventually start a family in Minneapolis?

EW: Well, my husband was overseas for about three and half years, so, when he returned, then our daughter was born a year, year and a half later, something like that.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 1996 Densho. All Rights Reserved.