<Begin Segment 24>

[Translated from Japanese]

TY: By the way, there are some holiday activities such as Thanksgiving...

YI: Yes. When we lived in Fresno, we didn't know much about those things. But when the children went to school, they learned about those activities at school. So when we lived in Seattle, we baked a turkey on Thanksgiving Day. We did everything. Etsuko and other girls were old enough to cook. They did all the American cooking such as baking a turkey. Noriko baked, too. All of my children helped.

TY: Did you start celebrating those holidays after the children became big?

YI: Uh-huh.

TY: Then, the Independence Day on July 4th or Thanksgiving Day...

YI: One of the ministers I knew in Fresno... his child was asked by a teacher at school what they had eaten for Thanksgiving. The first generation people did not cook turkey or holiday dinner for Thanksgiving Day. So the daughter was embarrassed. They did nothing special. So the minister's wife told me that we had to cook turkey or the children would be embarrassed at school because a teacher would ask a question.

TY: How did you learn how to bake the turkey? You must have been surprised to see a turkey. It is so big...

YI: Exactly. It is disgusting.

TY: Did you bake in the oven?

YI: We baked in the oven.

TY: How did you learn how to bake? How to bake turkey. How did you learn how to bake turkey?

YI: Cooking? Oh, that. It is all in a book.

TY: You followed the instructions...

YI: The children had English books. They read the books and cooked.

[Interruption]

TY: Please tell us about the Japanese language school. The Japanese language school in Seattle.

YI: I don't know anything about the Japanese language school in Seattle.

TY: Did your children all go to a Japanese language school?

YI: They went to a smaller school. It was called "Home School" and was a private home. A minister of the church went to teach there.

TY: Then, how about the Japanese language school on South Weller St.?

YI: That downtown... there is a big one now.

TY: In Seattle?

YI: We didn't go there. There were many smaller schools. There was one in front of the old temple, which was called Ishii. He ran a school. The couple we knew also ran a school. It was called Toko School. It was on Yesler. The other side of the temple. The small schools were usually run by former school teachers or people with education. Those first generation people taught the children.

TY: Were those schools open on Saturdays?

YI: What?

TY: Were those schools open on Saturdays?

YI: Uh-huh. On Saturdays.

TY: They went to the regular American schools from Mondays through Fridays.

YI: Since there were no school on Saturdays. It was a Saturday school.

TY: Then on Sundays they go to church or temple.

YI: Many children of the temple members went there. To "Home School." It rented a second floor of the temple member's house.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.