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REM: You were one of the first Nisei elected to public office after World War II, at least in Washington state. Did you receive criticism? Were the bigots on your trail, anything like that?

RTM: Well, I never really experienced anything personally, particularly in our community. The only real experience that I still remember, very fresh in my mind was when I first got married in Spokane. We went, we were going on a honeymoon to Canada, and we went up to Banff bath springs. And on the way up, we stopped at Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The first night we were going to stay in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. And Bonners Ferry, Idaho, was noted for being very anti-Japanese. So anyhow, we stopped at this motel to get a room for the night. In those days, motels were kind of cabin, camp type of things. They weren't like the luxury motels that we have nowadays. So the lady showed us these different cabins. And as she was going out the door, we said, "Well, this is nice. We'll stay here." And so, as she was going out the door, she says to me, "You're Chinese, aren't you?" And I says, "No, I'm not." And I said, "I'm Japanese extraction." And she says, "Well, you can't stay here, then." And I says, "Why?" And she says, "Because we only cater to the whites," she says. But then I said, "Well, you're kind of narrow-minded, aren't you? If I said I was Chinese, that would've been all right." But then, you know, you don't ever win an argument, arguing with a woman. So, anyway, the thing that really bothered me was she said, "Well, this is my privilege." And I said to her, "Well, I lost a brother overseas just protecting this privilege you're talking about." And so it really hurt me very much. And that's very strong in my mind even after, it's been fifty-three years now, we've been married. I mean, it's kind of like it was yesterday that this happened. I still remember that.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.