<Begin Segment 34>

JA: Now, again, your family was fortunate enough to own land, but the vast majority of Nikkei farmers in the Bellevue area were leased.

MH: They were all leasing the property so that's the reason they didn't actually come back. So some of them came back as far as Seattle, but not to Bellevue.

JA: Because the floating bridge was built and the land values had increased so much, to make it economical for them to return.

MH: Uh-huh.

JA: But of the families that were on leased land, what kind of preparations did they make, or do you, do, are you aware of?

MH: The people on the leased land?

JA: Yeah. I mean, they had crops being grown.

MH: Yeah, but I don't think they got anything for it. I think it was just, just, just left.

JA: Just left.

MH: Just left, I think, unless they sold it to someone that they knew, they trusted, or whatever. But I didn't hear that part of the story. [Laughs]

JA: Everyone knew you had to leave. [Laughs]

MH: Had to leave and that's it. Get going. [Laughs]

<End Segment 34> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.