<Begin Segment 40>

AI: Well, so then, also, you had mentioned earlier that there were other reunions that you had gone to, that the Peruvians had some reunions.

AS: Peruvians, yes. I can't remember what year it was. But the year they had the Olympics in L.A., we were gonna... we were planning to have our first reunion and we were gonna have it in L.A. because most of us, most of the Peruvians are living in L.A. area. But they couldn't get a place because the Olymp-, they were having the Olympics there. So then we decided, maybe we'd have it in San Francisco. No, San Francisco was having the Democratic Convention. So they couldn't get a place there. But then, but it was gonna be our fortieth anniversary since we got out of camp so, so they wanted to have it that year. So then we decided to have one in San Jose. So, and then my sister, my sister Kikue's daughter, she was kinda involved with one of the travel agencies, so she, so she made most of the work. She did most of the work arranging places to get and things. So, so we had it in San Jose.

AI: Oh.

AS: It was the first one. And then two years later we had a second one in L.A. Then the third one we had it in San Francisco, two years later after that. And then two years after San Francisco we had it in Las Vegas. And then the next one was in Hawaii, and after then we went back to Vegas, and then they had one in Peru. But I didn't, I didn't go to the one in Peru. My sisters went, but I didn't want to go because I didn't wanna remember the good old days when we were there, living there.

AI: But you went to the other reunions?

AS: I went to most of 'em, yeah.

AI: Well, tell me about them. What kind of activity did you have? Mostly social, kind of meeting with people?

AS: Mostly social, yeah. Although the one in L.A., they had they had a, like a fashion show, because this, one of the girls, Kamisato, she designed clothes. In fact, I think she makes some clothing for Macy's. So they had the youngers, the Sanseis, parading in some of the clothes that she was making.

AI: Well, and then I understand that partly, coming out of some of the reunion activity was also the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project.

AS: Started in --

AI: Grew out of some of that.

AS: Yeah, that's the one that came out of; grew out of the one in San Francisco. Although I missed that one, because that's the same year they had the one... they had the Oregon reunion and I was already signed up for that, plus, being near Hood River where Betty was born, so we already had signed up for that, so, so we went to that one instead. But that's when Grace and, Grace Shimizu and Libby Yamamoto got together and they decided to, to start Oral History Project because our parents getting older and the older Niseis are getting older.

AI: Right.

<End Segment 40> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.