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AI: Well, tell me about your older sisters and brothers and, see, your, the oldest one was born in 1920, was that right?

BS: Uh-huh. That's Dorothy. She was born in 1920. And then in 1921 my sister Fumiko was born, exactly a year later. And then my sister Ruth was born the following year, but in December. And then my brother was born, my brother Paul was born two years later, a year and a half or two years later.

AI: So Paul would have been born 1924 then?

BS: Yes. And then my brother Claude was born 1928, '28. And then my brother Junior, I think, was born 1929, and my sister Flora 1931, and I was born 1933.

AI: And you said that you were named after these Caucasian folks who also lived in the valley --

BS: Uh-huh.

AI: -- that your father knew from working for them.

BS: Yes. So, 'cause I was, I was born, at the time I was born my dad was working on their farm, on their farm. And so that's, and that, 'cause my sister Flora and Claude are very unusual names for Japanese. And it's because they were born on, the couple's name was Mr. and Mrs. Copple. And their name was Flora and Claude. And so that's where they got that name. But, I'm not sure about the other, the other brothers and sisters.

AI: And what about Fumiko? How did she get that name, and how...

BS: Well, her name is actually Laura, Laura Fumiko. And I don't know how she got that name 'cause that's very difficult for Japanese to pronounce, Laura. And so, because it was difficult to pronounce they called her Fumiko. But she was, when she was two years old she was sent to Japan with one of my mother's relatives who was visiting. And she was sent back to live with the aunt that my mother was supposed to take care of. And so, she went back and she was two years old, and, but the aunt... I guess she became ill and passed away suddenly. So then, so my sister Fumiko went to live with my great-grandparents.

AI: And then did she stay in Japan?

BS: Yes. She remained in Japan and she became a schoolteacher. And so she was there during the war years. And it was, then she married and she finally was, came to United States in about, uh, late 1950. And we didn't know her. It's only my, my brother Claude went to Japan with the occupation forces and he was the first one to see her. And so that was a very nice reunion. And then she eventually... course, of course there was, I'm sure there was resentment because she was the only one that was sent to Japan and she had to, she had to take care of these older people. They were very kind to her. They were very kind to her, but she, and then she suffered during the war, but she felt that if you have a family together, it's easier, you know, with the large family that we had, it would be easier for her to survive and that, with a family. But she felt, I guess alienated. And it took a while for her, 'cause she kinda felt like an outsider because she spoke Japanese when she came to the United States. And we spoke Japanese, but it was not the... it was like a child's Japanese speaking to parents. So we did communicate, but I think she felt like an outsider. It took many years, but now she feels like she's one of us.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.