<Begin Segment 8>

AI: Well, so how was your father able to support all of you kids? What was his work life like and how did he make a living?

BS: Well, farmer, farming. And so even though a lot of us were born during the Depression we never went hungry because we had, well, it was apple, mostly it was apples and pears and cherries and it was strawberries later on. And my mother had a garden, and then they had, we had chickens and pigs and we had a cow and that, so...

AI: So what did your place look like as you were growing up, your home and the area, farm area around it?

BS: Well, it was a, I guess typical, I mean, typical farm. And we, my older brother and sisters went to school, and then they worked on the farm after school. And as they got older, then when my father needed more help then they would delay going to school in the fall. But they were able to, managed to keep up with the class even though they might be a month or two late in starting school again.

AI Well, the Hood River valley is, even now, it's very well-known for its wonderful fruits and pears and apples, so... and at that time I, also, I guess, it was very well-known.

BS: Yes, yes, and my father used to take the, I guess deliver his apples on a truck, by truck up to Portland. And he would stress to us that you have to be honest in your work, and in, and don't... because, he would see some people who would put the bad apples on the bottom of the box and just have the good ones on top. But my father said that he had built a reputation of having all good apples, and so he had no problem selling his fruits and vegetables.

AI: Well, what other kinds of things did your parents or grandparents stress to you as you were a kid?

BS: Well, being responsible and, I think, because he says, "If you aren't a responsible person it will affect your whole life," because he realized that my grandfather, his father, was not very responsible and it affected his whole life. He always had to support him and his... and my grandfather's responsibilities, my father had to take over. And then so, so he wanted, like especially the boys, to be honest and be responsible and when we married he wanted us to marry responsible men, honest, responsible men.

AI: And what about your mother? Were there things that she emphasized that were...

BS: Well, she was the disciplinarian, and, because my father would be out busy in the fields and that, so she was the one that, with so many kids. Just being honest and being respectful and, you know, to authority and work hard and...

AI: I'm wondering, did either of them, or your grandparents say much to you about being Nihonjin? Did they ever talk about, "Well, you need to act this way or not act that way because you're Nihonjin?"

BS: They probably did, but I can't remember, as a child. But I think I was more or less insulated because I had, I was, well, they called me "Baby" for eleven years. My name was Baby for eleven years until my little sister was born and then my brother Paul said, "I think it's time we called her by her real name instead of calling her Baby." So I was more or less protected, spoiled and that, and so...

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.