<Begin Segment 5>

AI: So what other kind of memories do you have from your grade school years?

MN: We had fun. It was a very ordinary life, you know. And the kids were, let's see. There were quite a few Japanese, Chinese, very few whites, lot of Jewish kids. And in my class we only had two black people, so there weren't that many blacks in that, in Seattle at that time.

AI: Where would you play, and what kinds of things did you play as kids?

MN: Oh, we used to play right in the middle of the street. Play baseball, and hide-and-go-seek, and things like that. But spent a lot of time at Collins playfield, which is right across from Buddhist Church now, and it's not the Collins playfield anymore. Spent all summer playing.

AI: What about chores or responsibilities as a child?

MN: I don't remember too much about chores, but I remember I was the downstairs maid and Carol was the upstairs. And she had to clean the upstairs and I had to clean the downstairs, but that's about all I could recall.

AI: You were the oldest sister in your family, and in some Japanese American families it's called Oneesan, and you're, there are other expectations. Did that happen with you?

MN: Not that I recall.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.