<Begin Segment 11>

TI: So how was it, you grew up in Seattle amongst many Japanese Americans, and then you went to Ellensburg where there were...

MH: None.

TI: ...none. And, and so you were excluded in things like dating and things like that. So how was that for you? Was it, was it okay, or was it miserable?

MH: It was very lonely. Very lonely. But Ellensburg is not too far from Wapato, and there were some Japanese boys in Wapato, farm, farmer's sons. They would come out and visit me from time to time. And I'd have visitors from Seattle, so it wasn't that bad, but it was lonely, very lonely. I helped my dad with his hotel, cooking. And I could, I could cook, I could make beds. [Laughs] I'll tell you a funny story. One day it was so cold that our living room froze over, and the goldfish that we had in the bowl froze, too.

TI: Oh, my.

MH: And then when it thawed, started swimming again. And to me, that was so interesting.

TI: So at night, your, the living room wasn't heated, and so it would just, it would just freeze.

MH: 'Cause Ellensburg gets very cold.

TI: Now, how was it for your mother? Was it difficult for her in Ellensburg?

MH: Oh, I think it was very hard for my mother. She developed tuberculosis after that, but anyway, I'm sure it was very hard for her. But she and Dad used to play rummy, I think it was. And if my dad let her win, then she said, "Well, Papa does it for me. Papa, you don't have to do that. I could win by myself." So they used to play cards together, but they were busy making the beds. My mother and I used to stay up late, as I said, making the pies, but those were hard days.

TI: And how was it for your, your younger siblings in Ellensburg?

MH: Well, my younger brother went to high school there, and let's see... my younger brother went to high school, my younger sister went to high school. You know, I have so little recollection of what my siblings did, but I know Kenji tells me -- my younger brother -- tells me that the guys didn't have too much to do with him. But they were so surprised when he got out on the dance floor. He could dance so well. [Laughs] And I think this was at the reunion; I don't think he ever went to a dance there, but he went back to the reunion and he said, "Kimi and I just knocked the pants off the guys there." [Laughs] So no, he, I think he was a very lonely man. I think he was very lonely in high school there.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.