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MA: And your parents, they ran a laundry, right?

MT: Uh-huh.

MA: Who, I guess, who were the customers that would frequent the laundry?

MT: Hakujins. They were people who were retired or something, they were living in the hotel downtown.

MA: What was the interactions like between the customers and your parents?

MT: Oh, okay. They needed something for us to do and we were lucky to get it at ten cents a shirt. [Laughs]

MA: Is that what it cost?

MT: Yes.

MA: What were your parents, I guess, what were their days like working there? Like, what was a typical day of work for them at the laundry? What sorts of things did they do?

MT: Oh, my dad would get up real early and he'd wash it and then he'd hang it up in his dry room, which is a cement place, and then he'd stoke up the stove there. And then by noon, they would be dry, and then he would sprinkle water on it and then put a heavy thing on it and make it sort of moist. Then they start with those irons.

MA: How long would it take to wash and then press one shirt? Was it a really long process?

MT: Well, within a day, it's, but it's, it's quite full a process. Yeah, it's a lot of work for ten cents. [Laughs] Yeah, my dad would, they would come in and they'd put their package there and sign, get a ticket, and then he'd, in the evening, he would open it up and put their names on the neck place and then throw it in different spots, ready for the wash in the morning.

MA: Did your mother also work at the laundry?

MT: Uh-huh.

MA: Were her duties the same as your father?

MT: When I was there, my brother was born behind the laundry, so she'd strap my brother on her back and she'd be ironing with him on the back, with him on the back. I remember that.

MA: Did your siblings also help out at the laundry?

MT: We all took our turns except for the oldest one. She was able to find outside work.

MA: What work did she do?

MT: She was sort of the bookkeeper for the Spokane Vegetable.

MA: Was that a Japanese company?

MT: Yeah, that's all Japanese, brought in their produce and put it in this place that they line 'em all up and sell it. Spokane Veg.

MA: And she was the bookkeeper? She was the bookkeeper, you said?

MT: Uh-huh. That type of work.

MA: She must have been very studious.

MT: [Laughs] Well, yeah.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.