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TI: So after you were born, let's talk about where you sort of grew up. And so where, where did you grow up as a child?

BI: Well, my first memory is our first farm in Medina. I think I must have been about four years old.

TI: And what was, what were those first memories when you were about four, of Medina?

BI: [Laughs] The memory I have of that place was I got a terrible stomachache from eating tomatoes off the patch, and I don't know what happened, but I really got sick. And I remember having to go to the bathroom outside, my mother had to take me. And the another incident was the horse --

TI: Well, before we move on, so when you say "bathroom outside," a lot of people who will see this are schoolchildren today. And so when you say "bathroom outside," what does that mean?

BI: Outdoor toilet, I guess.

TI: So it's like an outhouse.

BI: Yeah, outhouse.

TI: It's like a hole that's dug in the ground.

BI: Right, uh-huh.

TI: Covered by a wood enclosure.

BI: Uh-huh.

TI: And then you mentioned, I just wanted to clarify, so Medina is a, is sort of, if you live in Seattle, it's across the lake, Lake Washington.

BI: Right, uh-huh.

TI: And currently, if you go to Medina, you have a lot of expensive homes by the water.

BI: No, it was just open field, and it was a, we had a small farm.

TI: Okay, so you were talking about, okay, so one childhood memory was that stomachache, going to the outhouse, and then you were continuing with that, some other memories?

BI: Well, I remember going to school with my sisters. I don't remember being in a classroom, I remember going to school, so it might have been kindergarten or preschool. I don't know if they had preschool at that time, but I remember going to school.

TI: And do you remember how you were feeling when you went to school? Was it exciting?

BI: No, I don't remember.

TI: And when you say your sisters, so you're talking about your, your twin older sisters?

BI: Yes, uh-huh.

TI: And they -- I'm trying to do the math here -- they were about, they were quite a bit older, they're about how much older than you?

BI: You know, I think they must be... when they were married they were about eighteen or nineteen and I was about five or six.

TI: Okay, so about twelve years older than you, roughly. Okay, so they're, they're quite a bit older, so you really looked up to them.

BI: Oh, yes, uh-huh.

TI: Okay. And then, so that was a early memory, going to school, and you're in Medina. So then what happened? Did you stay in Medina?

BI: We stayed at that farm for not more than a couple years, then we moved to another place in Medina and stayed there for a couple years, and then we moved to Bellevue.

TI: Now, do you recall where, where in Bellevue you moved?

BI: (Narr. note: The first house we lived in caught on fire during the first year. It was an old two-story frame house with a pot-belly stove in the living room. It had 1 bedroom downstairs and 2 upstairs. I was taking care of Sam and, I think, Amy, and I kept stuffing papers in it to keep warm. I was about 8, and Sam was about 5 and Amy about 2. It was daytime, so we were playing, banging on the piano and raising Cain. Burning paper landed on the roof, and farmers quite a distance away saw the house on fire. They ran to warn us and put the fire out. We then built a new house somewhere else in Bellevue; it had 4 bedrooms and a furnace.) Well, let's see. We were, right now, our farm is the telephone company, and they weren't sure, but they thought the City Hall might have been, was going to go up, or is there, I'm not sure. But we had ten acres there, and then my brother sold it (in the late 1950s).

TI: So, but it sounds like your, your Bellevue farm, those ten acres, were really in the heart of downtown Bellevue.

BI: Uh-huh.

TI: You talked about City Hall, the phone company.

BI: Yes, uh-huh.

TI: So it's, again, sort of prime real estate that you had.

BI: Right, uh-huh. Right.

TI: And so this was a, ten acres, so this was a larger farm. And do you recall the type of crops that you had on your farm?

BI: Well, I think we were known for our strawberries, but we also grew tomatoes, peas, beans, lettuce, cauliflower. Later on they grew a little celery, but it wasn't very much celery. Mostly, mostly strawberries and peas and beans. (Narr. note: When Queen Mary visited Seattle in 1939, they chose our farm's strawberries for the banquet.)

TI: And who were the customers for your, your products? Where did you sell your...

BI: Well, my brother used to take it to the commission house in Seattle, and that's how we sold our produce.

TI: And so which brother was this, Takeshi?

BI: Uh-huh, the eldest one, uh-huh.

TI: So he would bring 'em over to Seattle to be sold. Okay.

BI: Uh-huh.

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