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TI: Today is April 26, 2006, and we're in the basement of the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane, and we have the pleasure of talking to Fred Shiosaki. So, Fred, I'm just going to start from the very beginning and ask you, what was the name given to you when you were born?

FS: Fred Akira Shiosaki.

TI: And then why don't you tell me where and when you were born?

FS: Well, at the time I was born, my family lived in Hillyard, which at that time was a suburb of Spokane. It was during that same year that Hillyard was annexed into the city of Spokane, so we find that my records are in Olympia, they weren't transferred directly to the City of Spokane. And so whenever I need a birth certificate or something, I have to, I have to write or have the health department write to Olympia to get copies of the birth certificate.

TI: Oh, that's interesting.

FS: It's an unusual thing.

TI: And so what was that date that you were born?

FS: It was August, I was born August 23, 1924.

TI: Okay. And then you were part of a family, you had brothers and sisters. Why don't we just talk about that in terms of, if you could just sort of list your siblings in order.

FS: Certainly. The oldest brother in the family was George, and then my sister Blanche, who is, who passed away last year, my brother Roy, and both Roy and George still live here in Spokane, and then I was the third, third son, the fourth in the family, and the youngest brother, Floyd, who lives over on Puget Sound on Vashon Island.

TI: Okay, so I'm going to ask you something that's sometimes hard for people to do, but in terms of age differences, so George was the first.

FS: Yes.

TI: How long was it until Blanche was born?

FS: I think there's an interval of about two years.

TI: Okay.

FS: And then, and then...

TI: Between Blanche and Roy was...

FS: Blanche and Roy, again, something close to two years.

TI: Okay.

FS: And then there was three years between Roy and me, and then three years between, between...

TI: Fred...

FS: And Floyd, that's right.

TI: Okay. So George was about seven years older than you were.

FS: Yes, yes.

TI: Okay. Good. It always, it helps me when I talk later on about them, just to know kind of the age difference.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.