Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Sumi Okamoto Interview
Narrator: Sumi Okamoto
Interviewer: Megan Asaka
Location: Spokane, Washington
Date: April 26, 2006
Densho ID: denshovh-osumi-01-0002

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MA: So your, your parents moved to Spokane when you were about three, you said, so that was 1923, around then?

SO: I think so, uh-huh.

MA: And what was your father's occupation?

SO: Well, he used to, he worked for the Alaska Junk Company, and I think he melted metal, and made bars, you know, metal bars. I don't know what they used it for, but I remember he used to do that.

MA: Were there other Japanese Americans working with him at this company?

SO: Uh-huh, yeah, there were, my sister, my older sister used to sew sacks there. It was during the war, and they had to sew those sacks. And there were several Issei women that were employed there to sew sacks. And my older brother was kind of a supervisor there.

MA: Do you remember how long his work day was? Did he work very long hours?

SO: Yeah, he used to work until midnight sometimes, so we used to bring the lunch to him -- I mean, dinner to him. We were only about four blocks away from his workplace.

MA: What do you remember about the, I guess, was it a factory?

SO: Kind of like, uh-huh. It was in the same building, and... let's see. And then upstairs is where the women had their machines, and they sewed those sacks. I don't know what they filled them with, but I know they sewed, they were busy sewing sacks. And most of them were Issei ladies that had just come to the United States. And the Niseis were still too small, you know.

MA: So they were children at this point?

SO: Yes, uh-huh.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.