<Begin Segment 13>

[Ed. note: This transcript has been edited by the narrator]

SP: So turning back to Bellevue after the war, can you describe for us some of the things you'd noticed had changed? What were your impressions of coming back and how was it different?

SA: Well, like I mentioned, the floating bridge was constructed in 1940, we returned (after the war) in 1946. Bellevue had changed because of the bridge and the ferry system from Medina to Leschi was no longer in operation. And Miller Freeman, who was the father of Bellevue, you know they call him the "Father of Bellevue," was instrumental in getting the bridge built, and he was developing Bellevue (and the) Bellevue Shopping Center. (...) It was already a growing city. It was growing, (...) and I felt (the) difference, because they built a Frederick & Nelson there and Old Main street still exists (...). And the Freemans, they had visions of Bellevue, of becoming a metropolitan city (and major development was going at full speed).

SP: So there was a lot of this sort of real estate development.

SA: Very much so.

SP: What happened to old properties like the old Japanese clubhouse, the Kokkaido. Was that still around?

SA: They sold it. It was sold, but it was never in use (after World War II by the Japanese Americans). It was used for storage during the war. We all went to get our belongings (where) we had stored things. And I'm surprised (they) didn't burn (it) down. (...)

SP: What kind of changes did you notice when you went back to the Overlake School, where you were going to high school?

SA: Oh, you could feel the prejudice. You don't have to talk to anyone. you could just feel it. But I talked to (some former classmates who) welcomed me back. But then they don't (invite me) into their homes (...). According to what I hear, that if you talk to someone, they will tease that person talking to you and call them a "Jap lover." And so, in fact, our neighbor told us that he had gone to this grocery store. (...) And he talked to (...) the owner, and he didn't really want to talk to him, was embarrassed (...) because he thought he might lose customers. (He knew him from before the war). (...) I remember this very vividly -- is (of) Adabelle Whitney; her father was the editor of the Bellevue Journal American. And she and I went to school (...) when I was in second, she was a year behind me, but I'd known her through all those years of going to Bellevue grade school. And she said, "Sumie, welcome back." And she said, "You know, Sumie," she said, "it makes a difference if you know that person." (...). And I thought, I never forgot those words. So we didn't socialize, but that's the very words she said to me. (Narr. note: Mr. Whitney's views were of a racist nature because Miller Freeman had an interest in the newspaper.)

SP: So can you tell me about the changes that happened with the cemetery after the war?

SA: It was not, actually, no one took care of it. And it's right near where the Overlake Hospital is on 116th Street, the 1400 block. Because I know, because we lived on the 1400 block, about three blocks (away). (...) But, the cemetery is now where all the medical buildings are on 116th and Bellevue. And just last year, I had gone to the doctor's office and I thought, "Oh my God, it's only a block from where the cemetery is." It just kind of gave me an eerie feeling. The reason being that after, I'm talking about in the 1980s, my girlfriend (who didn't) know anything about the cemetery (or) about the history of Bellevue like I know it, said, "Sumie, you know..." And I was driving, I picked her up and we were driving (on) the overpass (near) 116th, (above) 405 Highway, 405 Highway (...). Right underneath is where the cemetery was. She said, "Sumie, I would walk on this overpass." So she said, "Don't drive over that way (...)." Because she said that, "When I walked there," she said, "I felt this sensation of being pulled down." And I said, "Really (...)?" And she thought it was just her, but she said, "When I went the second time, felt the same thing." So she said that she avoided it after that. She used to go for walks every day (and) she just avoided it. (...) The cemetery (remains were collectively moved) to Sunset. One of the laws is that when you find remains like that (from purchased property), it's up to the person that (buys) the land to (move it) and give it a proper burial place. And so that's what they did. And so the Japanese community, with some of the funds from the Kokkaido (purchased) a nice marker (for) the burial place for the Japanese pioneers and those that had passed away before the war. So that's one of the memories of the cemetery, of Midlakes (cemetery) and Bellevue.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.