<Begin Segment 24>

TI: So let's talk about how Seattle had changed. So you had been gone for a while. What was Seattle like coming back?

TK: Well, the first thing when I come back, I had to look for housing, and you couldn't find housing then. So I stayed with family friends that had come back to Seattle, like the Matsudaira family, you've heard of them. I stayed with them one room upstairs. And the Yuasa family that had a room open.

TI: And how had the community changed? I mean, if you walked around this neighborhood now...

TK: Yeah, that I don't recall. [Laughs] I got along because of the, I was with the Knights of Columbus and St. Vincent de Paul Society, so I fit right in, no problem there. You might say the Catholic community, I guess.

TI: So do you think the Catholic community was more welcoming than...

TK: Yes, it was, it was.

TI: ...the rest of Seattle?

TK: Yes. All good friends.

TI: Was Father Tibesar back in Seattle?

TK: I don't remember if he was then. No, it was other Maryknoll priests, Father Haggerty, Father Lavery, all Maryknoll priests.

TI: For my family, Father Tibesar found jobs for my grandfather and grandmother.

TK: At the chancery.

TI: Yeah, working with Archbishop Connolly.

TK: Yeah.

TI: That was, it kind of reminded me of your parents at St. Mary's, but they got...

TK: He got a good job up there. [Laughs]

TI: So what else was, any other memories about those years right after the war in Seattle in terms of seeing people?

TK: Well, Dad had to find a job when he first came back, so he worked for Kubota Gardens. You know, they have that big garden in Renton which is now a Seattle park, I guess? He helped build that up, all the acreages of trees and bushes. Then after that, Dad started his own gardening business and I worked for him for a while.

TI: Okay, so this was like extra work? Because you still worked for the Veterans Administration?

TK: Yeah, this would have been filling in, helping Dad.

TI: And when you think about your parents, how did the war change them?

TK: Well, like Dad said, "The government will take care of us." And I guess, what's that word? Shikata ga nai or whatever, so-so. Take what comes.

TI: So you think that's how your parents viewed the whole thing? It's kind of like life, shikata ga nai.

TK: Yeah, shikata ga nai, you do what you can. But people liked Dad's gardening business when he started on his own, because he did good work for the people. They would talk and talk. Remember the Blackstock family on Queen Anne? Isn't what's her name related to them? Anyway, he worked on their lawn.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.