<Begin Segment 21>

TI: And so you mentioned that they, it was a fundraiser for a Japanese school. How large was the Japanese community?

BH: I don't know. They said people from all over came. People from Salt Lake came, people from Denver came. Because the train ride was free because they worked for the railroad, so they all came. They were very successful, so they wanted to repeat the same thing in Salt Lake. They said, "We can't afford to take the time off." [Laughs]

TI: But I'm curious, in Rock Springs, for people who attended the Japanese school, how large was the Japanese community in Rock Springs?

BH: I don't know. There were a lot of Niseis being born at the time.

TI: And so would you say more than twenty families?

BH: Probably something like that, maybe not even that many.

TI: And were there ever any community events like picnics or anything?

BH: Yeah, there used to be annual picnics once a year.

TI: And so describe that. What was that like?

BH: I didn't go then, 'cause that was before my time. Yeah, a lot of things happened before.

TI: Before. And so after you got there and had children, did you have any connection with the Japanese community?

BH: Not very often, because we were all a distance away from each other.

TI: And so things like... so what about religion? Did you go to church?

BH: Paul did. He went every time until the kids were born and had to stay home and watch the kids while I went.

TI: So you went to church, and then he would watch the kids.

BH: Uh-huh. Rain or snow, sleet.

TI: And how far did you have to go to church?

BH: Must have been about three miles, something like that. The highways over there were very slick, and there's not barrier, so if it snows, you can't tell where the road is. So they had a little elm or something, they said it was elm, pointed every so many feet so that you could tell that's the edge of the highway.

TI: And it's hard to imagine, having grown up in Seattle, when you see it snow in Seattle, that's just a little bit compared to...

BH: Oh, yeah, we got up one morning and one side of the house was all covered, can't see out the window, and this side is clear. They have...

TI: The big snowdrifts.

BH: Yeah, uh-huh. The ground would be dry in some spots, and all the snow on one side.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.