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MA: So I'm curious to hear more about your birth father and finding his paintings and that story.

EH: Oh, the first batch that I found, I was home and my mom was going to just dump it. Said, "Hey, Mom, don't throw that away, give it to me, you don't want it." So I just, you know, kept it on the side. When I went to college, I think I took it with me. Then the second bunch I found when my mom passed away, when I was trying to clean out some of her stuff. And because there were so many of 'em from internment camp, I had a friend who knew the executive director at the Art Academy. So we kind of informally talked to him, "Will you guys be interested?" He said, "Yes." Interestingly enough, at that time, I don't know if you heard of the traveling "View from Within" show that they had. It was in town, so at the same time they did my showing of what he had done. It went over well, but I'm trying to kind of get it back from them now, because it's just sitting in a basement in storage. And I was thinking, if they have this, you know, like someplace like here, if they have space, they could do it as a permanent display or whatever. Because I shouldn't say, but among some people, they said the thing worth lot of money. Lot of money. But the academy just has it in storage now, because they can't, I guess, keep it on permanent display.

MA: And had you, after your father left when you were young, did you hear from him at all?

EH: No.

MA: So you found these paintings and that was, you had the paintings and that was kind of what you had from him.

EH: I also befriended this lady who was interested in doing history and stuff like that, she wrote the history of Wahiawa and stuff like that. She went online and found some of his paintings for sale on eBay. Got in touch with one of the art dealers that my (father) had, found out that he had passed away, and actually, all I'm trying to do right now, too, is find out where he's buried or what happened to the guy. Because when my mom was alive and my stepdad was alive, I really didn't want to because I know they would not approve of me trying to find him. But I know he had passed away because I have friends in D.C., too. And when reparations was being handed out, I know he never applied for his. So I figured the only way that would happen is if he had passed away.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.