<Begin Segment 19>

MA: So tell me about life in New York and what it was like. I know you lived in Manhattan for a couple years.

GK: Right, when we were first married, we lived in one of those brownstone apartments, you know. So then I got work at Macy's in the legal department, so I was going there to work every day. And then I got pregnant so we thought, well, these brownstone buildings are not the best place to raise children, so then we moved up to Yonkers, New York. So there, we found an apartment on the second floor of a home, and this elderly lady said she would rent the upstairs apartment to us. So that's where we lived, and then our two daughters were born while we were there.

MA: In Yonkers?

GK: In Yonkers, right.

MA: When you were in Manhattan, who were the people in your neighborhood? I mean, were there any Japanese people there, really?

GK: No. When we were there, we didn't see any Japanese. But I'm pretty sure there was a New York chapter of the JACL, I'm sure there were. But we didn't stay in New York City that long, so I really didn't have a chance to explore what there was. But I'm sure there were some Japanese Americans.

MA: Did you and your husband ever have trouble finding apartments? I mean, because you were Japanese, did people ever discriminate against you in terms of your housing?

GK: No, we didn't meet up with that. We were fortunate.

MA: And in Chicago as well, when you were living with your mother? Were you ever, did you ever have trouble finding places?

GK: No, we did not. Because basically in Chicago, we lived in the building (which) he owned. So we didn't have to go look somewhere else. So no, that worked nicely for us, that he had this apartment building. So we had an apartment in there.

MA: Okay. And then in Yonkers you lived in an apartment as well.

GK: Yes. But it was a different kind of building. See, in New York, we lived in a brownstone where they had apartments. But this was a private home, and we were on the second floor. And so in those days, there was no air conditioning, it would get hot, so my husband decided to make a fan. And so he built this frame and then he put this powerful fan in there so on hot summer nights he'd turn that on. It would make an awful lot of noise, so the poor landlady, she didn't say anything at first, but I'm sure it bothered her. And then another time we bought a washing machine because I had the two babies, so I wanted to do the diapers in there. But it rattled and shook the house, actually, from the second floor. So then Mrs. Minehan said, "Oh, would you get rid of that washing machine? And I'll pay for the diaper service." [Laughs] So then that's what we did, we got rid of the machine. So she paid for the diaper service, so it worked out okay. And she was a nice landlady, very nice. She and two of her spinster daughters lived with her, so they were very nice to us. There was no discrimination there.

MA: Did you find a church in Yonkers and before that in Manhattan that you were able to go to?

GK: No, I'm sorry to say, in Manhattan we didn't go to church. And then same thing in Yonkers. I don't remember going to a church.

MA: Was there a Japanese American community in Yonkers?

GK: No, no, there certainly wasn't. Maybe we were the only Japanese Americans in Yonkers.

MA: And at that time, was Yonkers mainly sort of a Caucasian community?

GK: Yes, it was. So there were no other Japanese that I know of.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright ©2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.