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TI: And on the farm, were there certain chores or things that you had to do?

MS: Oh, of course. We'd help pick peas and beans, and help with the watermelons and cantaloupes and packing. And I remember, oh, my god, as a kid, looking there and saying, "We got to put our stamp on the fruit, like on the handle." They'd laugh at me. I think now we see that. And I think I was a, kind of an imaginative person, because I was saying one day, "I think we make white stitching like as a trim on our pants." They laughed. Nowadays, you see that. I think I was outspoken kid anyway. Because we had a vendor coming from Seattle, Mr. Yoshida, he was a huckster. And I would talk back at him and he'd laugh. And I thought, my goodness, this little kid would say, "Oh, Mr. Yoshida, you're a liar," and my mother would be embarrassed. But I look back and say, my god, I must have been a free spirit all my life. So that's the way I grew up.

TI: That's good. When I think of farming communities, I think sometimes how maybe one family would help another family.

MS: We do.

TI: Can you talk about maybe an example of when maybe families pulled together to help another family, or just generally how they helped each other?

MS: I think they probably used equipment, things like that. And I don't... I don't think there was... I don't know because I didn't really pay that much about the operation of the farm. But I do know that probably equipment was one of the things that they could share.

TI: And do you remember any, like, tragedies that happened in the valley growing up in terms of anyone in the community?

MS: I don't remember. I don't remember.

TI: How about things like celebrations? Do you remember weddings or New Year's?

MS: New Year's, oh my goodness, New Year's. You know, we'd have to clean house. You had to make sure you changed the sheets and so forth, and you would cook for days because you're not supposed to cook on New Year's. And people would visit for about three or four days, they'd come and visit. The men did, not the women. But sometimes the women did, finally. But then here it was, coming in and eating and talking and so forth.

TI: And what would the kids do during New Year's?

MS: I don't know, because you didn't get to go around. You stayed home, but you'd see people coming.

TI: And so maybe help serving or greeting people?

MS: Yeah, washing dishes. [Laughs]

TI: Okay.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.