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TI: And then they got married, and then what happened? So after they, they...

HM: Well, being the eldest son, I'll, well you see, (back in those days) they wanted you to marry people from your same prefecture, right? My mother, being Kumamoto, that's the reason why my grandmother didn't like it, because everybody, all his brothers, they all married Yamaguchi-ken and oops, Dad came back with somebody Kumamoto. So people did say that, "Because your (mother's family was from) Kumamoto there was a little," that was those days, and I'm sure it happened all over. They wanted you to marry someone from your same prefecture. That did happen.

TI: So there was some, on your father's side, some, they tried to discourage him to do that.

HM: Yeah.

TI: Okay, but, but he went ahead and married --

HM: My mom.

TI: -- your mother. And where did they live?

HM: With his mother. Because being the eldest boy, you know.

TI: And then they had three children?

HM: Yeah, they had three of us, all girls.

TI: And what was the birth order?

HM: You mean, I was born in '25, and Amy was born in '27, and my youngest, Miyeko, was born in '28. I lost both of 'em, too.

TI: Okay, so you're the only one left, even though you're the oldest, you're the oldest sister.

HM: Yeah.

TI: Okay. And then during this time your father continued to be a railroad worker?

HM: Railroad, uh-huh.

TI: And tell me about that job. I mean, was that a pretty good job for...

HM: Well, he was a brakeman on pineapple season. You know, brakeman is the, they have to turn the, what do you, you've seen pictures where someone have to turn the wheel, the track so we'll, I don't know how to explain it, but I can picture it in my mind. So he was a brakeman during pineapple season.

TI: Good.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.