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MN: Where were you born?

AI: Fresno.

MN: And of the brothers and sisters, where are you? Are you the oldest?

AI: I'm the oldest and the next is my brother, Takashi, he was born also in Fresno. And two younger sisters, they were born in the Compton.

MN: Now in Fresno were you delivered by a sambasan?

AI: I don't know exactly how. What I heard was in hospital but could be sambasan.

MN: Now what is your birth name?

AI: Atsushi.

MN: When did you get the name Art?

AI: After I returned from Japan, so that would be in 1937. One of the friend just gave me that name Art. And in fact that when I went to school or anywhere nobody could pronounce my name Atsushi so I started using Art.

MN: Now when you were a child, what is the first language that you learned? Was it Japanese or English?

AI: Well, being on a farm I guess learned Japanese from parents more likely.

MN: So when you went to grammar school did you have problems understanding the teacher?

AI: I have no idea on that. You know, being children, I don't think so because there was three family in that farm and there was three or four about the same age kids that we played together so I assume we were kind of mixed, some Japanese English.

MN: Now do you know why your father decided to leave Fresno for southern California?

AI: I have no idea.

MN: Did your uncle come down with your parents?

AI: Yes, they did everything partnership.

MN: So from Fresno, where did they first go in southern California?

AI: When first they arrived to Los Angeles area they worked at lumber yard in Long Beach. I don't know how many year until they found the farm to do their farming.

MN: And where did they find the farming grounds?

AI: That's in Compton, California.

MN: And in Compton, this is where your younger two siblings were born, is that right?

AI: Yes.

MN: What kind of crops did your parents raise in Compton?

AI: Well, they were raising just about everything, onions, celery, whatever the green they can raise over there.

MN: So that's what farmers used to call truck farming crops?

AI: Right.

MN: Can you share with us some of the memories that you have of your life on this farm in Compton?

AI: You know I was so young then. I was there until eight years old and then the uncle took me to Japan but all I can remember is we used to just run around and play, that was our life.

MN: When you say run around and play, did you run around after the wildlife, the jack rabbits?

AI: No, just the same age friends that we had, we'd play games with them.

MN: What kind of games did you play?

AI: I can't remember. We were chasing around, there were some boys and girls mixed.

MN: Within yourselves did you mainly talk Japanese or English?

AI: You know, that age I have no idea. I can't remember what we were talking.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.