<Begin Segment 11>

SY: And then do you remember that period where your parents were getting ready to go to camp?

CI: Well, we were renting a house, and our landlord lived in the back. Between the two houses there was about, quite a bit of land, and there was like a three or four car garage. And she told us that we could leave our possessions there, and she would take care of it. The irony is that her husband was a German, un-naturalized German from Germany. And he didn't have to go to camp. My father, who was born, he is a U.S. citizen, had to go to camp. So that was kind of an irony, I thought. But they did keep our possessions for us until we sent for it.

SY: So it was just she and her husband? She was American and he was German that lived in this back house?

CI: And they had a child, Junior. Little boy, he was just like a toddler.

SY: Wow.

CI: And so they kept your possessions packed in the garage?

SY: In that garage.

CI: I see. And then we, I think my... I'm not quite sure how we regained some of the things. I know that it could be that my mother said, "Sell that, sell this," or whatever. But my grandfather had made a desk for me which came to Chicago. He was a very good carpenter, too, my grandfather. You know, the one that carved the queue on the Chinese figure. And he made a dollhouse which also came to me.

SY: So you were lucky in that way, huh? You got to save that.

CI: Yeah, we were. Because a lot of people had different people say, "Oh, we'll watch your possessions," and they never got it back. But we did.

SY: So I guess then you probably, they didn't have to worry about selling as much. But do you remember them selling anything?

CI: Before?

SY: Yeah.

CI: Oh, yes.

SY: So your family was busy selling things.

CI: My grandfather used to raise bonsai. He was multi-talented; he used to do all kinds of things. So he had made all these bonsai which we sold for five cents or ten cents or whatever. There are many, many plants. So they had to... they couldn't store everything at the Daimlers, but I do know that...

SY: There were some things.

CI: Yeah, there were a lot of things that they had to sell.

SY: Did you have to give up anything that you were really sad to give up?

CI: I don't know.

SY: You don't remember?

CI: I don't remember.

SY: And do you remember your brother being upset?

CI: No. I don't think we had a lot. Because you have to remember that we're still all kind of Depression babies. So I think that we weren't cumulative. We didn't have a lot like we have now. We give our children everything. It wasn't that way. We didn't have a lot.

SY: That was probably good then, huh?

CI: Uh-huh.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright &copy; 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.