<Begin Segment 3>

MN: Now, how old were you when your father decided to move the family to North Fresno?

BT: Yeah, I could never find out. My sister didn't know either. I would assume I was about two or three.

MN: Why did your father move the family to North Fresno?

BT: I guess he wanted to have his own farm, ranch. He wanted to start a strawberry farm.

MN: So among the Japanese Americans, what was North Fresno referred to as?

BT: In the Japanese community it was known as, well, in Japanese it's Ichigohomen. It's "strawberry." Most of the farmers were known for strawberry in North Fresno.

MN: How about West Fresno?

BT: West Fresno was known as Yasaihomen, vegetables. They were truck farmers up that way.

MN: Now, when you were in North Fresno, how many different farms did you live in?

BT: North Fresno, three.

MN: In your, at the first farm, can you share with us this incident where you almost drowned?

BT: Yeah. I really don't have any recollection about that, but my sister, it's definitely in her mind. I was chasing frogs and I slipped into this open pit that had water in there. Yeah, and my sister couldn't reach me, so she had to run out in the farm and get my mother, and with a rake or a hoe she was able to reach me and pull me out.

MN: Now, you mentioned you lived in three different, on three different farms in North Fresno. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Henry Noboru was born on the second farm and then Harley Masaru was born on the third farm. Is that --

BT: Correct.

MN: Did you have indoor plumbing on these farms?

BT: I don't remember the first two, but the third one, no. But I'm pretty sure they're all no plumbing in the house, yeah.

MN: So what did you use for toilet paper?

BT: [Laughs] Yeah, it's either newspaper or Sears catalog.

MN: Did you or your younger siblings ever fall into the whole in the outhouse?

BT: Fall. No, no. [Laughs]

MN: Now, when you were growing up, do you remember your father making his own shochu?

BT: Yes, because I know one of my sister's duties was to cap the bottles. But he was, he was known for drinking.

MN: Now, when you started school in North Fresno, how did you get to school?

BT: Bicycle. My sisters had a bicycle, and I would get a ride with them.

MN: What memories do you have of school in North Fresno? For example, what was the ethnic makeup of your school?

BT: You know, I really don't remember, but I think it was mostly either white or Japanese.

MN: When you became old enough to ride a bicycle, who taught you how to ride?

BT: My father. He just sat me on the bike and gave me a big shove, and it was up to me to stay up. [Laughs]

MN: I guess you fell a couple of times?

BT: Oh yeah.

MN: Now, do you recall going to Hiroshima kenjinkai picnics when you were living in North Fresno?

BT: Yes. Yeah, that's something that you always look forward to.

MN: I know you were really young, but do you know where those picnics were held at?

BT: It was, there's two parks in Fresno. One was Roeding Park, and the other one was, I believe it was Kearney Park. It was, so the picnic was usually at one of those two places.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.