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MN: Now, shortly after Harley Masaru was born, your father got sick. What happened?

BT: He contracted pneumonia. And then he, he was hospitalized and he passed away at the hospital.

MN: Where was he hospitalized? Was this a white hospital or a Japanese hospital?

BT: It was a Japanese hospital.

MN: Did you ever visit him at the hospital?

BT: No. It just, after he passed away, then they called the whole family up there.

MN: How old were you when your father passed away?

BT: Eight and a half.

MN: Did you understand what happened to your father? Did you understand death at that time?

BT: I don't think so. You know, I know it, it didn't really hit me hard 'cause, like later on, when the rest of my family starts passing away, it was more hurtful, but when my father died... yeah, I don't remember too much, but it's just part of life, I guess. It just...

MN: What memories do you have of the funeral?

BT: The only part I remember is that after the funeral they take photographs at the step of the Fresno Buddhist Temple. That's about the only thing.

MN: And what happened to your father's remains?

BT: He was cremated, and it's in Fresno.

MN: So your father just passed away, your mother just gave birth to Harley Masaru, and there are four other young kids in the family. What did your mother do?

BT: Well, right after my father died, she had a sister up in Newcastle and so we went there. We lived there for about five months, and then, of course, my uncle, he didn't want, he couldn't take care of a widow with five kids, so they thought it was best that we return to Fresno. So we moved into town.

MN: So when you were living with your aunt and uncle in Newcastle, did you continue school there?

BT: Yes. Although we lived in Newcastle, we went to school in a little town called Loomis. A bus would come by and pick us up.

MN: How far was the school from Newcastle to Loomis, and where was your aunt and uncle's house?

BT: You know, I don't remember how far it was, but yeah, my uncle had a ranch, orchard, and it was in a hilly area, so his house was on top of the hill. So to catch the bus we'd have to walk down, that part wasn't too bad, but coming back up we had to climb up that side.

MN: And then your father died on January 10, 1933, which is, that's your mother's birthday, right?

BT: It's, yeah, her thirty-first birthday.

MN: So from January, you went to school in Loomis?

BT: Yes.

MN: And did you finish the school year at Loomis?

BT: Yes, when the school ended, for the summer, we moved into Fresno. But the Fresno school was still going on, so they put us into school, I think for three more weeks, I think it was.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.