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TI: And so after working at this property storage place, where did you go next? What was your next job?

MN: Well, the WRA had to find... well, this is sort of kind of temporary, of course, by the time all the storage thing would be completed, and all the evacuees, returning evacuees would have gotten their property back and so forth, they would have to close the office. But in the meantime, they decided that they would look, place me in a job. And I did go to one place, but I don't think I would have wanted to work there. It just... I could tell myself that I wasn't comfortable. And so this, they had a place for me at Lewis & Clark College, had a position open. And so I was fortunate enough, I went there and got interviewed. I don't remember being really interviewed. But anyway, I found a position there as a cashier in the business office. And I met the president of the college, he was very, very kind, and he later officiated at our wedding. [Laughs] So we were able to see... and later on, we did, when we went with our children, traveled to California, he had retired and he was at Laguna Beach, and we stopped by to see him and everything. So it was a wonderful, I met a lot of wonderful people at Lewis & Clark College.

TI: Now, did these people know what happened to Japanese during the war?

MN: Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure they did.

TI: Did they ever talk about it? Did they ever, like, ask you what it was like?

MN: No. but this was a... what would you call, Presbyterian related college, and anyway, I started working there as a cashier. And when the secretary left, secretary to the... well, let's see, business... when the secretary left there, I was given the position, and I worked there for twelve years as a secretary to a comptroller. And he was a comptroller and business manager, I guess. That was his title. But during that time, I... well, did all my secretarial thing as well as typing out financial statements. That was really hard, financial statements on a stencil, and then I had to go out and mimeograph, I learned how to operate a mimeograph machine. And so I had to type that for, it was for the school board, so I would type the financial statements and crank them out and have them ready for the board, when the board of trustees would get together. One time I, the secretary of the board of trustees came down and wanted to give me a letter, and I had to type a letter out. I was going to say, "Oh, my, I'm used to my boss." And the thing is, when we answer the phone, all the people on, they had no idea who his secretary is. And so when they come into the office, they see this little... [laughs].

TI: Japanese American there.

MN: ...girl sitting there answering. But no, I think they were not only surprised, but they were all very nice, of course, they were.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2014 Densho. All Rights Reserved.