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TI: So I want to move to this house, because you were living in Montebello, and then you moved, I think, in 1959.

SA: '59.

TI: Yeah. So tell me that story.

SA: Well, we decided that it was time for us to make a move, so I kept looking at different property. Then there was an ad in the paper. [Phone rings] Linda will get it. There was an ad about this property, and so one day George and I drove up here to see what it was all about. And then when we saw the lake and this was all empty up here, I said, "Oh, this would be a nice place to live," and George liked it so much. So we decided, well, we would like to make a move here.

TI: And so it was just raw, just land, right?

SA: It was, yeah. There were a few, but we were, there were just a very few homes.

TI: And back then, how was the transportation between here and, say, downtown? Was the highway and everything in place? Was it easy to get from here to, like, downtown?

SA: Oh, yes, it was no problem at all.

TI: So you have all this raw land, so how did you build a house?

SA: Well, my sister's husband Henry is an architect, so he said, "Let me see what I can come up." So he came up with this idea, and we all liked it, so we decided to go along with his design.

TI: So he looked at the property and the views and everything, so made a custom built home...

SA: Yes, he did.

TI: ...for you with sort of a Japanese tea room area and everything. And so '59, so you've been in this house almost sixty years?

SA: Yes.

TI: And so tell me, it's a gorgeous house, what are some of the events that you did in this house? It's very much like a party house.

SA: [Laughs] We had so many activity here, and one was like inviting the Nisei Week candidates for the queen, they were all here for that. And then we had many guests from Japan, with George's connection, everybody wanted to come to America at that time. And we had many, many visitors come from Japan and some would stay with us, as they didn't have a place to stay. And then George decided to open up a business in Tokyo. So all the more, our connection with various people grew. And then we would have Kenwood party and Mikasa party, oh, we were kept so busy all the time.

TI: No, I'm thinking, especially with Japanese guests, it must have been so... what's the right word? Impressive, for them to come to Los Angeles and then to go to a home not too far away from downtown, for it to be so private and beautiful, it must have been very impressive for, especially, Japanese. And what were some of the comments when they would come for the first time, what would they say?

SA: I don't remember. [Laughs] And they all wanted to go to Disneyland. Every guest wanted to go to Disneyland, so there were times where I went two time in one week to take the guests.

TI: That's a long ways.

SA: To Disneyland, yeah. I knew that place inside and out, there were so many guests.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright (c) 2017 Densho. All Rights Reserved.