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TI: So going back to Friday Harbor, about how old, you mentioned, I think, about three years, or maybe a couple years that you were there, but not every year, it was like every other year you would go? About how old were you when you were at Friday Harbor?

VI: I think probably the first time we went there, I must be about four years old.

TI: Okay, so really young.

VI: So only thing, I can't remember the first time we went there. But the last time we went, I was old enough to play on the beaches and things like that. So then I remember certain things. And some of the things that I remember, like I think I might have mentioned to you about how when you have big low tides at Puget Sound, it was an island, not too far away from where we were. And you could almost walk to that. But what happens is, when you get that low tide, the people that are working, the Isseis that are working there, we'd go and get octopus. What they would do is they'd take a long stick, and at the end, they'd put a can with lye in there. So they would go down by the beach where the water is still low. And if they spot a cave or a crevice where they had clamshells in front, and that was where you'd find octopus. So they'd stick that pole with that lye in there to irritate them, so they'll come out, then they'll grab them, take them to shore, flip 'em upside down, and they cut their beaks out, which would kill them. I kind of remember that. And they used to tell us about it. Usually they do it at night, because that's when the tide is the lowest. So I remember them telling us their story.

TI: And did you ever see that, or you just heard them? Did you ever go down there and watch?

VI: I never saw it because it's usually at night. But you know, in the morning you see the dead octopus.

TI: And was that viewed as kind of a delicacy by the Issei in terms of eating?

VI: Yeah. It was a delicacy for the Isseis.

TI: And how would they prepare it?

VI: I have no idea. Because at that age, I didn't eat it.

TI: So it wasn't like... you don't remember, like sashimi where they would slice it up.

VI: I'm sure that's what they did, but I had no idea what they did with the octopus.

TI: Boy, that's an interesting story. I'd never heard...

VI: Those are the little things that I could remember when I was that young.

TI: Anything else that struck you about... did you ever get a chance to go into the cannery and see what that looked like when you were a kid?

VI: Not really, I was too small for that. Only thing I did was fish off the pier. I mean, you put a line down, and that's about all.

TI: And you mentioned there wasn't much there. Because now, if you go to Friday Harbor, it's a small town, it's a major tourist area, it's one of the destination places in Washington state to visit. But when I go, there are a lot of old buildings kind of down that main street. Was it kind of like that when you were there, that they had that main street and they had general stores?

VI: That was about it, yeah. Nobody went inland or around the island to see what kind of place, it ended up being a very tourist town. And that was the biggest island in Puget Sound, for the San Juan Islands.

TI: Well, it had a big history because on there they had the British camp and the American camp. Did you know anything about that? That back in the 1800s they had kind of the disturbance up there. So you were just really focused on the cannery area.

VI: It was just a small area that, as far as we knew, there was nothing else on the island except the cannery at the little town that's in back.

TI: Now, do you recall any interaction with the locals there that weren't Japanese? Any, like with the white population?

VI: I don't, but my sisters do, because they went to school there for a while. But I was too small.

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