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BY: Right, let's talk about meeting your spouses. So let's start with Mary. How did you meet your husband, what was his name?

MK: Oh, they came from Walla Walla, like Dad did, you know, work on the farm. And then farmwork in farm (labor) camp. They lived in the camp while we lived at Brickner. But after a while, the Japanese started getting engaged to others and getting to know each other. And anyway, through the friendship, we got to know the Katos and Kanemasus and all the families that were there. And so started going with George, and then December 10, 1950, we were married at Mrs. Brickner's, I used to go to Mrs. Brickner's church, you know. So we got married at that church, and they were remodeling at that time. And they were meeting in the basement, and on top, it was a beautiful new building, but they hadn't finished it yet by December 10th, so we were married in the basement. [Laughs]

BY: So you lived in the basement and you got married in the basement.

MK: And so we had our reception downtown at the Grand Hotel, they used to have everything going at the Grand Hotel. And so we got married at Grand Hotel there. Anyhow, everybody came to the Grand Hotel and we had a nice wedding and reception.

BY: And, Frances, you have a nice story about George's mother, why she thought Mary would be a good partner. Can you tell that story, please?

FN: Well, I remember this Mrs. Kato telling me that she noticed that every time something like riding the bus or something, how kind Mary was to my mother. And so she thought she would make a real good wife, she's so kind to the mother and so forth. So she suggested that George meet Mary.

BY: And how about you? How did you meet your husband and what was his name?

FN: Well, I met my husband through a blind date. He came into town, Walla Walla, to work at Bonneville Power. And I had friends, and I went to the Emmanuel Lutheran church. And so the Lutheran church people told me that some of them were working for the Bonneville Power, and they said, "Oh, there's a new guy that came to visit, I mean, to work, you'll have to meet him. And then other people that were friends that worked at Bonneville told my husband, "Oh, there's a girl that we know that you should meet." So somehow, our friend Arminta Rhodes that worked for Bonneville, she gave Roy tickets to go to the Little Theater, and told him to call me up. So he called me up, and that was our blind date was going on a Little Theater date.

BY: And what was your first impression of him?

FN: I didn't think too much of it. [Laughs] But somehow, it clicked. So we probably met like the first part of the year, and was married by December, so we only had not even a year to court and got married December 27th of 1959.

BY: Okay. And where did you get married?

FN: Oh, we got married at Emmanuel Lutheran church, and then the next funny part about our adventure was that his aunt from California came to visit, I mean, to come to our wedding. And so the whole family from the Yakima area came to the wedding. And the she had to get back to California. So on our honeymoon, we took her back. [Laughs]

BY: [Laughs] So that was your honeymoon, taking her back to California. So you drove then I guess, huh?

FN: What?

BY: You drove?

FN: Yes.

BY: And just because I want to make sure we have this, so your husband's name was Roy Nishi, okay.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.