Densho Digital Repository - Mary Kato - Frances Kajita Nishi Interview (Densho ID: ddr-densho-1000-494-7)

<Begin Segment 7>

BY: So talk a little bit about what you remember about the other families who lived there.

FN: Well, I think they're the same as the rest of us, they were working on the Yasui family farm, so they're all busy. So one family, the Nakamotos, they had quite a few children, but they managed. And all I could remember is, like everyone else, growing up without a bathroom or place you take a bath except in a tub.

MK: Yeah. We farmed with the Kanemasu family in Mosier, and then there were the, Mr. Yasui, another Yasui family and their partner, Takasugi. And then farther on up, there was a Nakamoto family. And the Nakamoto family had a lot of children, too, you know, eight or nine, I forgot. And the Kanemasu family had, Kingo, the oldest boy there, and Helen, and Dorothy. Then they were, Dorothy was Habo's age, and Helen was a couple years older than Dorothy. And Kingo was a year or so older than me. And then Mr. Kanemasu had two families. And the first one was Kazuo, and the second one was Wataru. And they were quite a bit, a few years older than Kingo. And they were busy playing basketball and all that. So Mr. Kanemasu got them a little coupe car. [Laughs] So I thought that was neat, so I was in the car every chance I got.

BY: Do you remember anything about those families?

FN: Well, I remember just when we were going to visit the Nakamoto family, for instance, we'd have to walk the railroad tracks to go see them because they were further down the road from us. That's about all I remember.

BY: Were any of the kids your age?

FN: Yes. Frieda Nakamoto was one day, well yeah, one day short of my birthday. So we were the same age. And then I know the youngest one was Ray, and the oldest one was a boy, so the in between were all girls.

BY: So do you remember playing with them?

FN: Yes.

BY: Describe your home in Mosier.

MK: It was way down by the lake there, and it used to be a pretty big house, you know. And it was nice, but it was more like a barn. [Laughs] Various parts, because we weren't that rich. We just moved in and barely had beds and cooking (pans).

BY: Frances, what do you remember about the house?

FN: All I can remember, I think for our water supply, we had a pump, hand pump that brought water into the house. And the stove was a wood stove to cook on. And remember, we had a kitchen and separate dining area and several bedrooms and living rooms, so I remember that. But other than that, I can't remember too much about the house.

BY: And you said there was no indoor plumbing or electricity?

FN: No. Well, plumbing, we had water, but we had to heat the water for baths and so forth. And then later on, Dad built one of those Japanese bathhouses outside, so we had a place to go and take our baths, so he'd heat the water by burning log woods underneath, and it boils the water. And he had little planks there, wooden planks so that we wouldn't get our feet burned, so we could step on it. So that was our bathtub that I remember.

BY: As a child, what were some of your responsibilities?

MK: I really didn't have too much responsibilities, I just played. [Laughs]

BY: But when you were older, did you have responsibilities?

MK: Well, we had to work on a little bit on the farm, you know, as we got older.

BY: What did you do?

MK: Picked tomatoes and green beans. We didn't have big responsibilities, we didn't have too big of responsibilities because we hired some, like some ladies to sort asparagus in the asparagus shed. So we're just kind of the outskirts and then taking care of Frances. [Laughs] And watching our older brother and all of us kids would play.