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BY: Okay. So growing up, you're living in, pretty much in the heart of Japantown, is that right then? So who were your friends growing up?
MK: Well, Mich Inouye was my best friend, and she lived about a block and a half away. And they rented a home from the Merlinos, Italian family that they used to sell olive oil. Anyway, they had a home, they lived in a private home. So it was real exciting for me because it was just a regular family home, and they would let me come and stay overnight, so I was a part of the family. But I could never invite her because I had to share wherever I slept with the family.
BY: Your house had a lot of people living in it. And so her name was Mich, was that short for Michiko or something like that?
MK: Yeah, Michiko Inouye.
BY: Michiko Inouye, so she was your best friend.
MK: Yes.
BY: And tell about the other houses or the other families that lived near your house? Were they all owned by Japanese?
MK: Yeah, but there weren't very many homes, as such, but there were some.
BY: So who lived on your block? Describe the other...
MK: Oh, it was a dairy, a Japanese dairy, White River Dairy next door to us.
BY: So it was a dairy farm?
MK: No, they sold bottled milk, so it was a bottling (company)... yeah, and they delivered. And so I got all my milk there. I had to go and cling on the bottle to get help and get my milk next door.
BY: Okay, all right.
MK: So actually, we were in a more commercial place living without too many homes.
BY: Okay. And what school did you go to?
MK: I went to Bailey Gatzert, which was just three blocks away, so we just walked up there.
BY: And so Mich was your age? Was she your age?
MK: She was a year older.
BY: So then you, would you go to school with her, though, even though she was a year older, do you remember?
MK: No. I went to school with Yasuko Aratani.
BY: And did she live near you then?
MK: Yeah, she was two blocks down. She lived in Chinatown.
BY: Okay, all right.
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