<Begin Segment 1>

TI: So today is Saturday, March 27, 2023. We are in Harrah, Washington, which is right outside of Wapato.

SI: It's really... our address is Wapato.

TI: Wapato. So Lon said we're actually technically in Harrah.

SI: We're only one mile from Harrah, but we don't belong.

TI: To Harrah?

SI: Yeah, our address is not Harrah, Washington, it's Wapato.

TI: Yeah, Wapato. And for people who don't know where Wapato is, it's right outside of Yakima.

SI: Yeah.

TI: So I think a lot of people know, have heard of Yakima.

SI: Yeah, I don't know how many miles, not much. Fifteen miles or something.

TI: And we're here doing an interview with Shizu Fujita Inaba. I'm going to use "Shiz" during the interview. And in the room with me is Yuka Murakami, who is running the camera, and assisting Yuka is Kimi Engelbrecht. And then I'm doing the interview, Tom Ikeda, and I'm doing this on behalf of Densho. So, Shiz, thank you so much for being here, I'm really excited. So I'm going to just start from the beginning and talk about your family history. But the first question I always ask is, can you tell me where and when you were born?

SI: I was born at Portland Hospital in Portland, but I'd lived in Milwaukee. See, we were twins. I think we went to be delivered in the hospitals instead of home.

TI: Oh, so they knew that your mom was going to deliver twins.

SI: Yeah, I think so.

TI: Okay. Because would it have been more common to do like a home birth type of thing?

SI: I think it's more dangerous when you have two kids. You don't know when one's going to come out and when the other's... things don't go right when you have twins.

TI: Right. And then what was the date of your birth?

SI: September 19, 1929.

TI: And what was the name given to you at birth?

SI: Just Shizu, S-H-I-Z-U, Fujita.

TI: And did you have a middle name?

SI: No, nothing.

TI: And how about your sister? What was her given name?

SI: My sister is Mieko. My twin sister?

TI: Uh-huh.

SI: Okay.

TI: And while we're talking about your sister, what other siblings did you have?

SI: The first one was Sumi, S-U-M-I, and then second was Fude, F-U-D-E, Fude. And then it was my, the twins, we were next, and then my brother was Tom, and Shigeru is his Japanese name.

TI: Got it.

SI: And then after camp, in camp, my other brother, he's in Canada right now, Donald Jiro Fujita, Donald Jiro, J-I-R-O. That's all I have.

TI: So there were six children?

SI: No, that's only five, isn't it?

TI: No, six. There's Sumi, Fude, Shizu, Mieko, Tom and Donald.

SI: Oh, yeah. I guess, yeah, that's right.

TI: So five siblings plus you, so six total. And let's first talk about your father. Can you tell me your father's name?

SI: Seijiro, S-E-I-J-I-R-O.

TI: And do you know from where in Japan he lived?

SI: All I know is Shiga-ken. I don't know... I used to think... let's see. I can't really see where it was, Shiga-ken. I don't remember what town it was. I went to visit when I was nine, but I don't remember everything.

TI: No, that's fine.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 2>

TI: And do you know what your father's family did in Japan?

SI: I don't know. They farmed, and I don't know whether they had a store or not. The store was next door, not theirs. I think farming is all they did, I think.

TI: And do you know why he wanted to leave Japan and come to the United States?

SI: Well, you know how all of them think that they're going to get rich quick and take the money back. Well, they never went back. They stayed in the States.

TI: In terms of birth order, did he have any siblings in Japan?

SI: Yeah. I don't know how they go, but I think he had an older brother. Oh, my father was Fujita, but then he was adopted by the Fujita family, he was Kuribayashi. He was born a Kuribayashi. And then I don't know, his aunt or somebody must have adopted him, and he became a Fujita. She probably got married to a Fujita and then adopted him. So they're brothers, but Hikogoro or something is his, something like that, the oldest brother. And then he had a sister. I think he had two sisters, and I'm trying to see what their names were.

TI: Now, did any of them come to the United States or was just your father?

SI: They were in Japan, so I don't know too much about 'em, but there was two sisters.

TI: That's good. And when he came to the United States, do you know about what year he came?

SI: No, I don't. Not exactly the year, I just knew he came. See, I didn't live in Portland too long, because after I got married, all my other siblings, they know all about more, because they can ask questions anytime. But I was here, and I never went back too often. Maybe once at Christmas, New Year's, but otherwise, we stayed here and farmed.

TI: But do you know why, are there any stories of why he chose to live in Milwaukie outside of Portland? So Milwaukie is like seven or eight miles outside of...

SI: Milwaukie is more farming. Portland, they don't... town, it's a city. So they have to move away where there's farming areas.

TI: But do you know why he chose Milwaukie?

SI: Well, I think he was in Seattle area, Auburn area first. And then they went to Gaston, Oregon, I remember they were saying. And then I guess they didn't like it around there, so they went to Milwaukie. They must have saw something better.

TI: That's interesting. Because Auburn...

SI: Tacoma, Auburn area.

TI: Because Auburn is kind of a suburb or outside, a rural area outside of Tacoma, and kind of outside of Seattle, so between the two.

SI: Yeah. So they farmed there. I think that's where they were kind of farming, probably farming for somebody else. I don't think they had their own farm.

TI: Well, that makes sense, too. Because when I think about it, like Auburn farmers, Japanese farmers, they would raise crops, and it's good to be by a city because they could sell their produce to the cities. I mean, in the same way...

SI: But I think he just worked there. Because I think when he came from Japan, I think he was saying he worked around that area, and at night, he went to night school to learn English so he can speak good, you know.

TI: But when he decided to go to Milwaukie, when he raised his crops, where did he sell his crops?

SI: Well, with his brother, the Kuribayashi, he had several boys, you know. And one of them would take it to the market. They have to go three o'clock to a market and sell all their stuff and then come home.

TI: This is like a farmer's market in Portland?

SI: Yeah, I think so. So they drove every day we had crops to sell.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 3>

TI: And how did your father meet your mother?

SI: See, I really don't know about that. I don't know whether somebody over here, I don't know whether they had, what is it, a baishakunin marriage, I don't really know. I didn't ask about that, I just knew they were married.

TI: Well, did they meet in Japan or in the Portland area?

SI: I think she came over here to get married. They must have called her to Portland, and I think they got married in the Buddhist church in Portland.

TI: And what was your mother's name?

SI: Haru.

TI: And maiden name?

SI: Sasaki.

TI: So you remember more than you think. All those puzzles are good. And your mother's family in Japan, do you know where they were from?

SI: It's Noda. Did I say that Shiga-ken was Kawase?

TI: Yeah, you said your father was Shiga-ken.

SI: Yea, but I think it was Kawase-mura, I think, or something.

TI: This is your father?

SI: Father. And then my mother, it was Noda. I don't know why it was Noda, but it was still in the Shiga-ken area, but then it's Noda.

TI: Okay, so it's great, all these things are starting to come back to you.

SI: No, I remember that because when I went to Japan when I was nine, I remember we stayed at my grandfather's, her father was ill, so that's why we went to Japan. I stayed there for four months, so that's why I remember something.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 4>

TI: Going back to the farm in Milwaukie, can you just describe the family home? What did that look like and what was in there?

SI: I don't know how many acres it was. As a kid, I don't ask those questions. But we had a pretty good farm because we were farming together with my father's brother, the Kuribayashi. And my father was adopted, so I told you he was Fujita, although they were brothers. And he had two children, boys, I think mostly boys. I think two and then one coming back from Japan when he was older. And I know he used to go to the market, otherwise I think the brother, his older brother, my father's older brother used to go until my cousin would come back from japan and he would go when he was old enough. Because I think he was older when he came back, so he did the marketing for his dad.

TI: Okay. But the farm was, sounds fairly large. Seems like the two brothers worked together?

SI: Yeah, they did.

TI: To do that?

SI: Yes, we had greenhouses, and they were glass greenhouses, you know, not plastic. They were quite, it was a pretty good farm. We had a big barn where we'd sort the celery and things that we sold. They would cut it and then we'd come home from school and we'd have to do the root part, make a thing like that, make a straight, I mean, clean it up, make it... and then we have a box, and then we had a paper. Whoever we were selling to, we had to put one in, and then you know how you have to wrap it up, then put it in, line it up in this crate.

TI: So you individually wrapped the, each celery stalk?

SI: Yeah, I think so. I think that's what we did.

TI: And then they would sell it at the farmer's market?

SI: Yeah, when they went to the market.

TI: I guess that would make sense. Because at a farmer's market, people are just buying one or two, and it's wrapped like that, it's probably more desirable.

SI: Yeah, this is a market where the buyers buy quantities because we have a whole truckload. See, he used to take over a truckload.

TI: And so you were kind of like, you and your sister were like, you had two older siblings. So it was a family operation, then after school or something you would...

SI: Yeah, we had to help them. Then when we plant, because we plant like our celery roots or whatever we had to plant. When it's ready, we'd help them and maybe water, hold the hose for them and then they would put the water in the hose so when they plant it, we'd help them whenever we can.

TI: And you're just out in the fields doing this?

SI: Yeah, in the field, uh-huh.

TI: Other than celery, were there other crops?

SI: I think we had strawberries. We had a field down below where there's a railroad track. And then we had so many acres up there, and then we had to many acres up there. We had strawberries up there, and we must have planted other things later, cabbage and stuff, peppers and stuff like that. But I don't remember too much about that, the crops that we raised.

TI: And were there certain times of year where you had workers or helpers?

SI: Yes. We had workers to help. Because I think cauliflower. I think cauliflower you had to wrap something up and tie it. I remember something like that, the workers were doing it, but we did have to have our workers to help.

TI: And generally how many workers do you...

SI: I really don't know how many, but I know we had workers.

TI: And who were these workers? Do you remember where they came from, how long they were there?

SI: Let's see, I'm trying to remember. I can't tell, I don't really know where they came from.

TI: Up in Seattle, when I was a kid, there were strawberry farms up around Seattle.

SI: Well, the strawberries, the kids are out of school.

TI: Well, that's what I did, I remember picking strawberries.

SI: Yeah, they would come and do the strawberries. Yeah, the Japanese younger people who are out of school. I remember we had a house that they would live in.

TI: So these were Japanese?

SI: These Japanese people from...

TI: Portland?

SI: �Portland, yeah.

TI: And they were, like, teenagers or were they older?

SI: No, they were, I think, maybe they might have been in their late teens or early twenties.

TI: Yeah, what we did up there, I mean, they had this old school bus that would kind of go through the neighborhood and pick us up at five o'clock in the morning and we'd go pick strawberries and come back. So they would do that in Seattle. There were some strawberries at Bainbridge Island.

SI: We had another house besides the one for the young people. We had another house, a family. I'm trying to remember their names but I can't... I know that she was there because her mother and her father worked in the sawmill, but the mother and this girl that I know, they were friends of my oldest sister, the girl was. And so her mother and her, they lived in that house. But the father was, he was in, he was working in a sawmill somewhere. But I don't know, we had other people come, other people would come to pick, you know.

TI: Were there other Japanese American farms in the Milwaukie area?

SI: Yeah, there were farms. The Watanabes and who else? I'm trying to see who my neighbors were, what was their names? This one boy is still living, I don't know about now. But they only had about three acres and we had a bigger farm next to 'em.

TI: So your farm was one of the larger...

SI: It was leased land, you know, the house and everything was leased.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 5>

TI: So let's go back to the house. Describe the house. How many rooms were there?

SI: Well, it was a pretty big house, two stories, because my cousin and we lived together.

TI: Oh, so the brothers?

SI: Yeah, the brothers lived together.

TI: All together.

SI: But the brother only had the boys, and the other children went back to Japan. The mother went back with Toshi and Sachi, I think. And then the other ones... I don't know where... a couple of them were going to school, high school. And then two of them were in the States, and then the other boy came later after he was out from Japan.

TI: So there were quite a few, so a pretty big house, quite a few people. Did they have running water?

SI: Yes, we had running water.

TI: Toilets?

SI: Toilets. It was one of those two stories, porch all around, you know, and windows. I don't know how many bedrooms there were, one, two, three four, five, I don't know.

TI: Who did your share your room, bedroom with?

SI: I think me and my sister. I think we had to share because we, all the kids, it was a big, big bedroom, so as many beds could go in, you know. I can't remember quite how much, but we did have bedrooms.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 6>

TI: So I have not... I can't remember if I've ever interviewed a Nisei who was a twin, and so I think maybe this this is a first for me. So I guess, I'm trying to wonder, what was it like having a twin sister? Did people treat you differently, you think, because you had a twin?

SI: No, they didn't.

TI: Now would the two of you do a lot of things together?

SI: We always wore the same clothes, the same style. We both looked alike wearing our clothes.

TI: So people would always see you say, "Oh, you have a twin?"

SI: Yeah, they do.

TI: Now, were there, did people ever confuse you for your sister?

SI: Well, they probably did, but I'm sure they must have, because we looked quite a bit alike, but we weren't identical, more fraternal.

TI: How about the two of you? Did you have your own special way of communicating with each other, like with certain words or things like that? Or a certain look? You could look at each other and know what the other one was thinking?

SI: No, I would never do that. We weren't that close. [Laughs]

TI: But then it sounds like the two of you did a lot of things together, you were always together?

SI: Yeah, we did.

TI: What would be an example of you...

SI: But the only thing, I went to a business college, but she went to a regular college, four years.

TI: So this is much later. So I'm thinking, like, when you're in elementary school, are there examples of you do something where your sister wasn't there? That you would go to the Buddhist temple or Japanese language school or anything that she wasn't there with you?

SI: Well, I would do more... she would study more and I would be playing around more and going into Girl Scouts and all that, and taking hikes in the area with this, scouting to get your badges or whatever. But she didn't do that.

TI: She liked to stay at home and study or read or something?

SI: Yeah, we were different. I was more a, not the studying type, you know, and she was the studious one.

TI: That's good.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 7>

TI: And growing up in a farm when you're young, what was kind of like a regular day for you? I mean, when you think about, like a school day, say you're in elementary school, like maybe third or fourth grade, what kind of things would you do? From the time you woke up, and just your daily routine, including going to school and things like that.

SI: Well, because I have an older sister, they did more of the cooking for us. We didn't have to cook too much.

TI: So when you woke up, your older sister had already cooked breakfast for you guys?

SI: Yeah, I think they did, until we were able to do it. But she didn't, I think most of the things if she was around. And then, or my mother. I don't quite remember, but I think they helped each other. Because if my mother had to... I don't know, when she's busy, she has other things to do, you know.

TI: Now, were there certain chores that you had to in the morning when you woke up before you went to school?

SI: I don't remember whether we had to do any... no, I don't think we had do any. We just got ready for school.

TI: Yeah, have breakfast, go to school.

SI: Maybe fix our bed and stuff like that, you know.

TI: How about after school?

SI: Well, if they needed help in the farm doing something for us, I think we would do that. Otherwise we'd just play with our neighbors whenever.

TI: How about things like Japanese language school?

SI: Well, see, in Milwaukie they didn't have a Japanese school. I don't know, we had some lady come and teach us, not every day, maybe once a week or whatever. We didn't learn that much, we didn't go to, you'd go to Portland to go to their school.

TI: And we talked earlier, I know that you were members of the Buddhist temple. Would that be in Portland?

SI: Portland.

TI: And so did it feel like going into the big city when you went to Portland? Did Portland feel a lot different than Milwaukie?

SI: You know, I don't know. Maybe during those younger years in Milwaukie, I think they did things at the home.

TI: Oh, so services, things like that.

SI: Yeah, I think so. We didn't go to Portland church. I think we had family gatherings or gatherings at certain people's homes.

TI: Because that was pretty common where the Buddhist minister would... especially the community would go out...

SI: Yeah. I think we don't go into town to the church, so I think they came, the minister would come out to the farm, you know, to our family or wherever we could meet.

TI: What would be an example of going into the city of Portland? When you went there, what was it for?

SI: Well, we'd go there, we'd go shopping for clothes and whatever. And maybe whatever movies or something that might be good that we want to see, or something special or going out to eat maybe. I don't think we did that much going out to eat, I don't think we could afford it. I don't know how that was.

TI: So what would be the names of the store you would go shopping? Where would you shop in Portland?

SI: I don't know whether they had a Sears or a Penny's, I don't really remember.

TI: but generally like a department type store?

SI: Yeah, or otherwise had to go through a catalog and order things.

TI: Like a Sears-Roebuck.

SI: Yeah, that's the only thing I can kind of remember.

TI: How about community events like picnics, things like that? Were there things that you remember with the Japanese community that you went to?

SI: Gee, I don't remember...

TI: Kenjinkai picnic or...

SI: No, we had kind of a building. I don't think it was a Japanese school, but one of the farmers had a big... I don't know, it was a place that we could meet. I don't know what happened. We didn't go there that often.

TI: Okay. How about school? Which school did you attend?

SI: We went to Milwaukie grade school. Then where did I go? We were in grade school, that's all we went, then we were in camp, then I went to Portland after we came back.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 8>

TI: So before we go to the camp, let's go to the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. Do you remember that day and what you were doing when you heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

SI: I think we heard it over the radio, I kind of remember my parents told me, but there was nothing we could do, we just had to wait and see what they were going to do us.

TI: Now, do you remember at all just the feeling when you said maybe you were there, your parents told you or they heard about it. Did you get a sense from them that the gravity of the situation?

SI: We kind of thought there's something going on. We have to worry about what's going to happen.

TI: Now do you recall or notice any things that happened after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, that things people did?

SI: I don't know whether the white people, Caucasians, kind of thought we were part of that or something. We didn't have anything to do with it, but they treated us a little differently, I don't know.

TI: How about, so when, what grade were you in school when the bombing of Pearl Harbor happened?

SI: Gee, I don't remember. What year was it?

TI: It'd be 1941, the end of, December of '41.

SI: '41. What would I be? 1941, how old would I be?

TI: 1929, so it'd be... you'd be twelve years old, so you'd be like fifth or sixth grade.

SI: Twelve, let me see. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, seventh grade.

TI: Seventh grade.

SI: I think I was in the seventh grade when that happened.

TI: Now, when you think about it, do you recall your classmates or anyone treating you differently?

SI: No, they treated us good. Maybe just a few people, the older people would make us feel bad sometimes, you know.

TI: In your class, were there other Japanese Americans in your class?

SI: I think my cousin, like me and my twin, and then my cousin, I had a cousin the same age.

TI: Now do you remember what happened at the farm, what your parents had to do to get ready when they, the notices to leave and things like that, what preparations...

SI: We had to give up our lease, and we had to get rid of all the equipment we had, whatever we had. But if they didn't buy it, we had to just leave it. And the farm, everything on the farm, we had to just leave.

TI: Did you have any pets or anything?

SI: Dog maybe.

TI: Do you remember what happened to the dog?

SI: Gee, I don't even remember. Maybe I didn't have a dog, but I thought we had dogs before. We probably had to leave him or give it to somebody, I don't know.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 9>

TI: And when you left the farm, where did you go?

SI: We went to that Portland Assembly Center.

TI: And do you remember what that was like? Like your first impressions when you got there?

SI: Well, every time it rained, it felt like a barn because it was a stockyard.

TI: Oh, so the smells of wet hay and things like that.

SI: Yeah. So it was different because it was a barrack. I mean, hallways, and then all we had was a curtain going down on our floor, we have a neighbor with theirs, everybody had just curtains, you could just see if they wanted to, but they didn't bother us.

TI: And how about just in terms of seeing so many people that kind of looked like you, Japanese Americans?

SI: Japanese, yeah. It was quite different because I've never had a crowd like that living in the same place.

TI: And for you to be around so many people the same age as you, too.

SI: Yeah, we had people we can go play jacks or whatever, whenever we did with the young kids.

TI: Now do you remember anyone kind of noticing or commenting, "Oh, you're twins?" Again, it was probably a little unusual to be a twin.

SI: Well, I think they probably questioned whether we were twins or not.

TI: And during that time, were the two of you still kind of wearing the same clothes?

SI: I think so.

TI: Now, why did you do that? Was that because the two of you wanted to, or did your mother want you to wear...

SI: I think they wanted us to look alike because they were twins. I don't know when we started, later on when we didn't have to dress the same, she went her ways and I went my ways. Then we dressed whatever we wanted to.

TI: Now was there a certain style that the two of you had, like a certain color the two of you liked to wear, or a certain type of dress?

SI: No, I don't remember any special color.

TI: Any other memories of the, first the Portland Assembly Center? We'll move to Minidoka, but first Portland. Any memories?

SI: Oh, memories. The assembly center? Well, I don't know too much, just that we had other people to do things with. I don't know of anything really special, we just, in the mess hall we'd just go to eat and we didn't have to do any cooking or anything.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 10>

TI: Okay. So after a while, you went from the Portland Assembly Center to Hunt.

SI: Hunt, Idaho.

TI: Hunt, Idaho. So what was that like for you, going to Hunt, Idaho? It's a very different climate than...

SI: Yeah, everybody lived in barracks. I don't know how many, forty-something barracks that was at Hunt. Seattle people went first, and then I lived in Block 30, and my cousins lived in Block 40 or something. But there wasn't.. about that much, quite a bit of people there at one place.

TI: Now, I'm curious, I like to ask this question of people who were at Minidoka. There were people from different parts, like from Oregon, Portland, you had Seattle people. You had people from Alaska also.

SI: I don't know about that.

TI: There were some people from Alaska.

SI: I didn't know about that last thing.

TI: I'm just wondering, were there different, did you notice the different groups from different areas, and did people kind of stay together?

SI: No. After we'd go to school, I never knew the difference, because everybody mixed up, you know. But we knew that the people in the Block 1 and up to twenty-something, was mostly Seattle people.

TI: I know my mom was Block 16, and I can't remember what block my dad was.

SI: That's Seattle, isn't it?

TI: Yeah. And they're both Seattle.

SI: Then after my block, I think it was more of the Oregon people who came later. I think the Seattle people went first.

TI: And so what was camp life like for you? I mean, you're a little younger than my parents, and my parents did a lot of the dances and socializing.

SI: Yeah, I think you can go to do those things, you know. And the churches were active, both Christians and the Buddhists. I think... I don't know how long I was in the Girl Scouts, but it was interesting.

TI: Well, so at Minidoka, you were with the Girl Scouts?

SI: Yeah.

TI: Now, as a Girl Scout, did you ever take field trips outside?

SI: Yeah, we went outside. I was trying to remember what was that town... we would walk, I think. It wasn't too far, but we would walk to town. I can't remember the name of the town.

TI: Yeah, there's... wasn't that Hunt? They had Twin Falls, that's further.

SI: Oh, yeah, that's farther. But there was a closer one, I don't know how many miles. But we used to just walk.

[Interruption]

TI: But then when you --

SI: Eden.

TI: Eden, that's right.

SI: Eden. I kind of remembered Eden. Did you remember that?

TI: Yeah, I remember driving through that when you go to the camp itself.

SI: I think we just walked there.

TI: I mean, it's a real small town.

SI: So I think we were able to walk.

TI: And when you walked to town, what was there? What would you like to do?

SI: Gee, I really don't know what I did, I don't remember.

TI: But I was wondering, as a Girl Scout, did you... would they have, they have different attractions. Isn't it like the lava beds or something, they have that there? They have some natural wonders nearby. Treasure Valley, which is a little further, they have that, and I was wondering if you guys took field trips to places like that.

SI: No, I wouldn't go too far. I can't remember, not that far. But Twin Falls, I think they let us go to go shopping or something, I think, in Twin Falls. But Eden is where we walked with the Girl Scouts.

TI: Yeah, that makes sense. And Twin Falls is too far to walk.

SI: Yeah, Twin Falls. And there was another town closer that I picked potatoes. Potatoes we harvest at school time, I think I was in high school then. I think we'd go out and live in some farmer's home, and one month, when the potatoes were ready to pick, they wanted workers. So I remember picking potatoes with a few other Japanese girls from the camp.

TI: And would your sister be with you, too, usually, your twin sister?

SI: No, I don't think she went.

TI: Oh, because she's back reading, right? [Laughs]

SI: I don't think she went, just a certain group went. I don't remember her whether she went or not. I doubt it. She probably didn't want to work in the fields, but I think we wanted to work to make some money. [Laughs]

TI: Yeah, people did that because the pay was better than what people were getting inside camp.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 11>

TI: And then in terms of the barrack, the living arrangements, I'm guessing, I mean, I know you lived with your uncle's family back in Milwaukee, the two brothers' families. But in Minidoka...

SI: In Minidoka, my two sisters, the oldest two, they had a room, it was only for two people or three people, and then all the rest was a family one. So we lived right, they lived on this side and we lived on that side.

TI: Wow, they got their own room? That was very nice.

SI: They did.

TI: So I remember, the barracks you have, sometimes a small room and a larger room.

SI: Yeah. The end one was for couples, you know.

TI: And so your older sisters got one of those.

SI: Yeah.

TI: But then were you nearby your father's brother's family? Your cousins, were they nearby?

SI: No, I think they are in another place.

TI: Okay. Any other kind of memories of Minidoka that stand out?

SI: Well, I don't know. Winters were cold. We had to walk to school and our nose will feel so cold, they stick together, hard to walk.

TI: The climate's a little more extreme than the coast. Because the winters are colder and the summers were hot. I mean, I was there at a pilgrimage and it was well over a hundred degrees there.

SI: Yeah. We probably didn't, I probably didn't take those walks. [Laughs] Staying inside was cool.

TI: You reminded me, I was at a pilgrimage, and a Nisei came up to me. And she knows I love stories, and she said to me, "Do you know that we had air conditioning?"

SI: Did she?

TI: She said that to me, and I said, "Air conditioning? What do you mean air conditioning?" I'd never heard that before. And then what she did was she took a piece of paper and she went, [makes whirring sound]. That was their air conditioning, to have a fan. Because it was really hot, and I said, "Oh, how can you guys be in here?" I said, "We had air conditioning."

SI: I think in the summer, I think I, me and my friend, we had summer school, we acted like substitute teachers in summer school.

TI: Say that again? Who acted as substitute teachers?

SI: I mean, we did.

TI: With younger kids, you mean?

SI: Gee, I don't know what kind of kids, but we were art teachers. And my friend was better in art, but I'd do a little bit, so I think I went with her. But we worked with students to... you know, I think if they want to do something, they'd come to these classes, if they wanted to. Otherwise they do everything on their own.

TI: Now your father and mother, did they have jobs inside?

SI: Yeah. I think my father was a dishwasher and my mother was a waitress.

TI: Oh, so they both kind of worked in the...

SI: Yeah, in your own block.

TI: Your dining hall?

SI: Block 30, everybody had a mess hall.

TI: And so when it came to mealtime, who did you eat with?

SI: I think we just went in and whoever's around, we just went to the mess hall. It must have been some of my, maybe my twin sister, I don't know. But anybody who I'm playing around with always, each time we go.

TI: And when you ate, did your mother sometimes serve you? Because you said she was a waitress. I mean, were your parents, were your parents working in the dining hall when you would go eat?

SI: I'm not too sure. I know she was carrying a baby, my youngest brother. When she wasn't pregnant, I think she was working.

TI: And she delivered a baby in camp?

SI: I think so, yes.

TI: So how was that, to have a baby in the barracks? Because you were sharing that same room with a baby.

SI: I think it was in, I think he was born in camp. I have to remember, or did he, was he not born? And after we got out...

TI: I'm trying to think, do you remember, like, crying or washing and drying or hanging up diapers? I'd think there would be a lot of that.

SI: I don't remember that. So maybe he wasn't born. [Laughs] I don't know. But let's see. I'm trying to think, where was Donald born? I really don't... I never did, I know he was born, I don't know whether it was in camp or whether it was out of camp.

TI: So any other memories of Minidoka before we move on to after the war? Anything else about Minidoka?

SI: I don't remember too much more.

TI: Okay.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 12>

TI: So you were telling me earlier that your parents, when they left Minidoka, they returned to Portland. Not Milwaukie, they went to Portland.

SI: No, because we didn't have any money to go farm.

TI: So they had to give up farming because everything...

SI: Oh, yeah, we had to. And so when we went back, the only thing they went out looking for what they could do, and they leased, owned a hotel that is, oh, maybe third-class, right there on Burnside. I used to always call it Skid Row. [Laughs]

TI: And I think the name of the hotel was the Riverside Hotel?

SI: Yeah, Riverside.

TI: And so who would stay at this, the Riverside Hotel?

SI: It was only a dollar a day, the rooms. So the sailors right there, when they docked, the sailors would come in, and anybody else who was looking for a place to stay.

TI: So these were people who would just like stay for a few nights or something?

SI: No, I think some of them stayed because they had a job.

TI: Okay. And they would just stay there for...

SI: Because I know my mother, she did the cleaning. So I remember these things.

TI: So very different than farming.

SI: Yeah, it is.

TI: So the two of them went to Portland, but you and your sister didn't go back to Portland, you went someplace else. Right? You went to Ontario.

SI: Oh, for school, yes.

TI: For school. So after Minidoka, you and your twin sister, Mieko, where did you go?

SI: We must have been working at Payette, Idaho, with my auntie, Auntie Sasaki. And then we stayed there and went to Ontario High School for the next year. And I think we stayed there only one year and then we came back to Portland. And then I had my senior year at Lincoln High School, and I graduated.

TI: Okay. Now was that hard? Because you started high school at Hunt High, Minidoka, then you went to high school in eastern Oregon for a year, then you went to Portland. High school's a time when usually you make good friends.

SI: Yeah. It's kind of hard because you got different friends and you had to have new friends all the time.

TI: Now, so are you close to any of your high school friends, either from Hunt High or Ontario or Portland?

SI: No, just the ones in Portland. We got to know people in Portland.

TI: Because you then stayed there for a while.

SI: Yeah.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 13>

TI: So after you graduate from high school, what did you do next?

SI: Well, I went to business college and then I got a job after three months. Because in high school, I took a lot of the accounting, and I knew all the machines and things like that. So I was able to only go three months and I was able to get a job.

TI: Now, when you went to business school, was this the first time you went to a different school than your twin sister?

SI: Yeah.

TI: Because your twin sister went to...

SI: Yeah, she went to...

TI: A different college.

SI: The one near Portland. I'm trying to remember what was the name of that college.

TI: Was it like Lewis and Clark?

SI: Yeah, something like that, Lewis and Clark college.

TI: Yeah, so they had Lewis and Clark. Okay. And then you went to business school, you graduated, and then you said you went to work. What kind of work did you do?

SI: It was an insurance company and I stayed there seven years.

[Interruption]

TI: So we were just talking about, after you graduate from business school, what kind of work did you do? You said an insurance company.

SI: Yes.

TI: And talk about that.

SI: Well, I worked under a lady who was there, and then she quit and so I was able to take over. So I run the office.

TI: Okay. So you were trained in things like accounting, bookkeeping, all that.

SI: Uh-huh.

TI: Okay, so that's going to come in handy later on, so that's good. So how many years did you work at...

SI: I worked there seven years until I got married.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 14>

TI: Okay. So let's talk about that. How did you meet your husband?

SI: I met him at a Spokane Buddhist convention, and then later, I guess he brought somebody to the... five years later, he also brought somebody to the Tacoma convention. That's when, after that, I think he started asking me out and coming to see me, then I married him.

TI: So wait a second. So you first met him at the Spokane convention, and then five years later, Tacoma, Seattle area, you said he brought someone else, so there was another woman that he was there with? When you said he brought someone, who...

SI: He brought me.

TI: Oh, he brought you?

SI: Oh, no. I think some kids, some teenagers who wanted to go to the convention in Tacoma. He brought them because...

TI: Oh, he brought like a group of younger...

SI: A couple of girls that wanted to come. They wanted to go to the convention, and so he had to be chauffeur, he had to act like a...

TI: Chaperone?

SI: Chaperone.

TI: Okay. So during all this time, do you know, was he dating other women?

SI: I really don't know.

TI: How about you? Were you dating other men during this time?

SI: I don't really think so, because Milwaukie there isn't anybody around. I didn't know any Portlanders.

TI: Now when you first met him at the Spokane, was there kind of a flicker of interest between the two of you?

SI: Well, I think when you go to every convention, they have a banquet and dance and stuff. I mean, I think probably I danced with him and things. I had met him. Oh, I think my cousin married a girl in Wapato, and I think he knew that, the cousin knew that I'd lived in Portland. I don't know, somehow...

TI: But you had kind of a mutual friend.

SI: Yeah, yeah, we had friends. So I think they kind of got together and know what's going on.

TI: And then five years later you saw him again.

SI: Yeah.

TI: And I guess in a similar way, you danced together.

SI: Well, he came to see me, and then I thought, well, I think he was five years older than I am. So I guess maybe he got desperate and decided he'd better get married. [Laughs] So he came back and started dating me.

TI: So he would drive all the way to Portland and then take you out on dates?

SI: Yeah.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 15>

TI: So I'm curious, what were your thoughts... because you understood the farming life. You did that with your family in Milwaukie, and now you had spent seven years working in an insurance company, doing business, bookkeeping, things like that. What were your thoughts of marrying a farming, a farmer from the Yakima Valley?

SI: Well, I knew that, I knew what farming was because I was a farmgirl before. But at least I had the business knowledge that I could find work anywhere.

TI: Oh, so you thought that even though Ken was a farmer, you could find a different type of work in Yakima.

SI: We had babies right away, so I couldn't dive in and work, I had to work at home. [Laughs]

TI: So when you... I'm curious, so I think you got married in Portland at the Buddhist temple there, and then you go... before then, had you visited Wapato? Did you visit Ken's family before you were married?

SI: No, I don't think I did.

TI: So when was the first time you met Ken's parents?

SI: I'm trying to remember. Did I ever go back and see him? I might have gone back. I'm not sure whether I took a bus and went to Wapato to meet the folks. I don't know whether I went to meet 'em. I must have. Or they came down to see my parents.

TI: In Portland?

SI: Yeah, you know how they used to always know what kind of family you have, and you have to know what kind of family they are. And the families get together and they decide, I guess it'll work out or something, and they agree that's okay to get married. I remember that's something...

TI: Either that, or they have a baishakunin?

SI: Yeah.

TI: But you and Ken had known each other.

SI: Yeah, so I think the parents came because Ken wanted them to meet them, to make things easier and arrange things.

TI: Okay, so you now go to Wapato after you get married. What are your impressions of the Inaba farm? Because you're coming here for the first time, what does that look like to you?

SI: Well, when I got married, I didn't know about the Inaba farm or anything. There was no Inaba...

TI: Well, so at this point, when you first got married to Ken, where was he living? Did he have his own place then, or was he living with the family?

SI: He was living with his parents.

TI: And so after you got married...

SI: We had to buy a house.

TI: Okay. But the first time, did you stay with the parents until you bought your new house?

SI: I think one day I stayed at the parents', and then we bought the farm, you know. And this is the farm that I'm still here, and we've developed it all this time.

TI: So up to this point, the Inaba family had leased land, they never bought...

SI: They never owned any farm.

TI: So how was it that you and Ken were able to buy property after all these years that the Inaba family had not bought land?

SI: I think we had to borrow money.

TI: Lon mentioned that you actually...

SI: I had ten thousand dollars in my bank account, so that was...

TI: Yeah, you made the down payment.

SI: No, it wasn't a down payment. I know that of that ten thousand, I bought all the one thousand dollars' worth of furniture that goes into a house, like an icebox and the beds and everything. I bought those things, but then I still had nine thousand dollars until slowly, every time I would... one time when we were farming, they needed money. They didn't do well, so I think I gave them three thousand dollars or something.

TI: So the ten thousand was really a valuable cash reserve.

SI: Yeah, it was my cash to make... I didn't give it to him, I kept it so that I could do the dishing out, you know. So that helped us, and I knew that I had some more money left, that I wasn't really that poor. [Laughs]

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 16>

TI: So you and Ken found a place, some land, got a loan, did that, and then with your ten thousand dollars in savings, you helped furnish it and it was just like a cash reserve later on. And then once that happened, it sounds like, as you said, you started having babies right away.

SI: I didn't have to work. [Laughs] I was ready to work if I had to have a job, but I didn't have to.

TI: And so when you first bought this property, was there a house on the land?

SI: Yes, there was a smaller house. We lived in there maybe about ten years, and then we built this house after ten years, because I've had so many kids, and they're getting older. So I had to have a bigger house.

TI: And so what year did you get married, do you remember what year?

SI: '55.

TI: Okay, '55. And yeah, I talked to Lon, and he was born at the end of 1955. So you did have a baby right away.

SI: Yeah. I know, that's why I didn't have to work. [Laughs]

TI: And how many children did you have?

SI: I think I had six, and one died at birth.

TI: And we went through the names with...

SI: Galen is the one that died.

TI: And for Galen, was it at birth?

SI: Yeah, he only lasted three hours, then he died right away.

TI: Oh, that must have been so difficult, I'm sorry.

SI: I think he was born early, six months or something. So he wasn't fully developed.

TI: And so while you were raising the children, your husband Ken was really running the farm.

SI: Yes.

TI: And what were those days like? So how hard did Ken have to work? Because not only his farm, but his father's farm, too, right? Your father-in-law still was farming 80 acres and you had 40 acres here.

SI: Well, I think Ken, he took over the leases, the father didn't do it anymore, because he was getting older. And I don't know what year he died, but he had a stroke and he died.

TI: And so your husband, Ken, was running both farms.

SI: Both the 40 and the 80.

TI: So how hard was that? How much work, like how many hours was he working on the farm?

SI: Gee, I don't know, but I know anytime it was necessary to do something, he was there to do it. He didn't have to do it; he didn't have to work that hard.

TI: During those years, do you ever remember family vacations? Did you guys do any trips or things like that?

SI: The only thing I remember sometimes is we'd go to the beach, Seaside.

TI: Oh, so the Oregon Coast?

SI: Yeah, Oregon Coast, yeah.

TI: Seaside.

SI: Not that often.

TI: Any memories of raising a family, first in the other house, but now this house that, when you think about raising the family here, what comes to mind?

SI: What?

TI: What kind of memories do you have of... like I guess a question is, as your kids were being raised, I know Ken had a lot of siblings. Did other families come visit you here from, like, Seattle?

SI: I'm sure they must have... they had families, too, so they can't always come, and they worked.

TI: But I've talked to some of the Seattle, Lon's cousins. Like Les Inaba, Bruce Inaba, and their stories of visiting the Wapato farm. They would come over, and they said they would spend the night or something, or spend some time here. Do you remember any of that, any of the cousins spending...

SI: I don't know where they stayed. I can't remember where they would have stayed.

TI: Lon was saying that some of them may have slept on the floor here.

SI: [Laughs] Oh. I know the ones, I don't know who they were, but they did stay.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 17>

TI: Now, when you were raising the children, what were some of the values that you thought were really important to make sure your children have? I'm guessing hard work was one of them, they're farm kids after all.

SI: Whatever they can do to help the farm, they did, after school.

TI: Something else that came up with Lon's interview was the importance of education. That I think most of your kids went off and got college degrees, for instance, I mean, that's something that Lon was mentioning.

SI: The only one who, Wayne is the only one that he came home to help us. He only had one more quarter to go or something, but he didn't graduate, because he didn't finish that, and he just said he's going to come and help run the farm, because he knew he was in... what would you call it? He knew the books, anyway.

TI: Like accounting?

SI: Accounting. So we needed that for the business, you know. He would know what to do, so he came and helped. And Lon was in Richland, I'm just trying to remember, where did he work?

TI: So he told me the Battelle research.

SI: Battelle Northwest, yeah. But then after, I don't know what year it was, I don't know whether it was before incorporating, that we told him to come home and help or something, I don't remember when, but he knows.

TI: How did it feel for you to have Lon and Wayne come back to help with the farm?

SI: I think it was good because I think we needed help with... Lon, he would do some of the business, and then Wayne would know all the accounting, so they kind of worked together.

TI: Uh-huh. And then how well did the two of them work with not only you, but... because up to then, you and your husband kind of would run the farm, now you have your two oldest sons involved, too. How did the four of you work together, how well did you work together?

SI: I think we all did our parts. Like Lon would help, I think he learned all this drip irrigation, so he helped the irrigating more. And then Wayne did the accounting and Ken would the farm, so I think they all worked together.

TI: And was there, was Ken kind of in charge, still?

SI: Yeah, we were still in charge, and they were working for us, the corporation. So later on, the four people, all of us became a corporation, I think.

TI: And when it first started, the corporation, like the early 1980s, the farm wasn't that large. Lon was saying maybe two hundred acres, and then the corporation was going to start doing more packing and you put the cooling unit and things like that? That Wayne was going to do more marketing and selling?

SI: Yeah.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 18>

TI: So it started off fairly small. So what do you think is the success? What allowed it to grow so much over the years. Because it kept growing, right?

SI: Yes. Whatever we did, we did something right. [Laughs] I think all the kids did their part, and their ideas were good, whatever they said to do, you know.

TI: Can you remember anything like an idea that you thought was a good idea that helped?

SI: Well, Lon knew quite a bit about putting in certain icing equipment and all that stuff, and how we'd fix a corn packing line, that you have more efficiency by the way he planned everything. I think he knew a little bit more about those things to improve it, how you could do things better, you know.

TI: And then how about Wayne? What were some of the things that he was doing?

SI: Well, he always, as long as he did the marketing and the bookkeeping, planning everything, we were okay.

TI: So he would find people to buy the produce, keep the books and figure that out. And when the boys were doing that, what would Ken be focusing on? What would he be thinking about?

SI: He would be running the farm, you know.

TI: Okay, so the workers and...

SI: Yeah, all the other things, how the farm should be run. Because they didn't know what you have to do on the farm, and they helped whether they can improve anything.

TI: And then what was your role? Because you worked with the three of them, what would you do?

SI: Well, I was working in the office. And anytime they would sell all their stuff, I would do all the paperwork, bill of ladings and invoices, and I paid all the bills and did those things.

TI: Okay. So a lot of the things that you were trained to do...

SI: Yes, it came in handy.

TI: So it actually didn't come in handy. After all those years, you actually did get to work?

SI: It did, uh-huh.

TI: Was it special working with your family, I mean, your sons and your husband? Or was it harder? Because you worked seven years in an insurance company doing that, and now you're working with your family.

SI: I think working together, we did all right. We did our part anyway, whatever we could do.

TI: And how was it for your other siblings? Because it seemed like the four of you kind of ran things. But there were four other children, I mean, what was their involvement?

SI: I think they were still young yet. Norman, he didn't really care too much about the farm, but he did stay with the farm. But he was not that interested in it, but he did what he was supposed to do. I think he did the payroll. I think he did the payroll, that's right, he took care of that. And I don't know whether... I think he knew his Spanish real good, so he could talk to all these workers, and we didn't know.

TI: Oh, good, so Norman got involved. But after some time, I think we were talking earlier, you said your husband died about twenty-five years ago. So this would be kind like the late 1990s or something. Do you remember when he passed away?

SI: See, I'm trying to... all I remember was twenty-four years ago, I'm trying to remember. Was it June? About June 30th, he passed away.

TI: So it's like 1999 or something?

SI: I'd have to go back twenty-five years and find out, subtract it.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 19>

TI: Okay, so to pick it up again, in the late 1990s, your husband died. I think, was it like a heart attack or something like that, heart problems?

SI: I'm trying to think. I think he... he had heart problems, and I don't know whether he was at the hospital when he died.

TI: But was it a fairly sudden thing that happened, or was it kind of a longer...

SI: Well, he had a heart condition before. I don't know when it started, but I remember, I think we were at the hospital, and I think we must have stayed. I remember everybody was there before he died, but I think we took him to the hospital. And then I know Grandma and everybody came to visit him, because we told them, "I think you'd better come, because it's not going to be too long before he goes." So I think they were there.

TI: So this was Ken's mother, she was living in Los Angeles or something?

SI: Yeah, something like that, or Seattle. I don't remember whether she was in L.A. or Seattle.

TI: And so when that happened, that was, must have been very difficult for the family, because he was such a, had headed up the farm for so long.

SI: Would my kids have been at the farm then? I'm sure they were working. So I think because they were there, I think everything was still, they had everything under control.

TI: Yes. So by then, you had formed the corporation, both Lon and Wayne and Norm were working.

SI: I think that's why everything was okay. They knew how to run the farm.

TI: Back when your husband was alive, who was the one who worked most closely with, like, the tribes, to work on getting more leased land and things like that? Was that your husband or was that others, someone else?

SI: Well, I don't think we, around that time, we didn't add more leases to the land because we had enough. Fifteen hundred acres was too much anyway. So I don't think we could have advanced anymore, so I don't think we were worried about it.

TI: Were there any changes to the business? I mean, it sounds like, maybe in particular, your boys took on more responsibility?

SI: Oh, I'm sure they took over. Like the corporations should keep on going. They do their share and they know what's going on, so they knew how to continue, because college students, they'd graduated, so they know what they're doing.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

<Begin Segment 20>

TI: This morning we spent a lot of time walking around, seeing the full operations. It's very impressive, it's a very impressive operation. And I do, I have a degree in chemical engineering. I worked in large corporations, and when you go through and talk with them, or talk to Lon about his, all the things they put in, I was very, very impressed, I really liked that. But I was talking to Lon, that he and Wayne are reaching retirement age, and they, with you, decided that now is the time, or a few years ago was the time to sell the farm. And one of the things that they found out was the interest from the tribe to buy the farm. How do you think about that? How do you feel about the farm being sold to the Yakama Nation tribe?

SI: I think it was the best thing because I think we had about ten leases with them. It's their land anyway, and they own it. So I don't think nobody else would buy it. So I think I told them, go ahead and let them buy it because it's their leases, and I'd like to see them have this farm to be able to have it for their, the extra food and help their tribe a little bit. With the food that they have, you know, like the food bank, to help them. Because I'm sure a lot of them didn't have enough to eat and stuff.

TI: And after the family decided this and they got some publicity, what have people told you about the decision to sell to the tribe? Have your friends or other community members talked to you about selling the farm to the tribe?

SI: No, they never... we decided ourselves, they didn't tell us what to do.

TI: But then after you decided, have people told you that, "We're happy that you did this," they think it's a good idea also?

SI: No, I didn't hear anybody say they were happy that we sold it.

TI: On the other hand, have some people told you, "Oh, that's not a good idea"?

SI: No, they didn't tell me anything. I think they just left it up to us, because we're the ones who had the farm. And we would know what's best.

TI: What do you think Ken would have thought?

SI: I think he would have agreed, because we owed them a lot. Because if it wasn't for them, our corporation never would have been existing. Because of their leases to us, and each time we make money, and we can afford another lease, we always got it, until we didn't need them anymore.

TI: So they've always been helpful and cooperative?

SI: Yeah, and always worked together. And so I think everything was going the right way.

TI: I think it's just an incredible story, I think, in terms of how the tribe helped out in very early years and the willingness to work with the Inabas, and the Inabas to build such an impressive operation. And then to now work with them to...

SI: To help them out, to help this farm go and be good enough for them, to help them survive, help their people, too, with knowledge of raising produce, which they never, all the leased land they have, I don't think there's too much land that that they raise anything for themselves. For this is the time that they've got warehouse and cold room and all the tractors and everything. I think they don't have to go too far to learn.

TI: No, I think it's a wonderful story. And I know it's caught the attention of, really, Japanese Americans throughout the country. I know, I'm in Seattle, when I read about this, I took some kind of pride that the Inaba family was doing this. And I know I've talked to other Japanese Americans who have felt the same thing. That it really felt like the family is doing the right thing. And I just want to let, give you that feedback. That if anyone asks you, you could say that there are members of the Japanese American community that said, oh, this was a really good idea.

SI: That's good. That's the way we thought it's best.

TI: No, I think so. So I'm finished with my questions. Is there anything else that you want to say or I forgot to ask, or anything else that comes to mind in terms of family, the legacy of the family, anything?

SI: All I know is that we did the best we could for them, so not much more.

TI: Good, okay. So thank you so much.

SI: Thank you so much.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2023 Densho. All Rights Reserved.