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AI: Well, what are some of the first memories that you have of growing up? What home do you remember first?

KO: Well, I remember that my dad worked in the lumber camp, where a group of Japanese were hired to work in the sawmill. This was down near Chehalis in a town called Gurrier, Washington. I looked for it on the map the other day, and it's, I never, I couldn't find it. But, it's close to Onalaska, Washington, which was in the news recently because they had a little problem with a shooting there among the kids.

AI: I guess there are a lot of those old sawmill towns that don't really exist anymore.

KO: That's correct. And I don't know how they were hired, or whether they were under contract, or whether they ran the mill until the lumber ran out. But, eventually people moved on from there.

AI: So, do you recall anything about what life was like there? Or just some vague memories?

KO: I have some vague memories about living in a house that was, I think there were several families living practically side by side. And I remember some incidents from way back. I can remember in the wintertime the snows were... quite thick. Or heavy, heavy snow, and we used to catch birds by setting up a box, and putting food under the box, and then having a stick with string on it. I remember that, and I don't know why I remember that. And then I can also remember another time where kite flying was a big thing. And gosh, I, at one time I think we must have had miles of string out. And that's one of my memories of my early childhood, in Gurrier particularly. And of course, while we were there, I started school. And it was a one-room school with very few students. And I can remember that it was quite overwhelming to get into a situation where we were away from the Japanese... home life. Community, I guess you would say.

AI: Were there a couple of you? Several of you, Japanese kids along with the...

KO: Right, we did -- there were several.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.