<Begin Segment 5>

AI: Well, could you say a little about what your home and the town looked like, of Raymond? About what years were those that you were living in Raymond? Were you in high school at that point, or before high school?

KO: Well, it was the, I went through part of grade school, and junior high and high school there.

AI: What did the town look like at that time?

KO: Well, it doesn't look much different today. It's just a small town, and -- lumbering town -- and...

AI: Any major landmarks?

KO: Well, I'm sure there must have been, but to me, it was just another small seaport town. And, had a, I think Raymond itself has a very interesting history as far as lumbering and fishing goes. In fact, there's a Pacific County Historical Society which is trying to keep some of these things alive, and collecting all the different stories from different people to keep the history of the, that area alive for... history, I guess.

AI: Right. Well, and then, let's see, you were saying that in some of these places, you were the only Japanese family around. Then, that was the case in Raymond, too?

KO: That's correct. Although there were a few people, Japanese people, living in these outlying cities, we were the only one in Raymond itself. And I think, now that I look back at it I guess, being the fact that we were the only ones, it's kind of amazing that we got along as well as we did. And I have only pleasant memories of Raymond, and how nice the people were. And I've got to say that everywhere we went, the teachers were always kind.

AI: So, you never had any problems with being singled out, or experiencing prejudice like some people did?

KO: No, I'm sure... well, it could be that since we were aware of the differences that we tried to stay out of the situations that might create a problem. Now, I don't know if that's the fact or not, but there's probably some truth in that. But on the whole, I can't feel that we ran into any bad situations.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.