Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Rae Takekawa Interview
Narrator: Rae Takekawa
Interviewer: Alice Ito
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Date: May 8, 1998
Densho ID: denshovh-trae-01-0029

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AI: Well, now as time went on, and you were progressing through high school, it sounds like you did have some friends.

RT: Oh, yes. Yes, uh-huh.

AI: And at that time of going through high school age, that's a time when a lot of kids want to fit in, want to be part of what everyone else is doing.

RT: Yes, of course.

AI: But that must have been hard because the war was still going on.

RT: Oh, yes.

AI: What was that like for you?

RT: Well, thank goodness there were some classmates who were very kind. Maybe they were just being themselves and they, they got over, I think, the shock of having -- after all, we were a new experience for them, and they were very accepting, and we got along quite well. And my brothers turned out for sports, and in those days, of course, girls didn't have sports, but they had the sports and they would stay after school.

Now, we moved from Blatters' to a farm which was about 7 miles west of Chinook. And that meant that we had to get our own transportation, so my brother would drive a pickup, and the three of us would ride in this pickup to school. And it meant that I would have to wait for them while they turned out for the sports because they decided that they wanted to try out for teams. And what I did was walk down from the high school -- and this is when I would walk through town, you see -- and pick up things for, like, taking out to the farm. Then I'd go to the library, and I would wait for them at the public library. So I spent a lot of time at the public library, and it was okay. I liked to read, and the librarian, Mrs. O'Brian, was very nice, and I could spend my waiting time there and it worked out just fine. But we would make that haul into school and back out to the farm.

<End Segment 29> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.