<Begin Segment 7>

DG: Well, let's pick up where we just were... on rebuilding your life after you got back to Bainbridge, and your house was still standing, but you still had to make a living and raise your children. What, what happened from when you came back?

FH: Came back and they worked on the farm again. But after two years, the farm was full of weeds, and they didn't think the good... see, strawberries you can't harvest in one year, so they decided to farm. We rented a place out in Burlington and the men-folks started a farm there. But they either gave too much fertilizer or different kind of plant... it was a failure. So they quit farming and, of course, they were getting older, too. And they were doing odd jobs on the island, like my brother going gardening, or I went housework for a while. On Saturdays, Saturdays, I mean, during the day, because my sister was living with me, so I went house-working. And finally, and my husband got a job at Boeing, and he commuted to Seattle for one year, but we decided we'll move to Seattle before our children get too old. They were still going to grade school, and so we found a house. Couldn't afford a good house, but we found... and it wasn't, the house wasn't what I really wanted, but my dream was a brick home, but we didn't have the money. And he said, "Well, afterwards, maybe we'll find a better home." I wanted the children to have their own bedroom. So we bought an old house that had three bedrooms, attic that we converted to a bedroom. At least we had the three bedrooms, so we bought that house and still there. He worked at Boeing. He worked at Boeing for twenty years, and soon afterwards he got prostate cancer and he was suffering. Anyway, I lost him. I also lost my baby that was born in Manzanar with cancer.

So here I am. I still have Neal, my son, and daughter, who is really good to me. I'm already ninety-six year old and still kicking, and I have to keep living and enjoy my life. I have good relatives and friends; it cheers me up. My grandchildren, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren which I'm proud of and help me very much. My nieces' families, nephew, they're all good to me. And I'm the oldest of the group, and I enjoy my life. Life must go on, I'm doing my best.

DG: Yes, we all cherish you.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.