<Begin Segment 7>

FK: So, when you got out of the service, where did you return to?

ZS: Yeah, I came back to Bainbridge. At that time I guess everything was all settled there. I didn't see any sign of any damage or stolen goods or anything like that that. But then... course, I wasn't there when all that happened.

FK: Did you hear about some people having things stolen or damaged?

ZS: Oh yes. In fact, the Haruis, I remember my cousin Norio said he, he kind of missed his trumpet. When he come back it was gone, he says.

FK: So after coming back to the island, what did you do after that?

ZS: Well, I helped my dad take care of his apartment. We used to commute every day to Seattle and take care of everything.

FK: Now, Masaru was my age, so we used to have a lot of fun as kids. But was it different to have siblings that were so much younger than you?

ZS: Not really.

FK: Were you so busy? [Laughs]

ZS: No, I don't recall any problem there. We had good times. I think my sisters were taking care of Masaru and Jimmy, 'cause, you know, my mother wasn't too well. She was kind of an invalid. So it was up to the rest of the family to take care of the younger kids.

FK: Now, I remember, didn't your grandmother live with you after your grandfather passed away, or something?

ZS: Yeah. She, she was in Moses Lake during that time and came back to Bainbridge when it was over. I recall when we got the order to leave Bainbridge, my grandmother, she sure didn't want to go. In fact, she went to the trouble of buying a sleeping bag so she could stay somehow or other. But then finally we talked her into going to Moses Lake.

FK: Now, did your father, the Browns Point property, did he end up leasing the land or did he end up buying it?

ZS: I think he was buying it. 'Cause later on, this Koba family came over and started to farm in our farm, too, and I think eventually we sold the property to them.

FK: Now, in your years working with your dad's property and all that, anything memorable happen as far as during that time?

ZS: [Laughs] I can't think of anything special.

FK: So when your, when your... I remember your dad used to have this old car that he must have had for years, and he would walk around with holes in his clothes and sweatshirt and all that, and probably no one ever knew that he had all these property holdings. Tell me, tell me about that.

ZS: Well, he was that way. He'd wear an old hat, that fedora or whatever you want to call it. Stetson? Stetson. But it was all beat up and dirty so we, family got together and bought him a new one, but he never did wear it. [Laughs] He's that way, I guess.

FK: Now, your father really loved to take pictures, if I remember.

ZS: Uh-huh. He's... later on when we used to go travel a lot he used to take movies, took a lot of movies.

FK: We're doing this memorial on the island. What are your feelings about that?

ZS: Yeah, I think it's nice. It's good for everybody. I think most people don't know what happened, but this will wake 'em up and find out what happened to Bainbridge people and I think that was kind of a nice way to do it.

FK: What do you think is important for us to say at that memorial, to the other people? Are there any things that you would like to get across?

ZS: Well, not any more than what everybody else said. It's a nice way to make everybody aware of what happened. 'Cause I'm sure that a lotta people don't know what happened, actually.

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