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JN: Can we start off by you introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about your family?

TE: Well, let's see. I'm Tomi Egashira, formally Hayashida, and we lived in Island Center. My father was Ichiro, my mother was Nobuko, and she was born on the island, too. She was a Nishinaka. I was the firstborn, Hisa was next, then Yasuko, and Hiro, and Susan. I think her given name is Toyoko. When she started school she wanted to be called Margaret, but that was too hard for her to spell so she chose Susan next.

JN: What did your, what did your family do in 1942 and what... were all of your siblings in school or... what was life like before?

TE: My father farmed with his brothers, two brothers, and strawberries, mostly. But sometimes they did rhubarb, did rhubarb in the winter. It was a hothouse, rhubarb operation, but just one building right near the house. Then, I think I was in second grade and my sister Hisa was in kindergarten, and the rest were adult.

JN: What was life like on Bainbridge before the war?

TE: Well, I really don't know. 'Cause we were just more or less stuck on the family farm. 'Cause the only cars we had were trucks and they all went to the field. My mother didn't drive. We didn't have a car at home so we just sort of played with each other.

JN: You played games and...

TE: Well, tried to play, not really games, I don't think. Just run around and ride our tricycle.

JN: Did you work on the farm at an early age?

TE: No. I wasn't allowed out in the field. I really didn't work on the farm at all. When I was older, after we came back, I usually stayed home and I did the laundry and cooked, had dinner ready for them when they came home. My other brothers... my sisters and my brother, they used -- and my cousins, when they came to help pick berries -- they, when they came home for dinner, they were usually very hungry. So I usually had dinner ready for them. Let me see. All I did was just go to school, I guess.

JN: What was school like?

TE: Oh, for me it was a little hard. I was a little slow in reading. So, but then I sort of caught up afterwards. Right at the beginning I was, it was rather difficult for me. I used to have to catch the bus at the bottom of the hill of Fletcher Bay and High School Road, what it was called now. But we used to call it Blodin's corner then. Oh, and then Yukawas used to live right across the street from us. They, oh, and Toshiko, their daughter, she used to walk me down the hill. But I was usually late so she was kind of anxious, yelling at me to hurry up. [Laughs] So we, so I was usually running down the hill. But then after, but then I used to, we had to walk back up the hill. Well, I used to take my time coming back up the hill, which was, in kindergarten used to come back by myself because it was only half days. Then I used to take my time, look over the creek, into the creek, leaning over... there used to be a log barrier along the road before it was sort of filled in, so the grade wasn't so steep. I used to watch, look for the fish, the trout that were coming up, or the salmon. Then I used to walk slowly up the hill. It was shady there, but as you go up, further up the hill it was hot. I used to kick the rocks as I was goin' up the hill. I don't know. Take my time anyway.

JN: Did you speak Japanese at home? And did that have any part in you having a hard time in school?

TE: No, I don't think we spoke Japanese. Well, my father spoke Japanese to me, but my mother never did. Because I used to go with my father to these other Japanese families' homes, I think to help get me out of the house so I wouldn't be underfoot with the rest of the kids. So I really knew more of the older Japanese than their children. 'Cause I think they were in school when my father used to go visit them anyway. But they all sort of knew me better than the rest of the kids.

JN: Do you remember the early childhood stories... did they have any relevance when you were going to school?

TE: No, they didn't tell, tell us any stories. My father just went to the field and he came back and after dinner he laid down and took a nap. And then sort of went and did other things around the house. Then they went to bed.

JN: Did you have a lot of classmates... where, where was school?

TE: Oh, I went to Pleasant Beach which is the Serenity House right now. That was, I went there from kindergarten and first and second grade. There were two classes in each room, except for the kindergarten. So one teacher taught first and second grade.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.