<Begin Segment 22>

DG: And you were the oldest in your family, so can you tell me what responsibilities you had on the farm?

KN: Lots of responsibilities, yes. In fact, after I graduated, I wanted to go to business school, and my parents said, "Well, we need some help on the farm, because they were hiring help in those days, even though the pay wasn't that great to hire somebody. They didn't have all that kind of money to pay out. So after graduation, I helped on the farm for four years, then the war broke out. See, I was eighteen when I graduated, four years on the farm, I was twenty-two.

DG: And what responsibilities did you have in terms of your younger brothers and sisters, or what sort of chores did you have to do?

KN: Oh, we all had chores, you know, bring in the wood, chop kindling, pile the wood, and then we worked on the farm a lot, so yeah, we had all kinds of chores. And I've never regretted that, because I'm not afraid to work. Just, I could do anything.

DG: And did you, since you were the oldest and you had a, your youngest sister, did you have responsibilities for child care as well?

KN: Yes, I was ten when my baby sister was born, who is a nurse now. I hated to come home from school because Mom would have all her diapers soaking in the washtub outside in the cold water. And that was my chore: wash her diapers. So I kid her about that -- at ten years old, mind you. Well, you do whatever you have to do, right? And so now that she's a nurse, I remind her, "It's your turn now. If something happens to me, you have to look after me." [Laughs] I kid her about it.

DG: Wow. Any other memories from growing up? Even from when you were a youngster...

KN: No, we used to have lots of fun, lots of fights.

DG: So you had a good life?

KN: No regrets. Everything always works out, doesn't it? We worked hard, but it was okay. It was something we had to do, so we just did it.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.