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JN: Okay, so after the war, what did your family do after the war? What was it like coming back to Bainbridge? You came, did, was it just you that brought your parents home?

MN: Uh-huh.

JN: And what was it like with your friends and the people here?

MN: They were real friendly and good, and wanted to help. And then we had a nurse that, a couple houses north of us, she was a wonderful nurse at Winslow Clinic, and we became friends. She helped us a lot, by finding someone that, reliable person to come and help us fix the windows or broken doors or whatever that needed fixing, she used to let us have him come and help us, his name was Mr. Leighman, and the nurse was Sally Altman. And to they were very good about looking after us, she especially was helpful.

And our neighbors were all willing, happy that we came back. That time we came home it was September, and it was, it was dry summer, they said, and on, the strawberries are all wilted. The dirt, the soil was just like sand, just really, oh, it was sad. Everything was wilted, I remember. And we had to start all over again, and I still wonder how did we ever, you know, with Mom and Dad, how did we ever get going, I always wonder. But we did. We had a horse, but I don't know what happened to the horse. I never... so really, I, we had to start all over again. And we had this nice field that we cleared, Grandpa cleared and -- I always call him "Grandpa" but it's my dad. [Laughs] And cleared, and then we had beautiful strawberries. We worked hard on it again, and I sometimes wonder how did we ever get started, get going? But we did. 'Cause I don't think the horse was there when we came home. We had to use cultivator and things like that to get it going. Isn't that something? But we managed. [Laughs]

JN: So was your house empty or did somebody live there while you were gone?

MN: Oh, we had the Filipino living, but they were so busy at the shipyard, Bremerton shipyard, that they didn't have time to clean house. When we came home, our floor was just about an inch of dirt. Just trying to get that out was really work. Oh, I think we almost had to use shovel to get it out, it was just covered with dirt. Because I guess they needed all the help they could get at the shipyard, so they just let the farm go, and then continue on with their work. So we had a rough time, after we got home, getting ready for winter, cleaning and scrubbing, windows were falling apart and things. [Laughs] But this nurse was a very big help for us.

JN: Did you feel, when you got home, aside from the nurse and the nice neighbors you had, that the people on the island felt differently?

MN: Well, I heard there was people that was against us coming home, and I was going to our church in Rollingbay, Presbyterian, and one person told me that even their member, some were against, you know, us coming back. But as a whole, everyone was just so grateful that we were able to come home. Out of that, very few were still against us coming home. And then when I came home, my new neighbor -- the Warrens -- and she and I used to walk to go to church and all. And we went to Alliance church for a while, 'cause that's where they took care of our things. And then when we came home, they brought everything back, and it was in wonderful condition, and so we were able to get started again. But I remember we walked, again. And then after that, we got a car. And Grandpa, my Dad, that is, got his license, and drove, and then I learned how to drive, and so we were able to get around.

But it was hard getting started, farm, but they were so good, Mom and Pop, they just worked hard. And I remember lot of things my folks forgot, and I didn't know much about, you know, 'cause I just had graduated and gone. So I had these young boys that were back on the farm, they came and helped me get started, the Suyematsus, the Chiharas and Sakumas, you know, they all came and helped me, 'cause I didn't know much about it, either. [Laughs] We got it going.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.