Densho Digital Archive - Matsue Watanabe Interview (denshovh-wmatsue-01-0016)

<Begin Segment 16>

DG: Now I remember you had said that your family was able to store some things like the sewing machine in the, in the, was it in the Hydes' farm?

MW: Uh-huh. Yes.

DG: Were they able to retrieve all of those items?

MW: Yes, I think we, they got those and I... course, you know, my brother and my older sister took care of all this. So I don't remember all of those details, but they did have them sent out to them. And, so how it came to them, I don't know. But, you know, they all used the sewing machine and things like that. And so that was one of those things that, a sewing machine was a must for a family and my mother always sewed, and she... 'course, my older sisters always took, she made sure that they took lessons learning how to sew. So, they were able to go to Seattle and take lessons and they learned how to sew.

DG: So, those things were sent to you while you were in Manzanar, the things that were stored at the Hydes'?

MW: No, they were sent to them in Chicago, uh-huh.

DG: Oh, in Chicago.

MW: That's why my brother had to bring all those things back. Yeah.

DG: And was the Hyde family still here on Bainbridge Island farming?

MW: Yes, they were still here. They were just an older couple. And Mrs. Hyde was, I think she was officially blind. And, and when I had Dale -- he was born in 1954 -- she made me a baby quilt that was appliqued with animals and it was so precious because I just thought, "She could hardly see and she did this." And so I kept it and so when, when -- I kept it for his baby -- so when Tana was born I had it for her. And, and, but I didn't send it to their home. And what I did was I baby-, we babysat her and she stayed overnight at our place a lot. So I put it up on the wall and so that when she woke up in the morning she would always be talkin' to the animals. So, it was just one of those things that I thought was so precious. 'Cause by that time, I'm sure that by the time Tana was born, the Hydes were gone. And they were such, such special people that I just thought I had to keep this. And then I know that I've, I've had it not so long ago and it went to one of the other kids.