<Begin Segment 8>

PW: So now you're a newly married wife, and looking after a father-in-law and four, four young -- not young -- but four girls, so you had a lot of, a ready-made family.

SK: Yeah, ready-made family, and never cooked before, so I, lots of people ask me, "Oh, they came from Tashme. You should know." No, I don't know anything. I was just, went shopping and cook, washing, that was a whole day for me, and in between, I used to, wooden stove, so we have to cut the... they gave us some wood, but we have to chop it. So I chopped it. Water have to take into the, outside to inside, you had to have really handful, or I don't know what to say, but I had a, I haven't got any neighbors. I just say, "Hello," "good morning," or, "good afternoon, or, "good evening," that's all. I never talked to them. [Laughs]

PW: So it was fairly, the living conditions were fairly primitive in terms of...

SK: Oh, yes.

PW: ...of doing anything.

SK: We can't complain, you know. Yeah, right now, yeah, everybody will say something, but you, living is very up, up now, isn't it? But those days, I don't think we could complain anything.

PW: So how did you get your food and things like that? What system?

SK: We had a store, Mr. Oiye was the head of the store, and we used to get almost everything. Of course, it's limited, how many to a, we used to have a coupon in the family, so we were a big family, so even sugar or butter, rice, flour, eggs, banana, and those things was all limited.

PW: So they had a meat market and fish market there, too, is that right?

SK: Oh yes, uh-huh. You could buy fish and meat, what, according to the family's size.

PW: Did you have to get all your food by coupons, or did you have to pay money for it?

SK: Yes. Coupon, but yeah, you have to pay money.

PW: Oh, I see.

SK: When you work at Tashme mountain or, most people get forty-five dollar or something, month, so father-in-law was working, too, and Miyoko was working.

PW: So then therefore, the male members of the family used to get paid by working in the, the sawmills or lumber camps. Or in the stores for the females. So they got paid and you bought coupons with that, or how did that work?

SK: Coupon is the family size, one for the one, you know.

PW: Oh, yes.

SK: One coupon each.

PW: Tell me about some of the social activities in Tashme.

SK: Tashme? Tashme, yes, I met nighttime, we used to carry our own sugar, own tea, and cup and saucer to take -- [laughs] -- and the meat. The Onos family, Kakinos family, and from Woodfibre, that's the Unos family and the Aokis and the Fukumotos. Mrs. Fukumoto taught me how to cook; most my cooking is from her, and she always... I think my brother was contact with her, and how I'm doing. She said, "She's very healthy now." [Laughs]

PW: And what did you do for entertainment?

SK: Entertainment was, we had the Japanese movie with Mr. Tsuyuki, and they formed TYO, Tashme Youth Organization or something like that. And Bob was the president or something, and they had concert, and Bob, Bob Ito was there, so we had a very nice entertainment. [Laughs] Those young girls are here, too, all Kawada, they're married to a Shimada, they used to be a Hawaiian dancer or something like that. But the men itself was the younger ones there, they used to play. I don't know who made up those play. Oh yes, and we had baseball, too.

PW: Now, Tashme also had a large Boy Scout group.

SK: Yes. Mr. Yoshika passed away other day, but...

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2005 Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and Densho. All Rights Reserved.