<Begin Segment 13>

TI: You mentioned earlier how, I guess, your brother, one of your brother's went to Chicago, and then the twins followed?

KI: Yes.

TI: And so talk about that. Why did you think it was better for the twins to go with your brother to Chicago and not stay in camp?

KI: I don't know. They wanted to go where my older brothers were, I'm sure. 'Cause I was already married then, they weren't. You know, they were single girls, so they just followed them, the brothers.

TI: Did they ever ask you, or ask you like an older sister, for advice about sort of -- again, so they don't have a mother right now, so did you ever give them advice about growing up? About dating or boys or anything?

KI: No, they never asked me anything. Of course, there's two to talk between each other, so I don't know.

TI: Yeah, that's true, because they can always ask each other and try to figure things out. Tell me a little bit about the twins in terms of... even though they're identical in the way they looked, how about personality? Were they different in personality?

KI: I'm sure there is a little difference. But you know, for strangers, they wouldn't know which one, what name belonged to which girl, you know, because they think they look so much alike.

TI: And how could you tell them apart? Could you just look at them and tell them apart?

KI: Yeah.

TI: And if you, if they're both in the room and you closed your eyes, could you tell who was talking between the two?

KI: I never tested myself on that. [Laughs]

TI: But were they, were there differences in how they talked or what they would say that you could tell the difference between the two of them?

KI: I don't know. I remember shaking one of the twins 'cause they weren't minding me, and then her head hit the window, you know, and they were surprised that I lost my temper. [Laughs] But I don't remember anything, no. We got along pretty good.

TI: Okay. Any other memories about Jerome? Before we go to Chicago, I wanted to ask, anything else about Jerome that you remember?

KI: Well, I remember they had dances, you know, but I was married, so I didn't go to those dances. But other people got to enjoy themselves, going to dances.

TI: So did you sort of feel like, a little left out because other young women your age were out there dancing, going to parties, and you had to be at home with...

KI: No, I didn't mind. No, I didn't mind. I've never gone to see the people dancing, so I always stayed home.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.