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JS: So what about your... Dale had mentioned the Ozawa family, that they were good family friends?

KI: Well, yeah, they were good family friends because our backyard, there was a fence. We made it a gate, so, you know, she didn't have any children, and she would say, "Oyatsu aru kara kinasai," you know, "There's some kind of refreshment at my house, will you come? I'll give you some refreshments." So I became friends with that lady, 'cause she didn't have any children. And so I would go and weed her garden, because she doesn't do a very good job of taking care of the yard, so I would do that. And I didn't expect pay, but I just did that to help her. And then she would have a stack of dishes in her sink and I'd wash all the dishes and clean it up, and help her that way. So she was looking after me. And then there was a family, Murotani, which I used to go and visit and play with that family. And my, Mrs. Ozawa said, "That's bad influence," you know, "they're too fast girls." She didn't want me to go over there anymore.

JS: So you listened to her.

KI: Sure, I listened to her, because she was like a mom to me.

JS: She was like a mom to you. And so you, what about your brothers? Did they have a relationship with Mrs...

KI: Ozawa?

JS: ...Ozawa, too?

KI: Yes, because my oldest brother, the Ozawas had a home drugstore. So they hired my oldest brother to work behind the counter to sell drug and help them out, Ozawas. So that's how my three brothers became a pharmacist, because being, selling drugs, my oldest brother selling drugs, well, they figured they might as well... they didn't want to be a farmer, so they said, "I think we'll become druggists." So they went to school in Berkeley to become a drug, you know, professional druggist.

JS: So all three brothers did that? Wow. So they, did they remain, did your family remain close to the Ozawas?

KI: Yes. Well, with no mom, I was lonely, so I would go and help her do whatever she needs to have done. So she would treat me like a daughter.

JS: That's nice.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.