<Begin Segment 8>

JS: Okay, Betty, so we're going to continue with the interview. And I wanted to ask you to describe some of the festivities that happened in Isleton. And you told us a little bit about the Obon festival. Can you describe that and what that was like?

BK: All I know is we marched into town with our hats, gold hats, and different kind of kimono. But service-wise, I don't know what it was all about.

JS: So you marched from the Buddhist church into town?

BK: Uh-huh.

JS: And how many people would participate?

BK: Oh, gee, the whole Japantown, we were all Buddhists, so, yeah, there was quite a bit. So like even Obon time, they shut down the whole street for us.

JS: And then you would have Bon Odori?

BK: Uh-huh.

JS: In the streets? And do you remember some of the dances? Would you practice the dances before?

BK: Oh, gosh, I've been a Christian for so long. [Laughs] And I used to take my kids, but when they got older, they said, "You know, we're not Buddhist. Why are we doing this?" 'Cause it is a religious thing, it's not a cultural thing.

JS: So everyone in Isleton, so there was the Buddhist church, but there wasn't a Christian church in town, was there?

BK: My girlfriend next door, the Washizus, they were Christians, and I don't know what church they went to. I don't think it was all Japanese, 'cause there weren't that many Japanese Christians.

JS: So what do you remember about the Chinatown side? Did you ever go there?

BK: Yeah, when I was younger, I was scared because if you walked down Main Street, the first two houses on both side of the street was a gambling den, and then the men would be sitting outside and try to grab you. And so we used to walk in the middle of the street. And then when you go from the back, then the Wongs had this, their chickens and ducks and stuff in the back. And then, so we had to pass that. And then when you see a man come with a butcher knife, I mean, he's not gonna hurt us, but he's going in there to kill the chickens. And that scared me the most.

JS: Would your parents warn you about going on Chinatown side or did they say anything?

BK: My mother had a real good friend that was Chinese. And then, because she was in the rooming business, she spoke English, enough English that she can communicate with other nationalities.

JS: So her friend was Chinese. Did she run another business there, her friend?

BK: Yeah, she had a, like a little snack shop.

JS: And then for you, going to the Oriental School, were you friends with the Chinese students?

BK: The Chinese students, yeah. And Filipinos and Mexicans.

JS: So at, like, lunchtime, everybody interacted? Or did you...

BK: No. We still... yeah.

JS: So you still were with the Japanese and spoke Japanese.

BK: Yeah. And I think, you know, I think as I grew older and, like, I was a stay at home mom. So I was very active in the PTAs, and every time I went to any conference or anything, I told the lady there, I said, "How come you guys just stick together and not, why aren't you mingling with other people? And they said they don't have anything in common. I said, "Education is the main thing, our kids, that's why we belong to the PTA." But to this day, you notice that they kind of... oh, even like we go to our senior luncheon on Wednesday, and it was very, very cliquish. 'Cause when I started it, I said maybe once a month, everybody sit where they want to sit. But no, they have to stay with their little group. So when new people come and they're by themselves, they quit coming.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright (c) 2009 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.