<Begin Segment 2>

MA: And do you have any other memories of living in Central Point before you moved on with your foster family?

MY: No, I don't have too much. We just lived on the farm, so we didn't have any, I didn't have any contact with the, any Oriental, you know, Japanese families in Medford. That's where they, most, the majority of the Japanese lived. But my father was in touch with them, I think.

MA: What type of work did your father do?

MY: He was a truck farmer like all the other people that came over.

MA: And why did your father send you to live with foster parents, you and your sister?

MY: He just couldn't manage. We had, well, we lost one home because he couldn't pay the rent, evidently. So we had to move into a smaller quarters, and as I understand, it was a reconstructed garage that our family kind of squeezed into. So it was just too crowded, evidently, and he couldn't manage.

MA: And did, were these, was this Issei couple that you lived with, were they family friends? Did you know them?

MY: No, no. I don't know, they were just members of the Japanese community. And I don't know how all that came about.

MA: And did they live pretty close by to your father?

MY: No, they lived, they lived in Medford, we were living in Central Point at that time. But they lived on a farm, too, they were farming.

MA: Were they also doing, like, truck farming?

MY: Uh-huh, yeah.

MA: Can you explain a little bit about truck farming and what that is?

MY: It seems that the Isseis that came over looking for a better life, evidently. And it was the means of survival, actually. They planted all kinds of vegetables, and then they branched out into dairy, trees with fruits, that kind of, anything that would bring some kind of an income to survive. So I think that's the basis for this truck farming that started all over the West Coast.

MA: And where would your, I guess, your foster parents, what were their names, by the way?

MY: Yokotas.

MA: The Yokotas. Where would they sell their produce and their fruit?

MY: I think they took them into the city, to these farmer's market type of places.

MA: And sell it there?

MY: And they, I don't know how the arrangements were, but I don't know if they sold it or whether they just got money for the produce.

MA: And tell me a little bit about the Yokotas. What were they like?

MY: Typical Issei couple. Spoke no English, so fortunately, I learned my Japanese through them. But, and he built an ofuro out on the farm so that we could bathe that way. We had, my sister and I can't get our ideas straight as to whether we had electricity or not. [Laughs] But I do remember an outhouse that we had to go at night. It was, as I remember, it seemed like it was so far from the house, but evidently it wasn't. So it was kind of a reconstructed farm home, I guess. And they had horses and they had cows and chickens and turkeys and anything that would, that you could get food from.

MA: And what were your responsibilities on the farm? Did you and your sister have to work?

MY: Oh, yes, we worked from early morning, milking cows until late at night, after school, we weeded the gardens and took care of all the vegetables. And into the night we would, I remember washing vegetables that would be going to the market the next day. I remember the cold water, how our hands were just freezing. [Laughs] So our day was, started early in the morning and ended up late at night.

MA: Especially because you had to go to school during the day.

MY: Right.

MA: Did you also go to Japanese language school?

MY: No, they didn't have one in... I don't think they did in Medford. But, so Mrs. Yokota was teaching us Japanese writing, so I was thinking back and really appreciated that part. Although we didn't care for it when we were having to do all of this. But yes, that's where I learned my Japanese.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.