<Begin Segment 2>

RP: So your parents originally settled in the Gladstone area.

MH: Yes.

RP: And your dad got involved in farming.

MH: Yes.

RP: Was he able to purchase land through an older sibling or did he rent his land?

MH: No, they were not allowed to own land at that time so they just rented the land. They started in Gladstone but then they moved to Milwakie. And there's a bottom land in Milwakie right across the railroad track from where we lived that most of the Japanese settled and farmed there. And the big crop was celery. Yes, right. But he didn't raise celery. He raised tomatoes and carrots and other vegetables that he took to the market.

RP: We'll get back to a little bit of that. But I wanted you to introduce your siblings to us.

MH: Okay.

RP: First of all, let's start with the oldest first and maybe you could share with us how much older they are than you, or younger.

MH: Okay. My oldest sibling is my brother Ben. He must be... he must be about six to eight years older than I am. And then the next one is my sister Akiko. And she is, I think she's about four years older than I am. The next one is Kazuko, and she is two years older than I am. And then I came next. And then I have a sister Tokuko who is two years younger than I am, and a brother Kay, who is a year, or three years younger than I am. So, the girls are in the middle and the boys are on each end. And I think maybe it's because they wanted another son, which is a big Japanese thing.

RP: And so who did you tend to gravitate towards as far as your brothers and sisters?

MH: Well, since I was stuck in the middle, so to speak, I always wanted to go with my sisters but I was too young to go with them. And so I think I gravitated more towards my older sisters.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.