Densho Digital Archive - Kay Endo Interview (denshovh-ekay-01-0013)

<Begin Segment 13>

RP: So who was the first in your family to leave Minidoka?

KE: Well, we left as a group. We went for seasonal work to Ontario, Oregon. And I can't remember the year '42, '43, it must have been '44. Yeah, and then Massie and Kazzie stayed in Ontario with my uncle. Then my mom and my oldest sister... oh, Ben left first, he went to work at Anderson ranch. We left just on a seasonal leave for six months to Ontario. And then my youngest sister, well, she's the next sister and myself and my mom came back to Minidoka. So I went in the sixth grade, for three months I went to grade school in Ontario. (Narr. note: Kazzie Endo Hara. Anderson Ranch Dam, near Mt. Home, Idaho, at one time it was the largest earth built dam. Many Nikkei worked at Anderson.)

RP: What was that like?

KE: It was fine, they said there was some prejudice but we never, as young kids just like being buddies, played with them so I didn't feel any prejudice. And of course Ontario was a large Japanese community within the Treasure Valley itself.

RP: Where did you live in the Ontario area?

KE: Ontario we first stayed in a motel and we were guests of the Saito family and they were good family friends. They were originally from Carver and their dad was from the same area in Japan as my mother. But before they moved to Ontario in 1934 they used to get together quite a bit 'cause my mom was a good sake maker. [Laughs]

RP: Oh, I see.

KE: And so the older Japanese, they didn't necessarily drink during the off hours but -- I mean during the working hours --but when they did drink they really drank. If you go to Japan that's the older Japanese, I don't know about the younger ones, but the older ones they may not touch anything for a week but when they do, that's it. The glass is never empty.

RP: So you got a taste of farm work while you were in Ontario?

KE: Well, I didn't... I was a lazy guy. [Laughs] I got to run around with Mr. Saito all over.

RP: Did Mr. Saito, was he kind of the crew people that he took people to various farms?

KE: No, no, he had his own farm. They moved back in 1934 and so they had a... they must have had about forty, fifty acres right there.

RP: What were they growing?

KE: Everything, potatoes, lettuce, sugar -- of course sugar beets was at that time was a prime crop. Onions, and then their sons later on moved to various other farms. And then they became big farmers.

RP: So you went around with Mr. Saito?

KE: Yeah.

RP: Anything else that... as far as memories of Ontario at all?

KE: Oh, not much we got to go to the movie theater once a week. And other than that, just being school kids.

RP: Then you returned to Minidoka for a while?

KE: Yeah, we returned and then in May of '45 the Watanabe family called us back and we come back to Milwaukie and then we were able to stay with the Koida family, they had a house there on their property. We stayed there for a couple years 'til we moved to where we're at now.

RP: And the Watanabe family helped locate housing and work with the --

KE: Yes.

RP: And you mentioned the greenhouse that the Koidas had?

KE: Yeah.

RP: So were you working at that point too?

KE: No, just in the summer went to pick berries. I wasn't a very good worker. [Laughs]

RP: Did you eat more berries than you picked?

KE: Oh, no, at berry picking I was alright but as far as the greenhouse part, no.

RP: So what prompted you to become involved with the pilgrimage, the Minidoka pilgrimage?

KE: Oh, you know, in 2003, you know, you interviewed Dick Sakurai, his son, (Soren Sakurai), worked at the legacy center and they said they wanted a busload to go back to the pilgrimage and it was a very poor turnout. They only had eighteen, and Yoji Matsushima said he'd like to go so I was his partner and we went in a big bus and eighteen of us went back. And that was the first experience and then I missed the next year and then I've gone to everyone except this year. So I've been to about five pilgrimage, five or six, I can't remember. And then it evolved into the symposium at College of Southern Idaho and so we got to hear over the years some excellent speakers. And if you need some names I could tell you, like Eric Muller from North Carolina and Greg Robinson, (Roger) Daniels, David Adler, of course, Bob Sims from Boise State, Judge Windmill, then there was Judge Gillespie, one year there was an Indian, I think his name was, I can't remember his name, oh, it was Raymond (Cross) and then was Joe McNeil was one the original sit-in in North Carolina. So we had outstanding people like that coming in and this for in little quote, "hick town," the Twin Falls, they could attract such outstanding speakers to come in. And it was really a pleasure. If anybody has the opportunity they should go there and very seldom that you get that many good speakers in one forum. Oh, I forgot to say Tom Ikeda from Densho, Roger Shimomura, the noted painter, and people like that.