<Begin Segment 4>

RP: Can you describe the farm to us, where you grew up?

SK: Yeah, I kind of remember the whole farm. I remember, like I said, there was two homes, there was a big barn, there was an outhouse, there was a detached, I'm going to say farmworker's home away from ours. I don't remember if it was that far away. I don't think it was, it may have been maybe four or five hundred yards away, but where we kept our horses and things for the plowing the fields and things. And then I remember there used to be a water tank over there, and then I remember there used to be a ditch that the kitchen water ran, because there was no pipes, and there was no septic system at that time. So whatever water came out of the kitchen faucet went into a ditch. And I remember the outhouse, too, that was a two-holer. I remember Dad had to dynamite that thing to get, dig it deep enough. Because out in the Florin area it was all hard hat. So it took a long time... that was one thing I do remember. Oh, then it had the Japanese furo, yeah, which was away from the home, too, you had to walk to it to get to the back.

RP: How far?

SK: See, I don't remember exactly how far. I don't think it was too far.

RP: Was it an enclosed bathhouse?

SK: Yes, it was enclosed, it had a big tub, and it had a place where they put the wood and stoke up the fire.

RP: And water had to be brought to the tub, or was there a pipe leading there?

SK: God, I don't remember that. I think the water had to be brought in, but I'm not sure. I remember the water used to be always hot, though. And then one of the -- oh, yes, one of the customs was that before you went into the tub, you washed yourself off. Yeah, that is the Japanese customs, okay, there is one.

RP: And how often would you, would the family bathe? Every night?

SK: Yeah, it was just about every night, I remember that.

RP: And did you bathe with some of your other siblings or by yourself? What was the custom?

SK: No, I think when we went in there, I think it was with my mother or my father. Because we were kind of too small to go in that thing by ourselves. It was a pretty big tub, I remember that. And it had, the water was, like I said, real hot. And then it had a wood, floating wood grill that when you stepped on it, it went down so that you weren't on the hot metal. So yeah, they wouldn't let us in there by ourselves.

RP: How did that feel?

SK: It was hot. [Laughs] I remember that. When you came out of there, you felt like a lobster. So we were pretty used to taking real warm baths.

RP: Where did the water for the farm come from? Was it a spring or a well?

SK: No, I think it came from a spring, because like I said, there was a water tank that was away from the house, and it was made out of wood and the top of it was open, I remember that. It was on a tower, and that's, like I said, was near the farmworkers' home there.

RP: Did you have resident farmworkers who helped year-round?

SK: No, not resident. They only came during the harvest time or during the pruning time, I think. Yeah, because the grapes that had to be pruned during the certain time of the season, I think they came in during that time, and then they came in during the harvesting of the grapes. And I think they also came picking the strawberries, too, because I think there was about four or five acres. And I think, I'm pretty sure it was too much for just the family to do.

RP: Do you remember what groups would be hired to do that seasonal work?

SK: Yes, it was mostly Filipinos. At that time it was Filipino workers. Where they came from, I don't know.

RP: And was your family responsible for feeding them?

SK: Not feeding 'em. I'm not sure if they had to furnish the food or not, but they did their own cooking and everything. My parents didn't have to cook for 'em, because they had their own, like I said, their own home or cabin or whatever you want to call it. And they had all the facilities there.

RP: Now, you mentioned that your grandparents and your dad owned the 90-acre farm, and maybe you're aware of this, that Isseis were prevented from owning land in California, there were laws that were passed prohibiting them from doing that. How... what was the farm arranged in terms of ownership to get around that?

SK: You know, I don't know if, how they got around it as far as the ownership goes. I don't know if the farm was in my father's name or how they got around that law, because I didn't know anything about a law like that. And I'm pretty sure that they did own the farm, but I don't know what they did to legally own it.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright &copy; 2011 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.