<Begin Segment 4>

PS: So on December 7th, that was a Sunday, I remember that very well because we got out of church there, we had a community building that the parents had put up, oh, four or five years previously. Let's see, 1936, put up a multipurpose building over by the airport, and that would give us a place where all the Japanese around here could gather. Young guys could play basketball and baseball, had church there, and picnics. So it was a real good thing that the Isseis did. They wanted to have a place where the kids could gather, and a place to play. Things that, for playing basketball wasn't always available to people at that time. And so took a great effort to put that whole building together. Had a full sized basketball court, and meeting rooms, kitchen facilities. It was really quite a building that the Isseis had put up, gathering place for the people in this area. They'd come over from, family up in Cascade, Idaho, Nampa, Caldwell, Boise, all came over there to have a, well, even like a Japanese celebration called Kenchosetsu, they were able to gather there for that.

But anyway, I was there at the church on December 7th, and went over, after church, went over to neighbor's there, Asato family, and they just had brand new big consul Philco radio, so proud of that, I wanted everybody to see that. And so we were over there, and that's when I first learned about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. That really changed things in the Ontario area. Of course, I guess I really didn't experience a whole lot of difference since I went to high school here in Ontario and I was already through high school. I really didn't run into much discrimination, but I think our parents had some problems. I think, like my dad, he spoke enough English, he learned enough English down through the years that he was able to get acquainted with these, some of the businesspeople in Ontario, so he got along pretty well. Let's see, the car dealership, Cable Chevrolet, we were able to get along with them real well. Of course, Cable Chevrolet, the owner, Lee Cable, I guess, somewhere back years earlier, had a tough time, too, in life. And so he followed the harvests and he knew some of the Japanese up in the Yakima area. But anyway, he was able to get ahold of that Chevrolet dealership in Ontario. Of course, there was a Troxel family that owned a John Deere dealership then. That's where we bought our first tractor, and my dad was able to communicate with most folks pretty well. And, of course, also, the gentleman who had the Feed & Seed here in Ontario, he was a mayor... can't put a name to him. But he was a fine old fellow, he got along with everybody. So anyway, I think as the war went on, why then things... there was signs like "No Japs Allowed" and some of the restaurants wouldn't serve. And I guess I really don't remember having that kind of a problem. Of course, I had a barber that I went to, had a dentist that I went to when I was in school. And I guess there must have been fifty families in this whole area maybe, I don't know, maybe my wife has a better number on that.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2004 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.