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PS: I've had the opportunity to get involved in a lot of things after I started farming. I guess since I grew up on a farm, and that's been my big interest, amongst getting involved and interested in church, I became a member of the Community Methodist Church I think in January 1941. I don't know, we have a list of everything in the church 50th anniversary book. But that was my start in church. I participated in different levels of church down through the years, and Sunday school superintendent trustees, just a lot of, every phase of it. Anyway, it's been an important part of our lives. And I think especially so since my wife's parents are the ones who were instrumental in getting the Community Methodist Church started. My wife's been the Sunday school teacher for a number of years. But anyway, down through the years, it's been a big part of our lives. And I got, since I was kind of active in the church really early, the county started up a mental health clinic. And at that particular time, there was a lot of discussion about the young people need somewhere or somebody to go to for some professional help. And so I got on the mental health board.

And from there I was involved in JACL. Let's see, then I think about 1956 or somewhere in there, the governor of Idaho signed a law that rescinded the Alien Land Law restricting aliens from owning property. I think I was, must have been JACL president at that time. Anyway, I went down to witness that signing, and I was hoping that I could find my picture of that signing. I know it was in the Statesman at that time, but I thought it'd be a picture that would be appropriate in our cultural center here in Ontario. But I never have been able to track one down.

Let's see, then, oh, maybe a little later I served on the local school board for probably twenty years, and my wife started working there at the school as a clerk. Then I got involved in the onion industry on some of the committees. I remember 1970 was a poor price year, so the committee wanted a couple people to go to the markets in New York and Boston to see what was going on. So I went with Phil Batt, who was a big onion man in the area, and went to Hunts Point, the produce market there in New York, and then also up to Boston produce market there. And it was amazing to me to see the warehouse in Boston with no forklifts. Everything was still done by hand trucks. And I guess it was a situation where maybe the unions controlled that kind of handling up there. I thought that was so outdated, those were the times when everybody was trying to get things mechanized.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2004 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.