<Begin Segment 6>

TI: So describe your home. What was your home like in terms of, was it a house, how large was it?

LI: When I was real little, we lived close to the Emmanuel Hospital and the railroad... well, anyway, (the United Pacific Railroad).

TI: So where your father worked.

LI: Right, right. And it was a pretty good sized home, I guess. I have some pictures of myself (outdoors). I don't think we ever took (a picture) on the inside. Oh, I do remember my grandparents and my aunties and my dad and I had a picture taken, and it looked like a pretty good-sized home. I was there for about five years, and then we moved into town because the parents wanted me to go to (elementary) school (...). I guess maybe they didn't have a school close by.

TI: And describe that house in town. What was that like?

LI: It was hotel that was leased. And this was down pretty close to the riverfront, too, and we had a great... well, I shouldn't say family, he was just like a grandpa to me (who was a resident). He was an artist, and he always taught us how to paint. I never was a good painter, but he was fantastic. We have a lot of pictures that he hand-painted, watercolor.

TI: So explain to me again who this person is, the artist.

LI: He was from Germany originally, and he was out in the Midwest. And he came way over to Portland. He was with the (IWW), International Workers of the World, he was in that division, too. He was really like a grandpa to me. He lived in the hotel that I first moved in with my parents, and then from there I used to walk on my own four blocks to Shattuck.

TI: And when you say this is a leased hotel, was it leased by your parents? Were your parents running it?

LI: They never were able to buy it, of course. But I think they were leasing it.

TI: Okay, so they were managing the hotel.

LI: Right, right, uh-huh.

TI: And how big a hotel was this?

LI: Oh, dear. Not that large. There were some hotels right nearby, and I started to go with some of the friends that were... there must have been around... one, two, three, four, five... there must have been about five or six hotels and cleaners and whatnot near there.

TI: And when you think back to the hotel, who were some of the people who stayed at the hotel?

LI: They were all single people, (transients). I don't think there were any married couples that I know of. But it was, like I said, it was near the waterfront. And I guess they were all workers that came to rent the (apartments). And my dad was still working at the railroad, and I remember picking him up by the First National Bank, which is at that time around Fifth or Sixth Avenue. My mother was making the beds and cleaning each of the hotel rooms. That's what I could remember about that.

TI: And the people who stayed at the hotel, were they more transient...

LI: Yes.

TI: Or did you have some long-term tenants also?

LI: Yes, they were (some long-term tenants).

TI: And you said they were mostly, they were single, was it mostly men?

LI: Mostly men. I don't think there were any ladies there.

TI: And what kind of work did the people who stayed at the hotel do?

LI: Oh, my goodness. They were in and out there... I really don't know.

TI: And as part of running a hotel, did you have certain chores that you had to do?

LI: No, not at that time because I was pretty young.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.