<Begin Segment 4>

LT: Okay. When you think about your father, what, how would you describe him? What kind of a personality did he have?

SI: Well, he was pretty versatile. When they built the community hall at Dee, there was a lot of carpentry work and things. He was doing a lot volunteer work, that and then I remember one time he went to the neighbor and helped him build a house. Meantime, all the Japanese Isseis, they liked to drink sake, so they were, all the families used to take the rice and make the sake, which is, some of 'em really liked that stuff, so they, I think all the families used to make sake.

LT: Do you know about how they made it?

SI: No, I don't know too much about it, but they used, to start, they used yeast of some kind to let it ferment. And then the rice, I think they cooked the rice. I don't remember how they do it. But all the family used to make their own every year. And when it comes to New Year, that's when they want to celebrate by drinking. [Laughs]

LT: Oh, okay. Well, it's nice to have rewards. So you talked about your father. What was your mother like? What was her personality?

SI: Well, she was always saying, we used to go to grade school, then after the grade school, we had to go to Japanese school. Then if still daylight left, get out and go to work. [Laughs] They want you to work.

LT: So was your mother the one who was telling you to do that?

SI: Well, they all said we had to. So we were kept busy 'til it got dark.

LT: Yeah, in fact, I want to ask you about that. You talked about your... anything else you could say about your mother's personality?

SI: Oh, I don't know. She was practical in doing things, you know. I can't remember.

LT: Okay, that's okay. When you think about your mother and your father as a couple, how would you describe their relationship? What were they like together?

SI: Well, you know, Japanese families, they never showed much affection like the Caucasians do. So they don't outwardly show too much of that. But then, they must have get along.

LT: Okay. What told you that they got along? Were there some examples you can share of your mom and dad getting along?

SI: Well, even Dad worked outside most of the time, but when it comes to cooking, he'd help. Yeah, that was... there was always something to do around that farm.

LT: Yeah. So in the kitchen, when your father helped, what was that like? What did he do?

SI: First we never had running water. Those days they had those hand pumps. There was a well underneath the house, and they just hand pumped the water, so that was the running water. And we used to have a well that you can get water from. Then all the Japanese families used to have what they called a furo, is a bath, bath made. They used to take a board and make a square box, this deep, maybe, and then they'd get a galvanized sheet of tin like a flat sheet. Not like a roofing, but flat sheet, and they just nailed it all up from the bottom, then they built a little box underneath that and make your hot water that way. That's the way they made their hot water on the bath. There was a lot of occasions that bathhouse caught fire. [Laughs]

LT: Oh, I can imagine. So that was a task that your father did for the family?

SI: Yeah, he built it outside of the house, some of 'em were separate, but some of 'em they just built right next to the house. But that was a problem, the bathhouse was, if it's outside, you got to go outside between the house. So Father eventually built right next to the house, so you didn't have to go outside too long.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.