<Begin Segment 11>

JK: After the war, were you still in Salt Lake or did you go back and join your mom?

MO: No, I came home directly from Salt Lake.

JK: So you were like a, you had just finished your senior year?

MO: Uh-huh.

JK: And how did you get back to Portland from Salt Lake?

MO: Bus. I think a bus ride. It was all bus.

JK: And when you came back, what was your first impression of --

MO: The hotel was available for me. My brother had made it so that I would, to expect me, so the family portion of that hotel that was left for us is available. Then my sister joined me shortly after that, but my mother was left behind for some reason, I don't know.

JK: Okay, so it took your mom longer to get back.

MO: Uh-huh, yes.

JK: And when you came back to Portland, how did you reestablish yourself? What decisions did you make about the next step in your life?

MO: Well, I wanted to continue going to school, so I chose... I chose one school and I think my brother chose not to go to that school. So I don't know how I ended up at Linfield College. That was not my first choice, but it was his choice. So I went there anyway for two years. I liked it, but I decided it was too expensive, and he did, too.

JK: Okay. What were you planning on majoring in in college?

MO: That's a good question. I don't know. I didn't want to be a teacher, I know. It was just a general, just to say I graduated, I guess.

JK: Okay, so after two years of Linfield, then what did you do?

MO: I went to University of Oregon. Went to a cheaper school. [Laughs]

JK: And did you have any major there that you focused on?

MO: No, it was general.

JK: And when you finished college, what did you decide to do next?

MO: I got married.

JK: Okay, to Uncle Albert, of course. And then you started a family.

MO: Uh-huh.

JK: And he was going to medical school, right?

MO: Uh-huh.

JK: Okay, and did children come shortly after?

MO: Not too sure. I don't think we could have afforded it.

JK: Okay, and you had three boys. And how was it different, how do you think their life was different than your life? What things did you want them to have that you didn't have?

MO: You know, I can't say I didn't have anything that I didn't want. I thought that was, I think being evacuated and being shipped to the other places was a good investment for us.

JK: In what way? How did that make you...

MO: There are other people besides Portland people that's living, and the people are different in different areas. I thought the people in Salt Lake were so friendly, so hospitable, and I just love it. It just turned me into a soft person.

JK: Okay, so it helped change you and made you into a better person, and so you wanted to pass this on to your boys, the opportunity to see and meet other people, other points of view. And is there anything else that you would have as your legacy for your boys or grandchildren on your life experiences?

MO: Uh-uh, I don't think so.

JK: Okay.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.