<Begin Segment 4>

JK: Did you have any other responsibilities, too, when you were growing up, besides keeping the fires going?

AO: No, not much. There wasn't much to do. I remember my father saying that... he had a car, of course, and he used to drive us around. And when I became fifteen, close to sixteen, he said, "Well, pretty soon you're going to be driving, but you have to know a lot more about cars than putting in gas and water." So I said, "Like what?" And silence. [Laughs] He didn't say anything else after that. I got to learn how to drive after I turned sixteen.

JK: Did he teach you?

AO: No, he was already interned. I didn't turn sixteen until after the war started. I was fifteen in December of '41. So the war started before I turned sixteen.

JK: Before you could learn from Dad, okay. Thinking of your family life, what was mealtime like? Did your dad come home for dinner?

AO: Well, I think most of the time probably so, but I just can't remember, not clearly, whether he did or not.

JK: Were there any special meals you remember that your mom used to cook?

AO: Oh, only at special occasions like New Year's and so forth, they would have very fine banquet type dinners. Other than that, not routine. Routinely we had rice every evening, of course.

JK: But any favorite dish that your mom made that you enjoyed eating?

AO: Nothing special, no.

JK: Okay. Did your family do activities together for outings or for fun?

AO: Well, these picnics, these undoukais, they called them. They were the Japanese community picnics, and that's about the main outing that we participated in. There was always, of course, church, Nichiren church gatherings that we went to as a family.

JK: Okay, well, think about the picnic. What do you remember about the picnics that you attended?

AO: Mostly it was a chance to get to see, meet and see other friends from the other areas. We used to have races, running races and three-legged races, things of that nature.

JK: And what kind of food did they have at the picnics?

AO: Oh, bento food just like in the boxes that you brought over and showed us today.

JK: And how about Nichiren? What kind of activities do you remember at church taking place?

AO: Well, the main activity that I remember is going to play tennis before church on Sundays. We used to go to Benson High School, which is on the east side, and they had tennis, outdoor tennis courts there. And that's where I met my wife when we were still young kids. And we used to play tennis there and then go to church and sit through Sunday school at church. I can't remember much about Sunday school because most of the teachings were in Japanese. And my understanding and speaking of Japanese was pretty limited, because I didn't learn that much out in Montavilla Japanese school.

JK: Did they have any special holidays that they celebrated?

AO: Oh, yes, they did, regularly, but I don't know what they were, though.

JK: Did they try to include American holidays in your celebrations?

AO: I don't know. I can't remember. Oh, in our family, you mean?

JK: Well, we'll get back to your family, but at church. I was thinking of church.

AO: Church I can't remember, no.

JK: Okay, well, let's get to your family.

AO: The family, yes, we all celebrated the regular American holidays just like everybody else did, Thanksgiving and Christmas and so forth.

JK: Okay. Your school. Probably Montavilla would be your grade school, right?

AO: (Vestal) Grade School.

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