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KN: And then let's talk about moving to the Fairview farm. Do you know about what year that was?

EK: Let's see, I started school in 1925, and so it was about two years before.

KN: And I think you had mentioned that your sister, Marie, was born on that farm?

EK: Uh-huh.

KN: Did any of your siblings have, go to the hospital to be born?

EK: No, we all had midwives, but the last one, Aki, I think, had a doctor, and he was born at home, too.

KN: Do you remember when you moved from the farm to, the farm in Gresham on Powell to the farm in Fairview? Do you remember packing up your belongings and moving?

EK: No, I don't remember. I was only five, I guess. I don't remember.

KN: What do you remember of your childhood at the farm on Fairview?

EK: Well, I just had a nice life, fought with the boys. [Laughs]

KN: What did you like to do in your spare time?

EK: You mean at home? Well, I remember my mother, during the summer, she was intent on teaching me Japanese. And I studied Japanese during the summer, and then she'd always want to review what we had at school, and so I had to read to her. Of course, she didn't understand. But anyway, that's the way I spent the summer vacation. And then the teacher that I had the first year was real understanding, and she knew I didn't understand English, so she was very kind to me.

KN: What school did you go to?

EK: Fairview grade school. It was a four-room, when I started, it was a four-room wooden building, and it had a big furnace that burned sawdust. And we had a janitor that took care of that, and he kept it warm during the night so that it would be warm when we were there in the morning. And we had to walk to school. We didn't have a bus until I was in the third grade.

KN: And what were those walks like? Were they far?

EK: The what?

KN: Was it a far walk to go to school?

EK: Yeah, it was almost a mile. And then we walked in the rain and snow, my dad didn't have time to take us. So sometimes if it rained too hard, he'd be at school to pick us up. But I remember I had boots, but my clothes were wet, my boots were soaking. The teacher was real kind, and she let me sit by the furnace. [Laughs]

KN: What do you remember about your classmates? Were there very many Japanese students in the class?

EK: No, I remember I was the only Japanese there at that time. But I did make a few friends.

KN: And how were, do you remember in grade school experiencing any prejudice at that point?

EK: No, I don't.

KN: How, what was your life like in the community of Fairview? Who were your neighbors?

EK: Well, there was a neighbor, one neighbor was, they had a nursery. I don't know if you remember Frank Schmidt was my friend, I used walk to school. They had this big nursery farm in Gresham, and I used to walk with him to school. And I don't know, but we had a lard pail, and we carried our lunch in that, and Frank and I used to walk to school.

KN: What did you pack in your lunch pail?

EK: Well, she usually made peanut butter sandwich and fruit and cookie.

KN: No Japanese food?

EK: No Japanese food.

KN: Who... living on the farm, what were your duties that you had to do?

EK: Well, I had to look after my siblings. [Laughs] Every time I came home from school, Mom was right there, and I had to look after them.

KN: Did you help with the cleaning and the cooking?

EK: Uh-huh.

KN: Do you remember your mother teaching you Japanese customs?

EK: Uh-huh.

KN: Do you remember anything in particular you'd like to share that she taught you?

EK: Well, the one thing she taught us was you have to say, "Itadakimasu," when you start eating, and then teach us how to use a chopstick.

KN: What was eating like at the home? Did you eat very much American food?

EK: No, we usually had miso soup and tofu and rice. Once in a while she'd make sushi. You would have loved Grandma. It's too bad you didn't know them.

KN: I know. Can you tell me, I forgot to ask you, but can you tell me where in Fairview the farm was?

EK: It's over there near Blue Lake Park. Now there's a Gresham sewer plant, part of where we were renting, I can't remember what years. We bought a piece of land on the corner, on the south side of the sewer plant, there was an acre and a half there. And they had to expand, and they couldn't go north because there was a railroad track, and they wanted my piece so bad, they really gave us a good price on it. And so we sold it, and I moved to Summer Place.

KN: And that was all after the war?

EK: Yeah, we had a real good price. It was the end of the year, and we didn't have to pay taxes. They took care of everything, even, they helped us move. This Globe moving van came and took everything and repacked it.

KN: And do you remember the street names of where the farm was?

EK: Well, it was on Sandy Boulevard.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.