<Begin Segment 4>

TI: You said it's hard to really put words to describe your father and mother, they were both outstanding. Is there like a story or example, thinking about your father, that maybe he did in the community or at work that would kind of show how people respected him?

KO: Yeah. My father, in his position as a foreman, as a person who would tell other people what and how to do things, he was never an authoritarian, where he'd say, "Do this, or..." he would tell the guys and get the work done, but he'd say, he was very diplomatic. He was direct, but he was never bossy about it. And he did command a lot of respect. He was quiet, but quiet's not the right word either because he reserved his words and spoke when he really meant to get the message across. He was not a yacker, but he spoke when he needed to speak, and when he spoke he spoke in a manner that got work done. I know as a boy, a child, I was never yelled at. A lot of Nisei kids I know say, "Gosh, my old man just called me names," and do this and that. I have never had that kind of experience.

TI: And how about outside the work and family life for your father? Was he involved in any other, like, community activities?

KO: Right. He was, in fact, one of the things that he wanted us, his kids, to do, was also to balance family and community. Be connected with your community and get out there and do things. That was very important. And because he was one of the early arrivals to the Portland community before 1905, I don't really know how large the Portland community was. But I think the Portland Buddhist Church was established in 1910 or so. I'm not sure of that, but someplace around there. My father was one of the founding members of the church.

TI: And did he play, besides helping to establish the Buddhist church, once it was up, did he play a role at the church?

KO: I don't know what it is, but I know he, there was a setup, the organization of the church, had a collection... I don't know how you say that, but to collect funds or to raise funds or to maintain funds for the church, there were some committee people who went and visited families in the community. And almost collected the monthly dues from them, but I know he did that quite regularly.

TI: So it's almost like a, it sounds a little bit like a social service agency run by the church where they would collect, in some ways, donations to help out those families that were in need? Is that the kind of thing...

KO: I don't know if the money was used in that fashion, but it was mostly to maintain the church itself.

TI: Okay, to maintain the church itself.

KO: Paid for the minister, for the priest, maintain the building.

TI: How about because your father could speak English, was he ever placed in a role to represent the community in non-Japanese situations?

KO: I don't know how much... I don't think there was much going on in that fashion, but I don't think he did that.

TI: Okay. I was just thinking, and this is before your time, but even when the Buddhist church decided to buy the property or things like that, just these business transactions, because your father spoke English. I was wondering if he was brought in to help with those kind of matters.

KO: I'm not aware of that.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.