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TI: And then you mentioned earlier that after the war started, you saw, some people changed?

YS: Oh, yeah.

TI: So tell me about that. Who are you talking about? What would be an example of that?

YS: Yeah, they just say, "Jap this," and "once a Jap," all that stuff. But you think, some of the people you thought were pretty good, but they're not.

TI: So are these, like, at school?

YS: Yeah, school. They wouldn't tell you in your face. Because most of the Japanese, I thought they were well-liked. Like I say, there's a few of them, there's always a few anyhow, some people.

TI: And how about the relationships between the Japanese and the Filipinos? How was that after the war started?

YS: That wasn't bad. They might have thing, but I didn't hear it.

TI: Because that's kind of interesting, because in other places like in California, boy, there were some really difficult times between the Japanese and Filipinos, where the Japanese would never go into the Filipino areas because they felt threatened. And so I was always curious about Bainbridge Island, because when I found out about Bainbridge Island, it seemed like the communities got along really well, which was not the usual case.

YS: Yeah, yeah.

TI: Why do you think that was, that they got along so well?

YS: I don't know. [Laughs] Because they used to work for us, too, weeding and stuff, and of course, we'd give 'em stuff also. But then, I mean, I don't know if that was, if that was it. They were pretty good, I thought.

TI: Now, so the Filipino community, was it similar to the Japanese where they had, like, the parents and they had children about your age, or what was the age?

YS: No, the Filipinos couldn't have Filipino wives. They married Indians.

TI: Okay, so these were just generally bachelor men.

YS: Yeah, most of 'em were bachelor men. Then some of started marrying the Indians because they couldn't get Filipinos.

TI: Right, and did that happen before the war, did they start marrying the Indians?

YS: Yeah. I mean, they didn't have kids, but they just started to get married, you know, Indians.

TI: Right. Because I know, and then it seemed like it even accelerated more after the war started. But when the Japanese left, the Filipinos took care of a lot of the farms and then more Indians came and then there was more marriages between the two.

YS: Yeah. Filipinos took over some of that. See, we left ours to the hakujin neighbor there.

TI: Yeah, so tell me about that. How did that work out?

YS: Well, see they were too old, so they had to quit. They were a pretty old couple. But they wanted to do it.

TI: So they were former strawberry farmers?

YS: No, they were just neighbors.

TI: Okay. They had never farmed strawberries before?

YS: No.

TI: Because you were taken right before the harvest.

YS: Yeah, see, it was in...

TI: In March?

YS: March 28th was when we left.

TI: So the season was happening in a couple of months.

YS: Yeah, come in May, see.

TI: So the berries were on the vine?

YS: Yeah, probably toward the end of May I think we'd start strawberries. It depends on the year, but then some years it comes a little earlier.

TI: So what kind of arrangement did your family have with this older couple to take care of your house? How did that work out?

YS: They were good neighbors, but they couldn't do it. Getting too old. Then the daughter was there, too, married daughter, but then they couldn't do it either, so they leased it out to the Filipinos, I think.

TI: So they just hired people to...

YS: Yeah, to do the... but like I say, you left everything.

TI: And during this time, when they harvest the berries, did the family get any of that money?

YS: No. They kept all the money.

TI: So that was kind of the arrangement, that they could keep everything, but they were just watching?

YS: Watching. I don't think they ever got any money out of it, I don't know.

TI: Because they just weren't good enough at farming?

YS: Yeah, because that's what we're talking about. Heck, well, we shouldn't do nothing, weed it or do nothing, but they said, "You guys got to take care of it." They said, "You can't just leave it, you got to take care of it just like you would if you're gonna harvest it." But, see, we left 28th of March, and we got down there April 1st, so we were telling 'em, "This is April Fool's." [Laughs]

TI: Oh, you mean to Manzanar, you got there on April 1st?

YS: Yeah.

TI: Before we go to Manzanar, I just wanted to ask about Walt Woodward. Now, did you know who he was when you were growing up?

YS: Yeah.

TI: And so tell me a little bit about Walt Woodward and who he was.

YS: Well, he was thing of the paper, the Bainbridge Review. He used, I think, Paul Ohtaki, he used to do things with him, I think, quite a bit. But he was the one that really stuck up for Japanese. He says, "It isn't right what they're doing."

TI: Yeah, he was one of the few newspaper people, like after December 7th, and even before the Japanese left, he was sort of urging caution, that, "These are our neighbors and we shouldn't jump to conclusions." He said some of those things.

YS: Yeah. He says, "It's not right." Then he said, people said, "Well, I'm going to quit the paper." He said, "I don't care whether you quit the paper or not." He says, "What's right is right," he said, which is right, I guess.

TI: Now, did you ever have opportunities to talk with him or meet with him?

YS: Well, no. We used to see him, but then I never did really talk to him.

TI: Now you mentioned earlier Paul Ohtaki. How did he get to know...

YS: Well, he worked for him, I think.

TI: Oh, so he was already working at the newspaper?

YS: Yeah, I think he kind of was working there. He always refers to Paul Ohtaki. Well, Paul Ohtaki's mother was a teacher, Japanese teacher, I said that.

TI: Were there ever any incidences where the Japanese were threatened or harmed before they left the island?

YS: I don't think there were. I don't remember.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.