<Begin Segment 6>
BH: Now when you were living with your parents before you were married, there probably weren't very many Japanese events that you attended.
AK: No, I didn't.
BH: How about when you moved to Gresham?
AK: Well, there was a lot of things that you attend to. In Gresham they had their picnics, they had the G-T Hall where they had their different activities.
BH: That was the Gresham-Troutdale JACL?
AK: JACL.
BH: Yes.
AK: And, of course, they had the church meetings there, too. The ministers used to come, so it was called Ho wa Kai, and every family would take turns being a host. So each family would bring something to eat.
BH: So the Buddhist minister from the Portland church...
AK: Church, uh-huh, Portland Buddhist Church.
BH: ...would go. Okay. When you were growing up, did your parents teach you about Japanese history or culture or talk about that very much?
AK: No, he didn't; no, they didn't.
BH: Do you think that was different for Kaz because he grew up in a Japanese community?
AK: I think it was very different.
BH: What was it like for you to move in with your in-laws?
AK: Well, I don't know, they probably had a hard time getting used to me, because I didn't know Japanese very well. But we got along all right. At the end, the whole family was really a family.
BH: Tell me about the farm that Kaz worked on. What kind of things did the family grow?
AK: Oh, he grew everything, I think. All the berries: strawberry, raspberry, loganberries, and we had raspberries. And, of course, we had things like cabbage and cauliflower and sprouts. I had to learn to do all those things.
BH: What did you learn how to do?
AK: Learned how to pick sprouts or follow the tractor, cutting the broccoli, you know, we would cut it and toss in there. It's a wonder I learned.
BH: It sounds like hard work.
AK: Yeah, but I did it.
BH: Were his family, were his parents working on the farm as well?
AK: Yes, they were. They were all hardworking.
BH: And how long after you were married did you have your first child?
AK: Well, I can't remember if it was... but I lost the first two. And then when I had Jayne, in a way, it was good that we went to camp because I was able to rest there. I remember when we went to Idaho, I had to go on the sleeper because I had to be careful or I'd lose it.
<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.