<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.