<Begin Segment 13>

JK: Are there any lessons that you learned in life that you would want your future generations of Ikatas to remember or strive for? From the experiences you've had growing up and doing the war experience...

SI: I don't recall too many fun experiences. We struggled; we struggled for a long time.

JK: So you would encourage them to just work hard?

SI: Uh-huh.

JK: And would you continue your mother's expectations to study hard?

SI: Uh-huh. You know our oldest daughter? She was always ambitious; we had three children. And when she was in the third grade, like on Saturdays, she would get up and vacuum the living room floor, it's big. And then my mother-in-law would sit on the sofa right smack in the middle, and she'd tell her, "You missed a spot over there," you know. I would get so disgusted with her. Here Pat's trying so hard to clean the house, and she's sitting there in the middle of it. She should be out of the room. But Pat never talked back to her. And she says, "You know, I'm gonna go to college for sure. If I have to pick berries or whatever, I'm gonna go to college." So she did, she went out, they went out to pick berries for different people, and she saved her money. And she had the first year's tuition, she had earned.

JK: On her own?

SI: Uh-huh.

JK: So she had dreams from her experiences.

SI: Uh-huh. And to this day, she's a hustler. If she wants something, she's lost her husband now, but it's no problem. She owns five houses.

JK: She had to really work hard to get where you were. Is there any advice you would give to future generations about life?

SI: Well, I think the couple should get along together, first of all, in order to work together. And the wife can't say that, "This is my money and that's your money."

JK: But you had a good relationship with your husband.

SI: Yes, we did; I loved my husband. He was really good to me.

JK: What would your kids say about you two?

SI: Hmm?

JK: What would your children say about you two? If you could imagine, what would they remember?

SI: It wouldn't be anything bad.

JK: They would remember the good things that you both may have done in life? Well, thank you for sharing today. You have really wonderful experiences to share.

SI: Well, it gives me a chance to recall.

JK: So it gives you good memories, too. Thank you.

SI: Well, I thank you.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.