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TM: Well, going back to Minneapolis, and going from Minidoka to Minneapolis, do you recall -- I know you were very young at the time -- but do you recall if your parents explained where you were going? Or do you recall that time of actually leaving camp and how you got to Minneapolis?

FP: Yes, we got there by train. And every time I would ride the train, I would get, very young, I get motion sick easily, and I would be throwing up and throwing up and throwing up until I'd finally start spitting up blood. And so Dad was so worried, he would take me out every single (train spot) and then we (...) took the train back to Portland, too. (...)

TM: Well, let's talk about that a little bit after your return back to Portland. But going back to Minneapolis, a rough journey for you in particular. And you said that your family ended up in Minneapolis because your two uncles had found... how did they find, or what were the circumstances of going, "Oh, well, Minneapolis is it, let's go to Minneapolis."

FP: Right, because the West Coast, and especially Portland was closed down (to the Japanese Americans) for our returning. So we went the opposite way when it was open. And we stayed there, let's see, from... there were three years that I can remember because I did kindergarten, first grade, and second grade.

TM: And where did you live in Minneapolis?

FP: We lived near a place called Loring Park, and that was a wonderful, wonderful park, and it would freeze over in the winter. And there's pictures of me bundled up like a little bear. And I do look like a little bear, because I had this fur cap on, and it was all in brown. So I looked like this little overstuffed bear on the ice, on these really inexpensive blades, you know, skating. So that was wonderful. And I had friends my age.

TM: Who were your friends?

FP: Oh, okay, I have one favorite lady who looked me up afterwards and did write me a letter and I wrote her back, but then after that we lost track. Her name was Dolly Kennick, who was same age as me. And that was the manager's daughter.

TM: Can you tell me about her family and what manager? Was it an apartment house that you lived in?

FP: Yes, yes, right. And it was an apartment with the bathroom down the hall from, and the water for cooking and everything. You know, it was, it was very primitive, because they had to carry water to our temporary kitchen to wash dishes and everything like that. It was quite primitive. But then, you don't complain, you know, we just, we bore with it, right.

TM: Who was living, how many rooms in the apartment were there that you were living in, and who was living with you? Was it just your brother and you and Mom and Dad and grandma, or uncles?

FP: Right, right. And the uncles had apartments in, probably on the (same) floor with us, but this was a building that had either two or three stories, right. And probably took up, it didn't take up a whole block, maybe a half a block to a third of a block, right.

TM: And who ran the hotel?

FP: Mrs. Kennick.

TM: Can you tell us a little bit about her?

FP: Mrs. Kennick was this wonderful, warm-hearted woman, and we're fortunate that my two uncles found her, because she was not prejudiced at all, when every other person we ran into was prejudiced. And she kind of took us under her wing, and so that was extremely helpful, very supportive lady, yeah, very nice.

TM: Did she have a husband?

FP: Yes, she was separated. He was an alcoholic, and I think his name was Patrick, but he was a, right, hardcore alcoholic. And there were stories that she would say that she got beaten and abused by her husband.

TM: Who were your neighbors in this apartment building besides family?

FP: Oh, that I don't remember.

TM: You mentioned there was, there were not very friendly people. Was there discrimination, do you recall incidents?

FP: Let's see. Well, we just kind of kept to ourselves, so we didn't really make that many friends. We did know Mrs. Kennick and we were close to her, and I was close to her daughter, right. And what we did in Minidoka, probably the next question is, "What did you do?" in, not Minidoka, Minneapolis. Winter we would go ice skating for sure at Loring Park, and Todd, you said that you had been to Loring Park and you knew where it was. And then in the spring and summer, Mom would entertain us. We'd get on a bus or the trolley, whatever it was, and travel all around the city for a whole day. And that, to us, was entertainment. I don't remember going to movies or having TV, but we looked forward to that.

TM: Was it a cold and hot place as well?

FP: Yes, yes, it was. Summers were scorching hot and blistery hot, and you were just perspiring all the time. And winter, of course, was opposite, to know that there was Loring Park, that's completely frozen ice, which is not the case in Portland. I only know of (in Portland) once or twice when the water at the golf course froze over and we could go and skate on it.

TM: Do you remember other Japanese American families in Minneapolis, or playmates?

FP: Yes, my uncle. My uncle and his aunt, the Mizuhatas, the one that used to own the grocery store, okay. They were with us. And I think they were down the hall, but we would celebrate holidays with them and support each other.

TM: So you'd celebrate New Year's?

FP: [Speaking to someone off camera] Hi, Betty Jean.

TM: And you would celebrate New Year's, and what holidays were you celebrating?

FP: Well, you know what? The Japanese celebrate, many Japanese families celebrate Christmas, it's a big deal, and Thanksgiving. So we were Americanized in that sense.

TM: So you...

FP: And we had a Christmas tree, yeah, right.

TM: A big Thanksgiving dinner as well?

FP: Yes, probably.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.