<Begin Segment 3>

KB: Can you tell me what you remember about your father? What was his personality like, can you describe your father? What do you remember?

SO: He was fairly short, and he was quiet. My mother was the one that was outgoing, and she was taller than him.

KB: Did you spend time doing things with your dad?

SO: Yeah, he took me to Portland Beaver baseball games when I was a youngster.

KB: And where was that?

SO: At the Vaughn Street baseball stadium.

KB: Was it just you and your dad, or did your brothers and sister go, too?

SO: My brothers and I went, usually.

KB: So you have good memories of that?

SO: My third oldest brother. The first brother was gone. He was sent back to Japan at six years old to study in Japan.

KB: Who did he live with when he went there?

SO: He lived with his grandpa and grandma.

KB: On Dad's side or Mom's side?

SO: I don't know which side they were relatives from.

KB: Did you ever meet those grandparents?

SO: No, I have never met them.

KB: So your brother is sent to Japan. Do you remember if, was it by himself? Did someone travel with him if he was six?

SO: I think he went with some families that were going to go back to Japan.

KB: Did he ever come back to America?

SO: No, he didn't come back to America. I never met him until I was sixty-five years old.

KB: And how did that happen?

SO: I went back to Japan to actually see him.

KB: And how was that meeting?

SO: It was really great. He was really... he was really happy to see me, because he had never seen me, the youngest child.

KB: Did you stay in touch with him during all of those years with letters or phone calls?

SO: No, my parents did, but I didn't.

KB: And what prompted you at sixty-five to go see your brother?

SO: Well, I belong to the Lions Club, and they were, we had an exchange with both the Sapporo and the Shimonoseki Lions Club, and I took time out to visit him.

KB: And that was a good experience for both of you?

SO: Yes.

KB: You're happy you did that? So you've said a little bit about your father, can you describe your mother?

SO: My mother was... she's an outgoing person. She's very loving and caring.

KB: Do you remember doing things with your mom like you talked about your dad?

SO: No, I think we just went on picnics and a few other things she'd make.

KB: Family picnics?

SO: Family picnics.

KB: Did you go with other families, or just your family?

SO: Yes, we went with other families, yes.

KB: And how would you describe your relationship between your mother and father?

SO: Well, I'm not too sure.

KB: Did they make decisions together, were they affectionate with each other?

SO: They weren't that affectionate, because I don't think the Japanese people were that affectionate.

KB: And do you know if they made decisions together, family decisions? Was your father head of house?

SO: Yeah, he was the head of the household. He made decisions.

KB: And you talked about living in this boxcar on Twelfth and Hoyt, and then you moved to the Beaver Apartments, and that was on Northwest Marshall and Twelfth, is that correct?

SO: Yes.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.