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HH: This is the 23rd of October. We are recording this session today in Medford Leas, New Jersey. What is your full name?

WM: My full name is William, and if you want the Japanese name, it's Masaharu Marutani.

HH: And the name of your spouse?

WM: Victoria Sadako Takagi.

HH: And then how many siblings do you have?

WM: I have three siblings other than myself. Two brothers and a girl, sister.

HH: And at this point, do you have any grandchildren?

WM: Oh, yes, we have five.

HH: Oh, I should ask you, how many children do you have?

WM: Eight. Eight children.

HH: Okay, and five grandchildren.

WM: Five grandchildren.

HH: By any chance do you have any great grandchildren?

WM: No, not yet.

HH: Where were you born and what is your present age?

WM: I was born in Kent, Washington, and my present age is seventy-one.

HH: And your parents' names?

WM: My parents' name is George Marutani, Goroko in Japanese. My mother's name was Haruno Marutani Oda, was her maiden name. They're both from Hiroshima, by the way.

HH: I see. You said that you were born in the town of Kent?

WM: Kent, Washington, outside of Seattle.

HH: What kind of town or village was that?

WM: Farming community, and when I was in that town, it was known as the lettuce capital of the world.

HH: I see. So it was an agricultural community. And what kind of schools did you attend there?

WM: I attended elementary up through junior high school in Kent. It's a small town of around five thousand, and it's probably still the same, five thousand.

HH: Have you visited?

WM: Oh, yes, a number of times I've visited Kent.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 1994 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.