Mary Setsuko Katsuno (nee Ishii) was born in Victoria, BC on March 12, 1928. She talks about her parents' background and immigration history. They moved to Vancouver, BC and family owned and ran a store with employees but it went bankrupt during the Great Depression. She talks about her father trying to pay back debts in Vancouver. Mary talks about their lives there including going to a Christian church. She talks about facing discrimination at school and having to leave the cadets after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. During WWII, her family was interned in Slocan, BC. She talks about life in the camp including sports, being uncomfortable with bathhouses because she was not used to it. After the war, she relocated to Toronto where she worked as a domestic help. She talks about having to quit teacher's college to get a job and figuring out the welfare system during and after the war. Mary talks about her mother's love of writing and correspondence, translating her mother's writing, and Nipponia Home residents. She reads her mother's documents about Nipponia Home, why and how the seniors' home was started, appeals to the Japanese Canadian community to start the home and help the elderly.
Clip from Japanese Canadian Experience Conference: https://vimeo.com/338322344