“Ba-chan's Story”

Recreation — We created our own fun by playing hide and go seek, skipping (holding
both ends of the rope to do French, Dutch and Peppers), played marbles with bonkers,
singing and making rhyming words. Knitting was popular among the girls and the boys
made neat things from the birch bark (mini boats, books, picture frames for photos and
broaches). They enjoyed woodcarving to pass their leisure time.
On Halloween night, we played tricks. Once we were scolded for triggering the alarm
system, pretending it was a real fire. After the rounds of trick or treat, we made a huge bon fire
at the playground. We stayed up until the wee hours in the morning and had wonderful times.
Community Caring — Our friends, including my two sisters Meiko and Juneko were
playing in the woods, picking flowers and berries. We were totally involved in our own
discoveries and when we decided to go home before it became too dark, we suddenly realized
that Fusako was not around us. We searched and called her name but there was no
answer. Although, our panics were not subsided we managed to go back and inform her
family. Immediately, her family and friends gathered to search for our missing friend. She was
found safely at the near by Chinese town. (Apparently she had gone the opposite direction.)
How relieved we all felt! The concern and caring for others in this community was so great!
At the Lake — Some hot summer days we walked quite a distance to Comox Lake,
carrying our bento (lunch). It was apparent that our parents expected us to stay outdoors
for most of the day. At the lake we learned how to swim, dive and summersault under the
water. We also took swimming lessons at Royston Beach. Although Comox Lake water
was more refreshing, we enjoyed the outings with friends more at Royston Beach especially,
the “Black Jack” chewing gum we bought as treats.
Awareness of Nature — Today, I still enjoy and appreciate the perception of nature and
its beauty and what I explored outdoors as a child.
Winter — What great fun to be sleighing with groups of friends, sliding downhill near
our house. We used corrugated paper box and often created our own recreational activities
with whatever materials that were available to us.
Fads — We walked a mile to a downtown Cumberland store in order to purchase a waxed
make-believe dark red shaped lips, just to show that we were grown ups with bright lipstick on.
Nakauchi Family — We were good friends, visiting one another quite frequently.
They had a mini orchard and one tree which stood out was the wase a pu ru. This early
ripe red apple had a crunchy sound as you bit into it and made anyone's mouth watery.
Anpi-san’s Tofu — Mr. Anpi lived alone in a house. He made and sold tasty tofu and
tempura age (deep fried bean curd). Quite often, I had an errand to go and buy his
prepared food. The aroma in the air was good enough to pause and inhale while Mr. Anpi
toiled at his task. He was also an expert guide into the woods to pick matsutake (mushrooms).
My brothers, Toke and Kun-chan with their peers were Anpi-san’s companions.
I still remember, once they got lost in the woods and came home very late.
Community Resources — There were Bing cherries, purple plums and a variety of apples
growing within the community and we shared these delicious fruits with other families.
16 Recollection of My Past