My fiancé, Kaoru Umeki, had relocated to Salt Lake City a year before and found it necessary to hold down two jobs to build a “nest“ for the two of us. Mama-san wanted a halfway decent wedding for me, so I remember traveling to Salt Lake City to buy several kinds of Japanese delicacies and a three-tiered wedding cake for the guests who were to be invited to the mess hall. Friends decorated it with crêpe paper and we were able to make a gala occasion out of an otherwise drab existence.
We spent our honeymoon and following weeks in a hotel while I went job hunting and apartment hunting. Many people in Salt Lake City had not had any previous contact with Issei or Nisei. Therefore, they hesitated to rent, and also, employers did not want to take a chance on hiring us for the same reason. I pounded the pavement for weeks and finally by sheer luck, found a job with a group of young businessmen who were desperate because their secretary was unexpectedly leaving for the East with her soldier husband. Shortly after, we found a one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchenette–no sink or running water–but we were so glad to settle in this big house owned by a kindly German family that we did not mind sharing some of the facilities. Our employers and the owner of our apartment were happy to have their first contact with Issei, and instead of finding it painful, they were pleasantly surprised. We were conscientious and we kept our apartments spic and span.