Alma Sumiko Miike (nee Kawano)'s interview was born in Vernon, BC in the Okanagan Valley on November 30th, 1926. She grew up in Coldstream Ranch which is five miles from Vernon, BC where her father worked at an apple orchard. Her father was born in Hiroshima, Japan and in 1896, he emigrated to Hawaii where he worked in sawmills before migrating to Canada in 1900. Her father worked in various jobs including the Canadian Pacific Railway. Her mother, also from Hiroshima also emigrated to Canada as a picture bride and her parents got married in Victoria, BC.
She talks about the Japanese farming community in Vernon including their communal building as well as celebrations. Sumiko remembered learning about the bombing of Pearl Harbour and how her classmates did not treat her any differently after that. She talks about the meals that her family frequently ate including sukiyaki.
During WWII, Sumiko's family were allowed to stay in Vernon. However, her brother who was working away from Vernon were not allowed to relocate to Vernon for the duration of the war. Instead, he was sent to road camp. Sumiko's sister who was living in Salt Spring Island, BC was removed to a sugar beet farm in Alberta and eventually relocated to Montreal, QB. After that, Sumiko left Vernon and join her sister in Montreal where she worked for the air service for a few years before relocating to Toronto when she got married. In Toronto, she worked for the department of air regulations, where they investigate aircraft accidents. Years later, she would work for the city of Etobicoke.