My name is Maryanne Belcher, neé Hamaguchi. I was born in Steveston, in the Fisherman’s Hospital (which is no longer there) in 1933. I’m Japanese Canadian.

Some biographical facts about me? Well, I used to be terribly shy. When I was in Steveston, though, where I grew up, I was a brat! When my Aunt Kate came to visit my mother, after my mother had just had a baby—one of my brothers or sisters, I can’t remember who—but Aunt Kate looked after us. And she said I was a brat! She called me a “little terror”! ‘Cause I used to run around all over Steveston, around where I lived. And Aunt Kate couldn’t find me sometimes, so, she was upset! But then when I went to Greenwood, there were so many children that I encountered, that I became shy.

I think I’m not so shy anymore. And I’ve kept some of my friends a long time. When I was in Steveston, I went to kindergarten with the Sisters. And Jane Nimi was there. We were three or four years old! Now, we’re both 88. And she and I still talk to each other. We’re still friends!