Name/Title
The Reutlinger Community - Michie Takashima - A Lone ElkDescription
Born in Loomis, California in 1917, Michie spent her childhood working on her family's fruit farm, where she and her six siblings helped to harvest peaches, pears, plums, and cherries.
After high school she enrolled in business classes at Placer Jr. College and later pursued her creative interests through classes and lessons in flower arranging, tea ceremony ritual, and dress pattern drafting.
As a Japanese American, Michie and her family were interned during the war at Tule Lake in Northern California, where she worked for the hospital's chief medical officer. After the war, she worked for the U.S. Maritime Commission in San Francisco. Michie married in 1948 and she and her husband moved to Oakland and raised their two daughters. A skillful seamstress, Michie made their clothes throughout their childhood and used the remnants for making outfits for their dolls.
Michie attributes her long life to always having taken care of herself. "I ate well and cooked for myself and never drank or smoked."
She first started painting at Reutlinger and is surprised by what she has created. Michie gets her ideas from magazines and periodicals and then recombines them into her own compositions. "I am deeply satisfied with the results," she says. "It brightens my whole life!"
