<Begin Segment 9>
LH: So, if I could bring you up a little later into your education... I was wondering how the particular ethnic groups got along in your high school. Now, did everybody, did it matter to anybody else about ethnic background when you were in high school?
FH: No, I don't remember, I don't -- we, everybody, lot of Japanese were class officer and everything else, they were mixed.
LH: It sounds like -- from what you told me before -- that you were even a class officer at one point. Can you tell me how that happened?
FH: What? What happened?
LH: That you were, you got elected to a school office at one time.
FH: I was secretary of the class in high school to sophomore year and senior year. Well, I don't know how it happened. I think class advisor probably put a plug in at, I don't know. 'Cause small class, only thirty or not many in our class. And, all Japanese had a good handwriting, and I guess she mention, secretary have to have a good handwriting so I guess, very easily influenced. I was surprised because I was sick and I didn't go to school for two, three days, and I came back and found out I was chosen secretary.
LH: You didn't even have to show up for your own election.
FH: I was the shortest and the president was the tallest. [Laughs]
LH: So, your childhood on Bainbridge Island sounds as though it was fairly happy.
FH: Oh yeah. I think it was fun.
LH: You mentioned a time in your high school class where there was discussion by one student of grades, and how, what he thought when he wasn't getting quite as good grades as maybe Japanese students were getting? Do you recall that?
FH: The Japanese students did better than some of the hakujin, yeah.
LH: Can you recall that incident for us?
FH: No. I don't think so. I didn't try, we didn't try study any more than others.
LH: Do you recall what he said to the teacher about his feelings regarding Japanese students?
FH: I don't know. No, we didn't discuss those things.
LH: Okay.
<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.