<Begin Segment 21>

TI: Now, how, how did you get this job? Did you apply for it?

HH: Well, I was kind of fortunate in a way because Bill Hosokawa was the sports editor. That's how he started his journalism, or his, in the newspaper.

TI: And Bill Hosokawa is a well-known, I think he worked for the Denver newspaper...

HH: Denver Post.

TI: Denver Post. Wrote a book called Nisei.

HH: Nisei, yes. So I was very privileged, really, to work, because he had to work for the Japanese consul's office as a English, in the English portion secretary, and eventually he went to Singapore as a, to work in Singapore when the war started up, and then eventually went to Denver. But I was, the position was open at the time. And the Sakamotos, they were also Yamaguchi-ken people so my parents knew them. And so I just applied and I got the job, which really started my, really my contact with the Seattle people, especially the athletes, baseball players and basketball players.

TI: So were you somewhat intimidated? I was thinking that here you are, following Bill Hosokawa, who not only was the sports editor, but helped set all these things up, who was probably pretty well-known. And here you were from Tacoma, coming in and taking his place. Was that kind of intimidating to you?

HH: No, in a sense, my problem was I didn't know all these athletes from all over. I knew a few people around Auburn and Sumner, Fife, but not in the Seattle area. But I did have contact with some of the people, especially Buddhist Church, Seattle Buddhist Church, they had an, also, team, and so I knew some of those people.

TI: So you were doing it, so this was your, like, your part-time, or your job, to help you raise enough money, earn enough money so that you can go to the University of Washington.

HH: Yes. That was, salary was not that good, you know, because he was just getting started also, so really, it wasn't a very lucrative kind of salary, but at least it did help me make part of it. And then also, I worked in the NRA program, the National Recovery Act, I think, at the university. I was able to work in the library.

TI: Say that again, the National Recovery... what was it?

HH: Act. That was where they, after the Depression, after that, the national program that I was able to work under that program at the University of Washington library.

TI: And what, and what kind of things did you do under the NRA?

HH: Well, I was just working on the Northwest section of the Suzzallo library at the University.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.