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LH: Well, we're skipping ahead a little bit, but given that you had this unusual experience of, as you described, sort of the drive out to Minnesota and living in these conditions and the cold weather in Minnesota, how did this get you involved in the redress movement? Particularly because most of the people see redress as an issue of those who were interned and went into the camps? So...

FH: Well, I got involved in the redress business because I belonged to the JACL, Japanese Americans Citizens League, and I belonged to the JACL since 1929. I was a member before I went to Minnesota, even during the war I was a member and when I came back I got back into JACL activities and when JACL went into redress I got involved, and started to help out. That's how I got involved in redress.

LH: And so you were a JACL member from almost, almost the beginning days of the organization?

FH: Well, yes, because the first national convention was in 1930 in Seattle. The (Fresno) chapter was first known as the American Loyalty League. And that was formed in 1923 by a Dr. Thomas Yatabe, who was born in the San Francisco area, but he came to Fresno to establish his practice. And he was the one that organized the American Loyalty League, which later became the Fresno chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. So, and he was my dentist, I went to him in 1929, and he talked me into joining JACL. And in 1930 I was sent to the first convention in Seattle for the JACL. So that's a long time ago. 1930.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.