<Begin Segment 22>

BK: How did the other Japanese Americans in Pocatello treat you?

MH: Well, you know, I laugh about it now... is my sister-in-law's from Pocatello. And even at that time, although my brother kind of had liked her, but had never... I never went with them anywhere. Ida had a, Mrs. Hanaki, had a brother that was in my same class. So, if I wanted to go anyplace, he'd come by and pick me up, so... or with a group that we'd go with. My boss was the head of the OP, OP, the ration board in Idaho. And he'd say, "How do you kids get all the gas?" And we say, "Oh, they pool it." But, in Pocatello, everybody had a gas pump in their backyard, all the farmers did. So we'd go roller-skating, or dancing, or bowling. I was lucky there, because Ida was so good about that. Any student that was going to the college, she would have them come, they could stay with her. The only thing, we had to kinda keep house when I stayed there. Because he'd come home and go like this, over the piano, so... [laughs] Boy, that's the first thing we learned. [Laughs]

BK: Dust the piano. [Laughs] How were you treated by the other schoolmates in Pocatello?

MH: I didn't have too much trouble. I think I had... there was only three girls and three boys in our class, Japanese, and it was a 350 senior class that I was in. I did, my sister was always so good, she drove, and so a lot of times if us girls wanted to go to the park or something, then she would take us. So, I was lucky there, that although I didn't chum around with them, I never stayed too much with them. I was more or less a loner. It's... it was kind of hard. It's easier for the boys to pick you up and take you places, than it was the girls. I don't know why, but... but Ida's brother -- she had three brothers, and they weren't married. And one girl that was in town, I palled around with, but she was rather quiet. Not like me, I'd rather go bowling, or dancing, or... but we used to hang around together. And then there was a girl, Japanese girl, that lived next, in the next house, where I was working. To this day, I still, if I go to Pocatello, I go see her. In fact, I was there just a month ago, and she had had bad pneumonia and no visitors, so I had taken her something and she called me the other night. I was so surprised. [Laughs] But as far as friends from those days, she's about the only one.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.