<Begin Segment 17>

MA: It seems like there were a lot of German people in Denver.

LS: Yeah, uh-huh, it was. In a certain section there'd be a lot of Italians. And then there was hostilities when I went into town, but I will say this much, that I did housework for this one couple. And they were real nice and understanding, for that reason, that their son-in-law was serving in the Pacific, and they didn't mistreat me at all. They were really good and understanding. So not all of 'em were that mean or hostile or any of that.

MA: Yeah, so it sounds like it was kind of, you know, some people were accepting and some weren't. So what, what types of hostilities did you feel when you would go into town?

LS: Well, like the one time my dad and I got on an elevator to, 'cause I had to get new glasses, and there was this one lady that had on a fur coat, and she was a huge woman. And we went in the elevator and she just glared down at us and stuck her tongue out at my dad. And what would we do? My dad just looked at me and kind of smiled. That, and then, and of course the word "Jap" was common along the streets. That was about it.

MA: That people would say to you, "Jap"?

LS: Uh-huh. It would hurt us, but then you get so intimidated, you just have to ignore it.

MA: Yeah.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright ©2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.