<Begin Segment 6>

MA: So what grade school, then, did you attend in Santa Monica?

LS: Up through sixth grade.

MA: And what was the name of the school?

LS: McKinley.

MA: How many Nisei students were, were in that school?

LS: I would say approximately nine or ten. It could be more or less.

MA: So not, not too many.

LS: Not that many, no.

MA: In your neighborhood in Santa Monica, were there many Japanese American families?

LS: There were, but it was kind of widespread.

MA: And who were your other neighbors? Just white folks, or all different races?

LS: Yeah, white folks, and our landlord was a black couple, they were real nice. And then the neighbors were whites, and we had a Filipino family. And that's about it. And there... no, there were no blacks there in our block that I know of.

MA: So at school, how did the Nisei students fit in, generally, with the rest of them?

LS: I don't think we had that many problems as far as I know.

MA: So you felt like you fit in?

LS: We got along real well.

MA: And especially when you were in grade school, what were some of your hobbies or activities or things that you liked to do for fun?

LS: Well, I liked to, for fun we played tetherball and softball. That's about it.

MA: I imagine you were pretty busy with Japanese school, though, after your regular school.

LS: I, in fact, I enjoyed the Japanese school more than I did (American school) because at the end of the summer, we also had a big competition that we all went to either San Diego or, mostly San Diego, where all the other Japanese school got together, and we have relays and all kinds of things. And we really enjoyed that.

MA: Yeah, it sounds like a fun time.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright ©2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.