<Begin Segment 11>

MN: Let's go back to your childhood. Now, you attended Lorena Street Elementary School. How different was that from the school at Rohwer?

RO: Lorena is in the middle of East L.A., and a lot of immigrant children, Mexican, predominate Mexican children, but there's quite a few Anglo students as well. So when we first returned, there was a lot of hostility towards "Japs." And this is also a part of my education because I would tell 'em, "Meet me in the alley," "Meet me in the tunnel." And I didn't... I'm not that strong in that I didn't always win, but there's something about East L.A., if I'm willing to take a punch, I get a lot of respect. And I never ever had to threaten anybody all the way through junior high school, and I always had the protection of all the gangs.

MN: So even at that time you had to act, but you still had to defend yourself?

RO: [Nods].

MN: Was it very hard to make friends?

RO: No, no. I think after the initial hostility, no. And as I said, most of the students, you have people from Russia, Armenia, just everywhere.

MN: So all these different ethnic groups are there, and yet, they're still calling you "Japs"?

RO: Oh, that was initially, after we returned, yeah. But by the time I went to junior high school, I mean, it's just a melting pot. We had all these groups, and they came together for social and sports programs and all. And then the challenge at Stevenson junior high school were all the Mexican gangs, but they fought one another, and they really did not bother the others.

MN: Your elementary school, were you the only Japanese American in your class, or what was it like?

RO: Maybe, maybe, you know, while we were there, two or three families moved in. One of 'em was, I think, the Yoshitakes. Lilly, and she had five brothers. There were a few others.

MN: So there wasn't a lot of Japanese Americans.

RO: Not at Lorena, but there were several other elementary schools nearby. Hollenbeck junior high school, where they ended up, was, there were a lot of Japanese Americans, but I didn't go there. I went to Stevenson, which was more in East L.A.

MN: Before we get to Stevenson, tell me about, there was a director at the Laguna playground, Mrs. Langdendorf. Tell me about her.

RO: Well, I used to hang out at Laguna playground. Today, it's called the Ruben Salazar Park. And I was just getting into stuff. I mean, I was the ring champion, and yet I was involved in everything. And she felt that I could become a juvenile delinquent, so she selected me to go to UniCamp, which was the UCLA underprivileged children's camp. And so I went, and I ran around and said, "Uni will shine," you know, and I decided -- I didn't even know what "ucala" was, but, "Ucala, ucala, I'm going to UCLA." And I actually did go to UCLA. There were some barriers. And while I was there, I did become a camp counselor at UniCamp.

MN: And this is later in your life?

RO: Yeah, at UCLA. But some of my barriers, barriers are... you know, at Roosevelt, had a lot of Japanese Americans in Boyle Heights. And my older sister, she was a group, she's eight years older, pretty much they went into clerical. So when I met with the counselor, she said, "Your people make good secretaries." And I looked at her and I said, "Me, sit still? Me, take orders?" I says, "I'm going to UCLA. I'm going to become a gym teacher." Why gym teacher, is that junior high school, gym teacher said, "You have leadership potential." And Mrs. Langendorf in the camp, "You have leadership potential." I got it, so I figured, "I'm going for it."

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.