<Begin Segment 10>

MN: So when did your family actually leave Poston, what year?

CO: '45. In August, the war ended. I left by myself in September to, I went to live with Hisaye in Los Angeles to start school. And my family came out in October where they went to live on a goldfish farm, to work on a goldfish farm in Westminster.

MN: How did you feel about the news that Japan had lost the war?

CO: Well, I personally, I was relieved, I suppose, that's it's over. Yeah, but there was some lamentation in camp, you know. There were suicides. I've heard of a few people hanging themselves at that time, that's how strong their belief was.

MN: Now, you said you had lived with Hisaye in Los Angeles. At that time, was she working for the black newspaper?

CO: She was working for the Los Angeles Tribune. And she took me to their offices from time to time, so I got to meet all those people there, Almena and Lucius Lomax, they ran the paper. And just hang out on Central Avenue there in Bronzeville or whatever it was called, I don't know. But anyway, so that was an experience.

MN: Did you go to any of the black clubs in Little Tokyo?

CO: No, I didn't not. I mean, I was pretty young at that time. One interesting thing happened while I was living with Hisaye. [Laughs] Well, I mean a lot of interesting things, but this one I remember. Have you ever heard of Molly Mittwer? Molly Oyama Mittwer? I knew her, too, and I lived with her family for a little while. And one day, Molly showed up at Hisaye's house when I was living there, and she was in a taxicab, and she said they were going to a party, and would Hisaye like to go? Hisaye said, "No," but I said... I guess, did I say I wanted to go? I don't know. But anyway, I went. And it was at a Hollywood writer's house, and there were a lot of Hollywood people there including a writer, John Fante, Carlos Bulosan, a Filipino writer, and all these people were at this party. I was fifteen, I didn't know who they were or anything. But I know they questioned me about being in camp and all sorts of things, and John Fante actually said, "Would you like to come and live with us and go to school?" I didn't say yes, I didn't know what to think. So my parents turned that down, they didn't think I should do that. And also, well, these are silly stories. On the ride back, there was a deaf... what was he? Writer or something, Ross something or the other, he was driving the car and we were very cramped. So I sat on Carlos Bulosan's lap all the way home to Hisaye's house, and Carlos Bulosan called me up and asked to take me out. And everybody said I better not go, so I didn't go. But these are just accidental things. And, see, Hisaye was already on a circuit with writers and other creative types and things like that, and so this is just one of those happenstance things that happened while I was there in L.A. I think back on it, "God, I should have gone to live with John Fante," but I didn't.

MN: Well, you got asked out by Carlos Bulosan, too.

CO: Oh, well, that too, yeah. Well, anyway, so I knew him.

MN: Wow. Lot of just real historical people.

CO: Yeah, but I didn't know that at the time.

MN: Can I ask you also, you said you met Almena Lomax.

CO: Yeah, uh-huh.

MN: I think she's still alive.

CO: Yeah, that's what I've been told. Wakako said that she's still alive.

MN: What do you remember about her?

CO: Boy, what a dynamic woman. I mean, have you ever met her or heard about her or anything?

MN: I talked to her on the phone, but she won't give me an interview yet. But she's a really interesting character.

CO: Yes, yes. I do remember her, and Lucius also. In fact, that whole scene was very, very interesting, because these were well-to-do blacks at the time. And they had a lot of connections. So I met her a couple of times, but I didn't, I wasn't able to pursue any kind of friendship or a relationship with them. And Hisaye left the Trib after a couple of years, I think.

MN: And Wakako worked there, too, right?

CO: Did she? I think maybe Chester did. Chester's Wakako's husband.

MN: Wakako babysat Almena's kids, I think.

CO: Oh, really? My goodness. But she was highly political, and I remember her ranting and raving about all kinds of things, yeah. And they had their offices in some hotel, upstairs of a hotel. The Dunbar Hotel? Something like that, black-owned hotel on Central Avenue. And I was told that Joe Lewis used to stay there when he was in L.A. And somebody said, "Oh, I'll take you to Joe Lewis when he's in town." Well, anyway, I didn't stay in L.A. long enough to go and meet Joe Lewis. [Laughs] I should have stayed in L.A.

MN: Yeah. Did you know that they also printed The Current, which is a Japanese American magazine?

CO: The Tribune?

MN: Yeah, they published it. Kats Kunitsugu told me that.

CO: Well, they were good to us, considering.

MN: Yeah, Almena told me she actually took an ad out in the Pacific Citizen for writers, Japanese American writers.

CO: Oh, that's how she got Hisaye.

MN: You were right in that...

CO: Yeah, but I was so ignorant that I didn't know it. [Laughs] Anyway, these are just little incidents.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.