<Begin Segment 14>

MN: What year did you leave Rohwer?

MS: I stayed there about a year, I guess. Nineteen forty, we went in '42, right? I guess 1943.

MN: Where did you go after you left Rohwer?

MS: I went to Mount Clemens, Michigan, which is north of Detroit, and I worked in a rose garden, rose nursery.

MN: What did you do at the rose nursery?

MS: We were learning to grow roses, but then later they transferred me into the greening room where we were preparing the roses that were cut to be sold in the Detroit flower market.

MN: Now why did you have to leave this Michigan rose growing business?

MS: Why did I have to? Well, the bosses were worried that the, they're getting too friendly with the girls that were working, and they're afraid that some of us would get married to them, but I don't know why me, but I had no intentions of getting married. I had to graduate college then still serve in the army, so, but they invited me to leave. [Laughs]

MN: Now, when you say local girls, these are hakujin girls, right?

MS: Yeah.

MN: And, and one girl in particular took a --

MS: What?

MN: One girl took an interest in you, didn't she?

MS: I don't know whether she got, but she got, she's the sister-in-law of the foreman of the greening room, so the foreman would invite me to his home and the sister-in-law would be there. So she was getting friendly, so I don't know why I got involved in those things, but this foreman of mine encouraged it. Anyway, the bosses, his boss was getting concerned that they, he didn't want to have the nursery be, get involved with the local girls. But anyway, some of the girls were getting awful friendly with the fellows, so I guess they had something to be concerned about, but to me, it wasn't apparent to me at that time.

MN: How long were you working at Michigan?

MS: Little over a year I think.

MN: And then where did you go?

MS: Chicago.

MN: What did you do in Chicago?

MS: Worked in a printing company, Reuben H. Donnelly.

MN: Now, you met your future wife in Chicago. Share with us this story.

MS: [Laughs] Well, she's from Gila and was working in a home north of Chicago, called Golf, Illinois, and she had a girlfriend from Rohwer that I knew in Rohwer and was working at the YMCA, Wabash YMCA, as a hairdresser, so one day when I was, went to Chicago, this Ruby, girl, the hairdresser, I told her I was looking for a place to stay, so we were staying at various YMCAs in Chicago. She says, well, there was a one bedroom apartment in the building that she was living in, so she found a place for me to live in. Then my wife was going to the Bukkyokai in Chicago, so she used to visit, so one day I met her and I found out she used to visit Chicago, so I said, "Well, next time you have a day, off let me know. I'll take you out to dinner." So from there, I guess she was lonely and I was lonely, so, but...

MN: But before you go on with that story, though, how long were you in Chicago before you got drafted?

MS: I forgot. I would guess I worked about a year, I guess. I don't remember.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.