<Begin Segment 9>

MN: Now, when did you have to quit UCLA?

MS: What'd I do?

MN: No, when did you have to quit UCLA?

MS: Well, war broke out and, as a joke, we said, well, to work in fruit stand you don't need a college education, so when my father lost his business, the accounting, I said, I didn't like school anyway, so it was a good excuse to quit. At that time I didn't like school. [Laughs]

MN: You were, what were you majoring in? Business admin?

MS: Business administration, accounting.

MN: And why did you have to quit?

MS: What?

MN: Why did you have to quit?

MS: I didn't have to quit; I wanted to quit. I was not a good student, anyway, so we just met, go to school and eat lunch, I guess.

MN: But wasn't there restriction on how far you can travel?

MS: Yeah, we gathered from Boyle Heights, had to drive to UCLA Westwood, so that was illegal after the evacuation orders came out, to travel that far. Anyway, whatever excuse we could find to quit, we...

MN: How did you feel when the U.S. government that you had to go into camp?

MS: Well, we had just finished a political science class, so it's unconstitutional, but there was nothing we could do. We weren't charged with any crime and we weren't, didn't have a trial, and yet we were, found ourselves in... but there was nothing we could do.

MN: Now, can you share with us who Francis Uematsu was and what he did for your family?

MS: Who?

MN: Francis Uyematsu.

MS: Oh, Francis Uyematsu, father had the Star Nursery, so he was the camellia king, so Francis was a Montebello High School graduate and he was, played tennis with Jack Raymer, was a national champ after school, but Francis was, was his playing partner at the high school level. So since he was working and he's oldest boy, he, one day, the day we were supposed to evacuate, he drives up, comes to the house and picks up all of our baggage and our neighbors, Japanese neighbors, and drove us into the Santa Anita racetrack where we were being incarcerated in, without, I couldn't even ask him to do it, but he was there that morning and took us in. I didn't think he should do that, but he nevertheless did it, and we were wondering how he was gonna get out, but he was a good talker, so he says, "Well, he says, I have to go get" -- Montebello was the next load, so next week -- "so I'll take you and then," he says, "I'll talk my way out." And I was surprised that even came, offered to take us into camp. I appreciated it. his daughter couldn't, wouldn't believe that her father was like that, but he was that kind of a person. And so in that one incident alone, I appreciate the friendship that we've had all these years. But he was a good sportsman, a good tennis player.

MN: So without you asking, he came and took all your baggage to Santa Anita.

MS: Yeah.

MN: And then Montebello did not have to go in for another week, is that --

MS: Yeah.

MN: So he was able to talk his way of Santa Anita?

MS: What?

MN: He was able to talk his way out of Santa Anita?

MS: Yeah, apparently so. So anyway, I didn't think he could do it, but he did. He did. But he 's that kind of person.

MN: Now, what happened to your family cars?

MS: We returned 'em to the, one was too old, but we had just bought one in 1938, which was still paid for, paying for, so we were able to return it to the dealer and they were happy to get it. But my sisters owned the car, not my father, so it was a big loss for her.

MN: What about your house? What did you do with the house?

MS: We rented it out. My sisters' high school teachers found tenants for the house, so they arranged to have the bank accept the payment, rent payments to pay for the mortgage, so we were able to salvage the house because before the war ended, Los Angeles was gonna build the Santa Ana Freeway and it happened to go right through our property, so we sold the property to, to the city, or state, I don't know.

MN: That was after the war?

MS: Huh?

MN: That was after the war, that you sold the --

MS: No, during the war.

MN: During the war you sold the house.

MS: December of 1944.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.