<Begin Segment 4>
BN: Now, where did you end up going to school when you first started?
HM: Oh, I went to Palama School, which is in Palama Lane. And you had to cross a railroad, and there was an overhead walkway, and we crossed over the railroad and went to Palama, which is the next (district). And there was a school in the lane, Palama Lane, at the end of the lane. So I was there for kindergarten, first and second. And then I was supposed to transfer to Kaiulani school, but my father decided to send my sister and I to St. Andrews. So in third grade I went to St. Andrews (Priory. Jane Kurahara went to St. Andrews too.)
BN: So you were all at St. Andrews (Priory).
HM: I knew her in St. Andrews, yes.
BN: Was it largely Japanese at that time?
HM: The St. Andrews? Not necessarily. It was a mixture (of races).
BN: Was your family religious at all?
HM: No. You know, it just so happened that I think my father decided that since it's a religious school, it should be okay. But I guess he didn't want us to go to public school, especially at Kaiulani. That area is not the best area. And I guess he thought that if we go to the religious schools, we're okay. And we had to wear uniforms, so (he) thought it was okay. So my sister graduated from St. Andrews, but she was older than Larry, so she was way above me.
BN: How big a difference is there?
HM: My sister and I? About seven years. And Larry was in between us.
BN: So other than Larry, you were pretty far, quite a number of years separating from the three oldest.
HM: Oh, yes, yes.
[Interruption]
BN: So your three oldest were quite a bit older.
HM: Quite a bit older, yes.
BN: So did you play a lot with your siblings? Probably not.
HM: No. I think Larry was the closest to me in age, so... I think I was closer to Larry. But then I guess when my sister came back to (Hawaii) because she lived in New York, (...) married a Nisei from New York and lived there for many years. He died there, so she decided to come back here to live. After she came back, well, we became pretty close.
BN: When you're an adult, seven years is not...
HM: (Yes), many years later.
BN: Robert was mentioning that all the kids pretty much went to different schools.
HM: [Laughs] As my father could afford it, I guess.
BN: Do you think that's kind of what was happening?
HM: Well, from what I heard, my second brother, Barney, had a chance -- well my father wanted him to go to Punahou because he was kind of a rascal.
[Interruption]
HM: So, (yes), I guess more or less we all went to different schools except for Bob and Barney ended up at McKinley.
BN: With Barney, you mentioned he passed the exam for Punahou.
HM: From what I understand, he passed it. Some years later I found out, but then he decided he didn't want to go there because his friends were all from -- actually, from Central Intermediate, the next step is McKinley, and his friends were all going to McKinley. So he decided, no, he didn't want to go to some other school.
BN: So this is at the high school level, he would have had to...
HM: Yes, he would have been high school.
BN: But then it gets kind of hard.
HM: And then after all that, he didn't go on to college, but he did go to business school. There was a business school, Canyon Business School, he went to business school after the army. So I guess he was supposedly very good with figures.
BN: And then after a few years at St. Andrews you were going to...
HM: Oh, (yes). Then... I guess Father decided to send me to Punahou. But I took a summer school class in fifth grade, after my fifth grade I went to summer school. And I guess, I remember, I think Bob took me to the principal's office to enroll me at Punahou. And she said that I didn't have to take the entrance exam because I did so well in summer school. So I was accepted as a sixth grader. So that was September of 1941, before the war started, yes. So that's when I started Punahou.
<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.