<Begin Segment 9>

TI: So let's get you back to San Jose. So after about three years, three and a half years, you're in Poston, the war ends, and then families start returning back to the West Coast or going other places. Tell me about your family. What happened when you left Poston?

SA: We were very fortunate because we had a farm to come back to. Not only did we have a farm, but we had our car, we had our truck, we had our pickup, we had our tractor. So we came back to a farm that was very stable. Now, our biggest problem was we didn't have any money. And so we had to get back on our feet economically, and so that was a tough... and so that was the, probably the toughest period that we went through.

TI: Really just having no money, well, you had land...

SA: We had land, but no money. And, of course, farm in those days was not the most lucrative business. So if you worked hard, you sold your crop, you could feed the family but that's about it.

TI: And what was the condition of the farm?

SA: It was in not bad shape, considering the situation it was in. The farm, when my dad bought it, was in bad shape. This was the Depression period, you figure 1937 period was the Depression period. So all the farms were run down. I remember when my dad bought the farm, the trees were all half dead, so he revived all those trees to really healthy trees.

TI: And that was just probably through fertilizers and watering?

SA: Yeah, it's all with fertilization and watering, yeah. And I still remember he used to use cover crops, because that's all part of organic farming, is to use cover crops.

TI: Good. So let's go back to you, so you come back, you're about fifteen years old, fourteen, fifteen years old?

SA: Fourteen years old.

TI: So what is it like for you to go back and start school at this point?

SA: Well, it wasn't too bad because I was going back to a school that was familiar to me, in the same area, it was high school instead of grammar school. There were quite a number of people that I knew, and they remembered me. So it was not a total brand-new start for us. And some of the friends that I had, I was able to reconnect with them.

TI: And what was the reaction that they had when you came back? Was there any curiosity? Did they ask questions?

SA: Well, I think there was a lot of questions, but they were really very nice to us. So I didn't feel any prejudice like some of the people in other areas had a lot of prejudice, and we didn't.

TI: And when you got back to school, just in terms of your studies, again, these are people that you went to school with before the war, you were three years at Poston, now you come back, were you about the same place as they were in terms of their studies in terms of math and reading, writing?

SA: I couldn't tell the difference at that time. But, see, during that time period, I think all of us as a group, the Japanese Americans, lost interest in studying. Because it was just, there were too many other pressures. We had to go home and work, you had to figure out a way to play. So playing during school time became a way in which you could have some fun.

TI: Oh, interesting. Because when you went home, it was all work.

SA: It's all work.

TI: There's no time to play.

SA: No time to play.

TI: So school was kind of your off time to...

SA: Yeah, where the group can get together, laugh, play, and not study.

TI: Oh, that's interesting, yeah. Because oftentimes, I see some kids where school is their work, and that's where they really focused, and then outside of school is where they can relax and play. But in your case, you didn't have that.

SA: Yes, yes. And all of us as a peer group, it was all work at home.

TI: And earlier you mentioned also in terms of grouping together, too, all of a sudden, like basketball, you actually played on a Japanese team and did things like that.

SA: And those were friends from high school that all banded together and we played sports. We had dances, we put on dances in the gymnasium.

TI: And so how did your family come back? You said it was like the toughest time after you got back. So what did it take to get back on your feet?

SA: Just hard work. It's all hard work.

TI: How about Mr. Kirkwood? Did he help, or was he still around?

SA: Oh, yeah, he was always helpful. But we had to get back on our own feet, and he helped us immensely. I mean, he can't say, "Well, I'm gonna now feed you," we didn't expect that.

TI: Now, I'm curious, during the war, how other farmers who didn't have to leave, how they fared during the war.

SA: Oh, tremendous.

TI: So that was a good time to be a farmer?

SA: Oh, yes. I mean, a lot of people, a lot of farmers made a lot of money in two ways. Number one, during the war, you could make a lot of money. But they were able to get a lot of the Japanese farms cheap, because it was a fire sale. So a lot of the farmers in the valley got rich. So there were was some animosity that really got built up because you could look at it as totally unfair treatment.

TI: Well, your dad probably -- I was going to ask if he ever was bitter about anything, but you said he was a positive thinker, so...

SA: Yeah, and he just says, "We've got to move on, rebuild, and get on with it." [Laughs]

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.