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TI: Well, and so I know the family sacrificed a lot by having your dad spend so much time there. But it was so special when you contacted me because I did want to share that your father, not only the community, but on a personal level, I talked about my father-in-law knowing your dad, at first South Park, then at Collins. My dad was kind of this gym rat at Collins, and both of them, when I mentioned I was going to interview you, just lit up because the stories that they told about your dad that I'm sure you're not even aware of, and how much influence he had on these boys in particular.

DB: And some of those, of course, were closer, and a lot of them came by the house. I got to meet them (again) as an older (person), when I was in college (...). They came to the house, and like I said, it was always personal. (Dad) would drive through, down Jackson, down Sixteenth, and (hear), "Hi, Gene." I mean (from) people on the streets. (...) If there was a mayor, he would be mayor of central city. He was the most well-known, popular, sports, and he always shopped locally. I think I told you about the only unpleasant part of my whole experience down here was when he'd bring me down for a haircut. There was one Japanese American lady who gave the haircuts. And I was a five year old kind of pudgy guy wanting to be sleek and thin and athletic like my brother, and she said, "Oh, Gene, oh, nice boy, (...) rosy pinky cheeks." [Laughs] That was torment. I used to hate it, once a month, I got the "rosy pinky red rosy cheeks" routine. But he was loved by this community, and I (know) it was mutual.

TI: Well, not just loved, but respected. Because you told the story off camera about how the Japanese elders actually changed when they did their Saturday program just so that the boys could have, do the sports and the...

DB: And he tells that story, and it was the one about, "Mr. Gene, you be here with Mr. Boyd. He's good, (you) play basketball." But (there was) one was the conflict of the cultural. The Japanese community did their cultural school on Saturday afternoon. (...) I was a surgeon at the Blackfeet Reservation (the) last year as my clinical work, and I tried to advise them to do that, and they didn't understand how to do that (...). This was Saturday afternoon, and this was, of course, in conflict with the sports schedule. So they made a corporate or community decision that they were going to hold, for these boys, maybe for all the kids, but certainly for these kids they'll have the cultural sessions on Sunday so they could play basketball and baseball at Collins. That's a tribute to a program and a guy who was running the program.

TI: Although the boys probably didn't like that. They probably thought they could get out of the cultural and just play sports, if there was that conflict. [Laughs]

DB: They were Americans. We're talking about Japanese Americans today. (...) Collins was a pleasant experience, and it was a pleasant place to work. Dad would not tolerate any roughs or hoodlums on the playfield. He would, mostly in the summertime when (...) people were hanging around, I know he'd be out there (...). And he's see some suspected, he'd go right over and chase him right off the playfield. I've seen him go into a group of guys who were, I don't know what they were doing, messing up somebody else, he'd go in there, and I don't think they had guns in those days, but they had knives, he'd go in and grab them and physically throw 'em out. Four or five big guys that he didn't want on his playfield, he would physically throw them off the playfield. So it was, at least certain times, it was a haven. This is the inner city, there was elements down here. (...) But he was fearless when it had to do with the protection and the safety of these kids (...). So we as a family, Marietta and I are teaming up on this one, and we've gone through our records to bring some other things that you can have, contributions from the Gene and Virginia Boyd. (...) The whole family understood what he was doing here and respected it, and each one of us have a time specific recollection and activity. But for me, it's a very core experience, one that has shaped my professional life considerably.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2013 Densho. All Rights Reserved.