<Begin Segment 10>

BN: What did you do after high school?

HT: After high school I got jobs here and there and everywhere, and I'm always that type. One time I got a job, and there was a Japanese lady that was a college grad, and there was a Caucasian, another lady, and we were working, and we were the fastest workers. We did this, whatever we were doing with paperwork and other, we would go. And so we were the fastest, they had a lot workers, maybe ten or more, then three of us, we did the most. And so I told the manager, "You know, we do more than what any of them do, so you should give us a pay raise." So I quit and I left. And I told the other two girls to quit and leave, too, but they never did. I guess I was... and then I got a job at a Japanese bank, and I was working. And a lot of people take advantage of you if you're a minority, and if they could get away with giving you a lot less, they don't.

BN: Was it better or worse working for a Japanese bank, though? Because sometimes they take more advantage of you because...

HT: No, they didn't. It was okay, it was okay, and then if they appreciate how good a worker you are, and I was a good worker, it was a challenge, but it didn't bother me. So I think a lot of the Japanese are real good workers, and when they work really good and they treat you that way, I know the guy that was in charge of us was very accepting of my ability to do the work. But I don't know, I was always sort of aggressive.

BN: From basketball.

HT: No, it's just... growing up, I guess I was sort of mean. [Laughs]

BN: How did you meet your husband?

HT: He used to come to our church. He was our church, and was very active in our church.

BN: And you mentioned he was Kibei.

HT: Kibei, he was Kibei, came from Japan. And a lot of our church members, there were a lot of Kibei guys there.

BN: What did he do for a living?

HT: My husband? Let's see now. He worked for the printing company. He went to work for a guy in Marin, and he was a worker and then there was this other guy that we knew, he was Caucasian, and he lived in Marina, and he was a worker, too, and he worked with my husband and then they were really good, hard workers. But then the boss guy, they always said they were gonna show appreciation, they never did, and they both quit. The say they're gonna do this, but then my husband always, was really always a good worker and he worked there for the longest time. Where did he go to work afterwards? I don't know. I can't remember, but maybe Japantown or something like that.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2019 Densho. All Rights Reserved.