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BY: And then, did your school go through eighth grade or was there...

HH: Eighth grade, yes.

BY: Okay, through eighth grade. And then you went to high school?

HH: Yes.

BY: And where did you go to high school?

HH: Immaculate, near Providence Hospital.

TI: Yeah, so earlier you mentioned how the school had both Catholics and non-Catholics. Catholics, their tuition was lower. Was there other things that Catholics did that non-Catholics didn't? Like attend mass or first communion, confirmation, all those things? I mean, how did they manage that? Like for the non-Catholics who weren't...

HH: Well, if you weren't Catholic, then you didn't have to go to mass, didn't have to go to communion. It was by choice of parents, what they wanted. So we didn't have to do anything.

TI: Did you as a student ever feel encouraged to become Catholic?

HH: Well, I guess I was, because I did become a Catholic in the seventh grade.

TI: So talk about that in terms of how you decided and what your parents thought about that?

HH: I think it was just the flow of life. That just... I don't know how to explain that. But it was almost a calling as well as a... not a demand, but a suggestion, I guess.

TI: Well, about that time is when maybe your classmates or friends who were Catholic are getting confirmed. Was that part of what was going on, too, during that time period? Were you aware of that or thought about that?

HH: I didn't think about that, no, but then I did become confirmed after I became a Catholic. And so we all, kind of, were confirmed at the same time.

TI: Okay, so with your friends.

HH: Uh-huh, classmates, friends, yeah.

TI: Did your sister also become Catholic?

HH: Yes, a few years before I did.

BY: So I want to know what you wore to school. What was your uniform like? Do you remember?

HH: It was a navy blue jumper and blouse underneath. The boys always had their corduroy pants and blue sweaters.

BY: Okay, that's great. Let's see...

TI: So one question that reminded me when you said that, how would your friends describe you? How would they talk about you in terms of you as a student and just both in and outside class?

HH: How would they... well, they all thought I was smart. And I really wasn't, I could fake things a lot. How would they describe me? Gosh. Not tall. [Laughs]

BY: So your parents were very outgoing. Were you outgoing as well?

HH: I guess so. We got into trouble. I was able to get other people in trouble. Not bad trouble, it's just funny things that would happen.

TI: Well, what would be an example of doing something mischievous or kind of getting in trouble?

HH: Hmm. Oh, when we were at the cleaners, we had an upstairs bedroom that the window was right above the doorway entry, doorway for the customers. And so we got our squirt guns and shot it into the air and just, people thought it was raining.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.