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BT: So you got on a bus, right, from St. Mary's?

FS: Yeah.

BT: And then bus took you to Santa Anita? So what do you recall about stepping off the bus? Did you think you were going to the horse races or something?

FS: Well, I think, honestly, it just, like I say, for me it was a normal procedure that we were routed by... and I'm sure the soldiers were there. I can address the soldiers later in that Santa Anita experience, but the initial one was, I'm sure there must have been soldiers around us as we went in on the bus. But I don't recall that, I just recall being led to the horse stable. And that's when, fortunately, for me, my father drew a sketch of that first night. And it seemed... well, my being there, it was not a shock. I was raised to be, I don't know if that's how samurais are raised, but I was raised to do, you know, my parents, they were told that we have to make, fill up our mattress with hay, I recall the pile of hay and all that. And, of course, I did it properly. My father, he did place the cots in which he made this sketch of that in the horse stable, side by side, and I'm in the middle. Well, that didn't seem so traumatic for me. It wasn't an ah-ha moment, it was still my parents.

BT: Do you recall any conversations between your mom and your dad during that time? Obviously it had to be traumatic for your mom.

FS: You know, my parents never wanted me to hear things that were traumatic. They clearly kept that to themselves. They might have whispered between them, but I'm one of those that tried to listen in to conversation. But that was never... they just totally protected me as a child. They influenced me that way, because that's why I got into early education during my career, too. Because there is something about that, how parents can protect your child. And, of course, the Mexican border, people like Satsuki will make an effort to connect parents to children.

BT: That's Satsuki Ina, right?

FS: Yes.

BN: Did your parents have jobs at Santa Anita?

FS: I think, yeah. But my dad never told me about those things. I did discover a letter that was from the postmaster. He was smart enough to get recommendations so that he would have a letter that would show that, to the next place, wherever she went. But I didn't know what he was doing, I just recall finding that letter. He must have been part of the postal system.

BN: And then as kind of an artist, did he make furniture or other kinds of things for your stable?

FS: Well, yeah. Of course, during the journey that we did, they started. But at Santa Anita, if we're still at Santa Anita, I don't think he did anything, but made some sketches. And he did do the carving of Seabiscuit, I believe it was, the statue in front of Santa Anita, and he did that, I know, on the end of an apple box that he found. He had a... I don't know if he had, a lot of them had carving tools there. I still have the set that has four different tools. And he did have a knife, a small knife, and it was a lot to take. So that's still with me, because I think I might have used it as a kid, too. And I did make a little... because my dad did these kinds of things, I made a little, like a plaque, about a three-inch plaque, about three inches by one inch, and I think I put on there "Santa Anita."

BN: You still have all of these, right?

FS: I think I still have that.

BN: How big is the Seabiscuit carving?

FS: How what?

BN: How big?

FS: Oh, it's, you know, the crate, apple box crate.

BN: Apple, uh-huh.

FS: Yeah, so he just took the end because that's soft wood. I'm pretty sure that's what it was. I don't have it, my daughter stole it because she rode horses.

BN: So it's still in the family.

FS: Yeah, still in the family.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.