<Begin Segment 9>

JD: Okay, let's go back and talk about the lunches that your mom would prepare. I know that's a very interesting story about what would she actually put together for you to take to school and then how would you --

JH: Like I say, we were so poor at that time -- this is after the war -- that we would have very modest lunches with the bread and potatoes. Little bit of mayonnaise go a long ways putting the flavor into the potatoes. Also we would have little Jell-o put in between the sandwich to give it color. And, of course, it probably tasted okay because we were hungry. [Laughs] But anyway, I vividly remember some of the kids, I was caught eating some of these things, and they said, "Ooh, what are you eating?" And I said, "Oh, this is just my lunch," and I never let them see me eating that again because I was so embarrassed. So I would hide my lunch behind my hand like this. Today it's a little different. They're teaching me how to eat sushi. [Laughs] So in those days, eating sushi would have been a very adventurous thing. I think I still remember one of the guys who still lives on the island here. [Laughs] I'll have to share that with him, he probably wouldn't even understand it.

JD: This is the guy who was a schoolmate of yours?

JH: Yeah, that's right. His name is Ray Degoot.

JD: I remember in one of the other interviews, I think you mentioned that he was one of your closest friends, and did he take care of your dog when you moved to Moses Lake?

JH: No, that was somebody else. Well, Lucy knows a little bit about this, but we lowered the mileage from, what was it, thirty-five to twenty-five. And the reason for that, we had...

JD: The speed limit on the road?

JH: Yeah, speed limit, yeah. The reason for that is that, well, I'm not phrasing this correctly, but we lost four Sparkys on that road over a period of years that I remember. Four Sparkys lost their lives because people were speeding down that road.

JD: Was that the name of your dog when you were a kid?

JH: That's right. There was Sparky 1, Sparky 2, Sparky 3 and Sparky 4.

JD: So who did take care of your dog when you went to Moses Lake?

JH: That I can't tell you. I don't know who did it. It must have been a trauma for the dog, too.

JD: Yes, the red pines that are still there?

JH: Yeah, the Pinus densiflora is the Japanese red pine. They are a living tribute to my dad because he loved them. He started the red pines from seed that he'd gotten from Japan. And he loved them and there still is a stature there at Bainbridge Gardens, one that's over eighty years old. But what happened was we got the orders for relocation from the government, and we were only given eight days to take what you can take. Well, obviously, he could not take all his red pines. So he hurriedly planted them in little clay pots and stuck 'em in the woods where there was lots of shade so that they would survive without somebody watering 'em. And this is a living tribute because they're standing there in Bainbridge Gardens right now. Many of them, there's literally hundreds of them. One group is a stage that was before I can remember, with another group that's after we returned to Bainbridge Island. The resilience of the tree itself is amazing. I often walk in the nature trail that houses these red pines, and I feel wonderful by being able to do so.

JD: Are these trees that are native to the part of Japan that your dad came from, do you think?

JH: Yes, they are. Yes. In fact, the Pinus densiflora are growing in Japan up and down the east, north and south borders. In fact, when we went to Japan this August, I saw a vision of what red pines do to a forest. It's absolutely wonderful.

JD: What is it like?

JH: Well, there's, see, there's a feeling of peace and tranquility. They call them red pines because their bark is red and they have an openness to 'em. Layers of nice green needles.

JD: Long?

JH: Yeah. And they're just beautiful. Gives you a feeling of serenity.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.