<Begin Segment 13>

MN: Now, I'm gonna ask you a few more things about high school. Did you get involved in any sports?

KM: Oh, yeah, I used to play B football. Then I was, I played, went out for the baseball team and couldn't make the grade, so I was equipment manager. And that year, the last year there were, we won the California championship, so I got a little gold baseball for my keychain.

MN: Now as an equipment manager, what did you have to do?

KM: Oh, take care of the, all the equipment, like the bases and the bats and the catcher's paraphernalia, make sure that they got to the ballpark, and take it with us to the various place that we played.

MN: Now when you traveled with the team, did you have any problems from any harassment when you traveled with them?

KM: No, I didn't have any problems traveling.

MN: Were you the only Japanese American on that team?

KM: That's right.

MN: How about your football B Team?

KM: B Team, same, no Japanese. I was the only one.

MN: How did the other teammates treat you?

KM: No, I didn't have any problem. They treated me just like any other ballplayer that I can remember. I didn't feel any discrimination.

MN: So you're the equipment manager for your varsity baseball team. Were you involved in any of the Nisei baseball leagues?

KM: No, no.

MN: How about in high school? Were you involved in any student government?

KM: No, I didn't, wasn't very active in the school government, no.

MN: Now I think it was during your high school years that the Nikkei community in Glendale built their first Christian church. Is that correct?

KM: Yeah, there was a Mrs. Van Loon, that was the name of the woman that, white woman that started Sunday school classes, and then from there, the church, I guess, grew. I guess the kid became more of teenagers and I think, yeah, I guess became, we became adults then, too. So I used to go to Christian church every Sunday.

MN: Were your parents Christians?

KM: No, my parents were Zen Shuji, Buddhist. But they didn't object to anything about going to Christian Sunday school.

MN: Now, when you started to go to the Christian Sunday school, how did your social life change?

KM: Well, the social life seems to change. You get involved with other Nisei, so my circle of friends socially became more among the Japanese instead of the Caucasian. I think that started around high school days when the church was formed. We got more Japanese get-togethers.

MN: Now I know roller skating was very popular during your time. Did you go roller skating?

KM: Yeah, Shrine Auditorium was a hangout on Sunday nights that people used to go down there, so I used to go down there, too. I think meet various people, especially girls. So we'd go down there to mix with 'em.

MN: So this Sunday night when you go down there, was it all Japanese Americans?

KM: Mostly predominately. There are probably a few Caucasians there that were socially integrated with the Niseis, yeah. But predominately it was Niseis.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.