<Begin Segment 20>

TI: You talked about your mother, about having friends, your father talked about working hard, and you had this accounting professor that said, "Always keep learning." If you were to talk to your grandchildren, what are the important things in life?

HU: They're church people, for one thing. But two grandkids, there was no incident that I told my son, "Why'd you take care of that boy? Don't you ever spank him?" I never did wonder that, never. Stayed away. That was his kid, not mine. But every once in a while, they ask some questions. We go out every night, every Saturday evening, we get together and we go and have a dinner. That's why we have a lot of sessions, who's doing what and all this. And they're brought up right. My son did that. I have no intention of interfering. Keep my mouth shut.

TI: But... go ahead.

HU: My son did it right. I'm proud of him.

TI: But I'm curious how working hard, having friends, learning, is there anything else that is important to you in life?

HU: Very little. Very little. But I'm happy the way they are. The oldest, my grandson, is a licensed broker of the one of the largest brokerage houses in the United States, and he's located in Denver, Colorado. Married to a hakujin wife, and doing very well. I have a granddaughter, she majored in music, and... what is that word? Going to different countries and helping poor people? Anyway, she went to six different countries during the summer session. Czechoslovakia, Poland, China, Rwanda in Africa, Mexico City, one in the northwest corner of South America. Graduation day came, during the ceremony, they started the ceremony presenting top students. She was one of the top students.

TI: That must have made you very proud to see your grandchildren do so well.

HU: And there was another young fellow in that same graduating class, he majored in music, in choir leader, they got married.

TI: That's nice.

HU: They had nothing. How can they get married just coming out of the university? I kept my mouth shut.

TI: Well, Harry, that's all the questions I have for today. Is there anything else that you wanted to say that maybe I forgot or didn't ask you? Is there anything else? So the interview, in terms of all my questions, I'm finished. Is there anything else that you wanted to say at the end here?

HU: Are we finished now?

TI: Yeah, we're all finished, unless you have something else to say.

HU: Yes. I was with Fairview almost twenty-five years. Although two things the administrator told me. Our hospital was asked to build a hospital out in the suburbs. We started building, one day, the administrator was passing my office and he stopped and told my secretary, "Tell Harry to bring in a computer." I said to myself, "Here's some more extra work." IBM wanted to put computers in the hospitals, there were many hospitals that can use, hospitals, they don't know how to use a computer. And here Fairview had an opportunity to bring in the computer. So I went to all those department heads, "We're gonna have computer." For better use, we can use more, we got to write the program. And we got the program, and I called IBM. The man who was in charge of medical division, we got together, we worked together. And with a concession on rental, Fairview Hospital was the first hospital in the United States to have a computer. And I helped him get, they would accumulate about, gather about twenty, twenty-five each, hospital people, in San Francisco, San Jose, they had a meeting. And they asked me to come to make a presentation. It was an honor for me and for the hospital. First United States, first in the United States. That was extra work, but that's what my father told me. The recognition, that was my reward.

TI: That's good. And I guess, in closing, I just wanted to mention, you married your wife back in 1941. And she passed away, you said, about eleven years ago?

HU: Yeah, 1998.

TI: 1998.

HU: One morning I finished my breakfast and I was reading the newspaper, and she called me from the bathroom. She said, "Dad, come and help me." She was turning white. I picked her up, took her to the bed, she was all white. I took her pulse, forty-two over twenty-four. She died, and nothing we could do. I called the ambulance, took her to the hospital, she was dead on arrival.

TI: So unfortunate. So you were married over fifty-five years, the two of you got married.

HU: She was a "nice girl with a Bunsen burner." [Laughs] We had a wonderful life. We have horse racing over here from May to September. We went to horse racing every Thursday my retired life, and she liked to go to casino. We went to casinos. She loved to go to trout fishing out in the streams. Here in Wisconsin, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Iowa. That's how we spent our retired life. So I have no regrets.

TI: Well, I think that's the perfect way to end this interview. Harry, thank you so much for doing this interview. This was an incredible interview, and I so appreciate it. So thank you so much.

HU: It was coming here, I hope it'll turn out all right.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.