<Begin Segment 3>

TI: Okay, so now let's talk about, you wanted to talk about school. So let's talk about your school and what that was like.

HU: This was grammar school in our area. There were about 125 Nihonjin students and one hakujin kid, and he was the son of the janitor. That's the kind of area we lived in, and we called it Taishoku. And after school, we went to Japanese school, that's where we learned to read and write, speak.

TI: And so you would go to regular school all day, and then after regular school you would go to Japanese school?

HU: Yeah.

TI: And how many hours a day would have to go to, first, regular school? When would you start school and how long...

HU: Nine in the morning until about three o'clock, ends. And then we would walk to this Japanese school. That's where we spent an hour. And we always walk home, there's no bikes, we walked.

TI: And how did you like Japanese school?

HU: Well, at least I didn't study very much. [Laughs] Then the graduation came. Lo and behold, I was asked to be the valedictorian. My god, every day I had that coverall, you know, and I didn't have any nice clothes to wear. So I borrowed Frank's pants. The cuff, I must have rolled three times so I don't drag. And I got his new shoe, my god, it was so big, it used to fall off. So I put newspaper where the toe was and made it stick. That's how it was. But the teacher said, "You do a good speech."

TI: And Harry, do you remember what you talked about in your speech as a valedictorian, kind of what you talked about?

HU: I don't know, I've forgotten. [Laughs]

TI: And so you were chosen to be the valedictorian, was that because you were the best student at the school?

HU: I guess so.

TI: So that was quite an honor for you and the family that you were chosen.

HU: Yes. See, that's where my father's philosophy came: "a little bit more." That's why I talk about Mother and Father first. What a true, how true in my life. So I started high school. Frank was one year ahead of me.

TI: Wait, so the valedictorian was for the elementary school?

HU: Yes.

TI: Okay, and that's why everything was too big. But I'm curious, when you were named valedictorian, did your mother or father, what did they say to you? Did they praise you, or what kind of words did they tell you?

HU: I think they saw what they were teaching me. Then came the high school. Those days, county couldn't afford to buy a bus. We all get together, somebody's private car, we used to commute to downtown Sacramento. And when I was a senior, the counselor called me in and says, "You've got enough points to graduate." He said, "Go to any class you want and you study there." My favorite was chemistry class. That's where I saw a pretty Japanese girl. First day I didn't say anything, second day I got up my nerve and opened the conversation. And I went to her and said, "What kind of test are you making? You've got your Bunsen burner going." I had a nice conversation. Third day, I went to see her, I carried her books to the next class, and that's where it started for many, many years.

TI: And so this was your future wife that you're talking about.

HU: She turned out to be my wife.

TI: And what was her name?

HU: Her name was Ethel. Yaeko Imagawa. Pretty girl. [Laughs] That's what I always say, "Pretty girl with a Bunsen burner." That was her nickname.

TI: Yeah, when you went from elementary school to high school, you talked about elementary school being all, you know, Nihonjin or Japanese. When you went to high school, what was it like in terms of the racial...

HU: A mixture. But there were a lot of Japanese kids.

TI: And so can you tell me roughly like what percentage were Japanese and what percentage was white?

HU: I don't know.

TI: Was it mostly Japanese, or were there more Japanese than others, or about the same, or were there more whites?

HU: I couldn't even guess.

TI: Okay. But it was a difference, because you went from all Japanese to more of a mix in Sacramento, high school? So it was a little bit different?

HU: I couldn't guess.

TI: Okay. But do you recall how the whites and the Japanese got along? Was it pretty good in Sacramento?

HU: Oh, yes.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.