<Begin Segment 17>

MA: Was there a, like a Japantown in Minneapolis?

HT: No Japantown but then we had a, like JACL. We had a, the Buddhist Church and all kinds of stuff. First of all we, they settled on 2200 Blaisdell. It was a big house and they used to have a minister, Christian minster who was Japanese. And he stayed there and then we always used to have wedding receptions or church gatherings or anything we used to, that, we used to meet there. I wish we had bought that place, but we never did.

MA: Oh, this was the Buddhist gathering place?

HT: Yeah, Buddhist. And not only that, but Christian, and they had young people and they called it the, this colored person. They called it, it was all colored mix up. I don't know, I can't remember the name of it. They all used to meet together there. Just a meeting place and we had our church services there. And later on we had to go someplace else because they sold it. Somebody else bought it.

MA: So it seems like that place was like the hub of the community at the time.

HT: Yeah, uh-huh. Yeah, that's right.

MA: What about race in Minneapolis, the race relations? I'm just curious also about the demographics -- there was white, Japanese who moved from the camps. What other races? Were there Chinese people here?

HT: Yeah, there were some Chinese people and we have some real good Chinese friends that are, were restaurant, they were all restaurant owners. And right now he lives in St. Louis Park someplace. But then he comes over every once and a while. And the time I was sick he brought dinner over. He's not, he doesn't have a restaurant or anything like that, but he still remembers, he used to sponsor our bowling group. We got along real well. Long time ago they didn't get along too well.

MA: You mean Japanese Chinese?

HT: Yeah.

MA: And this was before the war maybe?

HT: I don't know what it is. We did. But then the adults sort of said, "No, don't go there, now." But kids were nothing. We didn't... but as far as racial things. I don't think there was anything like that for us. I don't think. The kids understood each other, I think, when we were kids. The adults are sort of, they sort of maybe ran into that, but I don't think we did. Yeah. And being on a farm makes a big difference too.

MA: Being on the farm, how?

HT: Well, they were all in a separate place and then, we had a whole bunch of Caucasians living across. We all had the same thing. And then the kids, we got along real well. We used to go play at each other's place and stuff. I think if we were living in town maybe it might be different. I don't know.

<End Segment 17> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.