Densho Digital Archive - Jiro Sugidono Interview (denshovh-sjiro-01-0011)

<Begin Segment 11>

TI: So I want to ask a little bit more about just regular school. And so what was regular school like for you?

JS: Well, at first I went to kindergarten and Radcliff school, 'cause I live in, right on, after I moved to First Street, that was in the '30s, I was going to Radcliff. And I went to kindergarten there, and then fourth grade, they had up to fourth grade, and from fourth grade I went to Lescott, that was on Elm Street. And then from there, oh, I went to grammar school, that's right in where the YMCA is now. See, the old grammar school, they just tore it down, it was wood, and we were the first to go to E.A. Hall, they just finished that new school, E.A. Hall, and we were the first to go in, first to graduate, and that was 1937, and I went to high school from '38 to '42. But actually, the war broke out '41, so we didn't get no diploma. We had, when we went to Salinas camp, that's where we, our principal, McQuiddy, brought the diploma, we got it there in Salinas camp.

TI: Oh, so the Watsonville High School principal came to Salinas to give you your diploma.

JS: Watsonville principal, and naturally there was a (Mrs. Worthington, Dean of Girls), she came with him. Well, we had a prom or whatever you called it, prom, I don't know. But they had a dance, the older girls taught us how to dance. [Laughs]

TI: So you had a prom in, at Salinas?

JS: Well, it was kind of informal, like a get-together.

TI: Or a dance. And can you describe that ceremony in Salinas when the principal came with the diplomas? How did they do that?

JS: I don't know. I don't remember too much, all I know is he came to Salinas camp. That's, camp is whatchacallit, rodeo. See, we were staying, living in a stable, horse stable, so anyway, all I know is he came to the Salinas camp and gave us, I don't know what the procedure was, but we got our diploma there.

TI: Now, do you remember how you felt about that? Because he didn't have to do that; this is uncommon a little bit for a principal to...

JS: I don't know, 'cause I think I'm... I don't know, I don't get excited too much. I didn't, I didn't feel hurt or anything, I didn't, I didn't think I was (ready) from anything. I just...

TI: Or were you perhaps maybe a little grateful that he took the effort to, to give you...

JS: (Yes), I was thankful that they came to give me a diploma. 'Cause that was, what, April, January... May, April yet. It wasn't even time to graduate yet, see, 'cause you're supposed to graduate in June, but we were in the camp already. So, well, later on, in '92, that was fifty years since we were supposed to graduate, Mas Hashimoto, I think he arranged it with the ninety-two graduates, hospital, and asked if the graduates from '42 could be there at the same time, and they says, "Okay." So we, they made a special place where, us to sit. Next to the ninety-two graduates, there was quite a bit Japanese from '42. I'll bet you there was oh, about thirty or forty people, maybe more. You know, guys like Shig Kizuka, Hirano, Izumizaki, Matsumoto, but the, most of 'em passed away now.

TI: And so going back to 1942, or even '41, in your class at Watsonville High School, how many Japanese Americans were in your class?

JS: Gee, I tell you, if I bring that, my '42 book there, man, you could see that there (were many) Japanese (students).

TI: Like what percentage, do you think? Maybe was it...

JS: It was between '41, '42 and '43 had the most Japanese. '44, too, but they didn't graduate, they graduated in camp. So, but gee, I would say, well, I would say there was at least maybe quarter, maybe.

TI: Wow. So a quarter of the student body was Japanese American? And so when they left the school, that left a big hole there.

JS: Oh, (yes). 'Cause, but funny thing, I looked in my '42 book, they didn't mention nothing about us. They didn't say, I thought they would say at least the '42 students wasn't able to come or this and that, but they didn't say nothing.

TI: Now I'm curious, going back to your elementary school, like at Radcliff, when you're in kindergarten through fourth grade, what percentage of you, of your class was Japanese American back then? Do you remember, was it about the same percentage?

JS: No, it was a little, little less. 'Cause when it came to high school, a lot of those Japanese came from rural country (school).

TI: Okay, so the farming, the farming families all came to...

JS: That's right. They were more country, see, they had Roache school and, well, I don't know, Corralitos, those other places. But then the one, when I went to school, there weren't, there weren't that many... well, people who live in town. But mostly they were, rural schools had the most.

TI: And so I'm curious, how did the, for the Japanese Americans, how did the town Japanese Americans get along with the farming Japanese Americans? Was there ever any tension between the two?

JS: Oh, well, I'm a city boy, but you know, I didn't hear those complaints by the farmer, by the Japanese, but there must have been some incident because... but then, see, when they left for camp, like the Shikumas, they let their ranch to an American farmer, they took care of it. (Yes), and then when they came back, they kind of gave it back to them. So (yes), they made those guys, couple other farmers like Thomas Hara, he did, he did the same thing, he took over some other, Shikumas or... and didn't make money. But I didn't hear no incident of somebody losing their ranch. Like the Hiraharas, you saw the two sisters, that's the Hiraharas.

TI: Oh, right.

JS: (Yes), they were married to Nishihara. Well, his brother, he passed away, he was the same age (as) I was. He was, fortunately, when he into camp, he had this lawyer take care of it, McCarthy, that when he came back, he got it back.