Densho Digital Archive - Sam Horino Interview (denshovh-hsam-01-0012)

<Begin Segment 12>

FA: After you finished your term, where did you go?

SH: I went to Laramie to recuperate for a while. Then I decided, well, I gotta, I gotta start making my life. Then I went, come to California. Then I decided, well, I, you know, my body's still weak, huh? You know. And I have to have a little more examination, my body, There's something wrong with it. So I went into estate work, so I, estate, you know, make the yard. And then I got my, my physical body in order. You go to see a doctor, and he said, "Well, you have this, this problem." "Can you correct it?" Says, "Sure." "Go ahead." He could do it in the office. Office surgery. Correct it for me. Then I got myself in pretty good shape, you know. Then I thought well, I'd better make something out of my life. Then I decided to get married and start the gardening route, you know. But I got in, I said I'll do this, just like the doctor's doing. Just this, so much, that's all. And I picked other people, the poor people, the poor people said, you know, the people are working, but they're not that poor. But they don't like, they haven't got time to cut the lawn. I cut the lawn for this price, but that's all. Okay. They're happy, and I'm happy.

FA: You're doing the same work after the war as you did before the war.

SH: That's when I started, just started before the war.

FA: Just started before the war.

SH: That was more, more like my education for about a year. You know, when you first start, you want to go --

FA: After the war, when you came back to California, did you have any encounters with people?

SH: No. These people? They welcome me with open arms. All you have to be a Japanese, and they hire you. For example, let's take this --

FA: Let me interrupt you, Sam. I mean among other, other Japanese. Did the people say --

SH: They do, but I ignore 'em.

FA: What, tell me what people said?

SH: Oh, they think I'm un-American. I'm not going to, I'm not going to talk with this guy. It's a waste of time. Waste of time and effort. So I never bothered with him.

FA: That didn't bother you, obviously.

SH: No, it didn't bother, bother me. But the customer ask me what I did in the war, during the wartime, I tell him. I tell him I had served time at Leavenworth. "What happened?" Well, I protested against this camp." I think I made more friends being honest than trying to hide it. They got, I mean, I got some pretty good customers all up in there. Happen to be all Jews, it looked like. But they're all right, they paid me well.

FA: Brings back some, some memories.

SH: Well, that's the, yeah, that's the way it was, but I'll always believe, be honest. You may be wrong, but that was my view of it then. You're better off. Sure, I told a lot of people. Sure, I was in Leavenworth.

FA: Sounds like you were grateful that they accepted you.

SH: Well, I was. I told them because they were older people now, you know, they, their health broke down, they go to the hospital. I'd go, I'd visit them, you know. My customers. I tell them you know, "I'm very grateful that you hired, employed me." He says, all they said, we appreciate and all this. And there'd be something for you, which they were.