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TI: When you left San Jose you were in high school, so when you got to Garland, Utah, did you attend school?

LH: I did.

TI: So tell me about that. What, what kind of school was it?

LH: It was a lot different. California, we got all our paper and pencils free. Over there we had to pay for it. And people are complaining here now, but I thought to myself, gosh, other states, they have to pay for, and I don't know if Utah, they still do, but at that time it was, that was new. And as far as school, it was just continuing my education, I think. There was nothing unique or that, that stood out in my mind, other than graduation. I know that we didn't get a, we just got a diploma. We didn't have a graduation ceremony because of the war.

TI: So that was for the whole school? The whole school just gave diplomas?

LH: We had, we got our diploma. Well, there must've been a thing. The thing we didn't get was the yearbook, so I have no pictures of my classmates or even the people of, that... there were Japanese in Utah. They were all farmers and they all, I think they all owned their land there. And until then, for me, being young, it was amazing that people lived outside of Santa Clara County. [Laughs]

TI: Well, how about your classmates in Utah? Was there curiosity about the "kid from California"?

LH: I don't remember anything. I know there was a lot of dances. They all danced, and I never learned. The sports, there was something unique about the sports, but I can't remember.

TI: How about, going back to the dances, would, would there be any issues or problems with, like dancing with someone from a different race? Like a white person with a Japanese or...

LH: I don't think so, simply because there are Japanese there.

TI: And so the Japanese there, they would dance with white people?

LH: Right. They're pretty well-integrated because, just like here, the, your hakujin friends are your hakujin friends and, and most, most hakujin got along with Japanese 'cause we work hard and I'm sure in Utah it was the same thing. And even when I was going to grammar school, there was only girl that called me a "Jap" and I still remember her name, but that was the only experience I've ever had of anybody ever calling me a "Jap." I do remember when somebody went into the town of Tremonton and they thought they, they thought they were Indians and I thought, my gosh, I don't know why that came up because there are Indians there. There's an Indian reservation north of Fielding, where we lived, near the border there's, there is a reservation, and so there's Indians living around there. They're, they're fairly easy to spot because they have a round face and they have a little bigger frame and they're, and they're dark. They're brown skinned, so, and they were very friendly. I mean, none of them every talked bad to us or anything. We just, we weren't, we weren't good friends or anything, but we do say hello to everybody and we never really ran into too many of them.

SF: In Utah, with all of the Mormons, do you think that Mormonism had anything to do with the, how people treated you?

LH: Well, I always thought they did because they went through the same thing. They had to flee to Utah, or that was one of the places they fled to, and all the Mormons we met were very good to us. They were very good and supportive of us, so I have nothing bad to say about Mormon people or their religion. And they never bothered us because of what faith we had. They never questioned it. I think they would have liked to have my brother and sister go to school, the Mormon school, but they did that. They called 'em wards, and I think my brother, who is seven years younger, my sister's thirteen years younger, she was three and he was, I don't know, seven or eight, I guess, but anyway, they went to the school there, but they were never, I don't ever remember them complaining about anything. Everybody was good. They were good. So as far as education I think no one had a problem.

TI: How about, because at this point I think you're, you were, attended the Buddhist church. Did you, were you able to go to any Buddhist ceremonies in Utah? Was there, like, Buddhist minister or anything like that?

LH: You know, I don't remember a church anywhere.

TI: Or a meeting, any kind of services in terms of Buddhist?

LH: No, I don't remember a church, because when, I told you there was one fatality, one sad part, that was at a, not a Japanese church. It was at a... I don't know if it was a Mormon church or what, but it was a local church. But I don't, now that you mention it, I don't even remember where the Buddhist church in Salt Lake City was, so that tells you where my, my religious thoughts were. It was not in my thinking, I guess, about going to church.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.