Densho Digital Archive - Hiroshi Terry Terakawa Interview (denshovh-thiroshi-01-0007)

<Begin Segment 7>

TI: So your father leaves, the family leaves Walnut Grove, and you go back to Japan?

HT: Yeah, he was there for about a year, I guess. And then we went back to Japan in 1934, then we came back to Marysville. And that was a bigger town, and we thought, "Oh, man, big city." They got sidewalks. [Laughs] That was a good town. You know where Marysville is, by Yuba City? There was a big Japanese population over there. There was a lot of farmers.

TI: But although it was bigger, it didn't have a Buddhist church.

HT: No, they did not have a Buddhist church. They used to use the big hall, and the school next to the hall. So my father said, "Let's build a church." So they built a church. My father was helping with the architect, designing, "I want some of this here," so he designed the kind of church over there. So that's his hobby, he designed things. Maybe that's why I took it on. [Laughs] And then we had a living quarter in the back, nice living quarters, two-story building. And that was Marysville. I went there, by the way, about, just about ten, twelve years ago, first time, to look at the place, and all the things that I thought was gigantic was so small, you know. We used to go down this hill in the roller skates or something, and I remember I was so scared, it was so tall. We walked over there, I looked up and said, "Where's the hill?" It's so small. [Laughs] It's amazing, huh? I mean, you go to the old town and you know, when you were small.

TI: 'Cause you were only, what, maybe seven, eight years old?

HT: Yeah, that's right. I was still a young kid. Went to grade school there, I remember that. And I remember there was lots of mean kids on that school. I used to have a lady, girlfriend, she lived in San Jose. I don't know what happened to her, I'll look her up. She was a tough... she would say, "Come on, I'll walk you home."

TI: I mean, so your girlfriend walked you home?

HT: Yeah, she used to walk me home. One time I got in trouble, she got the lunch bucket, she just beat the heck out of everybody and I go, "Oh, my god." [Laughs]

TI: When you said there were "mean people," who were these mean people?

HT: Oh, they're kids. Kids are kids.

TI: Like Japanese kids?

HT: No, it's hakujin. God, that was so funny. I was really chicken I guess. But those kids are mean, you know, I don't want to be beat up. So she goes... [laughs].