<Begin Segment 7>

AI: What group activities did you participate in?

DT: Well, I was very active in the YMCA, and YMCA became my father and mother. I played track, basketball, swimming, YMCA camp, I was a camp counselor for four years until I went to Cal, and so the Y kept me real busy. So it's amazing but, how my life revolved around the YMCA.

AI: Were there any church groups or community groups that you belonged to?

DT: Oh, yes. We went to... well, strange, I first went to Catholic Church -- no, well, I first, as a little tot, I was in the Buddhist Church, then, then my junior high school days, I guess it was, my next-door-neighbor went to Catholic Church. So went to Catholic Church, and I was even baptized a Catholic. And then later on, I became active in the YMCA, Fred Koba was active with the, superintendent of the San Francisco Church of Christ, but a Protestant. And so I left the Catholic Church, which was, I'm damned to eternal, eternal condemnation for that. I went to a Presbyterian church, and became active in the Protestant, then I got, became active in the YPCC, Young People's Christian Conference movement, and so I became Protestant. And so I was a Presbyterian at that time, then when I moved to San Jose, there were no Presbyterian churches, but I knew Reverend Osuga of the Methodist Church, so I became a Methodist. So it's been a transformation.

AI: A variety of religions, yes. Dave, would you please describe your friends, who you hung out with all this time, their ethnicity, gender, age group?

DT: Well, you see, at the time that we were, say, in junior high school and high school, our friends were Nisei, except for that one gentleman of American youth that was my pal. It was all -- especially when you go to the YMCA. It was a Japanese YMCA, so it was all Niseis that you hung around with. And then even at Cal, you had the Japanese student club, so you're involved with Japanese Americans, Nisei. So we led a rather -- not a sheltered life, but we were dealing with fellow Niseis, see? Not too much Caucasians, although later when I became active in the YMCA as president of the YMCA for five states, I was on the YMCA board, and National Council, I went to the national meeting back east four times. I flew a quarter of a million miles for the YMCA, then became involved with non-Niseis.

AI: Okay.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2004 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.