<Begin Segment 4>

RM: Where did you go to elementary school?

GO: Well, first it was North Hollywood. And then... well, actually, North Hollywood grammar school. Then we moved, so I went to Victory grammar school, which was about three miles away, and we had to walk every morning back and forth. Them days, like I said, there was a lot of open space, so we walked. We cut across the field or whatever, it's about three miles. That's right, nowadays, three blocks, they drive them there.

RM: That's right. [Laughs] Things have definitely changed. What was the population of the school like? Was it mostly Japanese Americans?

GO: No, no, they're all mixed. They're all mixed.

RM: So what kind of different groups were there?

GO: What's the population difference? Well, they were mostly white, and then certain place, like the Spanish people, they got more Spanish there, or the black, they got more. So it just depended on where you're at. But ours, Japanese Americans, they're scattered all over, because they're farming here, all around.

RM: Did you get along with all your classmates in school?

GO: Oh, yeah.

RM: Was there anyone in particular that stood out to you?

GO: We were all, do things together. Yeah, like when we were going to high school, we'd go drive to high school, and shall we go over there? So we'd jump in the car and take off. That's the kind of time we had.

RM: Sounds like a good time. Did your father... so my understanding is that Issei weren't allowed to own land, right? So how did your father, did he lease the farm?

GO: It was all leased. Because like... see, it was all wide open, the valley. So they leased your land, about twenty or thirty acres, and it's hilly with sagebrush. So we got to clear all the sagebrush, and then got to level the land so you can irrigate or plant. So after two or three years, the lease is up, they're gonna build homes. So we got to move to another place and do the same thing. That's how the valley grew. The farmers cut the sagebrush away, leveled the land, and kept on moving.

RM: How many times did your family move?

GO: Oh, they moved quite a few times, one, two, three. So, but anyway, them days, the farmers, when they moved, they moved the house through... so the house, every time they get movers that moved the house from one place to another, because it's not like now, the streets are wide, so they can move the house. That's the way the farmers are.

RM: Is that what your family did?

GO: Oh, yeah.

RM: So did you have the same house the entire time you were in North Hollywood?

GO: No. The last place they went, they built the home. They built the home, and I don't know how much they sold it for, but they just left it there.

RM: So tell me a little bit about North Hollywood High School.

GO: North Hollywood High School. Well, it was a good place, where you had a lot of friends do the same thing. Yeah, otherwise it's the same thing.

RM: Were you a good student?

GO: I was very good. I was very good. [Laughs]

RM: Because otherwise your mom might have rapped you on the head. So what were the classes that interested you most.

GO: First, good education.

RM: Did you have any teachers that stood out to you in high school?

GO: No, they were all the same.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2014 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.