Densho Digital Archive - Susumu Iwasaki Interview (denshovh-isusumu

<Begin Segment 18>

RP: Now I... you entered school at Manzanar, started at ninth grade there?

SI: Eighth grade.

RP: Eighth grade.

SI: Yeah.

RP: What was school like for you at Manzanar?

SI: I don't know, it was just a school. There was no teacher, we just read our books and did our thing whatever it was. And when, when the regular school started we were in the ninth grade already. In fact, we were the last class to graduate from Manzanar.

RP: Were there any, any of the teachers that stood out in your mind? That inspired you or impressed you or touched you?

SI: Well, the only teacher that I can think of right now is Miss Brown was our Spanish teacher. Fox was either Latin or some kind of teacher. Anyway, I think, was it Fox? Had the bad arm? And we used to give him a bad time when he was monitoring the study hall. And then, you know, I saw him in Japan. But of course he couldn't remember me. And I told him I was in Manzanar and he was one of our teacher. And so I asked him what he was doing here. He says, well, he's going up to northern Japan to teach, I guess, English, I guess. So that was, was kind of a surprising to me that he was there. This was right after the war ended. So I was surprised that these civilian teacher were allowed to go there. So anyway, that's where I met him.

RP: Do you have any favorite subjects in school?

SI: What?

RP: Did you have any, your favorite subject in school?

SI: Not really. I went through there like... there was a lot of subject that I wanted to take but they were, the class was full. And, in fact, in my, in my senior year I had four study period and then the vice principal came up to me and says, "You know, you're not supposed to have four study period." I says, "They got no more subject," I said. So anyways, he says, "Well, there's either choir or drama." "Hey," I says. So I settled with choir, right. So I took choir in the last year of my class. So, I wanted to take accounting, not accounting, what was it, bookkeeping or whatever. And that was full. And I had two years of Spanish. And of course English and History class. That was it.

RP: Were you involved in any school activities?

SI: No.

RP: Student activities?

SI: Not really. The only thing we, we performed one time at the auditorium, the choir. That was it.

RP: Who directed the choir?

SI: I think it was Frizzel. It might have been Frizzel. Yeah.

RP: What do you remember about Louie?

SI: Pardon?

RP: What do you remember about Mr. Frizzel?

SI: Not much. To me he was just the teacher, music teacher. And... so we, we were there just to be there. I remember the class being big. I mean, that choir group was real big.

RP: And what kind of voice did you have? Did you have a baritone or a soprano?

SI: Who cares, really?

RP: We were gonna ask you to sing.

SI: No. [Laughs] Well, I sing over here, you know, at the karaoke group.

RP: Yeah.

SI: But this lady here, she's a pretty good singer. So, that's how, that's how I met her. One day we were at one of the group singing and she was there and then I, not really, just a good friend now. So, I took her to karaoke class.