<Begin Segment 6>

RP: So what area of Eagle Rock did you live in?

MS: On Colorado Boulevard.

RP: Colorado.

MS: Uh-huh. And the, he did the same thing. He, my father, built a little stand sticking out from the house and grew sweet peas. I can remember the sweet peas.

RP: So you had some acreage to...

MS: No, it was just a fairly large lot.

RP: But it was most, was it, would you say it was a middle class neighborhood? Or more affluent area?

MS: Oh no. It was... it was probably middle class.

RP: Mostly Caucasians?

MS: Oh, all Caucasians.

RP: All Caucasians.

MS: Oh yeah, there was no... like I say, it was restricted.

RP: Right.

MS: I think it remained restricted quite a while.

RP: How do you remember being treated by Caucasian people growing up?

MS: There...

RP: At that particular...

MS: In, in elementary school I made a few friends, and, and they were fine. They were... and I was invited to birthday parties and so I was accepted in terms of that.

RP: Were you aware at the time that you were Japanese?

MS: Yes, that was, I think that was the first time that I became aware of the anti... well, no, you know when I was in Hollywood, now that, now that I think back, I do remember there was, must have been a lot of yellow, yellow journalism probably. But I remember it was a "yellow peril" bit. There was a lot of, must have been anti-Chinese first, of course, and then on to the Japanese. But there's a great deal of anti-Oriental feeling. Now, that was in the air but I didn't have any specific instances in terms of myself. Because mostly, of course, it was just the school and the church and, and then I was only there two years. But I know when we got to Eagle Rock there was a, there was a girl that called me a "damn Jap." And that was the first time that I had a personal kind of experience of that. Even though, as I say, I was aware in kind of a more general sense. But even in that general sense, when it's in the air, your body must react. You know, I think there's a, a little tension and it's almost like the skin is gonna have little prickles on it or something. It's a slight feeling and as a child you don't, you don't know what it is, you just know it feels different. Looking back, I can see that that would be...

RP: When this girl called you that name, how did you respond or how did you feel?

MS: Oh, I was very angry. And I think I said, "Don't you ever call me that again."

RP: You stood up for yourself.

MS: I know I was very angry.

RP: So...

MS: Oh, I do remember something up there. Let me see... I was in the fourth grade, and it must have been that that triggered it. And I don't know where I got the idea, but I went to the back near where the... the flowers were all planted along the side. It's almost like, oh, it must have been half a block or something. And I dug a little hole and I got a lot of my feelings out into the hole. I think I probably said a lot of bad things, and then I covered it up.

RP: Did your, did your brothers and sisters ever relate to you any of their, if they had a similar experiences occur to them?

MS: No. I mean, they would never have told me. Yeah.

RP: How about...

MS: I think if anything, the two, my two older sisters would have shared together, and then maybe my brothers. But they wouldn't... you know, I was considered a little... [Laughs]

RP: Right, right. And so you, you had just, the family'd just sell flowers right, right on the road side there?

MS: Yes. And the house was set back so far that I remember there was a large, it would be the equivalent of a half circle driveway. Except that I don't think they made it into a driveway. I just think they had plants and flowers and people could come.

RP: Must have been extremely colorful and beautiful.

MS: Yes, yes.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.