<Begin Segment 5>

RP: Tell us about the community that you grew up in. Was it, Covina, was it predominantly a farming area or rural area?

SK: Yeah. It was, I guess you would say farming. A lot of citrus groves, ranchers. Well, the Japanese were all farmers, who were living there, but we were definitely in the minority. Mostly Caucasians.

RP: Did you, did you get to know other Japanese families?

SK: Oh, yeah. Yes. We, we would have our groups and we had girls' clubs that were started actually by this lady. Her name was, we called her Aunt Hazel Roberts. But she got us interested in going to church and she created these girls' clubs by age. She was just a saint. She (...) did everything to teach us the American ways. Like we learned to eat hot dogs and hamburgers and (hand-churned ice cream). Her husband had a dairy (...). Things like that we tasted for the first time. But she taught us American ways.

RP: Did you go, did she take you out on any field trips or outings around the area?

SK: Did she take us?

RP: Yeah.

SK: Oh, I went to see Ramona. (...) You know that play in Hemet?

RP: Hemet?

SK: I remember going there. I remember going to Mission Inn in Riverside. These were big outings. And she would have us perform, "her girls," in Japanese kimonos, Japanese dances and song, for the local women's clubs. She exposed us to the community. So I think even after the war began, people were not as hostile to us. They were very critical of (...) Aunt Hazel, and Uncle Ted Roberts. So much so that they found it necessary to move. They moved to Carlsbad after that.

RP: They got a lot of flack, as you'd say.

SK: Ostracism. Yes. Yes.

RP: Ror promoting Japanese culture.

SK: Right. Yeah, yeah. Well it 's just like the Lanphears. They became "Jap lovers" (to critics. People like them) helped us keep (our) faith in America, people like that who underwent so much on our behalf.

Off Camera: Sachi, wasn't our group called the Girl Reserves?

SK: Well, we were called the Cherry Blossoms.

Off Camera: Yeah.

SK: Yeah well, it was kind of an offshoot of the Girl Reserves, or Camp Fire Girls. We just had our own name (with other groups) went to camp, you know, in the mountains. Because of Aunt Hazel (said) we were exposed to American ways and activities.

RP: How about, was religion a force in your life early on? Religion?

SK: Yes. Well, as I said, she introduced us to Christianity. And our mothers, well, I can't speak for all the mothers, but our mom, because she saw what a wonderful person Aunt Hazel was, became a Christian herself. But the Roberts used to deliver milk to the Japanese families, free. Give them milk free. You know, among the other things that they did for the families. We celebrated all the holidays, because they showed us how it was done, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving.

RP: Was this girls group predominately Japanese American girls?

SK: Yeah. They were all Japanese Americans, yes. Uh-huh.

RP: That's amazing that you had that, that she gave you that opportunity to sort of...

SK: Yes, right, right. Yeah. Well, that was good because we weren't invited to join any of the white groups in school. (...) I always say that's what caused all the problems after war was declared. The people in general didn't really understand us. Didn't really know us because they didn't make the effort, except for these few people that went all out.

RP: Right. Those are the people that would normally speak out against something like that, too.

SK: Right, right. Well nobody ever said anything to Mr. Lanphear. Of course, he was so huge, nobody would call him a name. But, but we know that they were targeted.

RP: There was, yeah, hostility towards them.

SK: Uh-huh, sure.

RP: Uh-huh. You were president of the girls league? Is that...

SK: Yeah, uh-huh.

RP: Is that part of school?

SK: Yeah. All the girls in, in the high school belonged to it. I guess I did well honor roll-wise and I participated in sports and things like that. Anyway, they elected me to be...

RP: All the girls?

SK: To be president, yeah, of the Girls League. But otherwise, socially we never interacted. I mean, they were fine to me on campus, but nobody ever invited me to their home, you know what I mean? And, so we were, we were excluded in that way. But, academically if we did well, we were recognized.

RP: And where did you go to elementary school?

SK: I went to Lark Ellen, the same one that Dorothy went to.

RP: In Covina?

SK: In Covina. And as she mentioned there were very few minority groups or people that were ethnic.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.