Densho Digital Archive - Lois Yuki Interview (denshovh-ylois-01-0016)

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RP: So your, your Florin family was waiting for you there in San Francisco?

LY: Oh yes. And my grandfather, Tokumatsu Seno, had a stroke, so my grandparents, grandma couldn't come. They had to wait there. And then that year my uncle's wife was expecting, first (baby), so she stayed too. But, it was so nice.

RP: So you went back to Florin?

LY: No, we lived in, at that time already my father had a... and then my brother and a sister had apartment, yeah, two story apartment on the Sacramento, downtown, where Fifteenth Street and U, between U and V. So we lived there 'til we purchased the house in 1959.

RP: Now, that two-story apartment house, was that part of Sacramento's Japanese Town?

LY: No. Those days I think the few Japanese and right next door neighbor was a Chinese family, right next to the alley. And, mixed, not just Japanese but oh, not... I should say diversified.

RP: So you, you had the family...

LY: And then we had a Mexican family upstairs. And this side was apartments.

RP: The family purchased the home in 1959.

LY: '59, May we moved to the house on the Rio Lane. And then it's about oh, how many miles from downtown? Maybe, let's see, three miles.

RP: Some Japanese Americans who tried to purchase homes in certain areas were not welcomed by their neighbors.

LY: Uh-huh.

RP: And was your situation different or the same?

LY: No, not that time. Of course we had a Japanese realtor, Japanese American realtor --

RP: That helps.

LY: -- and he helped us find a house. And my father always wanted a big property. So we had a house, half acre, old house with a half acre. And right in front of us that time we had a, a empty lot and then William Land Park, the ponies were living there. So our street was kind of like a suburb.

RP: So was that a diversified neighborhood too in terms of ethnics?

LY: Oh, we had our Japanese American family across the street. And Italian and another Caucasian family and then couple more other side of our house on the other side of the street. But now apartment buildings. And a nursing home on that street.

RP: And so you went to Sacramento High School?

LY: I went to (McClatchy) High School, I mean, from (William Land) elementary school. Even though I was twelve years old, I went to first grade for half a year or so and then I went fifth grade next year. Then from there I went to seventh grade to the middle school, (Sutter) junior high. Then I skipped the eighth and went to ninth. Then I went high school for two and a half years. Then I went to (Sacramento) city college. Then from there I went to Sacramento State University and became teacher.

RP: How long, so you had to spend some time in first grade and fifth grade getting your language skills back?

LY: Right. Because I didn't know any English. And I felt one incident because I didn't understand and it's outside, crosswalk. I didn't know so I went across and they, you're supposed to have a flag person waiting for you. So I guess I must have crossed without him, maybe he was still on the edge or something. So they punish me, kept me after school. Oh, that was the saddest thing I ever have to put up with. Maybe a couple days. That was really, I mean, I didn't expect that. So other than that I enjoyed the fifth grade teacher and yeah, I still keep in touch and she has retired from Sacramento City Unified School District, from teaching. And went back to her home town in Enid, Oklahoma. And she said, "It's about ninety miles from Oklahoma City." So if I ever go there she said fly over or drive over there then anyway, no bus, no train, or any kind of transportation except maybe ride in a car and get over to her place. And I still keep in touch now that, e-mail. And sometime I call her. So I'm very grateful.

RP: Were there, were there other Japanese American kids in that classroom --

LY: Yes.

RP: -- first grade and fifth grade? Same...

LY: Many, many.

RP: Same situation? They'd come back from Japan?

LY: That time, few. Not that many. But the Asian American, there were a lot of children there. But, at the time that I was there I think there were two more families. One was there before us and one came after, I mean, year after I went. So we're still good friend.