Densho Digital Archive - Mae Hada Interview (denshovh-hmae

<Begin Segment 9>

Masako H: When you came back to Hillsboro, how did you feel, you know, what were your feelings?

Mae H: That's a good question. I decided when I come back, we're coming back to where people were pretty much looked upon Japanese as enemies simply because we look like Japanese people which we were, but the young people felt very American. We have to express this. I had decided when I came back that I must go, when I have any acquaintances that are Caucasian friends, which they mostly were in Hillsboro, at the time and church, whatever, I would have to go part way to meet them and be cordial, not hold back. If you're going to get along with these people, you got to show your real self. And that's the way I was always, you know, so I made friends pretty quickly, and I think that's important.

Masako H: So you became pretty integrated here in Hillsboro. You went to which church?

Mae H: My mother went to Methodist Mission School, I told you, so I looked for a Methodist church, found one. They were all very nice to me, so I've been very active ever since.

Masako H: And you also said you belong to PEO. What is PEO? What does it do?

Mae H: That's a question that's asked me often, but I find a little disturbing because I don't think that's really proper, but they want to keep it a secret like maybe sororities do. And it's a very simple answer, and I'm not allowed to reveal it to you. I wish you hadn't brought that up. [Laughs]

Masako H: But they do good things?

Mae H: Yes, yes. Their goal is scholarships for students that can't afford to go on through college, and I really believe that's so important. So we raise money various ways, so we can help them. And it's in the millions. All over the United States, there's PEOs raising money doing the same thing.

Masako H: You also work for the League of Women Voters.

Mae H: I felt that was important. It's not going to happen to somebody else again what happened to us. I think you should know how every town you live in works, how your county works, how your state works, federal level works, and so I joined that. It was very new. I was in the initial group that started in Hillsboro, and I was quite active in that. Eventually, I was the president of a small chapter here. But I still strongly believe in that; although I've retired from that too. And I think I got more out of that organization than some of the others I belong to.