<Begin Segment 26>

AC: Well, looking back over all of your experience you've had all your entire life, what lessons have you learned about America?

JS: Well, I suppose America is, to me is a land of opportunity for everyone. If he's just willing to use his talents, like I'm, I'm kind of a lazy sort, so I'm probably better at leadership 'cause I'm, I found out long time ago that leadership involves everybody in your organization, and the more people you involve in your work, the more participation you have. So you, when you cut down to activities, say, you keep saying, "Well, I'll take care of this and I'll take care of that," or "You take care of this and you take care of that," and all the rest of the people say, "Well, let 'em take care of it, then." That is the general attitude of any group. That's the primary, one of the requirements of leadership as I've seen it, is of course having the agenda, and when you make an agenda try to stick with it, and then when you assign work, let people have a chance to do the work instead of interfering with what they're, just because you think you're the leader you're not smarter than anybody else. You're really not. You may have more opinions, but you, that doesn't mean, you can't run an organization that way. And so I've had excellent treatment, not just amongst our people, but in the industry level, the growers and shippers, I've been on good terms, as a grower I've been on good terms with the shippers and people in trade. Nellie and I have traveled around the nation from Boston to Orlando to, not much on Pacific Coast, but we've been to a lot of conventions and we've been, I think we've enjoyed the goodwill of the people in our industry that we represent and the people that we've presented ourselves to. So I felt good. I've watched people that followed behind, and we started out alright. We got everything started. We have federal marketing orders in onions and potatoes, and I've been involved as chairman of those groups. So, and I've had lots of fun being emcees of organizations, not just amongst Japanese people, but amongst the industry, the shippers association here and people that I really didn't belong amongst, but we just have good fellowship.

AC: What do you think is the greatest contribution that the Nisei men and women have given to future generations?

JS: Say that again.

AC: What kind of things do you think that you want to pass, that you as the Nisei generation have accomplished that you could pass on to future generations? What are the greatest accomplishment you think you've done?

JS: Well, I suppose one of the, one of the, I don't know whether it's the greatest, but one of the things, that we've complied with the rules that've been laid out to us as people. So we may have our own prejudices, but we recognize that all people have a right to their beliefs. And I, this may be a personal thing with me, like I've said before, I don't care what you believe in. That doesn't make you any different or less, of any less quality than I who have my beliefs, and I, whether you're Muslim or Buddhist or Christian or Jewish or, it doesn't make any difference. Everyone has a way to approach their God and their savior, and how they approach the end of their lives is up to them, as long as you comply with the rules of man, the common sense rules, whether you, and you have the rules as a Christian, the rules as a Buddhist. I don't know about a Muslim. But from what I've seen, you could either way and you're gonna end up in the same place, and it could be a wonderful life or a terrible life, depends on what you want to make of it.

AC: What do you think is your greatest accomplishment in your life?

JS: Pardon me?

AC: What do you think is your greatest accomplishment in your life?

JS: Acceptance of myself and my people in the community. And I've done it, I think, with maybe not total, but almost total support of my own people, and that has been very important to me, that I've been able to lead people, lead our people into acceptance in our community without dissention in the ranks.

AC: So what kind of future do you see for your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren?

JS: I see a wonderful future, because the big, we have the rules established and if they just follow the rules, and they have wonderful opportunities. It may be a terrible society we live in, on the other hand it's the most, there are more opportunities if people would train themselves and work at it, than there ever were. We think we lived in the most wonderful century in history, and may be right, it may be not, but so far we, I'm sure it has been the most wonderful time in history. And we've seen advances of racial and ethnic acceptance by others, but now with what's going on, when you start turmoil in the Middle East one never knows what's going to happen because that, we're fighting a tradition that's been going on for thousands of years, since history began. There are groups of people that never, haven't got along with these things. So this has to be just played out to the end. I, who am I to predict what I, what's in the future? [Laughs]

AC: If your father was alive today and he were standing here looking, and he's seeing your entire life, what do you think he'd say?

JS: Oh, I don't know. I really don't know. I think inside he would feel good about what we've accomplished. On the other hand, if he looked too far forward, then he'd get sad again. But that's not for anybody to judge, what's ahead. You and I can look ahead and all we're doing is suggesting what we think, compromising our thinking. You're asking me a question that, it only becomes an opinion, and I'm not too confident some of the opinions I have had. [Laughs]

AC: Is there anything that I haven't asked you that you'd like to go and talk about?

JS: No, I think not. I think I've generally expressed everything I, everything, all the thoughts that I have. I, like I say, I'm at the age where people are dying around me constantly, younger ones and older ones, and I've, I'm at peace with the Lord, and so I feel like when we go to, just like we went to a breakfast this morning, why, I think my wife and I were the oldest people there. Most of the old people just kind of drop out of things. We have the, we take the position, if we drop out of things nobody's gonna know us anymore. And I can say another thing off the record; I'm not gonna say it on the record, though. [Laughs] You got enough?

AC: Well, I guess, is there anything else that we've talked about that you want to add to, anything like that? [JS shakes his head] Well, I guess I got one last question, then we can go off the record. [Laughs] I guess, what advice would you give --

JS: I'm sorry?

AC: Do you have any advice that you would want to give to your great-grandchildren, anything like that, future generations?

JS: I don't think so. The tradition of our people of getting the best education they can get, or the parents can help their kids get, is about the best thing you can do, and people with a good education, with good, have listened to people who have had lots of experience, I don't know if there's anything better that our people of this generation can have to prepare themselves. And the matter of what, as a matter of what goes on in public life today and all the publicity, if the news media doesn't make all the decisions for us, well, I think we'll be alright. [Laughs]

AC: Well, thank you so very much for taking the time and speaking with us.

JS: I appreciate the opportunity to be here. I didn't know it was gonna be this good, but... [Laughs]

AC: It's been fabulous. Thank you so very much.

JS: Thank you.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2004 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.