<Begin Segment 4>

LT: Can you tell us more about school at Bailey Gatzert?

DS: Uh-huh. Bailey Gatzert was, I think, from first grade to the sixth, I'm not sure on that. We had a lady principal, her name was Ada J. Mahon, and she had a doll called Lassie which she brought to school every day. And she had a little rooster that she brought to school, too. And we were all either Japanese kids, Chinese kids, a few colored, Filipinos, it was just a melting pot there. And we went to, I think it was up to sixth grade, and after sixth grade, we could go to Washington for seventh and eighth grade. But when we got to sixth grade, several of us decided that they're gonna stay at Bailey Gatzert, we were the first eighth grade graduating class at Bailey Gatzert. And we had programs at the school, parents night, I remember my mother coming one day to school to visit. And then we had school programs, we had, program was, one was Momotaro, if you remember Momotaro, he's the Peach Boy.

LT: Can you talk about that one?

DS: Well, I was the star.

LT: Oh, we need to hear about that.

DS: But I don't remember why I was the star, but I wore a kimono. And it was a school program, just for the school. And I don't know why I was the star or what my role was, that's long ago. But that was a school program where the parents came and watched, it was funny. But we did have a lot of school programs, and the parents were invited to come. It was a nice school, but like I say, it was one through six.

LT: So can you talk a little bit about Momotaro and what the story is and what your role was?

DS: Like I say, I don't even remember what my role was. I was the star, but I can't remember what my role was.

LT: Peach Boy.

DS: Peach Boy, it was Momotaro, who... as I remember Momotaro was a peach shell, I think, the pit. And it breaks, and the baby is Momotaro. I don't remember much more after that. But that was the play, and like I say, I don't know why I was the star. But I was dressed in a kimono, I remember that.

LT: Do you remember your feelings when you were preparing for that or what happened afterward, or what your parents or your sisters and brothers said?

DS: No, I was the star, so it was just focused on me, and that's all I can remember, that I was the star. But why I was the star, to this day, I don't remember.

LT: So did that prompt you to other roles?

DS: No, no, it was just something that they asked me to be. And I can't remember what grade it was, fifth grade or sixth grade.

LT: And this was at Japanese school or regular school?

DS: This is at Bailey Gatzert.

LT: Pardon?

DS: Bailey Gatzert, regular school.

LT: Okay, so this was at your regular school, but you were putting on a play about Japanese culture then?

DS: Yeah. So that was quite interesting. But most of the students were from Japanese families. A few, like I say, were Chinese, and Bailey Gatzert was in a district where it was like the melting pot, Chinese people lived two blocks from Jackson Street, that was Chinatown, and it still is. To this day, it still is. But that was just a melting pot school. We had nice teachers, all lady teachers, at that time they were all unmarried, you know, the law said you couldn't get married then. And they were very nice, caring older ladies. We all went to that school.

LT: Were your teachers at Bailey Gatzert Japanese or Chinese?

DS: No, they were Americans, Caucasians. They were all Caucasian ladies, older ladies.

LT: So they were learning Japanese culture, too, as they were including Momotaro and others in your curriculum, then. And can you talk a little bit about Japanese school and how that was different from Bailey Gatzert?

DS: Well, we went to Japanese school every day after school was finished, so it was about three o'clock. And we would all walk down the... Japanese school was down the hill. Mr. Nakagawa, I think he was the principal, and we just all walked down the hill, and it was right after Bailey Gatzert and I think we stayed there for maybe two hours every day. Teachers were all Japanese ladies, very strict. They taught us to learn to read, to write, to speak Japanese. And they were quite strict. They were quite strict as teachers. And I remember going to, after I finished there, my mother sent me to another Japanese school. It was run by Mr. Ishii, it was kind of a different school, very strict. And that was on Saturday. To this day, I don't know why she sent me there, but I did go. I think that went for about a year. And when I was eighth grader, I did not go to Japanese school after that. Probably thought I, it would interfere with my high school. Many people, many kids quit going to Japanese school when they were eighth graders. They didn't carry it over into high school.

LT: How did you feel about Japanese school?

DS: Oh, no, it's the way of life. We were told that we were to go to Japanese school and learn Japanese, and that's what we did. And they were strict. The teachers were very strict, but they were good teachers. And probably was a good thing.

LT: How were they strict?

DS: They were strict, and we had to... I mean, we couldn't talk in school. We had to pay attention to the teacher all the time, you know, it was very, they were very strict. They weren't lax in letting us chase around the room. They maintained the rules, and we had to follow the rules. But that was just a way of life. I mean, I can't speak Japanese today... I learned when I was in the Japanese school, but you forget what you don't speak.

LT: Sure.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.