<Begin Segment 5>

TI: Now going back to your schooling, do you remember the name of the school you went to?

RS: Well, it was because just like Troutdale, it'd be Troutdale grade school. That's the name of the town. And then just like Gresham where I went from second grade up until the war broke out, and that was like Gresham grade school.

TI: And you mentioned there were other Japanese. First, how large was your class usually at the Gresham school?

RS: About... I think about same as what it is now.

TI: So maybe about twenty to twenty-five.

RS: Oh, yeah, or more. But there are more or less, because there wasn't very many Japanese, see, in your grade.

TI: Yeah, that's what I wanted to know. So how many other Japanese would be in your grade?

RS: Well, a lot of time it'd just be... or because we'll have two classrooms, same grade. But to this day, my friends that are Japanese, the family, we lived close. And they're my dearest friends.

TI: So in those two classes, same grade, would there be more than five Japanese?

RS: No, would be maybe one. Maybe I'll be one, and one, you know.

TI: Okay, so very few.

RS: Yeah.

TI: And then the rest of the kids, were they all Caucasians?

RS: Caucasians.

TI: Any other races?

RS: Not that I can think of.

TI: And how were you treated?

RS: Real good, real good. I mean, but once when the war started, boom, that changed.

TI: So we'll get to that a little later. I just wanted to talk about other, so you had a lot of chores, but were there any other activities that you did outside of school?

RS: Yeah, I told you I helped my mother plant.

TI: [Laughs] Not all of them.

RS: Doing the weeds, things like that. And we don't dare miss the school bus, because otherwise we'd be walking.

TI: And how far would you have to walk to school?

RS: Oh, about two miles.

TI: So you made sure you were there.

RS: So you could make sure you'd get on the bus.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.