<Begin Segment 16>

KB: What was it like coming back from Minidoka and entering high school?

SO: It was... well, I was the only Japanese there.

KB: At Franklin?

SO: Yeah.

KB: In the entire school?

SO: First one, yeah.

KB: Wow. How'd that feel?

SO: There was one teacher that was prejudiced.

KB: How did that happen, what happened?

SO: I don't know, she was an English teacher I remember.

KB: Did you feel treated differently?

SO: Yeah.

KB: Anything specific?

SO: No, but I got my worst grade in high school there. [Laughs]

KB: And you put the work in? How would you describe yourself as a high school student?

SO: Well, I'm an honors student.

KB: So that was a surprise to get that grade then, I would imagine.

SO: Yeah. Because I was late in getting into math, but I got an A because math was easy for me.

KB: Were you happy to go to the other school at Washington, then? Were you happy to transfer?

SO: Yeah, in that respect. Just one teacher, all the rest were...

KB: Kids were good?

SO: ...kids were good, yeah. Had a couple of good friends there.

KB: At Franklin?

SO: Yeah, they treated me very well.

KB: When you went to Washington... it was Washington, right?

SO: Yes.

KB: And were you still the only Japanese American?

SO: No, no, there were other Asians, a lot of Chinese kids there, too.

KB: So was it a different feel for you at Washington than it was at Franklin?

SO: Yes.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.