Fujiyoshi, Jane (11/12/2017)

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Anna Takada: 00:00 To start, can you just state your full name please?

Jane Fujiyoshi: 00:01 It's Jane. My maiden name was, uh, Sakoda and it's, um, I'm married now, it's uh Fujiyoshi

AT: 00:10 And where and when were you born?

JF: 00:13 Um, I was born in 1941, um, April, April, 1941 in Montebello, California.

AT: 00:24 And uh, what kind of town or area is that?

JF: 00:27 It's a farm, rural. My Dad was a farmer and um, now, that's all part of East Los Angeles. I mean it's all city now, but it was rural, I think at that time. And um, I can't tell you too much about it cause we left there in 1942 when I was about just turning one. So, um, I, I don't really know the area myself, but I've seen it afterwards.

AT: 00:53 Do you know what kind of property that or?

JF: 00:55 I know that we were, my mom said she had, she was a city girl from Hollywood and she married my dad who was a farmer, farm boy. And they were, I know she had to help put crates of lettuce on her shoulder and walk it out, you know. And, and this is, you know, her introduction, an introduction to a farm life. Yeah.

AT: 01:16 And do you have any siblings?

JF: 01:18 Yes. There, there are eight, eight of us. Yeah.

AT: 01:22 Where are you in the birth order?

JF: 01:24 Third, third of eight, and there's six girls and two boys. So I have an older sister Janice, who's, you want to know who they are?

AT: 01:31 Yeah.

JF: 01:32 Okay. She's a teacher and taught many years and she actually went back to California when she was, because we moved to Texas. Maybe I'd better start at the beginning.

AT: 01:44 Sure.

JF: 01:44 Okay. Like my dad was born in 1912 and he's the oldest of seven children. And my grandfather came by way of Hawaii. And, um, uh, I think he helped build some of the water, water lines or over someplace. And, um, and then came, then he settled in California and was farming there. And He, all, all of the children, all of my father's, he and he, he's the oldest of seven and, and they were all born in California.

AT: 02:19 Okay. And how about your mom? Do you know where she ended up in America?

JF: 02:24 Yeah. She, um, she's also a Nisei. Her, her mom and dad were both here. My, my grandmother was a picture. Right. And I think on both sides they were both picture brides. And, um, um, my grandfather had come when he was about 15 years old and he'd lived in, uh, with a, with an American family and he became a gardener. That's on my mother's side. My father said there were always farmers, but my, and my grandmother on my mother's side was, uh, she did, um, I think, uh, after the war, you know, when it was hard to get jobs in. But when they went, for the people who went back to Cali, California, she's the one who, um, umm, like took an ironing she, you know, she took an ironing and she, um, had had a very interesting way that she's made a living to. But they, they became pretty prosperous than that. That because she was able to buy property in, you know, like four, four lots, four for the four children they had, yeah.

AT: 03:28 Um, so when the, when the war broke out, um, do you know a little bit about what happened with your family and your parents. They had three small children at that time, would that be right?

JF: 03:42 Yeah, I was a third third of the children, um, at that time. And, um, we were, we didn't own the land, so, and my, my grandparents had left in 1938. Um, my father's parents, they, they, they, they, they, um, returned to Japan with all the money that they had earned because he was not one the eldest son, he was one of the younger sons. And the dream for the, for a lot of the people who came here was to work, make money so they could buy property in Japan. And so that's what he did, that he, he worked here. He had, you know, he, he was fortunate that he was able to have a family here. And then when he thought he had enough money, he took all the money they had. And, uh, my, my dad being the oldest, oldest stayed back. And then of course he had already married and had three children. So he wasn't interested in going back to Japan and he was, and they were doing very, very well. There were, you know, they'd had some good years and they've had, in 1941, they bought a brand new 1941 Buick. Um, and I guess they paid cash in those days, you know, they didn't have such things as loans. And he bought, he bought a farm equipment and he bought my mom a washer and dryer and things like this, things that you couldn't pack in just two suitcases and you'd have to get rid of them are, you know, and we didn't own the property, so, and we had, uh, we had a seed and we planted it I think. And, and, uh, so all that was, you know, the new crop was going to come through and we had, he had done very well, but, um, but he had invested in all into equipment and things that we had to leave behind. So they, they lost quite a bit and when they had to leave.

AT: 05:32 And, um, so can you explain the, the trajectory of your family after the Evacuation orders went out?

JF: 05:40 Okay. Well, um, I understand that we had to go into the Santa Anita Racetrack and we were there for awhile and then from there we were sent to rural Arkansas and then at and now, and my father was a farmer. He was very, you know like uneasy being in camp. And he here, he knew that there was a need for farmers. And so he, he had heard of, um, he, uh, he had a friend who was farming in Texas. And so, um, then we were told that the, uh, that we were in the area was open and we could come in, go to Texas and farm. So we, uh, in 1942, October of 1942 after my baby sister was born in camp, she, um, there were four of us now, four children, and she was newborn. And I understand we wrote on them on a railroad car. I'm not in the car, but between the rail cars, my mom and four children, newborn baby in her hands and the rest of us hanging on to each other. So we don't fall off the train because we're, we're, we're sitting on our suitcases between the, where, the, where, the where, the, you know, trains locked together like this because they needed the room for the soldiers and other people who were there, you know, so, and we were just going to go join my dad and in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, right near the Mexican border.

AT: 07:11 Do you know how that worked? Did he leave first and then, you?

JF: 07:16 Yeah, he left first to make sure that he find a place for us to stay. And all like that. And he had to write many letters to get permission to leave and, uh, and get, you know, people's saying he's good character and all that stuff.

AT: 07:32 And where in Texas was that?

JF: 07:34 That we relocated to?

AT: 07:36 Mhm

JF: 07:36 A place called Los Indios. It means the Indians and it was right near the Mexican border within five miles. In fact, the farm place was, um, it was, had, the land had to be cleared. It was mesquite and, um, cactus, you know, and so he had to clear the land leveling off, um, and then we could begin to farm it. So because we weren't taking somebody else's land that, you know, or whatever. But I mean, when we paid rent on that land.

AT: 08:09 And how long was your family there?

JF: 08:11 We were there for 19 years.

AT: 08:19 Where, where were your first memories? Where were you living?

JF: 08:24 We were living in what somebody said it was a ghost house because a person had, had been killed and his body and or clothes had been thrown on top of the roof of this house. And some people claim that they could see ghosts in this house, but, and it was just, um, a simple, just a room, basically one, one room. And I think there was an outhouse. And then, um, so it was very simple place, but we stayed there for only a short time I think. And then my dad had a little house, well, um, built, you know, and um, so we moved into this house and that didn't have running water in the wash, you know, a regular wash, you know, bathroom and all like that with running water and flush toilets.

AT: 09:10 And so that, that first has the ghost house, was that, um, were your first memories are of living of living there?

JF: 09:19 Yeah, but, um, and I have to say the people that, our neighbors there were, um, Mexican Americans and they have, although they had lived there for many years and he could speak English very well, they still had, you know, some prejudice against them, you know. And so they were very kind to us, very, very kind of, we had, and in fact, we were still friends today because they were so, so nice to us and we have really good memories of all, are Mexican friends over there, so, but we, we located in Texas, yeah. After the war.

AT: 09:54 And so, um, your dad, did he just continue farming up in Los Indios?

JF: 10:00 Yeah, we farmed there for 19 years and we had good years and bad years, you know. Um, and we sharecropped 25% of your pay off the gross goes to the landowner first. And then, um, from the, from the rest of it, you pay your bills, you know, your, your farm laborers. Cause we, we, we farmed, um, what we started small and then afterwards you, um, find more acreage. But we were, we never really own the land. We were always sharecropping. I think at one time we were paying on 25 acres, but I think we were able to keep it out, so. Okay.

AT: 10:42 And how would you describe your experience of growing up there?

JF: 10:46 It was fun. We enjoyed it. We, we, um, we, we had a chance to learn to drive early. You know, because you drive a tractor, you drive a truck and you, you, you know, as long as it's all around just on the farm, I, you know, then, then it's okay. And then later on we got our licenses. Um, and, and we were, you know, we worked in the fields, but it was fine. I mean, everybody worked, you know, as everybody works with like nothing new, it's something that you just do, you know.

AT: 11:19 And growing up. Um, so then was your, your life and your days mostly school, and then helping out on the farm? Did you do anything else that's outside of that?

JF: 11:32 Well, like, um, later on they built a community house, you know, uh, um, they call it the Rio Grande Valley Royal Club and it was made up by the Japanese Americans, um, farmers who didn't get together very often, but, um, I think we all pitched in like $1,000 a piece or something like that. And they built this little, uh, meeting place. And so, um, Christmas or, um, you know, there'd be a couple of times a year is that they'd get together at this place and, and there'd be um, shows they'd put on and stuff like that, you know. And my dad would encourage us all to learn a Japanese song and they do the Obon over there and tried to keep up with some of the old traditions, cultural traditions, and then we'd get together also would go to the beach because the beach was only 20 miles away.

AT: 12:26 So did a lot of Japanese American families resettled there?

JF: 12:30 Um, some had been there for many years before we, you know, um, most, most of them were already there, when we got there. And, but there were scattered, you know, when you're farming and you, you know, you won't, you farm 25 or 50 acres, you know, then the next acre, you know, the next farmers is down quite a ways down the road. And so it'd be from many different city, I mean, different little towns and they could be a hundred miles away, but they'd all come together to get together just to have this cultural and

AT: 13:03 Um, did you grow up speaking Japanese?

JF: 13:09 No, very little. I mean, we've learned a few words, but mainly we spoke English.

AT: 13:15 So you don't have to worry about Japanese school or

JF: 13:18 No, there weren't enough people there to have a Japanese school. Yeah. And we ended up going to a Christian Church, actually, the principal of our school, um, in fact took us to, Christian Baptist Church there.

AT: 13:38 Baptist Church? Um, and then so what, where did you go after being in Texas?

JF: 13:44 Um, we, we stayed in Texas for 19 years. And like I said, we had good years and bad years and we were down to the last thousand dollars out here and paying off the mortgage that the man, um, was not a very kind man and he didn't want to extend it. And then when you think about it, you know, $1,000 more to go, you know, you could just take one piece of equipment and sell that and that would give you $1,000. But he chose to go by the letter of the law, I guess, then just foreclosed and took all the equipment away at that point. And, uh, so when that happened, it was like the second time my father had been, um, kind of cheated, you know, I mean, the first time was when the government took everything away and you know, when he was doing well and he got away with it, like very little. And this time it's, it's because this man was not being um, very kind. And he wanted to go by the letter of the law and he just took everything. So, um, and my father just wasn't in a, in a frame of mind to, he wasn't, he wasn't feeling that well and he, so he just became very discouraged and he, he just, okay, I give it up, you can have the equipment. And then by that time, my brother and I were, um, one of my oldest sister had gone back to California and she had worked her way through UCLA and worked as a school girl and she became a teacher and was teaching in California. And then my brother and I were born in the same grade. We graduated the same year. That we, um, uh, and um, so he said, okay, now you two kind of take care of the family and that, that was the year my youngest sister was born. So, um, so then there was, uh, seven of us left and my brother and I, we were just a year apart. So we were, we took over the household and um, and I mean the earning money for the household. So then we moved in, we gave up the, we, we're only renting the farm anyway, so we moved into the city park. And then, um, we, um, got, uh, uh, a home through the, um, like, like, um, I don't know, this inexpensive housing. And then, uh, so that we only had to pay like a very nominal amount, like one week's pay to could, would pay for our rent, you know, and then the other three, three, we used to pay the other bills that we had. So, but we weren't making a lot of money there. My, my brother got a dollar an hour as in construction work and when it rained, you didn't work, you don't get paid. And I got a job. My first job was 25 cents an hour as a, as a soda jerk. And it was costing more money in gas to go to the job and out. I was only given four hours of work, so that didn't last too long. We just, we might, my dad said you better quit that job because you're not making any money. So then, um, my, my next job was with the, uh, the local hospital as well as the admissions clerk and really on insurance reports. So I worked there for four years.

AT: 17:04 And um, I'm so sorry and this was, um, this was close to where you were in Texas, but not in the same, not Los Indios?

JF: 17:14 No, not Los Indios. It was about seven miles away to town, San Benito, Texas.

AT: 17:21 And um, and are you, did you end up in Chicago?

JF: 17:29 Um, we had, um, my dad had had, um, sent money back to his brothers and sisters in, in the, uh, in the, and my mother, in the meantime, my father, grandfather had passed away. He died in an accident and they were on in the Hiroshima area. So for awhile we were like blanked out. We didn't know what happened to them. And fortunately they were in the rural area and they didn't get injured by the bombing. And, um, but my, um, w when he, as soon as we were able to, we sent for the oldest one who was there, my, uh, my aunt and she came back, you know, we brought her back to the States and she stayed with us for awhile and then later we sent for an uncle. Um, cause there were three, three that had gone back. The first oldest, four of my father's family were in the United States, but the youngest three were, went back with my grandparents and they had bought property in, in, um, near Hiroshima. And, and we first sent for the one aunt and she came back and then she, she, um, she stayed with us for awhile and then she got married and then my uncle came to Chicago. Um, I mean it came to, came to live with us for awhile and then he moved to Chicago because one of my other aunties we had, well my dad was the oldest. There was, um, a brother next to him and then two sisters. And, um, so one of the sisters, um, was with us in camp and then she went to Chicago. Because she had an opportunity to go to Chicago. And the, the other Auntie I came went to Texas with us and she, cause she, she was married and she had, um, they were farming with it, you know, with us, um.

AT: 19:11 Do you know what that was doing in Chicago? What kind of work?

JF: 19:17 I think it was office work. I'm not really sure what she did. I, it wasn't professional, she's not a nurse or anything like that. So I imagine it was office work.

AT: 19:25 Sure

JF: 19:25 Yup.

AT: 19:27 And then so how did you end up coming to Chicago?

JF: 19:32 Well, um, we were not making much progress money wise. I mean we're here in this, um, housing project, you know, and so, um, I guess my, uh, uh, well we had sent my uncle, uh, I had to, to, to be with a Fussy, cause my aunt in, in, in Chicago said, you know, there's all, there's a lot of jobs out here. And so, um, he had, he had gone there and he, he, he had gotten married and all that too. And this is years afterwards. He had gotten married and he had had a family and he had bought, even bought a rooming house, you know. And so, um, he said, you know, I, I've got the rooming house, I, you have space for you guys to come up if you want to. So first my brother went and then I went, you know, and uh, and then, um, and then a year later we sent for the rest of the whole family and.

AT: 20:29 Around what time was that?

JF: 20:29 Um, well it was 1962 then I came here and then I think in 63' we sent for the family.

AT: 20:39 Do you know where that, or do you remember where the rooming house is?

JF: 20:41 It's on Clark Street, um, near um, near Webster I think between Webster and Dicksons or something, no Webster and not sure exactly where, but around Webster and you know, within four blocks, either way of that, that area.

AT: 21:03 For the folks that had that were in Chicago before you, so you said your, your brother left a little earlier. Um, what kind of work was your family finding? I mean, it's very different from farming.

JF: 21:18 He became an apprentice for a tool and die maker and he became a master tool and die maker. And he's, he, he, he was very, uh, uh, respected. I mean he became a master maker, you know. So, and he, and it was a good, good paying job, but he did have to apprentice for like 10 years or something like this. It wasn't that fast. And that easy, you know, he had to apprentice for a long time before he could start making money.

AT: 21:50 And, uh, what was the general age range of your siblings who are coming up?

JF: 21:56 Well, um, in 1962 see, my youngest sister was, um, when 1962 when she came, when she was five years old, the youngest was five, five to eleven. Well, I, when I came here, I was 21 when my brother was 22. And so there's that age group, you know, on down to five years old.

AT: 22:21 And I'm sorry if I missed this your parents, um

JF: 22:22 They were, they were, uh, my mother's health was pretty good, but she was busy taking care of the children so she couldn't work, you know. And then my father's health was kind of deteriorating. So that, because I think within a year or two after he came to Chicago, he suffered a stroke and he was, you know, he was partially paralyzed and he had difficulty, you know. Um, so he, he, he never worked after he, you know, when he's, when they foreclose on the mortgage and all like that, he was not able to work after that. He just became so discouraged, I think. Um, it was just like, it was like the world was against him, you know?

AT: 23:03 Um, so did they come in 63' with the rest of the younger siblings?

JF: 23:10 Yeah.

AT: 23:10 Okay. Um, and then how would you, do you remember your first impressions of Chicago, when you got here in 62'?

JF: 23:20 Well, yeah, we, we, we were kind of excited to come to a big city. It's quite a change from, you know, a real role setting that we were in. And they said there's all kinds of opportunities here. So we've got, we took the paper, I think I came in on a Thursday or Friday or something like this. I took the bus up here and I got to sit on the first sheet coming into, I mean, you know, the first seat next to the bus driver. And I stayed in that seat the whole time and we got to go, you know, see everything all the way in. So that was just exciting. Just, just the bus ride and then, um, came to Chicago and they did that that night. I think it took us to see the city the night, you know, the lights and all like that. So it was quite, quite kind of impressive. And then they said, okay, take a look at the, get this, be sure to get the Trib or the other paper, the Daily News and, and mark, whatever you think you can do and then, you know, go out on Monday morning and, and, uh, see if you can get these jobs. So there was about three of them, one that I marked and I thought I could handle. And um, and uh, by the time I'd finished on Monday, um, I, I, um, got two job offers. Yeah. And I took the one that paid more. It was like 75 and $85. So I, I took the $85 a week job. And this is compared to like, after working four years, I think I was making $50 a week over in Texas. So this is, um, you know, like a big jump in my pay. So

AT: 24:50 And what kind of work was that?

JF: 24:53 It was clerical also. Yeah. And Cook County Department

AT: 24:57 What, do you remember the agency or the?

JF: 25:02 Oh, it was a printing company. And I worked, I ended up working there for nine years and then the company went bankrupt. And then, uh, then after that, I, um, uh, one of the men who work for the company started his own business and it was, um, printing, but it also had to do with artwork and stuff like that. And he asked me if I'd work for him and I, I needed a job. So I, you know, and this job was going bank, it went bankrupt so that I, I followed him. And, uh, so I stayed with him for 21 years after that. And, uh, he, he became very successful and, uh, he was a very nice person. And, uh, um, and, and the company grew and now it's called AGI incorporated and it's a printing printing company. And they worked with um printing, not only um, like record jack. We were doing record jackets at the time. We were working with polygram records and then we did a Rod Stewart album and uh, different, well known people at that time.

AT: 26:11 What was the original company called?

JF: 26:13 Album, it was Album Graphics Incorporated.

AT: 26:17 The one that went bankrupt?

JF: 26:18 No Rapid Copy Service.

New Speaker: 26:21 Okay.

JF: 26:21 Yeah, no, the one that did well is Album Graphics Incorporated and then later changed the name to AGI Incorporated. Yeah, so.

AT: 26:30 And uh, did you, did you attend church or were you involved in other activities when you were in Chicago?

JF: 26:40 In 1962 when we came to, um, we were looking for a Japanese church, but uh we wanted to come to a Christian Church. And so they say, well, just go down the street here. So then we started walking out down Sheffield and um, ended up 10 blocks later at the church. It was Lakeside Japanese Christian Church.

AT: 27:09 Yeah. And can you just tell me a little bit more about your, um, your experiences going to Lakeside?

JF: 27:19 Um, well, it was a very friendly church and, um, bible-based fundamental Bible based church. Um, it was considered strict by, you know, uh, but, but the people were friendly, very nice and welcomed us so that we immediately felt right at home there. And then, um, I got involved with like, you know, the, the Sunday school and um, um, they had summer camps for the kids and stuff like that. And so you get involved and also learning to do became counselor at the camps and um, and get involved with Sunday school. And so you get busy doing kind of church work, you know, but it was, it was, um, and I was also taking night classes trying to, you know, work towards a degree. But then I, when we, our company moved out though to and I was starting working long, longer hours and, and so I didn't stay focused on my, my schooling. So there no excuse for that. But I didn't finish. I didn't get a degree but I have about 70 hours of night classes and stuff like that.

AT: 28:35 Okay. Um, at that time came to Chicago, uh, it sounds like you were reaching out and trying to tap into the Japanese American community here. Um, can you tell me a little bit more about what the community looks like at that time. Were there um, you know, certain neighborhoods or businesses or anything like?

JF: 29:02 You know, we weren't really outside the church, we did not socialize. We didn't have time because you're going to school at night, your, you have your family, you, um, you're working, uh, uh, extra hours or something, you know, a lot of times. And so, and then, um, I did, I did get involved with like our Sunday school and then ended up like coaching, uh, uh, um, our younger, like eight year old girls in softball. Uh, and, and we had even a volleyball team and, um, and, and there was a group called the Chicago Nisei Athletic Association at that time. And, um, that was, um, a group of all different churches, different groups, you know, so I like, I was a member of this Athletic Association for it. And so we would play when we play we'd, we play against these other churches or other groups, you know. And so we, we played against them, Midwest Buddhist Temple and um, Buddhist Temple of Chicago, the, uh, we, we met the Devon Church of Jesus Christ. We, um, we met the, um, uh, Church of Christ Presbyterian. Yeah. So we met all these other churches and, and that really enlarged our, our

AT: 30:24 Network.

JF: 30:25 Network, yeah.

AT: 30:26 Do you remember any of those teams to go out as being particularly good?

JF: 30:34 Well, they were all better than us, because we were like the bottom of the totem pole, I guess. And for me to be a coach was kind of a laugh because I don't really, I'm not a good sports person, but they just needed somebody to say, okay, run, you hit the ball run, you know, or, um, so I was mainly a cheerleader is what I was, you know, just okay, hey, you can do it. Well, let's go out there and we, let's, let's try, you know, so, but oh going back, the, my main reason for wanting to do this was I wanted to tell you about this family, this, this Society of Friends who were, um, during the war. But while my mom was in camp and, and even after camp, this lady was very faithful in, in writing to us and saying, you don't, not everyone, not all Americans. I think that how you were treated as fair, we believe that you know, that, that you are good Americans too. And that we wouldn't encourage you to, to not feel, you know, that the world is, America's against you. Cause we're not, you know, and she would write letters of encouragement to my mom and she would, uh, she, I know she sent a subscription to a Christian magazine called, maybe it wasn't Christian, but it had, you know, like very encouraging types of articles in it. You know, uh, uh, you know, upbeat and, um, and that is with Sunshine Magazine from published in Litchfield, Illinois. Yeah, I remember that. And we'd get the, the, uh, the magazines and that they would read them in and she'd write to my mom and, and there'd be all this encouragement, you know, so that my mom didn't feel like she was like out in, left the law by herself, you know. She, it was nice to have this and she was a member of the Society of Friends, the Quaker group.

AT: 32:29 And, uh, when did that correspondence start or took place?

JF: 32:34 I think it must have taken place right when we went into the camp. Yeah. She just, I think they adopted families, you know, and this lady was adopted our family as, as the one to encourage and she was very faithful in doing that for many years. Even after we left camp, she, she still wrote to my mom and, and so they, and I think my, my, uh, one of my younger sisters went to visit her because she lived in Erie, Michigan.

AT: 33:02 And what's was her name?

JF: 33:03 Um, it was a Wilbur Smith family. I'm trying to think, put her, her name was, I can't even remember her name, her name, but she's the one that did all the correspondence. And, um, so she looked her up and, and she said they were, they were very welcoming and, um, she had a nice visit with them.

AT: 33:20 And how did you hear about that story that that had happened?

JF: 33:26 Well, I would see the letters come and my mom reading them and, and, and I would see the magazine and I'd read the magazines, you know, who is this from them? Why? And they said, oh, well she's a lady, you know, she's an American lady who thinks that, you know, at that agrees that were, we were done wrong, you know, and so, uh, and she's in encouraging us. And so, um, so I remember the see, seeing that. I just thought I'd, I, I want to let other people know that. Um, yeah, that act of kindness, I mean, it was, uh, it went not just for a day, it was for years that she wrote to my mom and encouraged her. It was a very, very helpful to our family. Yeah.

AT: 34:17 Are there any other ways that you've described that impact that, that you maybe saw, it had on your mom? Or maybe impacting too?

JF: 34:31 Well, it left us open to, um, knowing the kindness goes a long ways, you know, and but, you know, the, the, um, my mother was raised Buddhist and, uh, we were raised Christian. But I think the basic thing is that I think the Buddhists too, believe in you're being kind and doing your best and uh. And the Christians, of course, they believe in doing your best and, and, and um and relying on God to help you with that. You know? And, and so I, I think, uh, where the Christians are a little bit different is that, you know, they, they speak as if God, you know, God is your helper and he's always there for you. And I kinda liked that idea of God being there for us. And, and, um, and, uh, I couldn't understand why Jesus had to die for us, that we could have also done it without him having to die. But, you know, that's my stupidity where I am. But, but, um, but God loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us. And so, um. And so we figured we accept that then then, and, and he's always there to, to receive, uh, to help us, you know? And so why, um, I believe that God is always there for us. That he is um that he loves us and cares about us, that he created us so that he, that were very special and that we, in turn, should return his love by helping and loving others around us.

AT: 36:28 One thing I wanted to ask you was, um, of course you are, you are very young at the time of, um, incarceration. Um, can you tell me a little bit about your own experience and kind of learning about what had happened to your family? Was it something that was discussed or

JF: 36:52 No, I, um, we have pictures of this camp, you know, and, uh, and I'm sitting in a little chair with my little Black baby. I have a little Black baby. And I said, Gee, you know, um, they said what that was given to me, by um, I don't know if this, this lady might have sent that baby to me, you know. But, um, and, and she said, and and I was told that there are kind people, even though we had to stay in this place, that they're still kind people in the world. And, um, and I knew we were different, that we're not totally accepted because we had this one, one kid in school who go, "Nan, nan, nan, nan." You know, like, because I had slanted eyes and and not that I spoke a different language. But then the other other, uh, children who are also Mexicans, they said to me, don't pay any attention, he's ignorant, you know? So I had, you know, I could send some prejudice, but then I knew that not everybody was prejudiced. And so I had, I had these friends who were supportive of me, you know, and I didn't know them very well. We were just in school, you know, and we, and we wouldn't see each other very much. You know, as soon as school is out, we're, we're, we're, we all go to our own homes, you know, but, um, because the houses are scattered, they're not close together, but uh. The, the Mexican people that we be, you know, that'd befriended us and that have remained lifelong friends, uh, were very kind to us and, and they didn't, they weren't prejudiced and they were, you know, so, uh, we, we, we're very, we've been very fortunate.

AT: 38:32 Um, and then, and then about your, your family's experiences specifically. . Did you ever have conversations? I mean, to get like the, did you grow up knowing like, um, our family came from this farm in California and then I went to, um, so San Anita and Rohwer?

JF: 38:58 Yeah, I think we, we knew about it pretty, uh, right away. I think we knew we were different, were not, we didn't fit in totally in, in, in Texas either. You know, I mean. But, so we knew we and, and, and how do we get here, you know, we knew all that pretty well since we were pretty young.

AT: 39:15 And, and what about like as far as your own family's experiences? So you told me about, um, some of the losses that you're family experienced. Um, did you learn about that through your conversations with your parents about it or was it something that maybe you don't recall exactly when you picked that up?

JF: 39:38 Um, yeah. But yeah, it was through conversations with our family. My parents were open about it than some other people that you hear a lot of them saying that they didn't say a word about what happened. But I guess because we, we were, um, my, my dad was pretty open about things and um. Well, he was Nisei, and see a lot of these other people, they didn't speak about it because their parents were Issei. My dad was a Nisei, he was American born, and he was very open, more, more open than, um, than an Issei parent would be. Yeah. So they, we knew what it was like from day one.

AT: 40:15 And what, what were, what was kind of their take on it? Or their position?

JF: 40:19 Say, well, it wasn't fair and a lot of it was, um, economically driven. And, um, so she said, you're gonna find people like that in this world, but you can't hold a grudge against them all. You know, you have to be forgiving for that type of behavior. You know, and it's not everybody feels that way. Just like this one lady is writing to us, you know? So, um, and they said, you just treat other people the way you want to be treated. Just like that. You know, God says, you know, um, do onto others as you would have them do unto you. He believed, believed in the Christian teachings. And so that's why we were allowed to go to a Baptist churches, you know?

AT: 40:58 And, uh, and how about your mother?

JF: 41:01 And my mother too, she was very, um forgiving, you might say, you know, and she says, I'm not, not, not everybody feels the way the government, what the government did was fair. And so we were, and then, and then here, now we're, we're working in, in a, in a different place to sit. We're starting over again. Um, we have our health, we have that to be thankful for. So there wasn't that, we weren't under a big cloud all the time. We were, we were kind of optimistic, you know, have a chance to make it here, you know. And, and we did have some, a lot of good years, you know, it's just that some things, I think what happened to us is that, um, we joined this, uh, Japanese co-op and, um, there was somebody at the helm who was responsible for making the calls. Like when you, you, you, we carton packed um, our lettuce. We grew, uh, we grew some lettuce on there too. And we had lot of good years and, but this time we carton packed it and we put it on ice and we took it to the railroad yard and the guy and told the guy, okay, it's all here ready to go. And he, all he had to do is make a phone call and he didn't do it. And uh, cause I understand he was fooling around. So anyway, that, that lost our, our whole crop just about, you know, and, and then so you have all these bills to pay and you have no income for it. So that put us behind. And then I think that a couple years before that there was a freeze, which, you know, kind of hurt your crop. And so that combination of things, you know, put us back. And that's the reason why we ended up losing not being able to pay that bill. And so, um, anyway, but that's in the past, in the anyway. Cause we've been pretty much optimistic that we're going to get through this and you know, but um, and then so Chicago was an opportunity for us to make a do good. And Chicago at that time was really good in that they had the Illinois state scholarships for kids and like, all right, so the, um, of the four younger ones, they're all college grads now. Yeah. And they, and they worked their way, basically, they worked their way through school. We said, you have to make good grades. So they concentrated on the grades. They also worked part time jobs too. But, um, most it's a wonder that they all were able to go through college, you know, and, and part of it is because we had the Illinois state scholarships available for them and because they worked hard, they made the grades. Now I don't know if they have any such things available for kids, you know, but it was important. And, and, and the classes that I went, I, I went to city colleges in Chicago. Um, it only costs me $5 a semester, a trimester this trimester to go to school. And I could take as many courses as I want to do for $5. Like, I don't know. Chicago is still, yeah. And have that opportunity.

AT: 44:17 No I don't think so. Um, as we start to wrap up, um, I, I'm curious because I asked you about, because your parents were pretty open about their experiences with camp, and the war time, um, I'm curious to hear about what, what your reflections are or are your thoughts about, um, your family's experiences at the time?

JF: 44:46 Well, I think it was unfair and I, I'd hate to see that repeated. And, you know, and like they're saying, you know, we, we should, we should be working together and hoping that that doesn't happen to the Muslim people or any other people. Um, and we do have responsibility to help in that respect. And I'm, I'm very grateful to the Japanese Americans and others who fought for this, um, Redress. And my parents did not get to take advantage of that. They, they're the ones that lost the most, they didn't get a chance to take advantage of that. And, um, the four younger, uh, of our family did not get a chance to take advantage of it either because they were born after. But you know what? They suffered, they suffered also because my dad had been kind of damaged by this, by this, you know, that he lost, he lost the spirit and wasn't able to continue after, you know, after the second time that, that he, you know, the circumstances, um, we're kind of unfair. And He, when he wasn't able to do, where do his do his work because it took his equipment away again. So, um, yeah. Anyway, I it, it's, it's a shame that they didn't get compensated, you know, so that, oh, but, um, four of us did receive compensation and, uh. But I thought, I thought we'd deserved it because of what we had to go through anal. Like, cause my dad couldn't work afterwards. We had a raise, you know, raise the family. Yeah. Um, so although the way everybody has to work. I mean, it's not that we had that much more that do than anybody else. This system we have given. We had to do it sooner anyway.

AT: 46:48 Um, before we completely wrap up, is there anything else that you'd like to add or that maybe we've missed in this conversation?

JF: 47:01 Um, I guess the, um, God is good. He does take care of us. He loves us. Um, and I think we should, we should all be concerned about other people besides ourselves. Life isn't always fair to everybody. So wherever we can do good, we should do, we should be trying to help other people.

AT: 47:32 Well, thank you so much for coming in and taking the time to speak with me.

JF: 47:37 I'm glad to do it. Thank you.