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Show Henry Hajime Kazato 39 After they returned from Japan we had to move. My folks found a place out on Olive Avenue where Ken Mayeda lives. The area had few Japanese living there at that time. Since the place was outside of city limits, we were able to buy the property. Being outside of city limits, we were able to raise vegetables, etc. This is where our home really began. This was around 1920-21. Elementary School My playmates in school were poor financially, like myself. In spite of all the English we were taught, our language usage was very poor. So my use of English didn't develop well, my grammar and language were very poor. But I did enjoy school. I liked arithmetic the most, especially from 5th grade and from 7th grade it became more interesting. It was not a laborious subject for me, but a very challenging one, like working out a puzzle until it was solved. I liked to keep working at it. High School There were three Junior High Schools: Longfellow Junior High where the fairly well-to-do people went; Edison Junior High where people from the other side of the tracks attended; and Washington Junior High where we went. Fresno High School was where most of the important people in town had their kids go. My English was poor in contrast to these kids. All of a sudden I had to go to that school. When I got to high school, I had a hard time with English. I think the teachers were all very fair. I don't think they showed any favoritism. They were all quite good. If they were after me, it was because I was not doing the work like I should have been doing. I finished Fresno High and went to Fresno State College for 3 years. I did well in science, as well as in the other courses I took. I often think back and wonder if I had concentrated and taken more English speaking type of courses, I might have gotten to be better in speaking and in communicating, etc. I think, compared to other students, I wouldn't have done so well and would have gotten poor grades. It would have been hard for me to get into college. If we didn't have to worry about getting good grades, which they stressed so much in order to get in college, I should have taken those subjects, but I was told unless you get good grades, you won't get into college. U. c. Medical School I didn't know what I wanted to be during my first two years of college. It was only after my third year that I found I was doing quite well enough to apply to medical school. In those days we often heard about those students who went to college, took up a lot of courses in different areas, and ended up on a farm or behind a fruit stand. If they were city boys, they ended up working in shops on Grant Avenue in Chinatown getting very minimal wages. So, the feeling was if you want to get anywhere, you had to take up something in which you would become your own boss. You had to become a pharmacist and have your own drug store, or a dentist, optometrist, or physician. Many of us tried to get into those fields. I was fortunate. I applied to one medical school and they said, "come in" right away. |
