<Begin Segment 11>

AI: We're continuing again with Mr. Bannai.

PB: Okay.

AI: And I'm going to back up in time a little bit to about 1947, right after you were discharged from the army...

PB: Right.

AI: ...and you had returned to Southern California. And what employment did you get when you first left the army?

PB: Well, because of my prewar connections with some friends, I helped at a nursery, Star Nursery. My friend Fran Uyematsu was still operating that in Montebello. So I went out there and helped them. They were growing potted plants mostly. And as a result of that, I worked also at the flower market. They had a store at the flower market. So my association there was trying to expand their market. Their potted plants I decided to sell not only in the market, but to ship it to department stores, and that was very good. Also when I went into the flower market, I represented a group of Japanese Americans who were producing flowers in the fields, some of it in greenhouses. And my feeling was that the market could be expanded. So I went down to the airport to find out about shipping by air. Designed a box, there were 3-, 5-, and 6 foot-long boxes, standard boxes that we could put the flowers in in the morning, and then we could take 'em down to the airline, and they would ship them around.

Because there were exhibit areas and flower shows around the country, I used to travel. I remember going to Tulsa, Oklahoma one time, to Dallas, Texas, Chicago, Illinois. But I expanded the flower market throughout the United States. And so California flowers were being sold in all the cities throughout the United States. 'Cause they would bring 'em in, our flower market opened at 3:00 in the morning. That's why that, in those days I would have to get up at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning to be at work. But when the market closed at 7:00 or 8:00 when the local people would come and buy the flowers, whatever flowers we had we would try to ship it out of state. So we would pack them early in the morning. So I had a company called Golden State Wholesale Florists that would pack the flowers. We would take 'em to the airport, 8:00, 9:00, 10 o'clock in the morning, get 'em on the airplane so that they would be at their destination wherever it may be by that afternoon. Well, then the people that had florist shops in those areas could buy our flowers fresh and sell them.

As a result of that, I also got interested in other areas. And when I was in Hawaii one time, I saw them growing flowers over there. So I also started the bringing in the vanda orchids from Hilo, Hawaii. Also I'd go to Hilo, and we'd grow anthuriums. I had people grow tea leaves over there and brought those to Southern California to distribute. As a result of that, people found out about it. And I remember that even during the off-season, I used to bring cymbidium orchids in from Australia, because their season was a little different. And the cymbidium, they would last a long time as, for corsage flowers. So my flower, floral experience went, you might say, worldwide because I was doing business all over.

Now, part of that is because when I used to go to Hawaii, I was helping and, mostly in the real estate business because of my real estate connections. So the first island I went to was Kauai. And I developed a few homes and went into real estate, selling and marketing there. My next endeavor was in the big island of Hawaii. I subdivided the volcano land, and, to little lots, and sold those. That, unfortunately at the beginning, Hawaii people, the people that lived in Hilo wouldn't buy it. So we sold it to mainland people. But later on, several years later, the people in Hawaii said, "Oh my God, that's feasible land." So what I did is I took the list of people that we sold to on the mainland and sold everything to people in Hawaii. So my friend who's in the real estate business -- I won't mention her name -- we made pretty good money while we were doing business there. But my flower connections ended. I left there because, as I mentioned, I went into the real estate business because of the possibilities of, well, more income and being at home instead of having to get up at 2:00, 3:00 in the morning and going downtown. But the flower market is still active. At one time it was predominantly Japanese Americans, but now it is not. But still yet they have a lot of Japanese people growing flowers, and the flower market still exists. But it was an experience in dealing with a business that we expanded throughout the United States. And it was a good time.

But as I say, I then left that and went into real estate. And any, everything that I have done when I get involved in a business, I have a tendency to concentrate and just put 100 percent or 110 percent time into it. And the same thing with the real estate, I would work day and night trying to do something a little different. I was so active. We had a board -- they have what they call a real estate board. I was president of my board in Gardena, and I became vice president of the California State -- they call it CREA, California Real Estate Association. And I started several escrow companies.

So I was very, very busy in the real estate business at that time. I was associated with two companies for a while, but eventually I decided to open my own company, and I built my own building, which still stands in Gardena. And as a result of that, I was able to say that when I was fifty years old, that, "Why should I work anymore?" Economically my belief is and I still espouse that, that you can have all the money in the world, but what good is it going to do you? If you can live comfortably and your family is well taken care of, you don't need to work nor to keep doing things. And so from then on, you might say I started in thinking of partial retirement. And as a result of that, I then got involved in politics and things of this nature, and that's where my political career started to get underway.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.