<Begin Segment 4>

TI: Okay, so let's just talk about them. What was your father like?

RY: Oh, my father was, well, he was easy-going person, but he worked, he worked at the, at the Milwaukee Station or the Union Station, railroad station, and he was a redcap there. And he worked there for, well, worked there even during the war. When the war started, they laid them, they laid the redcaps off, Japanese redcaps off and then the people, persons that took over the redcaps, they couldn't quite keep it up or do something, anyway, but they hired them back. And I remember that they, Union Station hired quite a few colored, colored personnels. 'Cause I used to go, go back there, and work, take my dad's place when he was feeling, when he wasn't feeling too good. So I was pretty young, but I did some redcapping there.

TI: So let me make sure I understand this. So if your dad was sick, he would have you take his place, rather than just getting another redcap to take his place?

RY: Yeah.

TI: Now, why would, why would they do it that way? Why wouldn't they just find another redcap to, to kind of substitute for your dad?

RY: Well, before that, my older brother helped. I don't know why they didn't hire anybody else, but I guess...

TI: Well, maybe it was because of the way they paid or something, that it...

RY: Yeah, could be, I don't know.

TI: ...wanted to keep it in the family, the money.

RY: Well, it just so happened that like when my brother was able to, he helped do the redcapping there, and that was good spending money for all of us as far as that goes.

TI: Well, while we're talking about redcapping, can you tell me, describe what a redcap does.

RY: Well, in those days, it was, it was where they meet passengers when they come out of the taxi, and they show them where to go. And if they wanted, if they wanted their baggage carried, they carried the baggages to their, their designated trains. And they, each, each person, each redcap took care of, you know, passengers if they wanted help.

TI: And by helping, would they, would they then live off the tips, or would they actually get a salary?

RY: Oh, yeah. They got, they got tips which helped, because the salary wasn't too much. And, well, tips, I guess they still give tips, and it was pretty nice, tips were pretty nice sometimes, sometimes. As I remember, when I used to get tips, one dollar was quite a bit. And fifty cents, one dollar, it helped, especially when I didn't get, get the wages that my dad got. Those tips were good for me to spend that while I was in school.

TI: So I'm curious, are there, were there certain tricks or things that you would do to get better tips?

RY: Oh, no, no. No, there isn't, there was no, I don't think there was. I didn't... [laughs]. Well, if there was too much baggages, we asked another, another redcap to come and help. But other than being, having certain tricks to, to get better tips, no, I don't think there was. Like we worked, we didn't, I don't think, at least I don't, I don't remember the other redcaps saying, "Oh, that, that one's a good tipper." I never got, I never, I never heard that.

TI: Okay, so, so one of the things that a redcap would do is, is they would greet people, and if people needed help with their baggage, they would bring it to the train.

RY: Yeah.

TI: So that's one of the things a redcap will do. What else would a redcap do?

RY: Well, they had to, at that time, they mopped, you know. They don't, the train isn't always there, they took care of the hallways and the stairways and everything. They mopped the hall, and they cleaned the restrooms and took care of, like, hallways and the offices where the, where... for the, I guess it's just part of the job.

TI: So it's sort of like janitorial services at the train station.

RY: Yeah, yeah.

TI: So it sounds like when the, the trains are there, they're busy doing baggage, but when the trains are out, they would then do the janitorial work.

RY: Yeah, that's what it was, yeah.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.