<Begin Segment 8>

SE: And then my oldest brother, at first in the early days, we had the highway market, and he was busy with the highway market. But we had a real big business out on the highway, and did real well.

MA: So just to clarify, this is a highway market, it was in Bothell, wasn't it?

SE: Uh-huh. We'd have to take the streetcar, it would take us about an hour to get out there.

MA: So your father operated this market along with the hotel, at the same time?

SE: No, for my oldest brother, when he finished high school. He was working for a, someone that had a highway market, and he was doing real well, and the customers liked him. But then he, Dad decided to, lot further out, he'd build one, and start my oldest brother in business.

MA: What kind of things did you sell at this market?

SE: It's fruits and vegetables and cigarettes and candy.

MA: Did it get a lot of business?

SE: Uh-huh. And sometimes my sisters used to say it was too much work to close the store, so they would leave it open all night. And being on the highway, why, there would be constantly somebody stopping by. It was handy because people would run out of bread and things, stores used to close tight, and so they would have bread and milk and bacon and eggs. I suppose they had wieners and things like that, so it was very convenient with all the fruits and vegetables, too.

MA: And how long did it take you to get from your home on King Street to this market?

SE: It took us about an hour, I think. Because it was past University District. Now -- I get kind of ahead of myself sometimes [laughs] -- because while we were on King Street, I don't think we had the highway market.

MA: Oh, I see, did your family live in the hotel? Did they move from King Street to live in the hotel?

SE: So it was about the same time, and they bought the place out at the highway. And so we were all supposed to move out there, and then my mother, not wanting to be out there, why, they, she and part of the family went down to the hotel to live, because she wanted to be where she can get, get to the stores, into town.

MA: I see. So your family kind of split up at that point?

SE: Split up, uh-huh.

MA: So half went to the Bothell market, and half went to maybe the U.S. Hotel.

SE: Uh-huh. And then... my oldest sister used to work at the Pike Place Market.

MA: What did she do there?

SE: She sold vegetables, you know, in the food stand. And she was very good at it, and I think there's a picture of her up in the, at the Pike Place Market. Especially her, they were hard-working, and every penny that they made, they took home to Mother. And so she said that no matter how much she complained, the oldest daughter, oldest sister gave all the money to Mother, and she spoiled my second-oldest brother by giving him the money, 'cause she had the money. So he was a dropout, never finished high school.

MA: Which, which sibling is this?

SE: Hiromichi, the second.

MA: So I wanted to ask you more about this market. So did you go out and live near the market, or did you stay in the, in the hotel?

SE: No, see, let's see. When he built that market, he built a house behind it thinking that the family was going to move out there. In fact, he moved all the furniture into the house, but Mother didn't want to go out and live among Caucasians, not knowing any Japanese out there, why, she didn't want to go out there at all.

MA: But you actually went out with your brother?

SE: I went because I had already signed up to go to high school out at Roosevelt High School when I graduated.

MA: Oh, Roosevelt High School?

SE: Uh-huh. So I lived out there, so Dad hired a Issei man to live out there to be there, and he was a cook. And so he would cook our meals, and then he was there as a support for my sister to, you know, when she had, had to, sometimes she stayed open all night, but to help her close and everything.

MA: So then in the house it was the Issei man and your brother and sister and you?

SE: Yes.

MA: Living up near Bothell?

SE: Uh-huh.

MA: What was that like, living away from your parents?

SE: Well, it didn't last too long because I went, we always had a room in the hotel, our own room, so I stayed at the hotel and went to high school by taking the streetcar. So that was quite a commute.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.